“His full name is Cody Hurley and he’s a detective. He doesn’t normally do undercover work, but the job at Teaser’s was part of his cover for…something. I don’t know what. I just know it’s over now and he’s back at work. He and another detective—who I trust—know about what’s going on and what we’re planning. As soon as Ellie makes the drop to Murrell, he’s going to have the SWAT team on standby indefinitely. They want to bring down De Luca in the worst way and with Murrell’s link to him, they’re foaming at the mouth for the chance. Unfortunately they think De Luca might have a contact in the department. No one high level, but with enough knowledge that De Luca’s avoided prosecution too many times. It’s the only reason Hurley is sitting on this. It’s also why I’m having the police alert turned off. Hurley will be contacted directly by one of us in this room when everything goes down.” He looked around at all of them. “After Murrell and his team leave with the jewels, the plan is for SWAT to infiltrate the meet for the Dragon Collection.”
“Are we putting a tracker on the fakes?” Jay asked.
Wyatt shook his head. “No. I don’t know how they know, but apparently Hurley says they’ll make it to the meet place even if they lose Kevin and his crew. If I had to guess, I’d say he has a CI or something working for him, but frankly, I don’t care. Even if the worst case scenario happens and Murrell gets away with the jewels, they’re fake. De Luca will probably kill him for that alone. Which gets rid of Ellie’s problem.”
Jay nodded slowly, absorbing everything. It made sense that Hurley had a CI—a confidential informant—or he might even have an actual inside man. If the plan didn’t work and Murrell realized that the jewels were a fake before meeting with De Luca then Murrell would know or at least suspect that Ellie had set him up. If that happened, Jay would deal with the problem then. “Do the police know everything we know? Everything V has done to get information on Murrell and Bejar?” Even though he thought he knew the answer, Jay asked anyway.
Iris snorted at the same time Wyatt shook his head. “They know what they need to know. At this point Hurley knows that we have a credible threat against the Dragon Collection. I told him it’s a tip we received from a concerned citizen in exchange for compensation. If all goes well he’s going to get credit for bringing down De Luca and the SWAT team will publicly get the accolades they deserve. It’s a win-win for them. If Hurley knows more, he’d have to disclose it.”
So he wasn’t asking questions. Jay liked that. “All this sounds good. Ellie still needs to set up the drop-off location for tomorrow and we’ll need to go over the location and pinpoint exactly where everyone will be, but we can do that in the morning. I need to relieve the twins anyway because I want them with us tomorrow. Should I send them down here?” he asked Iris.
She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll brief them on everything.”
“Take this with you if you have a chance for some light reading.” V handed him a binder with information on Murrell and Bejar, no doubt.
At this point Jay didn’t care, but he took it. He would read it in the morning because something told him he wouldn’t have a chance to tonight. He just wanted to get to Ellie. Especially if she planned to wear what she’d promised. Shoving that thought aside for now, he spoke to his brother for a few minutes in private before heading upstairs. He texted Ellie to let her know he was on his way up and she told him to meet her on the balcony. It was private and they were so high up that it would be damn near impossible for anyone to get to her, but still, he didn’t like her outside. He didn’t like anything about this entire damn situation.
Even though he told himself to hold off reading the file, he flipped it open as the elevator ascended. As he scanned the basics on Murrell, he could feel his anger ratcheting up so he snapped it shut when the doors whooshed open on their floor.
After stepping out he immediately spotted the twins and two other members of his team waiting outside the suite door. Good, they were ready for a shift change which meant he didn’t have to call them in as replacements. This was why he was selective about his hires. He needed people who knew what needed to be done and did it without being told. Jay nodded at everyone. “Roman, Logan, head down to the security floor. Iris needs to go over some stuff with you. And get some sleep tonight. We need you alert tomorrow.”
He knew they must have questions, but professionals that they were, they just nodded and headed for the elevators without even a crack about him being a squid. After he talked with the other team members for a few seconds, he headed inside.
Soft music filtered in from somewhere and there were flameless battery-operated candles everywhere. Some he recognized from their home and wondered how the hell she’d gotten them here. Since she’d said she was on the balcony, he dropped the file on the nearest couch and made his way to the open French doors. The sheer white curtains billowed softly, flapping open to reveal even more flameless candles on one of the decorative mosaic tables outside.
As he stepped outside, he froze. Ellie was stretched out on one of the cushioned lounge chairs, wearing exactly what she’d said she would. With just a jacket and that skirt he loved to hike up to her hips, she was his walking wet dream. The jacket was unbuttoned but still covered her breasts, only giving him a flash of skin. She was also wearing wire-rimmed glasses he knew she didn’t need and had piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun.
Smiling seductively, she pushed up from the seat, her four inch heels clicking against the stone. “Can I help you check out a book?” she asked, her voice pure sex and sin as she took on the naughty librarian role.
Jay’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth as he tried to formulate an answer, but his mind went completely blank at the erotic sight.
Chapter 14
Ellie couldn’t remember ever being so nervous around Jay. Their first time together had been intense and hot and not much had changed since then. But they’d never done any sort of role playing or dressing up. She wasn’t sure if this counted, but when he’d mentioned envisioning her as a naughty librarian she’d decided to go all out. Thankfully Sierra had been able to snag some costume glasses for her from one of the casino shows.
If the hungry expression on Jay’s face was any indication, Ellie’s look was perfect. He seemed almost frozen to the spot. His tie was loosened sexily around his neck, his top button opened and his jacket was perfectly rumpled.
It was a little chilly so high up, but she didn’t care. Striding up to him, she watched as he visibly swallowed, his heated gaze raking over her from head to toe. When he landed on the bare expanse of her stomach and in between her covered breasts, that gaze went molten. As soon as she was within touching distance, he reached for her but she swatted his hands away.
“No touching until I say.”
He blinked and she could see that dominant streak of his flare to life. She ignored it. Tonight she just wanted to take care of him. He was always so giving in and out of
the bedroom and after the way he’d stepped up to protect her, not caring about the danger he was putting himself in, she wanted to show him how much he meant to her. Words would only get her so far. Actions were better. At least he listened and kept his hands at his sides.
With her heels, she had more of a height advantage than usual. Reaching up, she slid her fingers under the shoulders of his jacket and pulled it off.
“What are you doing?” Jay murmured.
As if he didn’t know. “Exactly what I want and what you need,” she said as she tossed the jacket onto the nearest chair. Next she worked his tie off, then his button down shirt until all that expanse of gorgeous, taut muscular skin was bared to her. Her mouth practically watered as she drank him in.
When he reached for her again, once more she swatted at his hands. He blinked in surprise, making her grin.
“I told you no touching. Now lay back there.” She pointed to the lounge chair she’d been on when he arrived.
The tendons in his arms tightened and flexed and she knew he was fighting that dominant urge he always displayed in the bedroom. She loved everything about his need to possess her between the sheets—or on the floor and in the shower—but she wanted to show him how much she cared for him. Something told her he wouldn’t let her do this long so she was taking advantage of his compliance.
When he sat on the edge of the lounge chair, she pointed. “Back farther. Stretch out.”
“You’re very demanding tonight.” His tone was a mix of heat and a little confusion.
He rarely let her take charge in the bedroom and that worked wonderfully for their relationship, but this role reversal was fun. She knew he wasn’t completely comfortable giving up control, so she hoped he trusted her enough to give him what he needed. Thankfully he did what she said and stretched out so that he was reclining.
Slowly she approached him, loving the hunger in his eyes, loving that it was all for her. First she took off her glasses, grinning when he swallowed audibly. Then she reached around her back and slowly tugged down the zipper of her skirt. His eyes went molten as he watched her. Moving intentionally slow, she pushed the skirt over her hips, letting it pool around her feet soundlessly. Tracking every movement, he made a strangled sound when she was bared to him.