Even Villains Have Interns (4 page)

“It’s better if I don’t go into detail.” She
pushed the envelope across the counter. “Tuck this into his pocket,
please? And don’t bother mentioning it to Ivan. It’s nothing
important.” Before Mr. Way could object, Delilah laid two
hundred-dollar bills on the counter with a wink. “Have a good day,
Mr. Way.”

Dear Daddy,

No, I won’t bring you home any gems as a
party favor. Not even the emerald.

Tsk tsk,

Delilah

Delilah left Addison Mayfield surrounded by a
crowd of gawkers and circulated around the room. As a rule the
Field Museum had excellent security, decent catering, and plenty of
exquisite objects that made her itch for a little larceny. If she
had somewhere to stash a T. Rex, Sue’s skeleton would already be in
her apartment. As it was, she’d already bought the limited edition
miniature Sue the museum was selling to fund whatever it was they’d
been funding. Her eyes had glazed over at that point of the welcome
speech.

These nights were all the same. Come in, spend
cash, meet other rich people, talk shop, and drink moderately cheap
wine. Eleven o’clock couldn’t come fast enough.

It was strange that the research gene had
skipped her so thoroughly. Daddy and Gideon would have been
absolutely enraptured listening to someone yammer endlessly about a
new expansion to the labs. She’d been more distracted by the
sparkling exhibits in the Hall of Gems. In one corner the
Moussaieff Red glittered near the Agra diamonds. The Heart of
Eternity sat beside the Millennium Sapphire, beautiful blue-toned
rainbows dancing around them. The star of the show sat in the
center of the room on a lit plinth: the faceted, twenty-five pound
emerald called Teodora.

Large as a watermelon, the Teodora certainly had
an eye-catching quality. Delilah circled it lazily, keeping half an
eye on Addison while admiring the craftsmanship that had gone into
refining the giant stone. Flawless, time-consuming work. A galaxy
of lighter colors rifted through the dark green inside of the gem.
Mesmerizing.

Other people started filing in, champagne
glasses in hand. Without turning from the emerald, Delilah looked
for the telltale bulge or crease in a jacket that would give away a
concealed weapon.

“The first protestors have arrived,” Chad
whispered over her concealed earpiece. “None of them are on the
watch list for the client.”

Delilah nodded, certain that Chad would see her
on the cameras. The price of discretion was leaving her voice
pickup with Travys for the evening. He was under strict
instructions to come find her at the first whiff of trouble.

Protestors weren’t trouble, though; they were
simply the accouterments of Chicago politics. Half of them were
probably paid to make a mini-riot for the evening news and would
leave within the hour. See and be seen. Stir up some interest, stir
up some cash. The politicians would use the attention to woo new
backers for whatever pet project they wanted funded next.

If anyone else had been paying attention they
would have guessed the political structure of the city in less than
ten minutes. Although Mayor Arámbula was conspicuous in his
absence, his snake-eyed second-in-command, Alan Adale, was present
and making the rounds. The moment she made eye contact he moved in
like a heat-seeking missile.

She walked around the plinth, avoiding eye
contact. The first time they’d met, Delilah had carefully filed him
away as Too Dangerous To Handle. Lucifer had probably cried hot
tears of envy when Adale was born. He had a sculpted masculine
perfection and confident swagger that made everyone want to fall to
their knees in worship, and one close encounter had been enough to
send her scrambling for safety. She’d canceled every date, evaded
him at every turn. But, like the devilish predator he was, he kept
circling.

Pretty soon she’d need to whip out the big guns
and flat out break his heart. Tease him on a little, then drop him
like a rock. Dent his ego so he never bounced back her way again.
After all, breaking hearts was far more fun than finding out she
was just another anonymous booty call.

Adale stopped next to the display case, not
completely immune to her
‘
Don’t talk to me
’
glare. He
feigned interest in the cushion-cut American Golden Topaz, glancing
at the gem then up at her. Caught staring, Delilah turned away and
focused on the Teodora. Lines of lighter green seemed to be moving
in the smaragdine depths, rolling like waves before coalescing into
spheres like eyes. Two large, bulbous eyes, blinking out at her
from inside the Teodora.

Delilah almost gasped aloud. The size of the gem
was right, but the color was unusual, as was the texture. Minion
eggs were traditionally more gelatinous. Comfy, too. She’d used an
egg mass as a reading chair one summer in high school.

The black and bronze display tag said the
Teodora had been discovered in Brazil, cut in India, and had a
cloud of rumors surrounding its authenticity. In the end, the stone
had been donated to the Smithsonian by the beleaguered owner.

Brazil... Brazil... Daddy had taken them down
there one summer when she was six or so. He’d done a week of guest
lecturing at one of the universities, and they’d spent another
month exploring the humid country while avoiding a cold snap in
Texas. All she remembered was a blur of spontaneous decisions that
spoke volumes about her mother’s unwillingness to sit through a
Texas ice storm.

Considering the haphazard nature of life in the
years after her mother’s kidnapping and return, it wasn’t hard to
imagine Daddy losing an experiment. Or even leaving it behind on
purpose. He probably thought it would be a fun joke.

“Beautiful,” said a low, very masculine voice
behind her.

Delilah spun on her heel, professional smile
firmly in place. “It’s a stunning gem.”

The deputy mayor looked down at her with cool
green eyes. “I wasn’t talking about the stone.”

A fission of fear climbed up her spine. It was
uncomfortable being the center of his focus. Most people were lazy;
they chatted and grew distracted and never seemed to be really
watching her. Adale’s emotionless gaze focused on her like a
searchlight, stripping away the layers of deceit she used for
protection. It was terrifying. He definitely had a future with the
mob if the whole political career thing didn’t work out.

“You’re too kind.” Delilah took him by the arm
and steered him away from the Teodora. “Have you been enjoying your
evening?”

“It’s been uneventful so far. I missed having
dinner with you last night.”

“An emergency at work. I did leave you a
message.”

His hand covered hers. “Nothing terribly taxing
I trust.”

Her pulse fluttered as his eyes filled with
concern. “It left me with a bit of a headache, but I survived.” She
wanted to unleash her skills on him there and then, drown him in
the need to tell the truth and end the charade. But the political
fallout of an honest evening would turn Chicago into a
battleground. So she ground her teeth and kept the battle inside,
reminding herself that she couldn’t trust him no matter how genuine
he seemed.

“I didn’t bother rescheduling the reservations,”
Adale said, removing his hand from hers. “Your work seems to keep
you busy at every hour I can invent. Although, I confess, seeing
you here improves my day considerably. This would be a dreary party
without you.”

His smile cut through her like a laser. She shot
him her own, full of knives. “Oh, I doubt that’s true. You were
dancing attendance on Perri Lang earlier this evening.” Perri Lang,
modern-day Lucrezia Borgia, whose father’s chemical plant and
research labs only avoided closure because he greased palms
throughout the city. Where money didn’t work, it was rumored his
daughter’s attentions did.

Adale grinned self-depreciatingly. “Yes, I spoke
with her. It was even less educational than usual, but I’m glad you
noticed.”

“I didn’t notice.”

He raised an eyebrow as they stopped in front of
a display of rings. “You said you saw me with Miss Lang.”

“I’m here with Addison Mayfield. Miss Lang and
Miss Mayfield are...” Delilah search for the right words.

“Rivals?” Adale suggested.

Delilah exhaled. “More like two cats in heat
fighting over a tom. Keeping them in the same county is a recipe
for trouble. If I can keep them from causing a scene tonight,
Addison’s father will pay me a bonus.” She fought the impulse to
roll her eyes.

“How mercenary of you. Tell me, will the bonus
be enough to allow you to take a week’s vacation? Maybe linger over
a meal or two?”

“No.” She glanced back at the Teodora and the
eyes watching her. Minion biology wasn’t her specialty, but if she
recalled the development correctly, eyes appeared in the week
before hatching.

Adale sighed. “You seem distracted. Am I boring
you?”

“Hmm? Oh. No.” Delilah stopped scanning the room
for security cameras. There were still three hours left of the
party. Give the crew a few hours to clean up, and she could be back
here by three in the morning. Walk in, break the glass, grab the
emerald, run out... No, she probably needed to cut the power to the
cameras first. Infuriating.

“It’s all right. I understand if you’re not
interested. Perhaps you like dark-haired men? I think the head of
Alrosa is here, the Russian diamond company. He might be your type.
Let’s see. Ah, yes, over there in the corner.”

Delilah scanned the room and spotted the
mustached Russian with Ivan Petrovich at his elbow. If looks could
kill, Ivan’s would have put her in an early grave.

Adale leaned a little closer. “Why is that
gentleman glaring at us? Jealousy, perhaps?”

Ivan’s eyes narrowed as he ran a hand down the
line of his suit jacket. The very same suit he’d worn the night
before. He must have gotten her note.

She winked at Ivan. Time to move the party
downstairs where there were more exits. It didn’t matter if the
deputy mayor looked like a cold-blooded hit man, he wasn’t. There
would be serious repercussions if she let her two lives cross
streams.

Delilah turned to beam at Adale. “Who wouldn’t
be jealous of me? I have the most handsome man in the room at my
side. Let me buy you a drink, to make up for shamefully neglecting
you last night.”

Adale’s smirk threatened to turn into a smile.
“I’m being used, but I don’t know what for.”

“Enjoy the attention while it lasts,” Delilah
said, steering him out of the room. Dylan and Travys passed her,
casually chatting as they followed Addison.

“Problems?” Chad whispered in her ear.

Delilah nodded which drew Adale’s gaze.

“Something wrong?” he echoed Chad’s question
with bland amusement.

“Not at all.” They walked down the grand
staircase like Prince Charming and his sinister Cinderella.
Everyone watched. For the first time in her life, Delilah felt like
actual arm-candy. Alan Adale had enough force of presence that
people looked at him whether they intended to or not, and she was
his decoration of the evening.

Miss Lang’s ears were probably steaming with
rage.

As they approached the open bar surrounded by
gossiping socialites, the caterer’s door burst open and Detective
Morrow stalked in, a man on a mission.

“Deputy Mayor,” Morrow said as he made a beeline
for them. “I need to have a word with you.”

“Detective.” Adale gently untangled his arm from
Delilah’s. “What an unexpected pleasure.”

“Can we step outside for a minute?”

Delilah grabbed two glasses of alcohol and
followed. No one had specifically forbidden her from coming along.
That made it practically an invitation. The door swung shut behind
her and she stopped short as she heard Morrow’s voice.

“The mayor is dead.”

“Are you sure?” Adale sounded as shocked as she
felt.

In the dark, Detective Morrow shook his head.
“Alive people have more face left.”

Dear Daddy,

I need the book on minion hatching and
rearing that Hert wrote. I’d also like to see your field and
research notes from every trip to Brazil. There’s a slight
possibility you left an invasive species near an emerald mine. Does
that ring any bells?

Don’t ask,

D

Delilah floated through the crowded gem room
toward Addison with a polite smile frozen in place. Dead mayors,
protestors, and hitmen all at the same party was more than her
contract covered.

Ivan stepped in front of her. “Miss Samson.”

“Hello. Goodbye.” She stepped around him.

He followed her. “You need to leave.”

“Working on it.”

“Town.”

Delilah stared up at him. “Excuse me? Was that a
threat?” The couple nearest them turned around. With a brittle
smile, she grabbed Ivan’s arm hard enough to leave a bruise and
pulled him into the corner. “You don’t threaten me. Ever. I’m a
little too busy to pay you back for last night, but I promise, it’s
coming.”

She turned to go, and he caught her arm.
“Delilah.” It was a whisper meant for her ears alone. “Trouble is
coming to town. A hunter who likes big game. Subrosa doesn’t have
the resources for this.”

With a soft smile that could have melted the
coldest hearts, she whispered back, “Drop dead, Ivan. It’ll save me
the trouble of getting another pair of boots dirty.” She batted her
eyelashes.

With a few quick strides that stretched the
clingy skirt of her gown to its limits, she caught up with her
quarry. “Addison, darling, come with me a moment. There’s someone
you simply must meet.” She brushed away the various sycophants and
snatched Addison’s glass from her hand. The fumes rising up
explained Addison’s wobbly walk. “Did you bring a flask of vodka
again?”