The two other agents she had arrived with sat at the bar and kept an eye out in case Shelby needed them to intervene.
“Shelby, I want you to meet Vinny Carlotti. Vinny, this is my new friend Shelby.”
“Shelby and I have met.”
Cain arched a brow, wanting him to say from where.
“She works for my father, part time, I believe.” Vinny got up and shook hands with her before she took a seat next to Cain.
The agent didn’t knock Cain’s hand off when it came to rest on her knee and hoped her notorious friend knew what she was doing.
“Have you made all the appropriate arrangements?” Cain asked Vinny, liking the feel of the skin under her fingers.
“We’re all set to move for next week. My men will be there to help divide the shipment once you take control of it. Once it’s ready we’ll send it out from there. Dad added another truckload of cigarettes since some of the vendors we deal with on the Gulf Coast were interested. Overall we stand to make over five million apiece, if everything goes according to plan.”
“Good. We’ll be getting the warehouses ready to move the stuff out the same night we get it. I don’t want to be sitting on this much merchandise for too long and get my ass popped for it.” Cain shook hands with her old friend and made sure he and his party were taken care of for the rest of the night if they chose to stay.
“Want to join me in the office for a more intimate drink?” she offered Shelby.
“If she says no to this, I swear I’ll have her ass transferred to the most disgusting place I can think of,” Kyle said to the others in the van. He had already called the group assigned to Vincent Carlotti and informed them of the new alliance with Casey.
“Sure.” Shelby followed a little behind Cain, enjoying the way the black slacks and black turtleneck Cain was wearing looked on her.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but Cain doesn’t allow anyone to carry anything in with them. If you’d like, you can leave your purse with me, and I promise I’ll keep an eye on it.” The big man standing at the front door of the office held his hand out and waited to see if the agent would comply. If he had to call Cain back out, it might look like he couldn’t handle the situation.
“It’s just a purse.”
“And it’s just her rules. Her club, her rules, that’s the way it works. If you like I can go in and tell her you’ve changed your mind about joining her.”
Shelby handed over the purse, knowing it was her last link to her backup. Not that she worried Cain was going to harm her, but Cain had made it clear it wouldn’t be a good idea for her to keep up her surveillance. She noticed the two men move from the bar to get closer to the office, but they weren’t able to get too close with the number of personnel Cain had between them and the door. To move in now would blow her cover not only with Cain, but also with Vincent. She hoped for the best and handed over the purse.
The office was a large space with only a bar, a desk, and a sofa that overlooked the crowd through what she assumed was a two-way mirror. Soft, low lighting made it feel warmer than it was, considering the sparse furnishings, but she could still see Cain clearly as she stood at the bar and poured two glasses of amber liquid.
“Irish whiskey,” she informed Shelby when she handed over the glass before walking over and sitting on the sofa. “Come over here. I’m not going to bite. Unless…” Cain was obviously referring to any other wires Shelby might be sporting.
“Don’t worry. Agent Kyle is most probably having puppies by now since my purse has left my person.”
“I’m glad to see you again, but to tell you the truth, I’m surprised you’re here.” Cain drained the glass and sat it on the floor by her feet. Eventually she would have to finish furnishing the space to make it more functional, but it hadn’t been a priority. She only came to the club when business demanded it or when she was in the mood for the rare evening out on the dance floor.
“I’d have put in another request for transfer this week, believe me, but any more of them and it would’ve started to look suspicious. I thought a few weeks of me coming up empty would do the trick, but you go and get all chatty on me. It’s going to be hard to get rid of me now. Why did you do that? Was it a test or something?” Shelby took a seat and left a little room between them. Cain looked criminally good tonight, instead of just criminal.
“Maybe it was my way of helping you get that medal we talked about.”
She slid closer and reached out for Cain’s hand. “I appreciate what you did for me, Cain, but we agreed I have a job to do, and I’m not going to shirk my responsibilities even though you know who I am. You had to realize I was wired.”
“I told you before, I’m not going to sell you out, and you’ve upheld your end of our deal, I would imagine.”
She nodded. She had gone against everything she had been taught and believed when she omitted the truth of their flight. Cain had been right. No one from the bureau had even known she was gone, so it was more of a lie of omission than anything more sinister. Either way, if Cain turned out to be less than honorable, Shelby’s lie could come back to haunt her eventually. Pacts with the devil usually didn’t come cheap.
“I gave you my word, Cain.”
“Then that’s good enough for me, and once this is all over, I’ll see what I can do to help you get that transfer.”
She tugged Cain’s hand into her lap and ran her fingertip along the back of it, trying to find a way to say what was on her mind. “Not that I don’t appreciate your help. After all, you saved my life, but please don’t make any calls on my behalf.”
The low, mirth-filled laugh made her relax, assuring her she hadn’t insulted Cain. “I’m thinking more along the lines of your superiors being so impressed with your job performance they’ll move you further along, than of me picking up the phone. As surprised as I was to see you tonight, I’m glad you’re still around. Think you can lose your shadows tomorrow night and meet me for dinner?”
