Page 50 of Taken With Trouble

I spew brown liquid all over his stupid couch. “None. I have no skills.”

“I knew you were going to be dead weight. Do you think you can follow my lead?”

I clench my jaw. Can and want are two different things. “Why must we dance?”

“It will look suspicious if we don’t. We need a cover, a real reason for being there, and I’ll need to get a look at all the guests.”

“I still don’t see why we need to dance.”

“Maybe I want to.” His eyes fall to mine, something warm and heady growing in their blue depths. “Maybe I want to dance with the most beautiful woman there and don’t want anyone to be able to steal her away.”

My breath catches in my throat. My head knows he’s playing me, but my heart is dreaming about what it would be like to be wrapped up in Liam’s arms. “We can dance. But not all night. Only long enough to assess the risks from all possible angles.” That’s a believable excuse, right?

“As you wish,” he says. “I want to get the Winthrops alone when we do the handoff, so I’ve arranged for the security system to go down at exactly nine-twenty-seven. If it’s a trap, we’ll be able to get out before they take us.”

“And then what? The Winthrops pull your grandfather out from behind the curtains?” I don’t know much about the Winthrops. According to S-A-C Ford, they tend to stick their noses—and their money—where it doesn’t belong, butthis doesn’t make sense. Why force him to bring the box and ring to the gala with tons of people there? A high-power couple like that would perform their nefarious schemes in private.

“I don’t believe it’s the Winthrops, but rather someone working for them who knows about the treasure.”

That would make more sense. An underpaid security guard looking for an easy cash-in.

“I don’t know where they’re keeping my grandfather,” Liam continues, “but it must be near the house. I won’t make the trade until he’s in my sight.”

“Oursights,” I correct.

He pauses, his eyes trained on me, but I avert my gaze.

He continues. “We need to leave the box in place at 9:30, which means someone will most likely be waiting near the staircase to snatch it or me. Which is why I’ll make the lights go out the second we drop it off. We’ll be able to slip back onto the dancefloor and watch who takes it. Then we’ll follow him.”

I nod, working through it in my head. The stairwell is only ten feet from the dancefloor it will be easy to slide in an out of the dance while the lights are off and make the drop.

“I looked at the plans,” I say. “Security is going to be tight going in and out. What if there’s a problem? How will we get out with your grandfather without being detected?”

“This is the part you’re not going to like.”

“You think there’s a part of this Idolike?”

“How do you feel about cliff jumping?”

I fight the excitement flooding my veins. “I prefer that to dresses.”

He smiles. “You’re full of surprises, Agent Cruz.”

He doesn’t know the half of it.

“So, we jump off the cliff into the sea, and what? Swim to Paris?” I look at him.

“Of course not. I have a yacht. Someone is moving it in place as we speak. The palace is near Dover. We’ll jump onto the yacht then take a little night cruise up to Norwich.”

Of course he has a yacht. I try not to think of the last part of his plan. A nighttime cruise sounds incredibly romantic, but I won’t be taking it with him. I can’t.

“Do you really think your grandfather will be cliff jumping? He’s pretty old.”

“Of course not. That’s Plan B, remember? Plan A is to simply get in the car waiting to take us and him somewhere safe.”

My chest deflates a little. I was excited to jump off a cliff.

Seems he’s thought of everything. Everything except…