Part 16 (1/2)
Marlena unzipped her leather jacket and sat back down on the love seat. ”Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why make me drive around there-to admire your workplace? That's what that was all about, wasn't it? You were showing me your access, your power.” Her voice had turned into a croon. Steve watched, fascinated, as she transformed from furious woman to languid female in two seconds. Her smile was dazzling, inviting. She played with her front zipper with lazy fingers, eyes half closed. ”That laptop is worth a lot of money.”
”Yes,” Cunningham agreed.
”And do you have it here with you?”
”I thought you didn't want to do business with me. An amateur.” It was the older man's turn to mock.
Marlena pouted. ”I thought you were trying to use me to get at du Scheum. You still are, but let's hear what you have in mind.”
”Even at the expense of one of your men's lives?”
Steve tried to ignore the jealousy burning his insides. Marlena and du Scheum an item? That explained their familiarity with each other the other night. His eyes were drawn to the bed. No. He wouldn't think about that right now. But he wasn't going to let her use and discard him. Soon she would know that he was more than a lackey. The razor blade between his fingers gnawed slowly at the rope.
”Well, I prefer not think in terms like that,” Marlena told Cunningham. ”Lives are expensive. And getting rid of them can mess things up. You have been so careful thus far-why the need to get rid of lives at all, especially du Scheum?”
”If I don't, he'll know who stole the laptop, and I can't have that, can I? You see, when I took it, I didn't know that du Scheum gave parties to facilitate business deals like these. Oh, I knew he had influence, but I thought he just had political pull.”
”Instead you discovered Pierre and I were good friends,” Marlena guessed.
Cunningham nodded, finis.h.i.+ng his drink. ”A complication, especially when he knows all the deals out there. So of course once the laptop becomes the object to bid, he would be informed, since part of Project X-S-BOT involved du Scheum's own company.”
”Let me guess, you hired that man to kill du Scheum the other night,” she said dryly.
”Except for Mr. McMillan's interference, I would have suc-succeeded! Then you would have the item out for sale and negotiation, without any suspicion falling on me.” Cunningham used his empty gla.s.s to point at Steve. ”He had to get in the way. He was responsible for making your ident.i.ty known, too.”
Marlena sighed. ”I didn't antic.i.p.ate knocking off all my current men. My price just went up. They're both important to me.” Her smile at Steve was full of mockery.
”I'm flattered,” Steve murmured, planning revenge. The bonds tying his hands were already loose. He understood that Marlena was giving him the time he needed by keeping Cunningham talking. After all, he had firsthand knowledge of how crafty she could be, and how aware of unseen things around her. No doubt she already antic.i.p.ated that Tess would make a move soon. He kept an eye on the other two men. There was something expectant in their stance, as if they were listening for something.
”Tsk. Lovers can be replaced,” Cunningham suggested silkily.
Marlena c.o.c.ked her head. ”Do you think I will off these two just like that, for you? And how do you propose to do this, since you already appear to have a plan in mind?”
”It's simple really. When du Scheum returns, you can surprise him. He won't be expecting you in his bedroom.” Cunningham looked at his surroundings, then shrugged. ”We'll make it look like he surprised sailor boy, who of course will get blamed for his untimely death. He'll be our sc-scapegoat, and no one will question much since he was there when du Scheum was shot, too. They will think he botched that one chance.”
”Don't you think the authorities would be suspicious and investigate further?”
”You don't have to worry your pretty little head about the investigation. Du Scheum has many enemies, and I've ensured that if they look deeper into McMillan's past, they will find enough things to make him look bad.”
Ah, that explained the overseas account, Marlena thought. She would bet money on it that Stash had no idea about what Cunningham was talking. ”What about his bodyguards?”
”My men will take care of them, but I only trust you with du Scheum. You can prove to me once and for all that you are what you say you are, if not exactly who.” Cunningham's voice had a darker edge. ”Take care of both of them, and the laptop will be out in public without any questions. What do you say, Marlena? You and I can make a good team.”
This was it. Steve felt the tension gathering thicker. He watched as Marlena approached him, her blue eyes searching his, making sure he was ready. He willed himself to silently let her know that he was. She clasped her hands behind her back, like someone contemplating a decision. She came closer and slowly lifted a hand to touch him. She reached up and flicked a finger at the little pearl dangling from his ear.
She c.o.c.ked a brow at it, and her smile turned positively evil. He didn't dare respond in kind. Tess's handiwork-a little pearl earring with a microbug in it. Ostentatious enough to catch Marlena's attention. Pearls, he was beginning to guess, were his mermaid's secret pa.s.sion. GEM. Pearls. The rings on Tess's fingers. Hmm.
Clasping her hands behind her back again, she pivoted around to face Cunningham, who was watching them carefully. ”Do I have a choice? You hold all the cards,” she said softly. ”But where is this laptop? How do I know you won't renege?”
Cunningham pulled out a laptop from a briefcase. Steve recognized it immediately as a similar brand to the one in Marlena's possession when he searched her belongings.
The older man's smile was triumphant, with a touch of cunning in it. Clicking the laptop open, he turned it on. ”Come and see.”
It took a few minutes for the program to run its course. Steve wished he could just walk over there, too, like Marlena. There was a look of concentration on her face as she stood there looking at the screen, her arms folded across her chest.
Something else caught his eye. The man guarding Cunningham wasn't looking at either his boss or Marlena. He kept looking at the entrance to the room every few minutes. It made Steve uneasy. He also realized that the bigger man who was supposed to be behind him was no longer there. He was standing closer to Marlena than to him. Granted, he was supposed to be tied, but still, shouldn't he be guarded?
Steve's instincts kicked in again as he brought back his hostage-taking training. It was a trick he had learned from his cousin-he blurred his mind, putting aside what was obvious. There was always a hostage decoy. He wasn't the target here.
Marlena didn't seem aware of anything wrong as she leaned down and tapped a few keyboard keys. ”Encrypted,” she murmured. ”It could be junk.”
”This is from the lab in Nevada. And I have the du Scheum files available. We can sell this piece by piece. More negotiation power that way.” Cunningham wasn't looking at the screen but at Marlena's b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She was too busy reading to notice. Steve wanted to sucker punch the man as he watched him lick his lips.
”Parts of this are encrypted,” Marlena said. ”I suppose that's their problem, not ours.”
”I have the codes for the du Scheum files but not for the Nevada files. But I know where they are.” There was a pause. ”Downstairs, in du Scheum's safe.”
Marlena swept a sideways glance at Cunningham, then straightened. She patted her hair back into place. ”Well, well, my darling Pierre is keeping something from me,” she murmured. ”You know, William, I might like you after all. Pretty devious. Get rid of Stash and Pierre and you think I know where that safe is, hmm?”
”Not think. I know you know.” Cunningham's voice hardened again. ”And you'll tell me where it is first, or we torture your boy here finger by finger, limb by limb before we kill him. You f-forget, I've seen you with him. You harbor a certain f-fondness for him, shall we say? Although I must admit it really disappointed me.”
Cunningham stood up and looked at the big man who had been guarding Steve, who was now standing closer to Marlena. Steve thought he saw a tinge of surprise in Cunningham's gaze.
”Time, isn't it, Dankin?” Cunningham addressed the bodyguard. He frowned, looking momentarily puzzled, as if things weren't quite going the way he wanted. He jerked his head toward Steve, trying to get his meaning across.
However, Dankin stepped toward Marlena instead, one hand reaching out for her neck.
”Now,” Steve barked out, hoping Tess was where she was supposed to be. He shook the loosened bonds free and lunged, determined to push Marlena out of harm's way.
All at once the room plunged into darkness. Someone had killed the master switch.
Chapter Fourteen.
T he bedroom door smashed open. Shouts. Popping sounds. The fireflash of a weapon being discharged. A flashlight interrupted the darkness, zigzagging its way around the room.
Steve ignored them all. Right now he was after a big bruiser named Dankin, who had gone after Marlena's throat. He had kept his eyes on him, knowing that when the switch was thrown, it would be impossible for a few seconds to locate anyone or anything.
The last thing he saw was Marlena bending over to pick up the laptop at his sudden command, as if she had been waiting for his move. He wasn't sure whether she saw who was coming after her.
Dankin had her by the arm. The beam from the flashlight settled on the blade in his hand. The man had switched to a knife in the dark, a good weapon to make sure he got his target where he wanted. And he was heading for her throat.
Fury like nothing he'd ever felt before imploded inside Steve, lending him the extra speed to block the descending hand. This big bodyguard was faster than he had thought. Faster, and very capable with the knife.
Marlena had somehow freed herself. Through the din in the room, Steve heard her calling.
”Stash, watch out, he has a knife.”