Dane sat up to get a better look at the computer screen as Teddy shuffled through the different girls.
"Stop," Dane said. "Go back."
"Which one?" Teddy asked, flicking back slowly.
"That one," Dane said, pointing toward the screen. "I know her."
"I bet you do," Teddy teased. The pretty blonde stared back at them from the screen. "Crystal Corr," Teddy read her name out loud. Based on her profile, she was twenty-four and lived in Belhaven.
"So let"s come up with a plan with all this information that was so kindly provided by Crothers. Pull up the blueprints of the building." Jackson tried to get them back on course.
Teddy turned around in his seat and looked at Lexie before turning back to the picture of Crystal. Jackson watched the wheels turning in Teddy"s head.
"What the f.u.c.k are you doing, Ted?"
"I think I have a plan that will work," Teddy looked up at him. "But you"re not gonna like it."
Jackson looked at the picture of Crystal and narrowed his eyes. "No f.u.c.king way."
CHAPTER.
THIRTY-FOUR.
Dane "It"s a good f.u.c.king plan and you know it," Dane said to Jackson. He turned his head to see Jackson fuming behind the wheel of his car. He still hadn"t calmed down since Teddy had told him the plan. He had been ready to shut it all down when Lexie stepped in and insisted she was in. Lexie reached up from the backseat and squeezed Jackson"s shoulder.
"I want to do this, Jacks," Lexie insisted.
Jackson grabbed her hand and turned around to look her in the eye. "You keep that microphone on. If you feel threatened at all, you just say the trigger word and I"ll pull you out of there."
Lexie nodded. "I"m ready," Lexie said, looking up at Dane.
Dane opened his door and stepped onto the sidewalk. "See you soon."
"You sure this girl is gonna cooperate?"
"It"ll work. Don"t worry." Dane shut the door, grabbed his bag from the trunk, and led Lexie into the apartment building. Crystal may have been a prost.i.tute, but she knew how to work the system to build a very comfortable life for herself. Dane had known her for years and their relationship extended beyond the typical client would have. She trusted Dane and he knew how hard that was to accomplish. The apartment building was in an upscale area of the city, which spoke of her success.
"How well do you know her?" Lexie whispered when the elevator doors closed.
Dane looked at her with a raised brow. "Are you asking if I paid her for s.e.x?"
"Just curious what we"re walking into," Lexie responded with a hint of red staining her cheeks.
"The answer is yes," Dane admitted casually. "Trust me when I tell you this is the easy part of the evening."
Lexie sighed as the doors opened. "Here we go."
Dane smiled and led her down the hallway toward Crystal"s door. He pulled out his phone.
Dane: Outside your door.
"Why don"t you just knock?" Lexie asked with a frown. "We"re standing right here." Lexie waved toward the dark stained wooden door.
"When you work in her industry, you don"t just open doors without knowing who"s behind them," Dane explained as he tucked his phone away. He knew just how troublesome things had been for Crystal before she had earned respect. They were two people with twisted pasts that found comfort knowing they were not alone. "Trust me, if I didn"t text her, she wouldn"t come to the door."
Dane heard footsteps approach the door before he heard the chain lock release. The door swung open and Crystal stood before them in a pink silk robe and curlers in her hair. Her bright red lipstick was already applied and glitter surrounded her dark, painted eyes.
"Dane, come in." She waved them both in and closed the door, sliding the lock in place. "I was surprised to hear from you today." Crystal led them into her posh apartment that was tailored to her lavish taste. One would never know standing in her place that she was homeless five years ago.
Crystal was good at reading people and she used this to her advantage. Her clients were wealthy business men who didn"t have time to date or had lost interest in their wives. She gave them what they wanted, and in return she was able to obtain a substantial fortune. Dane didn"t fall into her requirements, but she had developed a soft spot for him along the way. Maybe because he was the only one who knew who she really was behind the fancy clothes.
"I knew how much you were missing me," Dane said, straight-faced.
Crystal shook her head and her red lips turned up into a full grin. "Of course I missed you." She leaned up on her toes and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Dane immediately wiped his face. "Did you get that red s.h.i.t on me?"
"You love it." Crystal laughed. "And who might you be?" Crystal held out her hand.
"I"m*" Lexie began but Dane cut her off.
"She"s going to be you for the rest of the evening," Dane didn"t even try to break the news kindly. He thought it was best to jump right into the thick of it. Time was not a luxury they had.
Crystal"s hand fell to her side "What the f.u.c.k?" She raised her eyebrows at Dane, looking for an explanation. "Please don"t tell me you"re dragging me into one of your insane schemes?"
"Trust me, you"ll thank me later," Dane insisted. "And I"m not dragging you into it because you"re not going."
"I"m getting paid a lot of money to go to that opening." Crystal narrowed her eyes.
"Considering we"re planning to kill the man that"s gonna sign your paycheck, it"s safe to say you"re never going to receive it." Dane watched Crystal"s eyes widen.
"Well, this is f.u.c.king great. I just had one of my biggest clients tell me he can no longer do business with me because he"s gonna work on his s.h.i.t marriage, and now this," Crystal said dramatically. "I need a drink, and if you"re going to be me, then you need one too." Crystal grabbed Lexie by the arm and led her into the kitchen.
"A drink sounds really good right now. I"m Lexie, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Lexie," Crystal said.
Dane followed the girls into the kitchen, where Crystal poured two gla.s.ses of red wine from her impressive collection.
"So how is this gonna happen?" Crystal eyed Dane and Lexie over the rim of her gla.s.s.
"I"m a.s.suming you received a costume for tonight"s masked theme?" Dane asked as he leaned against the counter.
"Oh, that I did, I was actually looking forward to slipping that little number on. What a pity." Crystal frowned.
Dane dropped his bag on the counter and clapped his hands together. "Well, considering what time it is, I need you to make Lexie look like you so we can get this show on the road."
"What"s that?" Crystal asked, eyeing the bag.
"Toys that Teddy gave us to pull this off."
An unamused expression crossed Crystal"s face. "You are gonna owe me big time," she warned Dane. She drained her gla.s.s and set it down on the counter.
"I"ve heard that before," Dane said, unconcerned.
"At least you keep my life interesting." Crystal turned toward Lexie. "He"s really something, isn"t he?"
"I haven"t quite figured him out yet." Lexie tilted her head. "Dane"s a bit of a mystery."
Crystal threw her head back and laughed. "Honey, you"ve figured out as much as I have and I"ve known him for a long time. Let"s get you ready. I was planning on leaving in an hour." Crystal ushered Lexie out of the kitchen. She turned back around before disappearing down the hall. "You better not get me in trouble, Dane. I know who Stodden is, and if you don"t succeed in this little plan, I want to make sure he doesn"t come after me."
"You"ll be safe, I promise."
Crystal shook her head with a sigh before continuing down the hall.
CHAPTER.
THIRTY-Five.
Lexie "Take a deep breath, Lexie. In and out," Teddy"s voice soothed her from the tiny communicator that was tucked in her ear. Lexie squeezed the steering wheel so tight her hands began to hurt as she looked through the windshield at the large black building that filled her entire windshield. She was parked in the back, where Crystal informed her she was instructed to when she arrived for the evening. She didn"t realize how nervous she was until she dropped off Dane.
Lexie was terrified she would be recognized despite the mask that covered the majority of her face. She angled the rear view mirror so she could see her reflection. When she confirmed everything was as it should be, she pulled a deep breath into her tight chest. "I can"t believe you guys do this for a living. I feel like my heart is about to explode."
"Well, we don"t actually do what you"re about to do. Although, I"m sure Dane would look hilarious in sparkly lingerie," Teddy joked.
"You know what I mean," Lexie said with a small semblance of a laugh.
"We won"t be far behind you. Once you get a location on Stodden, we"ll move in. Just look like you know what you"re doing and you should be able to buy enough time."
"I don"t see you guys." Lexie looked around the parking lot.
"That"s the point. The important thing is that we can see you, and you really need to move that pretty b.u.t.t before you start to look suspicious," Teddy said calmly.
"Yeah, yeah." Lexie took another deep breath. "Please, G.o.d, let the thin straps of this ridiculously small outfit hold."
Teddy laughter erupted in the earpiece. "I think everyone will be praying for the opposite. s.h.i.t. Jackson...I was f.u.c.king joking...give that back." Teddy sounded like he was struggling. "That hurt."
"Don"t listen to that piece of f.u.c.k. Be safe, baby. I"ll be in there before you know it," Jackson said rea.s.suringly. Just the sound of his voice instantly calmed her down. "Do you have the piece for the door?"
"Yeah." Lexie reached into the cup holder and pulled out the small device that she was instructed to fit onto the door latch. She wrapped her fingers around it tightly.
"Yep, I"m heading in. I"ll see you soon," Lexie said, opening her door, knowing from here on in she couldn"t talk anymore but listening to him would help keep her focused. The distraction from her racing heart and sweating palms was much needed.
"Be with you soon," Jackson replied. "Keep the target in mind."
Lexie looked around as she walked toward the back door.
"Relax, you don"t want to look guilty, babe," Jackson suggested.
Lexie grabbed hold of the railing and walked up the steps. She knocked like she was instructed to do and the door immediately swung open. A bald-headed man that Lexie recognized from when Stodden held her captive stood before her, and for a moment she forgot she was wearing a mask.
"Well, get the f.u.c.k in here. You"re late," the man barked at her.
"Sorry..." Lexie began.
"Don"t apologize. Just tell him to f.u.c.k off," Jackson said in her ear.
"...but I"m here now." Lexie tried to force arrogance in her voice.
He clenched his jaw and waved impatiently for her to enter. Lexie grabbed the edge of the door and pulled it out of his grasp, making sure she kept his eyes distracted as she tried to pull off a dramatic display. "You try to fit into this little outfit and be on time," Lexie said, pulling open the tie of her jacket. His eyes wandered down the length of her body as Lexie shoved the device over the door latch. She hoped she placed it correctly, because she couldn"t watch what she was doing without drawing his attention. She knew it was how they were planning on getting into the building. This step was important and she couldn"t mess it up.
She stepped inside the hallway and tried to focus on what she needed to do. She ran through the checklist Crystal had drilled into her head before leaving. She needed to check in with Ronnie, who had initially interviewed all the women who were entertaining this evening.
Lexie walked up to the third door down the hallway, pretending she was familiar with the building and knew exactly where she was going. Luckily, most of the bodies that were pa.s.sing her seemed preoccupied.
Lexie knocked on the wooden door while placing her other hand against the wall. She needed to feel a solid wall against her shaking hand.
"Come in," a male voice called out from the other side.
Lexie opened the door. A man was sitting behind the desk with papers spread out in a cluttered mess. He looked up at her and shook his head. "The masks make it impossible to know who I"m f.u.c.king talking to all evening."
"Crystal Corr," Lexie offered. She placed her hands on her hips and tried to exude the same confidence she noted in Crystal.
He gave her outfit a once over before his eyes came back to hers. "I was starting to wonder about you. You"re late." Ronnie raised an unamused brow. Ronnie held up a key for her and waved toward the hallway. "Head to the dressing room with the other girls while I deal with this last minute s.h.i.t. This key is for your locker. The guests should start arriving soon. I"ll be there in a few minutes to give everyone the low down."