Page 49 of Depths of Desire (The Emerald Dagger Mafia #3)

Sweat trickled along Alexandra Buchanan’s hairline under her wig.

Her heart thudded in her chest. She was minutes from her goal, mere seconds from obtaining her objective.

She had been planning for months. Her fingertips tingled as the seconds ticked by slowly.

She itched under her red velvet Venetian mask. Its feathers tickled her face.

The humid air hung heavy in the grand ballroom. The smell of women’s perfumes and men’s colognes mixed with sweet scent of the dozens of flowers that were on tables stationed around the room. But none of it could mask the funk of body odor or the even stronger stench of money.

The room was filled with the elite of Venice, of Italy and beyond.

Women wore eye-catching costumes. Sequins and jewels glittered in the light from the ornate chandeliers.

Men wearing masks and capes flashed jewels of their own on their fingers and their wrists.

The room was a swirl of color and sound.

Everyone who was anyone was invited to the Santini’s spring ball.

And this year it was a masquerade. She smiled to herself.

She couldn’t have asked for a better cover.

It was as if the stars had aligned perfectly just for her.

She glanced at her watch. Only another twenty seconds, and the song would be over. And then it was time. As always happened at this moment, her senses heightened. She could hear every voice distinctly, see every small movement. Time slowed down to a crawl.

Finally, the orchestra was playing the last few notes of the song. This was it, the moment she lived for, the moment when she either conquered her goal or she failed miserably. Adrenaline roared through her body. Excitement exploded in her chest.

Alex moved across the floor as dancers mingled, looking for their next partner. She had her target in sight. He was passing his partner from the previous song to another man. He turned and smiled at the woman standing next to him. He took his new partner’s hand in his.

She increased her pace slightly so that she was directly beside her target as he swung his other hand around to clasp the woman.

She didn’t look at him as she jostled him slightly.

It was expected in this crowded space. Her fingers deftly performed the task they had done many times before.

Quickly, silently she had her prize. She made her way across the floor, smiling as she went.

She slid her hand into a hidden pocket, depositing her bounty.

This was it—the worst and, yet, the best moment. Would he notice? Would he yell? Would he point her out?

She kept her head up and her steady pace as she broke free of the dancers and started up the stairs to the mezzanine.

Sweat was a fine sheen across her body. She had a fixed smile on her face and nodded to several of the partygoers as she crested the top of the stairs.

Walking across the floor, she made her way toward the restrooms but glanced around quickly.

No one was close. No one was paying attention.

She passed the restrooms and made for the hallway on her left.

She moved down the corridor and made it to the doors that led to the terrace, but she kept walking. The security plan she’d gotten a hold of indicated they were tied to an alarm that would be on tonight. She went a few steps farther.

After making sure the hallway was clear, she did a little dance and slid her crinoline off.

She wouldn’t need it anymore, and it would just be in her way.

She’d bought it from an online shop using a fake account and had it delivered to an office building.

She hadn’t touched it without her gloves so there were no prints, or at least not hers.

Glancing around she spotted a chair a little farther down the hallway. She put the crinoline on the far side of the chair, so it wouldn’t be immediately seen by anyone walking down the hall.

Alex went back to a window at the far end of the balcony and unlocked it.

Lifting it silently, she was once again amazed at how many people didn’t alarm their windows above the ground floor.

Tugging her costume up around the tops of her thighs so she could move her legs freely, she put one foot through the window, ducked under, and brought the rest of her body through onto the balcony.

She lowered the window again from the outside.

“Where the hell did you come from?” a voice demanded from the darkness. She froze. No one should be on the balcony. She had planned this heist meticulously, and nowhere in the Santini security arrangements was there any indication that someone would be on the balcony.

A guest then? As she slowly turned in the direction the voice had come, a man dressed in a tuxedo emerged from the shadows.

Damn. Security. They were wearing tuxes instead of costumes.

But not Santini security. He didn’t have the same type of ill-fitting tux as the Santini security guys.

His fit him like a glove, like he was born to wear it.

Someone else’s security. A private bodyguard.

Great. She’d been fifty-three seconds from freedom, and she runs into James Bond.

Her mind reeled as she tried to figure out a different escape route. The weight of the watch hidden in her skirt was a thousand pounds heavier. Don’t panic. She smiled and moved forward a couple of steps, letting him take a long look at her.

The trick was to keep as much space between them as she could without seeming reluctant. She thanked her lucky stars once again that the party was a masquerade ball. For a thief, it was like hitting the jackpot. An Asset Repossession Specialist Extraordinaire , she mentally corrected herself.

Her duchess costume, which she’d had made especially for this job, not only showed off her assets but had a few hidden surprises.

The security guy’s gaze lingered for a moment on her “girls” as she called them.

Not her norm to display them so blatantly, but she’d wanted to be sure anyone looking at her would be distracted, even the women.

Better to show too much tit than too much of her face.

She took a deep breath. If she was careful, maybe she could still get away unscathed.

After all, the mask she wore covered most of her face except for the lower part of her jaw, and the voluminous brown wig hid the rest of her head.

Her heart rate started to come back down to earth.

She could do this. The fine sheen of sweat had turned into a small river making its way down her back.

“What are you doing here? This area is off limits. No one is supposed to be up here.” He walked closer to her, his stance showing easy confidence.

They were about twelve feet apart, separated by an area bathed in shadow.

The breeze ruffled the feathers of her mask, but it also brought his scent to her.

He smelled of soap and citrus and something wholly male that had her taking notice.

“ You’re here,” she said in her most sultry voice.

She prayed he wouldn’t come any closer. He was bigger than most men, much bigger than her diminutive 5’5”.

At least six feet, she figured, which wasn’t necessarily a problem, but his shoulders were wide.

Why couldn’t he have been one of the doughy types she had seen earlier?

The guys who’d gone to seed years ago. She could have handled one of those guys no problem.

Years of kick boxing, Tae Kwon Do, Krav Maga, and general self-defense training meant she could have rendered one of them unconscious soundlessly.

But she had to get the keener who looked to be in fabulous shape.

All narrow hips, broad shoulders, and solid muscle.

One of the major lessons she had learned was how to assess her opponent, and this one would be tough.

Her stomach roiled. A fight with this guy would be loud and painful. Fighting was off the table.

She smiled as she studied him. His hair was a light brown with blond highlights. He wasn’t wearing a mask, but it was hard to determine his eye color. There was no mistaking his square jaw though, especially since it appeared to be clenched. He was also drop-dead gorgeous and sexy as hell.

His eyes narrowed and focused on her after casing the rest of the balcony. “Who are you?”

She ignored the question. So, throwing him over the balcony was not going to work. Physically impossible, and besides, she wanted to avoid a scene. The water in the canals would catch his fall, yes, but everyone would rush to see as soon as they heard the splash.

“Who are you?” he repeated as he stepped closer. The Venice breeze ruffled a lock of his hair so that it fell over his forehead.

She gave a girlish giggle while mentally rolling her eyes. Men loved that crap. “Well, doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of a masquerade ball? I can’t tell you who I am. It would ruin the mystery.”

“Then why don’t you tell me how you got onto this balcony? Like I said, no one is supposed to be out here.”

She pouted. “Well, you’re here.” Then she closed the gap between them with a sexy stroll.

She smiled up at him while caressing the pleats of his tux shirt with her gloved fingers.

She needed him to stop asking questions.

“All by yourself, I might add.” Yes, all muscle.

She could feel it through his shirt. Warmth spread through her insides as she peered up into his startlingly gray eyes.

She had never seen eyes that gray before. They were like polished steel.

If circumstances were different...she still wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole. She’d been down that road before. If she’d learned nothing else in life, it was that the best-looking men were the ones that couldn’t be trusted. Not ever. Not even if they were family.

He grabbed her fingers and held them fast. It sent an electric charge skittering up her arm. Startled, she tried to pull her hand back, but he held on. Her plan wasn’t working. He was the one who was supposed to be distracted, not her.

“You need to leave. Now.” There was no sign that he was remotely affected by her presence, unlike her who was totally suffering from their closeness.

Her pulse skyrocketed. She was surprised he couldn’t see it with her chest on display.

Maybe he could. Sweat was now running down her legs as well as her back.

This man was sexy as hell, but he was like kryptonite. She needed a new plan and fast.

“Uh...”

“Go for Callahan,” the man said as he pressed his earpiece. He dropped her hand. Then, turning around, he walked over to the railing and looked down.

Recognizing her chance, she quickly and silently moved the fifty feet to the other end of the balcony.

She took off her shoes and stuffed them into the hidden pockets of her dress.

Then she hoisted herself onto the railing.

With a quick glance back, she saw the man was still on the other side of the balcony looking down.

She quickly stepped onto the small decorative ledge running along the front of the building and, hugging the wall, slid her way carefully to the corner.

She reached up and grabbed the edge of the roof and swung herself around the corner.

Regaining her balance, she took a second to breathe and rest her cheek against the building.

She took one hand off the wall slowly and wiped it on her dress.

Then did the same with the other. After she lifted her cheek, she carefully removed her mask and pushed it into the pocket next to her shoes. She put her hand back on the wall.

She loved Venice. The buildings were so close together here, and in her line of work, that was a big plus.