Page 33 of A Touch of Treachery (Section 47 #3)
DESMOND
C harlotte and I went back into the hotel, got into an elevator, and rode up to the eighth floor, one level down from Henrika’s penthouse.
We stopped in front of a door with a brass nameplate that read Honeymoon Suite .
Charlotte studied the electronic lock, then peered at the wooden door.
Her eyes glittered with magic, as did her aura.
After a few seconds, she shook her head, indicating that no one had tampered with the lock and was waiting inside to surprise us.
I held up a finger, silently asking Charlotte to wait, then swiped my keycard across the reader and went in first. Bryce loved ambushing people just when they thought they were safe, and I wanted to make sure he hadn’t set up any nasty surprises in our suite.
A short corridor opened into an area with a large kitchen and an even larger living room.
The back wall was made of glass and offered a sweeping view of the resort grounds, and a door led out to a stone balcony with a table for two.
Off to the right, an open door led to a master bedroom with an attached bathroom.
No trip wires were strung across the floor, and I didn’t spot any other booby traps, either with my eyes or with my galvanism. “Clear.”
Charlotte stepped into the suite and closed and locked the door. She came into the living room and glanced around, her lips curling back with disgust. “It looks like a bridal suite. Henrika is really playing up the honeymoon angle.”
All the chair and couch cushions were white and accented with red heart-shaped throw pillows.
A bottle of champagne was chilling in a silver bucket filled with ice on the white marble kitchen island, next to a white wicker gift basket full of chocolates.
Red rose petals had been scattered over the floor leading into the bedroom, and more rose petals were strewn across the bed, looking like blood drops staining the white comforter.
“Henrika probably thinks she’s being clever,” I said.
Charlotte shook her head. “Henrika is clever—clever enough to get us here and tie our hands, waiting to see what she does next.”
“Then let’s untie them.”
Charlotte nodded, and we went into the bedroom. Our luggage was sitting on a bench at the foot of the bed, and we unzipped our bags.
All the guns and knives were still hidden in my suitcase’s secret compartment.
My comms-filled watches, cufflinks, and tie pins were still in their velvet boxes, along with the innocuous-looking toiletry gadgets Joan had packed from the Section armory.
Nothing was missing, but the clothes and other items were slightly jumbled, indicating that someone had pawed through the suitcase.
Charlotte let out an annoyed huff. She tilted her head, and I followed her into the living room. Charlotte opened the glass door, and we stepped outside onto the balcony. I shut the door behind us.
“Someone went through my luggage,” I said. “Probably Bryce, seeing what Section toys we brought. He would recognize most of the items from his own time as a cleaner. But he didn’t take or tamper with anything, and I didn’t sense any cameras or listening devices in the suite with my galvanism.”
Charlotte nodded. “They went through my things too, but they didn’t plant any bugs. And everything in the suite is perfectly normal. Just cheesy and cliché.”
“You sound worried about that.”
“I am. If Bryce and his men had planted bugs, we could disable them, but Henrika doesn’t seem to care about spying on us.” She chewed on her lower lip. “I’m worried Henrika has something much worse in mind.”
“Me too,” I muttered. “And that’s not our only problem.”
I told Charlotte what Joan had said about our comms getting fried the moment we’d stepped into Henrika’s library. “Joan can keep an eye on us whenever we’re in the public areas, but she won’t be able to see or hear any of our meetings with Henrika behind closed doors.”
Charlotte nodded. “I expected as much, but someone might be able to help Joan with her surveillance.” She paused. “Gabriel’s here.”
“What? How did he get here? I thought the charity event was invitation only.” My eyes narrowed. “Did Nemesis send him? Like she did at Tannenbaum Castle?”
Charlotte shook her head. “No. Gabriel says he hasn’t heard from Nemesis since Christmas, and I believe him.
” A reluctant grin spread across her face.
“Apparently, Gabriel wrangled an invitation from one of his clients, and he’s been tipping every worker to overlook the fact that his name isn’t on the guest list.”
I might not have known Gabriel Chase very long, but Charlotte’s friendship meant a great deal to him. Gabriel’s deep regard and concern for Charlotte was something I admired about him. The cocky, arrogant attitude not so much, especially since it was so similar to my own cleaner persona.
“Gabriel is going to nose around and see if he can figure out where Henrika might be storing the Redburn formula,” Charlotte said. “With his phasing ability, Gabriel can access a lot of places we can’t, especially since we have to attend Henrika’s party.”
My phone chirped, and I pulled it out and read the message. Update. Now.
“Something wrong?” Charlotte asked.
“The General wants an update.”
She huffed. “Update? Please. He wants to know if you’ve found anything we can use as leverage against Henrika so he can send in the strike teams to take her down.”
“Not exactly,” I muttered.
Charlotte frowned at the sour note in my voice. I hesitated, but Charlotte was risking her life on this mission, and she deserved to know what my father really wanted. Even more than that, I wanted to tell her the truth, no matter how ugly it was.
“Before we left headquarters, the General called me into his office. A source sent him a photo confirming Henrika is storing Redburn at the resort, although the source doesn’t know the location of her lab.” I paused. “The General also gave me some secondary orders.”
Charlotte’s eyebrows shot up. “What kind of secondary orders?”
“Find and recover as many samples of Redburn as possible, then destroy the others.” I drew in a breath and let it out, along with the rest of my confession. “And kill Henrika as soon as possible.”
She blinked a few times, but her surprise quickly faded away. “What about the UC list?”
“The General thinks losing a few undercover agents is an acceptable trade for getting a sample of Redburn and eliminating Henrika.”
My voice was calm, but anger churned in my gut at my father for being such a power-hungry bastard and doing nothing to stop Henrika before now.
But that emotion was quickly drowned out by the soul-crushing guilt I still felt over Graham’s death and that I hadn’t already found a way to avenge him and kill Henrika.
A sharp sense of duty to protect the UC agents also throbbed in my side, like a dull knife slowly grinding deeper and deeper into my ribs.
Charlotte laid a hand on my arm. “Hey, it’s okay. I wouldn’t blame you if you did exactly as General Percy ordered and took out Henrika as soon as possible. I know how badly she hurt you and Graham.”
Charlotte had witnessed more than a few of my recurring nightmares about the Blacksea mission. I’d woken up sweating and screaming in bed next to her more times than I cared to remember, although Charlotte always soothed me back to sleep, something I appreciated more than she knew.
I shook my head. “But if I take out Henrika, you won’t get any answers about your father’s death. I would never take that chance away from you.”
“I know, but Henrika might not give you—or me—a choice,” Charlotte replied. “If she threatens us, we might have to kill her just to survive.”
A thoughtful look filled her face. “Besides, Henrika says she knows something about my father’s death, but there’s no telling how valuable her information is. She might think she knows more than she actually does.”
“And recovering the Redburn formula?” I asked in a low voice. “We both know the General will add it to his own arsenal of weapons, and he won’t hesitate to unleash it on his enemies.”
Charlotte nodded. “That’s exactly what General Percy will do, so you need to decide what you will do, Desmond.
And what you can live with when it comes to your father, his orders, and how many undercover agents and other people might get hurt because of them.
” Her hand tightened on my arm, even as her face and aura softened with sympathy.
“But no matter what happens, on this mission or any other, I’ll always be right here, Dundee. Just you and me now, remember?”
My heart squeezed at her echoing my words from when we’d arrived at the resort. I stepped forward, leaned down, and rested my forehead against hers. “And I’m so glad you’re here with me, Numbers.”
Charlotte stroked her hand down my chest, and the heat of her fingers soaked through my vest and shirt. My breath and my body quickened at her touch, the way they always did, but for the first time, I realized just how snugly she held my heart in the palm of her hand.
Somehow, without my even realizing it, I had fallen hard and fast for Charlotte Locke.
In that moment, I reaffirmed my primary mission, one I set above all others. No matter what happened this weekend, whom I had to piss off or whom I had to kill, I would keep Charlotte safe from Henrika, Bryce, the other paramortal criminals, and, most of all, my father.
T he cold chased us inside, and Charlotte and I got ready for Casino Night.
I donned a classic black tuxedo Joan had picked out, although I opted for a vest instead of the traditional cummerbund.
I tucked a gun in the small of my back, strapped a knife to my left forearm, and slid my feet into shiny black wing tips with reinforced steel toes and heels that would let me break ankles and crush bones.