* * * *
Needing to do somethi
ng before he chased her down in the bathroom and begged her to reconsider today, Taz snagged Bianca's coffee mug, took one drink and poured the rest down the sink. No one should drink something that tasted as bad as he felt.
"What in the hell happened last night?" Keir asked, oblivious to the fact that one of Bianca's long-lost friends was standing in the kitchen with them not even bothering to pretend not to listen in.
Even if he was the type of guy to get all touchy-feely and talk about his emotions—damn, the word made him gag almost as hard as Bianca's mostly sugar coffee—he wasn't about to do it in front of Vivi. "This isn't the place."
Keir shrugged and grabbed a mug from the cabinet before pouring himself half a cup of coffee and filling up the rest with milk he'd grabbed from the fridge. "Freddie would like her."
"What makes you say that?" He regretted the question as soon as it was out of his mouth. Really, he should consider investing in mouth staples.
Follow-up questions were his brother's best weapon for finding vulnerabilities. All he could do was blame the fact that his brain had moved out and not left a forwarding address the first time he'd laid eyes on Bianca.
Keir handed the mug over to Vivi without a word and she accepted without a thanks, her attention too focused on Taz. Her curiosity about how he'd handle whatever his brother was about to say next was written in all caps over her face.
"Just the obvious. He always enjoyed a hot chick." Keir grinned, no doubt enjoying the way the knife blade slid in smooth between Taz's ribs. "Not to mention anyone who can make you pull your own head out of your ass and make you remember the kind of men we were raised to be as opposed to the kind you've turned into would have made Freddie's day."
Yep. He'd hit an artery with that one. "Shut it, Keir."
A curious smile curled Vivi's cherry red lips. "Sounds like there's a story here."
He sent Keir a scathing look before his brother could open his mouth. "No story."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bathroom doorknob turn. Shutting down this conversation before Bianca emerged became priority number one. The door swung open.
"I mean it," he said, blood rushing in his ears. "No story."
"Whatever you say, brother." Keir shrugged and poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Are you two always like this?" Bianca asked as she strutted out of the bathroom in head-to-toe black, from her ebony heels to her inky leather pants to the coal-colored V-neck shirt that clung to her curves. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail that only highlighted her cheekbones and the lush fullness of her bold hot pink lips.
"Most people find me totally adorable. I don't know what his problem is," Keir said.
Vivi rolled her eyes. "The only thing adorable about you is the panda tattoo on your ass."
That shut his brother up and even put a red stain on his cheeks. Now, that was interesting.
"You brought the devices you need us to plant?" Bianca asked as she settled down on the barstool farthest away from where he stood.
She didn't glance his way, but still he felt her attention on him like an invisible rope binding them together.
"That and the plans for the house." Vivi nodded, her whole demeanor changing as Bianca's relaxed, smart-mouth friend was gone and iron spine Agent Yang had taken over. "You confirmed the meeting for this morning?"
Taz nodded. "We need to leave in thirty minutes.”
"Perfect." She set down a handful of what looked like clear marbles filled with a bundle of thin wires. "These are the listening devices. I need one of these in each room you can get into. The clear design helps them melt into whatever the room's design. They're motion activated and will pick up even quiet conversations in a midsized room. Anything bigger, you make sure to leave two of these suckers." She took out a small diamond broach. "This is for you. It's got a camera embedded in it." She handed a pair of glasses to Taz. "Same goes for these. You don't have to worry about turning the cameras on. We'll do it remotely."
"We?" Taz asked.
Vivi jerked her chin toward Keir. "Mr. Panda Tattoo and I."
"No DEA team?" Bianca asked.
Now it was Vivi's turn to have a little color creep up to her cheeks. "Because we'll be watching and listening along with you while you're inside, we'll be able to have someone on site in ten minutes if things go wrong, but this isn't exactly a sanctioned op."
Every nerve in his body went on full alert, sending out warning signals loud enough to be heard across town. "Why not?"