Conning For Keeps (An Agents of TRAIT Novella) (Entangled Flaunt) (11 page)

Minutes. She only had minutes.

She was so screwed.

Chapter Nine

P
ut a Ring on It

T
he music started, and Trevor’s nerves finally settled. Very, very soon, he’d have Marissa’s hands in his, and he could tell her. Maybe not everything, but at least he could tell her they needed to go. Details could come later. All he knew for sure was Leo Canalis was not taking someone else from him.

Bride after bride came down the aisle to join with their grooms. Marissa’s “friendship” with Evangeline had earned them the position nearest their hosts, which meant he was left waiting nearly as long as Franco himself. Finally, it was their turn, and Trevor stepped to the front of the aisle, turning toward the doors.

His breath caught. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but Princess Marissa hadn’t been it. The gown hugged her body, showing the slightest swell of her breasts. Then, it tapered in to her slender waist before the skirt flared out to hit the floor. She glowed, and Trevor had to swallow hard before he could remind his feet to move and meet her in the middle of the aisle. Breathing more or less properly, he led her to their designated spot.

With everyone’s attention turning to Frankie and Evangeline, now was the perfect opportunity to clue her in. He squeezed her fingers until she twisted her head slightly his way. “As soon as the ceremony’s over—”

Her smile went tight, forced. “It’s under control.”

Damn her and her stubbornness. He kept his voice low, but already one of the guests was glaring at them. “You don’t understand.”

“Not. Now.” She said through teeth clenched into a too-tight smile. Her entire face was stiff, like she didn’t know how to respond to him without breaking the character she’d so carefully constructed.

With Evangeline at the front of the room, it was time for the ceremony to start. Damn it. Her arrogance was going to get her killed. The phone was in his pocket. All it would take was hitting speed dial. He wouldn’t have to talk. His free hand strayed to his pocket, thumb already swiping the phone on.

Then Marissa squeezed his other hand and gave him a smile he could only call reassuring.
Trust, Harris. You might not like the way she plays, but she knows the game. You can make it through the ceremony.
Again, he didn’t have much choice.

Leaving now would only create a scene and all sorts of problems. He could sweep Marissa out afterward. Disappear while everyone else mingled before dinner. He stilled his pounding heart. They would make it out of here one way or another.

He went through the motions for the first part of the ceremony, little of it registering. Then the minister was in front of them, “Trevor and Mari, are you ready?”

Trevor snapped to attention and nodded, remembering that they were all supposed to write their own vows. He had a paper upstairs with the speech TRAIT had provided. Until the moment when he heard Canalis in the hall, he’d had it memorized.

Not anymore.

Time to remember all the poetry he’d read over the years and say something beautiful while weaving in a message. “Mari, from the moment I laid eyes on you, I haven’t been able to turn away. There was that day I bumped into you and spilled your coffee. You called me a burly oaf suited for nothing more than playing bouncer in a seedy bar. That’s when I knew it was love.”

A tittering of laughter made Marissa blush, and he knew she was playing over that first meeting, too. Now time for some fiction.

“Trouble seemed to follow us, one issue or another always getting in the way of being together. Every time life would seem to calm down, some new storm blew in.” Her smile faltered and her brows knit together the tiniest bit. Good. “But we made it here, and life seems to have given us a tiny window where all the stars have aligned. Before the next catastrophe, I need to tell you that I want to be by your side through it all. No gale force winds of change will ever tear us apart.” He pulled the ring from his pocket and slipped it on her finger before taking her hands again.

She stood there for a moment, her mouth slightly open, before she let out a quiet laugh. “Thanks. How am I supposed to follow that, you burly oaf?”

The laughter from the guests returned, and Marissa took the break to blow out a slow breath as if to calm her nerves. “Growing up, I always said I was never getting married. I saw first hand what it did to my parents and how wrong it could go when you left your life in someone else’s care. Then I met you, and you held me with so much tenderness, like I was the most precious thing in the world to you. It was the moment I realized I could trust you with everything: my life, my future, my heart. I knew you would always put me first and take care of me, even when I didn’t deserve it.”

She twisted her hand free from Trevor’s and ran it gently down his cheek. A few seconds later, she slid a ring on his finger. “I wish I deserved you more.”

All his worries about her had been pointless. Marissa’s past was just that—the past—and they could build any future together they wanted if given the chance. Happy sighs and whispers of “Beautiful,” and “Those two will make it” came from the guests near them. Trevor could only hope and pray that the latter assertion proved true, especially in regard to them making it out of here alive.

A few minutes passed while Frankie and Evangeline exchanged vows then the minister said, “You may now kiss the brides.”

Breathing in something that felt vaguely like relief, Trevor tipped Marissa’s chin up with a finger and locked gazes with her. They’d run to the others soon enough, but this moment he wanted to savor. She sucked in a tiny breath, and her pulse fluttered. He pressed his lips to hers, pulling her tight to him, holding onto the moment like it was real—like they’d really vowed forever in front of God and…whoever all these people were. For this instant, as she trembled in his embrace, she was well and truly his.

Her shaking didn’t stop after the kiss though, and worry sank under his skin, taking root and growing. They made it through the final moments of the ceremony and the recessional without incident, but then well-wishers and photographers got in the way, tearing them apart at the very moment he planned to drag her out of there.

When the crowd finally parted again, she was gone.

His heart thudded frantically. Could Canalis have her already? Would he risk killing her here? And now? Right after his son’s wedding? Trevor never should have let her go. Never should have trusted her stupid Valjean plan to begin with. He thumbed his phone as his gaze swept the lobby.

Maybe it was time to call in the others. Maybe…

A sparkle caught his eye, and he rushed to the wide staircase. There, dangling from the bannister, was Marissa’s silver tiara. Her shoes lay in a drunken pile below it. He raced up the stairs, pausing on each floor to glance down the halls. Nothing…until the second to last floor. On the wall to his right, a nick in the plaster, too small to be obvious but too big and new not to be a sign.

Faster. He needed to move faster. He tugged his Glock from beneath his tuxedo jacket and crept down the hall to the right, hunting for any other mark of Marissa’s passing.

W
hen Canalis had “escorted” Marissa from the throngs of people, she’d had a moment of panic. Had she screwed up? What would Trevor think when he got that stupid email? Obviously he already thought they were in trouble. The weird thing about windows and catastrophes…

She should have let him talk in the seconds they had before Evangeline had made it to the altar, but there were so many people.

Craptastic. And on her wedding day, too.

At the staircase, she’d torn her tiara free, along with more than a couple hairs and tucked it into the bannister’s spiral.

Please let him be wrong, but please let him see it.

Canalis had noticed though. “Marissa?”

She glanced at him, wincing. “Shoes. If I’d known we planned on racing up the stairs, I would have bought a pair of silver Converse instead. Mind if I take them off?” She lifted the hem of her tulle skirt and waved at the strappy five-inch heels.

“Of course. How silly of me.” He didn’t sound amused, though. He sounded suspicious. Or was that Trevor’s warning talking? “Leave them here.”

She swallowed hard. Definitely suspicious. “Sure thing.” A noise from the ballroom made him turn around for a second, allowing her to slide the knife from her garter. She tucked it beneath her skirt as she slipped off the shoes. When she stood, she used her knife hand to hold the edge of the dress.

Up and up and up. For a moment, she wondered why they hadn’t taken the elevator, but then it stopped mattering. This was better. She could leave Trevor a trail of breadcrumbs that stretched beyond the tiara.

When Canalis finally turned down a hall—she’d lost count of what floor they were on—she slid the knife out of the tulle and nicked the corner of the wall as they turned. Down the hall, around the corner, and down the hall some more until they stopped in front of a heavy door on the end.

“Here we are.”

She eyed the wood in front of them, her fingers clutching the blade. If this was about to go as bad as Trevor seemed to think, maybe it’d be smarter to take care of Canalis here. Who knew what waited inside? “What’s behind door number one? Is it a library? Because you know, bitches love libraries.”

His hand stayed on the doorknob, but he turned stiffly toward her, a glimmer of darkness dancing in his eyes. It hadn’t been there before, and Marissa wasn’t sure what it meant. Had she been found out?

What was he waiting for? Back-up? Damn. She should have had Trevor put some sort of tracker on her. When they could have done that she didn’t know, but now it was too late.
Keep playing the role. Keep up the bogus Valjean con until you don’t have a choice anymore.
“Come on. Every castle needs a good…library.”

As she said it, the truth hit her. This had nothing to do with passing the family business down to Frankie. Frankie who wanted to run away with his bride-to-be. The whole thing was part of her test. “And I’m pretty sure you have Evangeline lined up to take the crown. Don’t you? You found her somewhere and groomed her to take over for you. Frankie’s not going to be anything but a figurehead.”

The poor guy had been nothing more than a mark who’d fallen completely for the con artist in front of him. Marissa tipped her head to the side, eyeing Canalis and waiting for a response. This was the reason for the test with Evangeline—to see if she could con another con artist. Dirty rat bastard. “So, did the romance happen before or after you found her and saw her potential? I’m guessing after. I figure she went for you first.”

“Well played. She was too young for me since she’s twenty-two trying desperately to look thirty. You, on the other hand…” He combed his fingers through the waves of her hair and brushed them across her shoulder before tipping her chin up. She wanted to smack his slimy hand away and drive the blade into his heart, but she wasn’t in danger.

This was merely one more step to endure so she could finish the mission. “I don’t care how old you are, because you’re smarter than she is. More beautiful, too. Not to mention, far, far better at your job. She might get to play princess with my son, but I’m very interested in you by my side. To that end”— He winked at her —“it
is
a library.”

He pushed open the doors and led the way into the turret room. It was gorgeous and huge—as big as the dining room had been, though less filled with heavy furniture. Plush seating arranged around the middle, facing a dark cherry mantle over a stone fireplace where a blaze burned. But the walls…the walls were lined with books from floor to ceiling with a narrow walk halfway up to allow access to the higher shelves. She actually felt like Belle from
Beauty and the Beast
as she entered, gaping at everything.

It wasn’t her dream. Despite the fireplace, this was different. For starters, it only had the one door. Once she stepped inside, she’d be trapped with only a single exit unless she actually wanted to brave the plunge from the windows.

Distracted, she almost forgot to mark her passing, remembering at the last second to press the blade into the wood right below the knob.

Of course, she was also trying to forget that Canalis had more or less propositioned her for sex…among other things. Queen of an empire. She’d be safe…from everyone but Canalis. And Evangeline. And herself.

No, she’d rather die in this room than walk out of it like that. It’d be like being locked up again, only in a gilded cage this time. Strange how free her life with TRAIT felt in comparison.

She didn’t know how she could do it and still protect the agency, but she couldn’t fall prey to this man. If part of her had actually wanted to at some point, now she knew it was nothing but a death sentence.

“Marissa?” Canalis’s hand was on her elbow, and it took all her focus not to flinch from his touch.

She needed to be done with this and out of here. The government didn’t need the painting. And neither did she; she already had closure on her past. Josh Marron had provided her that with her new life years ago, even if it had taken this debacle of a mission for her to figure it out. And she had Trevor. Maybe. If she managed to not screw that up.

“Sorry, having a princess…er, queen moment.”

Canalis smiled and moved closer. “For now, I’ve arranged for you to have a very nice apartment, but I’ll be sure to convert part of the house into a library for you if not having one would be a deal breaker. Of course, we still need to discuss what you’ll be doing for me.”

“Of course.” She breathed a bit easier as he put some distance between them.

He moved to a small desk near a window, opened a drawer there, and pulled out a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm. She held her breath until he laid it on the desk in order to free a panel from the inside.

“There’s a certain group of politicians who are making my life…difficult. I’ve heard whispers they’re trying to infiltrate the organization in order to bring me down.”

This was it. He knew. He was going to pick up the damn gun and shoot her dead, and it’d be all over because she was cocky and stupid and…

“I want you to get close to them—by whatever means necessary. Information for blackmail would be good, compromising photos better. Anything else I can leak that will put them into question would be greatly appreciated as well. Are you up for the task?”