License to Love (An Agent Ex Novel) (17 page)

Tate laughed loudly, calling Rock on his outright lie, and shook his head. “Come on, you can lie better than that. I can help you, you know.”

Rock stared back at him. Tate didn’t blink. Neither did Rock. They were locked in a kind of playboy, macho man game of who will blink first.

“Really,” Rock said. “What do you know about women other than how to bed them? I don’t need your help. I do pretty damn well in that department myself.”

Tate laughed again. “You’re such a sucker. Don’t believe what Lani told you earlier about my ex-wife. Our decision to divorce was mutual. We both wanted different things. When we were together, I made her extremely happy.

“But that’s neither here nor there. Women like me because I like them and know how to treat them. I know what women want.”

Rock let out a loud snort of disbelief at Tate’s incredibly egotistical statement, causing him to blink and probably lose the damn competition and alpha-male edge. “What? Wait! Don’t tell me. This is where you spout pabulum you’ve skimmed from women’s magazines and online help articles. Save your breath. I know how to read.”

Tate shook his head. “Rock, Rock, Rock. You need to trust me, man. I know of which I speak. You want Lani back. You not only want her back, you want her back madly, passionately in love with you.” Tate’s gaze was steady and piercing.

Right then, Tate looked too much like a mind reader for Rock’s tastes. And felt like one, too. Rock kept forgetting these secret agents were as adept, or nearly so, at reading people as he was.

“Genius observation. For the last two years I’ve made that pretty clear pretty publicly. Hell, I’ve literally put up a billboard.”

Tate was unperturbed. “Yes, you wanted her back. But you don’t really have her back, do you? Not in the way you’d imagined. You can bluff and bluster all you like, but I can see right through you, my friend. You want Lani back, Lani the loving wife. Lani forever. And I can help you. Not just because I know women, but because I know Lani.

“It’s been written all over your face since I met you. You want her and you want the magic of what you had. The magic of love.” Tate winked. “I’m not a master magician, but I do know about love. I can give you the love potion you’re looking for. Of course, I’ll want something in return.

“That’s the way it works with love potions and secret agents. There’s always a price.”

Rock was interested now, if for no other reason than he’d like the amusement of hearing what the pompous ass had to say. “And what would that be?”

“It’ll be obvious when I give you what you want—the secret of making Lani fall in love with you again.”

Rock resisted the urge to purse his lips or furrow his brow in thought. He put on his poker face. “I don’t make blind deals—what will this priceless information cost me?”

“I’ll need your complete allegiance for the duration of this mission—I’ll have your back and you’ll have mine. No hesitation. No enemy lines between us.”

“Fair enough.” He could use someone watching his back. He held out his hand to shake.

Tate took it and shook firmly.

“Amaze me with the secret to Lani’s heart,” Rock said.

“Also fair enough.” Tate stood and poured himself a third cup of coffee. He carried it to the couch and took a seat.

Rock followed him and plunked down in a chair across from him.

“Lani, like all the female agents in NCS, is an alpha woman. She likes to think she’s tough and independent, but deep down she’s still a woman. And what all women want are two things—to be appreciated for who they are, who they really are, and for their men to protect them and meet their innermost needs.”

Rock rolled his eyes. “I hope there’s more.”

“I’m just getting started,” Tate said. “Besides a certain quirk of personality, what makes a woman an alpha?”

Rock frowned. “I’ve never thought about it.”

Tate grinned. “And that’s your first mistake. You’re in love with a strong, independent woman, an alpha, and you haven’t bothered to wonder what made her that way?” He shook his head. “A need to prove herself,” Tate answered for Rock. “A need to protect herself so she can’t be hurt again.”

“Lani? Hurt?” Rock was angry and thinking now, imagining all kinds of things like child abuse. “She never mentioned anything.”

“When she was young and impressionable,” Tate said. “Oh, come on, man. This is easy. All you have to do is look at Lani.”

“She’s beautiful and confident—”

“And she’s a complete mutt. She has no community,” Tate said. “No ethnic heritage to relate to. She’s a quarter black, a quarter white, a quarter Hispanic, and a quarter Asian. She’s not anything. She belongs nowhere. Each group makes fun of her, tells her she can’t relate to them. Her parents were both half-breeds. They had no real sense of community, either.

“All that wounds a child. Children are joiners, belongers. Anyone who doesn’t fit in with the mainstream is an outcast. Made fun of. Teased. Bullied.”

Rock swallowed hard, imagining a little Lani being pushed around and bullied. Just the thought of Lani being tormented made him want to punch someone.

Tate paused, studying him. “Have you guessed the secret key yet, Mr. Wise and Mighty Oz?”

Rock didn’t answer. He didn’t have one.

“Lani has a burning need to belong. Make her feel like she does and she’ll be yours forever. That’s the first part, the internal obstacle you have to overcome. Impressed yet? Worth your pledge?”

Tate was a fricking genius. Though Rock would never say so out loud.

“That’s why Lani loves the Agency so much; why she’ll never give it up. We’re a collection of like-minded people. A collection of fakers and freaks, actors and liars. A place where a woman of her unique ethnic background is an asset, not a liability. We give her the chance to pick an ethnic group and relate. She’ll never leave us, no matter what it costs her to stay.”

Rock’s mouth went dry.

“There was another place she felt she belonged,” Tate continued, almost too casually. “She told me herself. Another place where all those assets of hers fit in—in the magic community with you.”

Rock felt suddenly cold, as if Tate had hit him with a sledgehammer. Why hadn’t he seen it himself? Maybe he was afraid she’d been faking that, too.

“Deer in the headlights!” Tate was obviously enjoying himself. “You are such a neophyte where women are concerned. A rank amateur. You really didn’t know. I told you. I’m worth my weight in platinum when you need advice with women.”

“But she left me—”

“For us. Because she had to. Because NCS put her in an impossible situation—lose you or lose us. She can’t have both. And she knew us better. Knew what we offered. We can protect her.”

“Then I’m screwed,” Rock said.

Tate shook his head. “Not necessarily. You have two choices staring you right in the face—give her a stronger sense of belonging with you than with us. Show her you can keep her safe. After all, you can give her something we can’t, true love.” Tate grinned. “Does that sound corny? Sorry.”

“And behind door number two?” Rock said.

“That’s obvious, too. Join us permanently. I’m living proof that marriage between Agency employees is allowed with the chief’s blessing.”

Rock must have looked as stunned as he felt because Tate’s grin spread from ear to ear. He looked as if he was having the time of his life.

“Oh, come on,” Tate said. “We have great benefits. And a pension plan.” He took a sip of coffee and set the cup on the stand next to him.

“You have time to think it over. I’m not pressing you for any kind of decision. See how this mission goes. See if you like it. You asked for your love potion, for the key to winning Lani’s love, and I gave it to you. Is it worth the price now?”

“But how do I—”

Tate held his palm up to Rock to stop him. “The execution is up to you. I only promised the secret.”

“Tricky bastard,” Rock muttered, lost in thought. Everything Tate had said made perfect sense.

“I’ll give you one more piece of intel to help you out. Lani was picked for the original mission for many reasons, but a big part of it was her familiarity with magic. You may not know this, but her African-American grandfather was a magician. One of the first men of color to be inducted into the International Brotherhood of Magicians’ Hall of Fame.”

“What?” So that’s where Lani learned her rudimentary knowledge of magic.

“You never wondered why a dancer took to magic so easily?”

No, Rock hadn’t thought about it at all. “Was her grandpa anyone famous?”

Tate shrugged. “He was a local club magician. He did gigs everywhere, including department stores. But was he famous like you are? No. Just small-time stuff.

“But Lani loved him. She was his little assistant. Magic holds good memories for her. It’s homey and reminds her of the best aspects of that miserable childhood of hers.” Tate gave Rock a minute to digest the news. “Time to pay the piper. Why does Sol Blackledge hate you so much?”

“Wait a minute—when did I agree to answer questions about Sol?” Rock said.

“It falls under the allegiance clause. It’s in the fine print.”

Rock shook his head and smiled. “Okay, you got me there. This could take a while. How long do we have?”

“Until Lani comes back downstairs.”

“You’ll need the short version then,” Rock said. “We were roommates and pals when we were both starting out and taking classes at the Magic Castle.

“Back in those days, we were cocky, ambitious young guys. Full of ourselves and certain we’d be big stars.” Rock grinned. “Come to think of it, we haven’t changed, just aged. Anyway, Sol was good, just not as good as I am. He had flair and showmanship, but not creativity. He could copy, but he couldn’t create.

“I’ve always been creative. I see tricks in my head and envision how to work them, how to stage them, the costumes, every detail.

“People started noticing me and my act. I got buzz. Filled small venues and got booked at bigger ones. I was doing better than Sol. Surpassing him. With an ego twice the size of his talent, he couldn’t stand it. It didn’t make any sense to him. It wasn’t fair.

“Sol’s a chronically jealous bastard. The more I succeeded, the angrier and more vindictive he became. Behind my back, he started bad-mouthing me, spreading rumors, sabotaging tricks, leaking some of my secrets.

“I put up with a lot of shit from him until he got so crazy, I couldn’t take it anymore. We got into a fistfight one night. I broke his pretty-boy nose.” Rock laughed. “That was it. We parted ways.

“But we’ve never stopped competing.”

Tate nodded. “You were RIOT’s first choice, too, weren’t you?”

Rock frowned, taking a trip down memory lane. “Yeah. I realized that once Nelson dragged me into this mission. About the time Sol and I parted ways. I had bigger ideas than my bank account could afford. A group of investors, venture capitalists they said, approached me about backing me. Or rather their representative did. I never met the actual big guys behind it. I turned them down.”

“Why?” Tate asked.

“They wanted an equity stake in my show and tricks.” The memories came flooding back. “The assholes wanted creative control, too. They wanted to dictate what tricks I could and could not perform. I told them to go to hell. No one tells me what to do as an artist. The money wasn’t worth the loss of control and artistic direction. Looks like I made a lucky escape.”

Rock frowned and snorted to himself. “Shortly after that Sol came into a pot of cash and started performing some of his large-scale illusions, the ones that launched his career.

“Including one he stole from me. One I was trying to finance on my own. I always figured the little shit took those big shits’ money. He sold out.” Rock stared at Tate. “Why am I telling you this? You know at least the basics already.”

Tate didn’t answer.

“I never knew how Sol got that trick,” Rock said, still thinking about it. “I’d kept it top secret. Told no one. It was one of those illusions I’d had no money to set up and perform. I knew it was a winner and I was right. He got his first TV appearance because of it. It launched Sol’s career.

“Sol has always claimed he came up with it independently. A case of great minds thinking alike. But that’s pure bullshit and he knows it. The execution was identical to what I’d planned. He wasn’t even smart enough to make a few changes to throw me off.”

“Were you working on Outlandish Marauders while you lived with Sol?” Tate leaned forward.

“I’ve been working on and dreaming of Outlandish Marauders since I was sixteen. I have notebooks filled with doodles and notes.” Rock stopped short. “Sol stole Outlandish Marauders that long ago? But it wasn’t finished—” Rock cursed beneath his breath. “You mean RIOT has been spying on me all these years?”

Tate nodded. “It appears so.”

Rock swore some more. “I stepped up security after I realized what Sol had done. And since I’ve gotten famous, I’ve hired the best security experts. If RIOT got past them, they’re very good.”

“They are,” Tate said. “Almost as good as we are.”

Lani came downstairs dressed in a sleeveless, short, flirty, casual dress with black, white, and gray horizontal stripes and enough spandex to hug her curves. She wore black platform peep-toe pumps and the blond wig and carried an oversized white purse. She was Gillian again, but she still turned Rock’s head and turned him on.

“Ready to go, boys?”

Rock couldn’t stop staring at her. “We could take one of my cars, but the Lamborghinis only fit two. In fact, except for the SUV my staff uses, they pretty much all only fit two.”

Tate shrugged. “Looks like we’re stuck with the rented Audi S8.”

CHAPTER TEN

The valet brought the gray Audi S8 sedan around.

“It’s not as sleek as a coup, but for a sedan it’s pretty hot. With three of us, it’ll have to do.” Tate was staring at it as if it were a woman he’d like to sleep with.

Rock admired it, too, but he wasn’t the car buff Tate apparently was.

The valet parking attendant reluctantly got out of the Audi and held the front passenger door open for Lani. She slid in, giving him a view of her long, lean legs. Rock admired them, too. Lani caught him in the act and frowned at him.