Guilty Pleasures (8 page)

“How do we know this chick is even for real
”

“She's some-damned-body. She got our very unlisted number. Remember
” Her neck rocked back and forth as she ranted.

“Maybe she works for the phone company.”

Eva twisted her lips into a snarl and looked for something to throw. “Phone company employees wouldn't know squat about a diamond shipment coming into the U.S.!”

“Would you keep your voice down
Do you want the whole neighborhood to know we're up the creek
”

Eva huffed, reached for the pillow on the couch, and hurled it at Jake.

He snatched it in midair. “Would you please stop throwing things at me
” he snapped. He returned the pillow to its rightful place and sat down on the couch. He glanced up. “Would you please sit down
You're making me dizzy.”

“Good.”

“Babe, you were right,” he conceded. “Maybe we need to roll up the game board and disappear.”

Deflated, Eva sat opposite him on the love seat. “How can we disappear
If she is who she says she is, she'll find us. No matter where we go. We'll be running for the rest of our lives.”

“Then we need to find out if she's for real.”

“How
”

“Jinx. There's not a computer program he can't crack. If she's really FBI, he'll find out.”

“Okay. So when he does find out, what then
”

“We'll deal with it. For now, one thing at a time.” He got up.

“Where are you going
”

“To Jinx's house. I don't trust the phone. I'll tell him what we need.”

Eva nodded slowly in agreement.

Jake came up to her, kissed her mouth softly. He cupped her cheeks. “We're going to get out of this. I promise.”

She swallowed her doubts, needing to believe in her husband. “Hurry back.”

While Jake was gone, Eva went over every detail of that night with Stan Ingram. What had she missed
Nothing. Nothing at all. There was no way to tell that he was married to an FBI agent. How was she supposed to know
Maybe she should have asked more questions, but she'd just wanted it to be over, wanted to get out of there and be done with the whole business. She'd slipped the roofie in his drink shortly after they arrived in his suite. As soon as he was good and looped, she called Jake on the cell phone and they staged the photos. Same as they'd always done for years. There had never been a glitch. There had never been a mark who didn't pay, and certainly never one who tried to turn the tables on them.
There's a first time for everything,
some pain-in-the-ass voice whispered in her head.