Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(49)
Author: Gena Showalter

I wanted to sigh dreamily, but didn’t. I wasn’t ready to announce my wakefulness. Yet. What if Rome decided I couldn’t handle the situation and needed more rest? My hands curled into fists as anger sparked through me. Uh, can you handle the situation? Continue down this anger-path and you’ll set the room on fire.

True. I forced my thoughts away from Rome and his actions. My crack team had already erected a tripod and had several computer monitors set up at the desk. How could I have missed all of that, drugged or not? How embarrassing, that I was such a liability. Worse – depending on how you looked at it – pretty Lexis was an asset.

Jealousy summoned the earth, and I didn’t want to find myself buried in a mound of dirt, so I forced my thoughts away from Lexis, too. Had there been any sign of Desert Gal? Cody?

"When are we going to see some action?" Sherridan grumbled, reminding me of Tanner.

Tanner. My heart lurched in my chest. How was he? Hopefully awake and raising hell. Had his doctor called me? Maybe there was a voice mail waiting for me.

"Soon," Lexis said. "I feel it. There’s something…menacing in the air." Rome stopped and eyed her. "You don’t know what?"

She shook her head, dark hair swinging over her lovely face. Her emerald eyes were slightly dulled.

"Means it’s going to happen to you," Rome said. He pinched the bridge of his nose, a sure sign of his exasperation. Good. I wasn’t the only one who antagonized him. "Fucking great. One more worry is just f**king great."

Yep, was he in a mood.

"Maybe not." Lexis brushed a piece of lint from her shoulder. "The fact that I know something bad is going to happen suggests that it can’t be me who’s the target." More danger. Wonderful. I wanted to curse as Rome had done.

"Belle, do you think?" Sherridan’s hand fluttered over her heart.

"Belle will be fine. I’ll make sure of it." Rome straightened, features blank. "I’m going to check the perimeter, place some cameras in the hall, lobby. That way, if we’re found out, we’ll know someone’s coming for us before they reach us. I want you to stay here, keep an eye on things."

"I will," both women said in unison.

Rome rolled his eyes. "You, too, Belle."

So much for my career as a spy. Gingerly I sat up and frowned over at him. My hair fell around my shoulders in complete disarray. "You take the fun out of everything."

"Not everything." He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at me. "You gonna stay here and be a good girl like the others, Wrinkles?"

Wrinkles? I gave myself another inspection. Sure enough, my clothing was a mass of creases, and still stained from the car chase. No telling what kind of grass and dirt smudges I had on my face.

All three of them were staring at me. Lexis through narrowed eyes. Sherridan with a relieved grin. Rome expectantly.

"Yeah," I grumbled. "I’ll be a good girl."

He nodded. "Good. Then you can remain awake."

"Come at me with another syringe, and I’ll add your balls to my trophy case," I told him with a sugar-sweet smile. Hey, being a good girl wasn’t the same as being a doormat.

His lips twitched. "I won’t be gone more than a few hours." He made it sound like a few hours equaled a few minutes and nothing bad could possibly happen, yet I had a vision of me, Lexis and Sherridan trying to kill one another amid the endless ticking of the clock.

We needed Rome to act as referee.

"Shower and change into the outfit I brought you," he added.

One of my brows lifted. "Outfit?"

"Outfit?" Lexis parroted, paling.

He nodded. "When I’m done with surveillance, the two of us will be attending a party." Oh, a party! What kind of party? And why? "Who put you in charge?" I said, barely stopping myself from clapping with excitement.

"I did. While you were napping."

I flipped him off.

He chuckled, a delicious sound of amusement.

Lexis ground her teeth together. "Why does she get to go?"

His gaze never left me. "Her powers might come in handy. Besides, you and Sherridan will be watching the monitors and calling me if you catch sight of Desert Gall or Cody."

"Like I told Sherri, you can check the monitors from your phone."

"Oh, no, you didn’t just call me that," Sherridan said, baring her nails at Lexis. "If you did, you would be dead."

"This way," Rome continued as if my best friend hadn’t spoken, "I won’t have to and I can keep my attention where it needs to be."

Where did it need to be and why?

There was no time to ask. "Tell Belle what we learned about Candace Bright," he ordered, and strode from the room.

Think about it : me, Lexis and Sherridan trapped in a small space together. For several hours. With nothing to do but wait. I’d taken a shower and dyed my hair black with the temporary color Rome had left behind, and inserted the violet contacts into my eyes. The combination of dark hair and light eyes made me feel exotic, as Lexis must feel, so I hadn’t minded the change. Strangely, though, I barely recognized myself. It was as if the dark hair changed my skin tone, lightening it, and colored contacts altered the shape of my face.

I don’t think my dad would have recognized me.

Once my hair was dried to a glossy shine, I’d donned the purple push-up bra and equally purple thong Rome had left for me. For a guy who had been over-the-edge furious when M-Squared bought me lingerie, he seemed to have no problem buying it for me himself.

After that, I’d shimmied into the Band-Aid, a.k.a. dress. It was skintight, a daring mix of blue and purple, and hit just below my ass, reminding me of the skirt Sherridan had made me wear the other day.

Were we headed to a costume party?

Feeling naked in the outfit, I had applied a layer (or two) of makeup. On my feet were black leather boots with six-inch heels.

I looked easy. Or expensive. Either way, men would expect to saddle me up and take me for a wild ride. Sherridan approved. Lexis did not.

Oh, and get this. While I was turning myself into a lady of the night, the wedding-dress shop called to confirm my appointment the following day. Apparently, the woman I’d last spoken to hadn’t rescheduled me as she’d promised. So I’d had to cancel in front of Lexis, who had whistled under her breath for a good ten minutes afterward.

Even though I was once again working with Rome, my life was still crumbling around me.

Now Sherridan and I sat at the desk and pretended to play chess, even though neither one of us knew how. (Lexis had brought the game for her and Rome. Bitch.) Between moves, Sherridan threw questions at Lexis and I studied the monitors.