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  Kim pulled a stick of spearmint gum and a roll of mints from her purse. “Here. You still look a little peaked, but it should wear off quickly, especially after the big purge. Sorry. I guess the side effects are different for different people.”

  “You’re looking kinda cozy there, did I interrupt something?” Toni grinned.

  Sophie frowned. “We better get back and Toni, you need to get dressed.”

  “Relax. I’m on it. I’ll hang out here for another minute or so. I don’t want them connecting us, even while I look like Cathy College. I still don’t like that you two are in such close proximity to one another tonight. Don’t forget to avoid the cameras. Sorry, Kim, but we’d better not recycle any of these disguises—both of you really stick out. I know we’re supposed to capitalize on your looks to get close to Byron, but nondescript disguises put us less at risk.”

  “Good point. I personally would rather we use a different tactic in the future than put Kim in danger of being mauled by some disgusting middle aged bank exec,” Sophie added.

  “See you later tonight. Break a leg, Kim. All we need is that picture, then Sophie and I can work our magic.”

  Kim and Sophie exited the bathroom just as Toni’s stomach acted up again.

  “Shit, I am never volunteering to do this again,” Toni grumbled.

  Toni leaned over the sink and tossed cold water on her face. A warm hand touched her back. She looked into the mirror and was surprised to see the stunning redhead.

  “Are you okay? Can I get you anything?” a husky alto voice inquired.

  “Thanks. I’ll be fine, just a touch of food poisoning, I think. I’m heading home right now.”

  “Would you like me to call you a cab?” The woman was looking closely at Toni. She appeared to show genuine concern, but alarm bells were going off in Toni’s head.

  “No, but thank you. I’m good now.”

  Toni rushed out of the bathroom in search of her next disguise, hoping Kim left a toothbrush and toothpaste for her.

  †

  Toni glided into the ballroom and watched as several heads turned in her direction. She was scanning the room hoping to set her sights on the redhead.

  Almost as if she felt her scrutiny, Toni turned her head right and locked eyes with her object of desire for the evening. A practiced glance at the table revealed an open space. The dinner portion of the evening was almost ready to start and she wanted to make sure she was sitting at the same table. Toni made a beeline for the table before her golden opportunity passed her by.

  “Is this seat taken?”

  “It is now. We were wondering who would be brave enough to join our boring little group.”

  Toni noticed the woman openly appraising her dress. Gaydar intact. Yep, she definitely plays for our team. Toni quickly glanced at the other table guests who were all distracted with their own conversations. Several others in the group pinged her gaydar.

  Toni raised one eyebrow. “Boring, huh. Well in that case, I ought to seek out another table. I was hoping this was the one to start the table dancing.”

  “Attorneys never table dance. We buy the table dancers. How much?”

  “How much what?”

  “How much will it take for me to get you to table dance?”

  “A kiss and you have to join me.”

  The woman chuckled and her husky laugh sent shivers down Toni’s spine.

  Damn this woman is sexy, even her laugh causes me to tingle.

  “Touché. You are certainly going to liven up my evening,” the attractive redhead remarked.

  “Camille.” Toni offered her hand. “At your service.”

  The woman extended her hand. “Heather. I’m glad you decided to join us. Can I ask an entirely rude and inappropriate question?”

  “Such a sweet talker. How can I resist such a request?”

  “Why are you here by yourself?”

  “Oh, that’s easy. My date had a sudden onset of food poisoning and she insisted I go.”

  “Hmm, it must be going around, I just met a woman in the bathroom who also mentioned having food poisoning. I hope it didn’t originate in this hotel.”

  “No, definitely not. Probably just a coincidence.” Toni paused. “How come you aren’t here with a date?”

  “I’m married to my work, so I have very little, if any time for a social life. When I’m lucky, like tonight, I snare unsuspecting women into my web.”

  “Promises, promises.”

  “Would you like a glass of wine? White? Red? Take your pick.” Heather pointed to the two bottles of wine on the table.

  “White, please.”

  “At the expense of sounding cliché, what do you do when you’re not attending boring fund-raisers and livening them up with table dances?”

  “Oh, a little of this and a little of that—mostly related to technology.” Toni learned a long time ago that the best cover stories usually have an element of truth to them, so she offered up this partial truth. This woman seemed like a person who could detect a bullshit cover easily.

  After graduating from Stanford with a degree in computer science, Toni had expanded her knowledge base by entering into the fascinating world of biometric security. Learning how to break nearly fail-safe security systems led to her prototype development of a high-resolution camera that would capture near perfect retinal displays—good enough to break any biometric security installed. Her crowning achievement was placing the camera into a paper-thin contact lens.

  “Technology, huh? Sounds riveting.”

  “Are you making fun of me?” Toni asked, smiling flirtatiously.

  “No, never. I am a bit of a geek myself in my limited spare time.”

  Waiters began delivering salads to each table and the women’s conversation subsided momentarily. Toni was well aware of her prior commitment to complete the mission and assist Sophie with the security breach and asset movement, but she couldn’t help inquiring about this beautiful woman’s plans.

  “So, do you have any specific plans for the evening, after this little shindig ends?”

  “I thought maybe I would hit a strip club or two, get a lap dance, and gamble away my entire inheritance. You?”

  Toni burst out laughing. “Oh, I plan to accompany you to those strips clubs, give you that lap dance, and steal several of your thousand-dollar chips while you are distracted and getting drunk on cheap liquor.”

  “Perfect, shall we begin our festivities at ten p.m. on the dot?”

  “I think it might take us a bit longer to get to Vegas, unless we take your private jet. You do have a private jet, don’t you?”

  “Of course, but we’ll have to find a different mode of transportation to get us back to DC, because I plan on putting up my jet as collateral and I am sure to lose that at the roulette tables.”

  “Fine, I’ll call my buddies to spring us from jail and provide first-class transportation back to the land of politics.”

  “Wait, why will we be in jail?”

  “Oh, I plan on counting cards and then telling them that you put me up to it. Then you’ll vigorously deny the accusation. I’ll take that as my sign to throw a punch at the smelly security guard you’re in a nose-to-nose argument with, but the police have already been called and gun beats fists any day of the week,” Toni joked.

  “Will you finally make a pass at me in our cozy jail cell?”

  “I’ve been making passes at you since I sat down at your table,” Toni quipped.

  “You do realize that before the night is through you and I will be in a passionate lip lock.”

  “I’m definitely not opposed to a quick bathroom break.”

  “I thought you would never ask.” Heather smiled.

  “I might as well find out whether you are a good kisser, before we start our wave of crime.”

  “I don’t think you will be disappointed.”

  “No, I don’t expect I will.” Toni stood up and offered her hand to the redhead. “Shall we?”

&n
bsp; Toni glanced at her watch to make sure she had enough time to enjoy her rendezvous in the bathroom. She knew that Kim hadn’t had time to get a picture yet and suspected she would have to join Byron in his hotel suite.

  †

  In an effort to maintain a certain sense of decorum, Toni resisted the urge to race to the bathroom, despite her craving for the beautiful redhead. A quick glance around the restroom confirmed that they were alone. Toni luckily remembered to turn off her comm link—a few minutes of silence wouldn’t be the end of the world.

  Toni tugged the redhead into the handicapped stall and locked the door. “More room,” she offered.

  “I see you’ve done this before.”

  Toni’s eyebrow lifted in mock surprise. “You haven’t.”

  “I didn’t say that. Just making an observation,” Heather responded.

  “While I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all the witty banter—a total aphrodisiac—no offense, but stop talking.”

  Toni pushed the redhead against the bathroom door and crushed her mouth, finally satisfying her need to capture those luscious lips.

  Heather closed her eyes and Toni thought she saw her surrender to the kiss in a way that was more emotional than physical.

  Toni ran her hands up and down the outside of her dress and almost lifted up the dress to access her panties, but for reasons unknown to her she stopped.

  Too bad I had to meet this intriguing woman while on a mission and in disguise.

  Toni couldn’t believe she was about to stop herself from fucking the redhead in the bathroom stall—but something seemed totally wrong about the situation. Heather was way too classy for a cheap one-night stand.

  Toni broke from the kiss, panting, and looked directly into the woman’s eyes. She thought she saw arousal and maybe something else, before the woman pulled back. She recognized the mask of controlled interest. It was a role she played often.

  A look of inquiry replaced the mask. “Why did you pull away? It was just starting to get interesting,” Heather asked.

  Toni offered an uneasy cough. “Um, I wouldn’t want your tablemates to start spreading rumors. We ought to get back to the table and force ourselves to suffer through the remainder of the speeches. I was dying to feel your soft lips and that’s enough for now.”

  “To be continued, then…”

  “Absolutely.” Damn, if only it were that simple. All the subterfuge was killing her chances to develop any kind of real relationship. Toni knew that eventually Kim and Sophie would acknowledge their feelings for one another leaving her the only one to continue to flit from woman to woman.

  I wonder how I might run into her as Toni.

  For some reason she wanted to get to know this woman and playing one of her twenty other aliases was damned inconvenient.

  †

  Toni and Heather sauntered back to their table and received knowing smiles and nods from their tablemates.

  Toni looked at the other tables and noticed that Byron and Kim were no longer at their table. Good, it won’t be much longer now.

  She knew that Byron probably convinced Kim to have a drink in his room, which is exactly what they needed. Toni smiled to herself as she noticed Ted sitting by himself. Nice work, Sophie. It amazed her how Sophie always managed to wriggle free from dull politicians and businessmen.

  Toni turned her head noticing Heather’s sudden intense scrutiny.

  “Have I smudged my lipstick?”

  Heather shook her head. “No. I was just thinking about going to Vegas with you.”

  Toni raised an eyebrow. Something told her that was only a ploy. “I believe you said we’d be meeting for that later tonight at ten.”

  Heather smiled. “That I did,” she said, before picking up her fork and taking a bite of her salad.

  †

  Kim flashed Byron her most charming smile as she entered his suite. “Thank you for inviting me tonight, Byron. I’ve had a lovely evening. If you don’t mind, I really only have enough energy for a quick after dinner drink. It’s been a long, hectic day so I think I’d better retire to my own suite after that.”

  “Of course, my dear. Let me just open up this bottle of pinot that I asked them to send up and we can relax for a few moments.”

  Byron crossed to the bar and opened the wine. Kim had a flash of discomfort when she wasn’t able to see exactly what Byron was doing as his back was turned toward her. The comment Sophie made earlier about hearing things about Byron resonated before she tossed it aside and focused on her mission.

  Byron smiled at Kim as he handed her the wine.

  Kim, sitting on the loveseat, shifted to make room for Byron to sit close to her. Perfect. She turned to face Byron, looked directly into his eyes before touching the button concealed as a sequin on her dress. Pressing it three times, she sighed in relief. Three shots should do it. Now to get out of there.

  Their glasses touched in a toast.

  Byron, with a lust-filled expression, looked directly into her eyes. “To our next Republican President.”

  Kim took a small sip. “It’s a done deal,” she said. She was ready to make her excuse to leave.

  Byron frowned. “Is the wine not to your liking? I can have them send up a different bottle.”

  Kim, not wanting to make her exit too obvious, decided to finish the glass before making a graceful exit. “Oh no, the wine is lovely, but I do really need to leave after I finish this drink.” Kim took a larger sip from the wineglass.

  Byron smiled.

  The faster she finished, the quicker she could join Toni and Sophie. Just as she took another big sip, Sophie’s words came rushing back to her. She began feeling dizzy and noticing Byron’s satisfied smirk, she knew he had spiked her drink. The previous warning settled too late into her consciousness, yet she still had enough wherewithal to let Sophie know the score.

  She touched another button—I’m in trouble—while attempting to clear her head. “I don’t know what is wrong with me,” she slurred. “I suddenly feel dizzy and I know I haven’t had enough alcohol to become impaired.”

  “I simply cannot let you leave when you feel this way,” Byron said, patting her thigh. “Come with me and you can lie down and rest for a bit until you feel better. I will escort you back to your room when you are up to it.”

  With Byron’s hand on her back, Kim managed to stand before he encircled her waist with his arm urging her toward the bedroom.

  Kim knew she was slipping further into the abyss and summoned all her strength to resist. “No. I think I’d better head back to my suite. Please, Byron, take me back,” she pleaded.

  A thud against the outside suite door resounded in the room and Kim saw Byron turning his head in the direction of the noise. God, please let it be them.

  †

  Sophie and Toni burst into the suite.

  Sophie narrowed her gaze at Byron, who was holding Kim upright.

  “What the hell is going on? How did you get into my suite? Security,” Byron screamed.

  Sophie rushed to Kim’s side and pulled her away from the man’s grip. “What the fuck did you give her, you slimy bastard?”

  Byron, caught unaware, readily let go of Kim. “Hey, she’s my date.”

  “Not anymore.” Toni turned to Sophie. “I’ve got her, go ahead, and take care of him.”

  Sophie delivered a quick, well-placed strike to Byron’s carotid artery interrupting his blood supply.

  Byron collapsed onto the floor.

  Sophie followed Toni, leading Kim out of the suite. Kim stumbled and Toni pulled her in a tight hold, half dragging, half lifting her to safety. They only needed to get to the room where they’d stashed the new disguises.

  Just a few more feet. Almost there. Shit. Thank God, Kim is such a little bitty thing, Toni thought.

  While Toni was helping Kim, Sophie methodically pulled Byron’s security team, who littered the floor in the hallway, into the suite. Toni was pleased by her friend’s martial arts expertise. She left
Sophie to finish the job. She was thankful that Byron’s suite was in the section of the hotel where the privacy of the guests was paramount and security cameras were magically absent.

  †

  Toni managed to get Kim to the private suite at the end of the hall where they had stashed the new disguises. She pulled out the key card to enter the room quickly and without notice. Sophie had already ensured there were no security cameras, eliminating prying eyes from the transformation that was about to take place. Toni pulled Kim to a chair to prop her up and get her attention.

  “Kim, honey, look at me and let me see your pupils. Come on, hon, let me see those beautiful orbs.”

  “Mmph, Ton, jus let me sweep, lil nap, pease. Come on, not en of worl’, aft all. Jus a few mins, pease.”

  “Shit. If Sophie doesn’t kill that bastard, I just might. Kim, I know you want to sleep now, but I need you to help me just a little bit.”

  Gently pulling Kim forward, Toni pushed down the zipper at the back of her dress in an attempt to remove her gown. She needed to replace it with the old lady style-pantsuit sitting in a duffel bag next to the king-sized bed.

  “Mmph. No. I don wan’ you to, wan’ Soph. Lub Soph,” Kim slurred.

  “I know, hon, I know. I promise I’m not trying to take advantage of you, but Sophie is kind of busy right now, dragging those bastards’ asses. I promise she will be here soon and then she can take over.”

  “I made mess, drink spiked, shoulda known.”

  Toni sighed in relief as Sophie burst through the door.

  Sophie narrowed her eyes and frowned at Toni.

  Toni threw up her hands in defeat and exasperation. “Hey, don’t you look at me that way, you big Neanderthal. I’m just trying to help Kim into her new disguise. Get your freaking head out of the gutter and get your ass over here to help. Better yet, you get her changed.”