To Touch a Thief (An Everly Gray Novella) (5 page)

“You do?”

“How could I pass up the opportunity? That is why we’re having the séance. Aside from it being a fundraiser, of course.”

“It is?” Everly shot Jayne a sideways glare. “I thought it was to eliminate suspects from your fraud investigation.”

Parker shifted his weight. “Yes. But the paranormal is of particular interest to me. I think it came from knowing your family.”

He nodded at Jayne, turned, and strolled out the door.

Jayne spun to face El. “He remembers you, knows you’re…odd.” Her voice hiked up a notch. “Accepts it.”

“I didn’t have as much control in my younger years. I’m sure I acted strangely enough that Parker would have noticed. He’s a smart man, Jayne.”

“Yes, but what did you see when you touched him?”
 

“I believe that’s something you should discuss with Parker.”

“Please tell me the images were of me.”

El sank into the nearest chair. “The man has plans for you. A lot of exciting, sexy, slippery, seductive plans. Personally, I found yoga classes to be a very beneficial preparation when—”

“I don’t like it when you see things about me.” Jayne’s voice wobbled.
 

“Yeah, well, you asked.”
 

“I did. I know I did, but, oh, Everly, I’m so confused. I want to know, I don’t want to know.” She glanced at me, her amber eyes damp. “Mostly, I need to be sure there isn’t someone else in his life.”

 
“No worries on that one. I only touched him because it’d been a long time since Parker and I…well, I needed to know if I could trust him or not. That’s all. I didn’t plan on getting a head full of his personal fantasies. But, wow. He’s right up there with Mitch in the creative department.”

“Aawwwkkk!” Jayne slapped her hands over her ears. “Brother and sex do not go together.”

“Right.” El smiled. “I won’t mention it ever again. But if I were you, I’d go after Mr. Parker Steele. Just sayin’.”

“I intend to, but according to my schedule, not his.”
 

“Ah. Well, best of luck with that. Look, I need to get serious about this séance thing. Where and when is it being held?”

Jayne pointed to the calendar on her desk. “A week from today. The nineteenth at eight in the evening. It will be here at Steele Management, Inc. We have a large conference room at the other end of this floor where the tarot and palm readers will be set up, the adopt-a-thon will be on the ground floor, and the séance will be in a private meeting room next to Parker’s penthouse.”

“Here? Parker lives where he works?”

“Yes, damn it. That’s why he always makes it to work before I do.” Jayne mumbled something under her breath. “It’s on the seventh floor, right above us.”

“Can I take a look at it now? It’ll save me a trip back here later.”

“Absolutely. I’ll let Parker’s secretary know.” Jayne left a message, then took a key ring from her top desk drawer. “This way.”
 

She stepped to a blank wall directly across from her office and touched an invisible button with the toe of her Blahniks.
 

SEVEN

Everly Gray

“Steele has a hidden elevator, huh?”
Mitch asked, toeing his shoes off and planting his stocking feet on my coffee table.

I nodded, a secret smile building around my heart. I loved when he made himself at home in my house, when we had time to snuggle on the sofa and do nothing but be together.

Mitch pulled me into his shoulder, the clean, spicy scent of him intoxicatingly male. “Seems to fit a guy like Steele. Into big money and all. The last hidden elevator I saw was in the Middle East. Home of an arms merchant.”

A sliver of fear wormed its way into my chest, and I eased back far enough to see his face. “And that was when?”

“Relax, Sunshine.” He dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “It was several years ago. They used my photographs to convict him.”
 

“Tell me he doesn’t know it was you who took the pictures.”

“I remain safely anonymous.” He slipped his glasses off and laid them on the end table, then rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Headache?”

“No, I’m not used to this. Keep forgetting you have your security clearance and its okay for you to touch me whenever.”
 

A shiver of unease skimmed through my body. “We’ll work it out. And just because I ‘see’ something, it doesn’t mean we have to talk about it. Unless I panic that you’re in danger. Then all bets are off.”
 

Most of the time, I was able to accept Mitch’s need for anonymity and could even keep my fingers from exploring too much when he returned from a confidential government assignment. But sometimes, when I knew it was a dangerous mission, I invaded his privacy. I probably needed to work on that.
 

He nudged my foot with his. “You’re thinking too much. Tell me about the séance room.”

“There’s plenty of space for the twenty-three people who requested invitations. Richly decorated with plush carpeting and upholstered chairs. The table is oval, probably cherry. I’m babbling. Don’t know why I’m so nervous about this.”
 

“You’re gonna have to trust them with the plans, Sunshine. Jayne is meticulous about detail, and she has a lot riding on this.”

“Yeah. I know. That’s not my part in this show. The room felt okay. No bad vibes or anything. You know—” I twisted away from him— “Parker’s apartment is right next to the séance room. And Jayne has keys, one for the private elevator and one for his apartment.”

“Doesn’t surprise me.”

“No. Me either, but…you’re gonna laugh.”

“I won’t laugh at you, Sunshine.” He flashed his dimple at me.
 

“Right. Anyway, Steele is big guns, and Jayne—”
 

“What about Jayne?”

“She’s so proper. Do you think she can handle him?”

“Oh, yeah.” He nuzzled my neck, and my girl parts begged for attention. “And I have the scars to prove it.”

“Wanna show me?”

“Anytime,” he whispered, his mouth covering mine.

One week later

I chose my clothes carefully,
checking my reflection from all angles. No gypsy costume for the real deal. It had been fun to tweak Jayne’s prim and proper attitude, but not tonight, and not since we needed to work as a team to pull this crazy séance plan off.
 

I’d chosen a deep green suit, almost black, with a flared jacket and an above-the-knee skirt. I paired it with a cream turtleneck that made my skin glow and tamed my hair into a sturdy clip. After slipping my feet into my favorite strappy sandals, I nodded at the mirror and headed downstairs to wait for Mitch.
 

I had asked him to attend the séance, not because I was afraid, certainly not, but because he looked yummy in a dinner jacket.
 

His rakish smile, slightly too long sandy hair, and steady nerves were exactly what I needed to stay calm while I waited to be served up as a tasty decoy for a potential felon. Unlike Jayne and Parker’s common sense, my intuition insisted the thief was going to make an appearance. Not that I’d mentioned it to them. No point. Planners didn’t like to deviate from their prescribed strategy.
 

Mitch flashed his dimple as he ran a finger down the lapel of my suit. “I like.”

“Thanks. You’re lookin’ good, too. Very good.” My heels made us the same height, so his mouth was right there. So kissable. It was such a waste to only brush his cheek with my lips, but since I wanted to rip his clothes off, I didn’t dare get too close to temptation.
 

I blew out an impatient sigh. “The sooner we do this, the sooner it’ll be over.”

Traffic was light, so it only took fifteen minutes to arrive at Steele Management. Mitch pulled into a corner slot at the back of the building, leaving the front parking lot open for valet service. Twenty-three spaces had been reserved for the séance participants—a token perk for the thousand-dollar a seat donation required to participate.
 

Mitch handed me out of the car, keeping a reassuring palm at the small of my back as we walked to the elevator.

Jayne was pacing outside the conference room, her greeting a curt nod. “Are you ready?” she asked, motioning us inside.
 

I squared my shoulders and sucked in a breath, every inch the condemned heroine. “Um-hmm. Are you?”

“Me?” Jayne asked, surprised.

“You’re the one who has to vindicate all these people. And what if you’re wrong and the bad guy shows up? I only have to chat with a few harmless dead people.”

Mitch bit back a grin and shook his head as Parker Steele joined us. “Has it always been like this between them?” Steele asked.

“Yep.”

I poked Mitch in the ribs.

Neither of them realized that Jayne and I had formed an alliance against the scummy individual stealing from Parker. It was tacit and lurked quietly under our bitch facades, but I hoped it was the beginning of a true friendship. I’d learned to trust her. Sort of. And she’d learned to rely on my fingertips when all else failed. Another
sort of
, but it wasn’t a bad beginning to accepting each other as permanent fixtures in Mitch’s life.

He tapped my hand. “Where do you want me, Sunshine?”
 

The wingback chairs were comfortably spaced around the table. It had been polished to a satin glow that reflected a wavy image of my face—eyes too big, mouth too tight. I consciously relaxed my muscles.
 

“There.” I pointed to a corner slightly behind and to the right of the end of the table where I planned to sit. “It would be better if you don’t participate, I think. I’m not exactly sure what will happen when I begin to work with these people and need to know you have my back.”

Jayne spun around, grabbed my arm, and tugged me away from the others. “Are you suggesting that you might actually communicate with dead people?”

I shrugged. “It’s a possibility. I’d rather be prepared for something like that than not.”

“We planned this. It’s not real.” A flash of panic crossed Jayne’s face. “What is the probability of a visitation from the dead? In numbers?”

 
“You’re such an accountant. I’d give it fifty percent.” It was better to state a number than allow her imagination to tweak the odds. No point explaining that I couldn’t control the images my fingertips
see
. Some things are better left unsaid.
 

 
Jayne’s hands clenched. “You don’t have to acknowledge the…images, do you?”

“No, but in this case, I believe it would be better to talk about something near and dear to the participants. Silence isn’t a widely accepted séance technique.”
 

“Oh, well, no. You’ll have to say something.”

I shrugged. “A girl’s gotta use the gifts she’s got. It’s the only edge we have, Jayne, and I intend to use it. Hopefully it will protect you.”

Jayne threw up her hands, then crossed her arms firmly under her breasts. “I’m scared. You know there are officers posted downstairs. I think they’re afraid I’m going to skip bail.”

“They do stand out, but I’m not sure they’re here because of you. There’s a lot of money being tossed around tonight. I thought maybe Parker had requested—”
 

“No. We have our own security. Those officers are watching me.” Her voice broke.
 

And for the first time, I gave her the Everly version of a hug—tight with lots of positive vibes.

She broke away. I watched, waiting for her to smooth her skirt. Yep, there it was. Jayne always ran her hands over her skirt when she was nervous. As tells go, it was kind of cute.
 

“Thanks, Everly. I-I’ve never been on the other side of the law before. Sometimes I forget it’s pretend. And those officers, they don’t know the truth. They believe I’m guilty.”
 

 
“True,” I agreed, then paused just to let her fret. “If you have any hope of pulling this off, they need to believe you’re guilty. There’s no room for error here. I’m going to do my best to give you a good show, but the rest is up to you and Parker.”
 

She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. “You have a plan, right?”

I avoided her gaze. “If I can get the participants to focus their emotions on the person they want to contact, there’s a good chance I’ll pick up some pertinent, usable information.”

Jayne’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s your plan? What kind of a plan is that? Surely you’ve practiced this.”

“It’s not the kind of thing I can practice.”
 

“I knew I should have made time for a rehearsal this week, but Parker and I—”

“It wouldn’t have helped, Jayne. My gift is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of thing. I can’t
plan
how it’s going to work.”