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“BUT I DON’T SPEAK RUSSIAN.” I looked up from the hefty black semi-automatic weapon I was caressing with my fingertip. It lay nestled in a case, where it most definitely belonged. I’d never held a real gun. Which, to my mind, made me the worst possible choice to pose as an arms dealer.
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Manny asked. “I’ve seen people dumber than dirt attempt to sell one of these babies.”
I straightened my shoulders and looked him square in the eye. “I simply said I don’t speak Russian, I never said anything about a lack of intelligence.” My frosty tone was in sharp contrast to the sweltering warehouse where we stood around a table littered with weapons that sounded like a litany of past Soviet leaders...Malenkov, Brezhnev, Chernenko...I was beyond bewildered.
“Take it easy, Stephanie.” Fortune looked up from the rocket-propelled grenade she was studying. “You don’t have to know their names. You just have to appear confident enough that Bull believes you’re a dealer. Trust me, once you start spewing numbers, you’ll have him seeing stacks of Benjamins. He’ll be hard pressed to remember you’re even there. Greed is a powerful distractor.”
It had better be. My life depended on it. “I still think I’m not the right person for the job.” In fact, I knew I wasn’t.
“It’s a crazy idea you two cooked up,” Manny said.
He was being far more talkative than usual, maybe because the Heberts weren’t anywhere around. It was just Manny, Fortune, myself, and a table full of lethal weapons. This whole idea didn’t sound any better today than it had last night when Fortune first proposed it.
“It’s all about the bluff,” Fortune said. “Don’t tell me you haven’t bluffed your way through many a situation back in Boston.”
I considered this. She was correct, I most certainly had. “Well, yes, but no one’s life had ever been at stake. Not to mention that none of the awkward meetings I’d had involved actual weapons.”
She slapped me on the back. “Buck up and channel your great-aunt.”
“I guess so,” I agreed. I looked over the selection of weapons in front of me. It certainly seemed as if the die had been cast. I was going to have to find a way to convince Bull that I was an arms dealer, albeit a very unlikely one. I turned to look at Fortune. “What exactly am I supposed to get him to agree to?”
Manny closed his eyes and shook his head wordlessly.
Fortune’s reaction was more patient. “You don’t have to write up anything. It’s not an Avon order. Just get Bull to talk. Imply that you know about his involvement in human trafficking. Hint that you’re making a crap ton of money. Play up to his ego. You need a big strong man to join you, something like that.”
I groaned.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, stop being a baby,” Fortune said. “Every woman on this planet knows how to fake an—”
“Whoa,” Manny held up both hands. “Stop right there.”
“—to fake an interest, is what I was going to say.” Fortune picked up the RPG and hoisted it on her shoulder. “Touch the weapons with confidence, look Bull straight in the eye, and make sure he knows you’re doing him a favor.”
“I am?”
Fortune blew out a long breath. “Yes, you are. You’ve already got this up and running, it’s a real money maker, and he can get in on the action under one condition.”
I nodded. “One condition. Right.” I swallowed hard. “What condition?”
“That Gertie remains alive and well. Make her the deal breaker.” She set the grenade launcher on the table. “Play up that you can trust him because Gertie does. Send him the message that her well-being is of the utmost importance. That should put an immediate end to his desire to kill her. That million-dollar life insurance policy will look like chump change compared to what you’re offering him.”
I nodded. Not because I understood or agreed with everything but because my throat was constricted with fear.
“We ready to fit her with a wire now?” Manny looked at his watch. “The boss said to make sure you have everything you need.”
A wire? “Are you sure you shouldn’t be the one to do this, Fortune? After all, you’re far more experienced at playing a role than I am.” I swept my arm over the table full of weapons. “Not to mention that you speak ‘weapon’ fluently.”
“You’ll do just fine, Stephanie. As long as you carry yourself with confidence, you’re golden. Let Bull assume you know the names of the weapons, and if he calls you out for some reason, just stare at him like you can’t believe how dumb he is.” Fortune steepled her fingers and held them to her lips as she studied me.
I felt grossly inadequate under her scrutiny. It wasn’t that I was unwilling to try to save Gertie. I was willing, but I was also terrified.
“I believe in you,” Fortune said. “Look at all the speeches you give about frou-frou manners, and yet you somehow manage to keep a straight face.”
Manny cleared his throat. “Look, Miss St. James, I don’t mean to interfere here, but you don’t have a choice. You gotta do this.”
I nodded. “You’re right, Manny. I can’t let Gertie down.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, well, there’s that, sure. But don’t forget that you promised the boss that you’d get him the information he wants. There’s no backing out now.” He clamped a beefy hand on my shoulder. “Let’s get you wired.”
***
“YOU KNOW, MANNY’S HANDS were surprisingly gentle for a man of his size.” I stared at the white lines stretching out on the highway in front of us. “I bet he’s got some stories to tell.”
“Yeah, well, what we should be worrying about is your story for Kase.” Fortune blew past a semi-truck at what felt like seven hundred miles per hour, although I’m sure she was only doing a hundred.
“What if he says no?”
Fortune pulled a face. “You’ve got him wrapped around your little finger.” She shot me a quick look. “How serious are you two?”
“Serious enough not to want to alienate him with a request for classified information.” I plucked at a loose thread on my linen skirt. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. I think I’m in love.”
“You think?”
“No, I know. I am in love with Kase. He’s incredibly smart, sweet, protective, and gentle with me, but I know he respects me too.” I smiled. “He’s funny, and he’s good-hearted. He likes animals.”
“Well, if he can tolerate that Persian of yours, I’d put a ring on it.” Fortune grinned. “How’s that for girl talk?”
I nodded approvingly. “Not bad.”
We drove the remainder of the way to New Orleans in silence. I’d tried to assure Fortune that I could drive into New Orleans by myself but she’d insisted on accompanying me. I didn’t know what she was thinking about, but I was rehearsing ways to butter Kase up for information. However things went down, I hoped they’d happen quickly.
We’d only had a very short visit with my great-aunt and Gertie in the morning. Frankly, neither looked well. Aunt Ida Belle appeared especially exhausted. Why wouldn’t she? I was sure if she had any sleep at all last night, it was with one eye open so that she could keep an eye on Gertie. During our visit, Gertie had introduced us to Mary, the very nice volunteer, who spent most of the morning hanging around their room. My guess was that Mary was Big Hebert’s plant in Bayou Gardens, for which I should remember to thank him later.
We arrived in the Big Easy in record time, thanks to Fortune’s predilection for speeding. She dropped me off in front of Kase’s apartment complex, refusing to come in. She had errands to run and wanted to grab a burger, so her story went. But before I could close the door, she handed me a black velvet drawstring bag.
“What’s this?” I asked as I took it.
“Just a little something you might need.” She pointed to my handbag. “Just slip them in your purse. You don’t have to use them unless Kase gives you grief about leaving.”
Something in the way she avoided my eye prompted me to open the bag. I drew out a pair of gleaming silver handcuffs. “Handcuffs? What on earth are these for?”
Fortune grinned. “If Gertie were here, she’d have some suggestions.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure she would. But I’m asking you.”
She shifted in her seat, an uncomfortable expression on her face. “Consider them your ace in the hole if you need to make a quick exit. We’ve got to get back to Sinful in time for you to meet Bull tonight.”
I studied the handcuffs. “Am I correct that these are in lieu of drugging Kase like you did?”
“You’re not going to guilt me into an apology.” She took the cuffs from me, gave me a quick demonstration on how to use them, and then handed them back. “I gotta go, I’m double parked. Good luck.” And with that, she gunned the Jeep and took off.
I tucked the handcuffs in my purse, certain that no matter what happened this evening, I wasn’t going to need them.
But it turned out I was wrong. We did end up using the handcuffs, or more accurately, I ended up using them. Our visit started out wonderfully. The rush of genuine happiness I experienced when Kase opened his apartment door surprised me. Being with him felt natural, whether we were making small talk over a glass of wine or breaking bread together. I welcomed the chance to sit closely together on his sofa but I was on my guard. Getting swept away in a moment of passion would derail my plans for the night.
Everything was fine until the talk turned to what Big wanted. As per Fortune’s directions, I didn’t play coy with Kase or beat around the bush. I just flat out told him what I needed from him.
His first reaction was to frown. “Darlin’, you know I can’t give you that. My work’s classified.”
I traced the length of his snake tattoo with my fingertip. “I know, Kase. And I respect that. But I need something to give the Heberts to repay them for their help in setting Bull up.”
He lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “I would have thought you’d advise a hand-written thank you note for such an occasion.”
I pulled back from his embrace to look him in the eye. “This is serious, Kase. I can’t go back to Sinful without something for them.”
His eyes darkened. “I’ll take you back myself and you just let me sort out the Heberts. No one will be needing anything by the end of the evening.”
The steely determination underpinning his words spooked me. “I don’t need to be rescued, although I do appreciate the offer. What I need is your support, your trust, and one tiny morsel of information to feed them.”
His refusal was absolute, which I honestly expected. What I didn’t expect was his insistence on driving me back to Sinful. “Listen, Stephanie, I’m not going to let you endanger yourself. Not when one call to Carter can offer Gertie the protection she needs. You’ve been playing with fire but I’m taking away the matches now.”
“You can’t prevent me from meeting with Bull.”
“Oh, yeah?” His lips twisted into a smirk. “Just try to stop me.”
Oh, why did he have to say it that way? It was almost as if he were asking for it. “I will if I have to. Be reasonable, Kase.” My cell phone buzzed and I looked at it. “It’s Fortune. She’ll be downstairs in three minutes.”
“I’m going down to have a word with her.” Kase started to stand.
“Wait, please.” My heart was thundering in my chest at the thought of what I was about to do, but what choice did I have? I slipped my right arm around Kase’s neck to pull him in for a kiss while I reached into my purse with my left hand. When I was sure he was thoroughly distracted, I snapped one of the handcuffs over his wrist.
Kase pulled back in surprise but before he could react I snapped the other cuff around the wrought iron coffee table beside him. As he stared incredulously at what I’d done, I slipped the handcuff keys in between the sofa cushions. In a couple of hours, when I was meeting with Bull, Fortune could call to tell Kase where to find them. I shot to my feet and moved away so that he couldn’t grab me with his free hand.
“Stephanie St. James, I swear to you, you’d better unlock these damn things right now.” Kase’s eyes blazed pure fire. One I doubted my words would easily put out.
“I’m sorry, Kase, I really am.” I grabbed my handbag. “Just tell me something about this person the Heberts are interested in. Anything that will mollify them will do.”
His answer was to let loose a string of profanities such as I’d never heard. He yanked on the cuffs but all it did was shake the lamp. I grabbed his phone from the table before he thought to.
“I’m going to leave this here.” I laid it on the kitchen table.
“Don’t you dare leave me like this,” Kase demanded.
“I don’t want to, but I have to.” And then, before I could change my mind, I ran from the apartment, making sure to lock the door behind me.
Fortune was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. “How’d it go?”
“About how you’d expect.”
“Well, did you have to use them?”
I nodded. “Clink.”
She winced. “He’ll forgive you. Eventually.” She didn’t sound wholly convinced. “Don’t look back, but one of the Heberts’ thugs is following us.”
It took everything I had not to glance over my shoulder. “Why?”
“To make sure you’re doing what you said you would, namely getting something from Kase.”
As we drove toward Sinful and my meeting with Bull, I wondered if perhaps I’d gone too far. I needed to help save Gertie, but loosing Kase was going to be a high price to pay for doing so.