messages and quickly typed back. She felt Cy come and sit on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to finish typing. “See, I figured out why I couldn’t get to the bottom of my sister’s notes. I was trying too hard to be her. I needed to do what I’m good at.”
“That thing last night where you put your leg . . .”
Gemma blushed. “No, I mean gossip. I’m good at finding out gossip,” Gemma laughed as she answered her now ringing phone.
Cy leaned back and watched Gemma man the phone. She talked, texted, and emailed all at the same time as she worked to find the identity of some of the main players.
“I’ll get you into the Pink Rose as a VIP as soon as I get back to L.A. if you can get this for me. Thanks.” Gemma hung up and immediately took another call. “That’s perfect. I’ll get you Lakers tickets when I’m back.”
Cy felt a knot in his stomach. It was crazy, but the idea of her going back to California didn’t sit well with him. He was done with that life. The other night had meant more to him that he’d even admit to himself. Since then, he’d been thinking of starting a family here in Keeneston with her. But as she talked about getting home to L.A., he decided he must've read too much into it.
Gemma continued to work with her back toward him and he could tell she was in her element. He wasn’t going to distract her now. He quietly unlocked the door and made his way back to his room, hoping he could figure her out. How could he be a spy, a professional at reading people, and yet Gemma was a mystery to him?
* * *
The irate boss slammed his fist on the Brazilian wood table and cursed. His most trusted advisors were around him giving him an update on his enterprises. Sure, they were all going well and he was making money hand over fist on the black market, but his one mistake was still haunting him.
“I’ve had to kill two of my men and organize a riot in a prison to fix this Keeneston matter. I don’t care about anything else. I want this fixed.” With a satisfying crash, he threw his coffee mug into the wall and watched it shatter.
Sergei cleared his throat. “Sir, I think we should take him down before he digs any further.”
“Oh? You think?” he spat. Luckily, that prison warden had contacted Sergei or he’d never have found Cy Davies’s identity. He turned to his right-hand man, the only one he’d been able to depend on for all these years. “Get your ass to Keeneston and get a base set up. I’ll be there by the end of the week.”
* * *
“Come in,” Gemma yelled as she hung up the phone. Cy walked through the door and into her room. “Hey. Where did you go last night?”
“I know how important this is to you and you were on such a roll I didn’t want to interrupt. How is it going this morning?”
“Excellent. I have something big, but now I don’t know what to do with it.” Gemma jumped up and started pacing the room. “I tracked down the man with the goatee that Senator Bruce told us about. Then I had a buddy from the IRS pull his records. Guess what I found?” Gemma knew she was waving her hands around like a mad woman, but she was just too excited.
“What?”
“He has a huge house in the suburbs of D.C., but he also has a very nice condo downtown. I have a gut feeling his wife may not know about this second house because the taxes were filed separately, almost like he was hiding it from her. Do you know why I think that?”
“Why?”
“Because he writes it off as rental property he’s owned for two years. Funny thing about it, though—he’s never collected rent.”
“A perfect place to hide a girlfriend,” Cy stated with less excitement than she had hoped. “We just have to find a way to turn her. Shouldn’t be hard. She probably doesn’t know he’s married.”
“I might have already done that.” That got his attention. Gemma almost laughed as Cy’s head snapped up. “I kinda called and pretended to be his insurance adjuster and said someone filed a claim against him for hit and run. I told her he needed to come into the police station immediately as they were looking into criminal charges.” Gemma paused and took a deep breath. They finally had a lead and she did it her way. She couldn’t stop smiling.
“And?” Cy coaxed.
“And she told me he left for Kentucky this morning and gave me his cell phone number so I could call him.”
Cy stood up and hurried to her desk. “Where’s the number?” he asked.
“Here.” Gemma handed him her notes with the number circled. “What are you going to do?”
“Track it. I guess they’ve found us out. Let’s take the offensive and see what they’re up to.” Cy opened her laptop and started typing. Screens popped up and Gemma was lost as to what he was doing. Then all of a sudden a map appeared on the screen with a little dot on it. “Bingo.”
“Where’d you learn to do that?”
“Spy school. I’m full of neat tricks.” Gemma remembered some of those neat tricks and suddenly felt hot. “It looks like he’s right outside of Keeneston. Let’s see what he’s been up to.”
Cy’s fingers flew over the keyboard as he typed away. “What are you doing now?” Gemma asked.
“Pulling up all his financials and all the information I can on that address. It’s a private residence on a horse farm right outside town. It was for sale, but a cash offer was made today, probably by our guy. Oh, and look at this. He just purchased a ticket to the Mayor’s Annual Charity Ball in Lexington tonight.”
“Why would he do that? Fly into town, buy a house, and attend a ball?” Gemma wondered.
“He’s laying the groundwork. His boss is very powerful and he may have connections here . . . or he will shortly.”
“So, what are we going to do?”
“Dance. You need a gown, sweetheart.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Gemma stepped into the beautiful royal-blue silk dress and prayed it fit. Kenna gave her the nod and Gemma sucked in as the zipper made its way up.
“Oh, thank goodness.” Gemma let out her breath. The dress fit. She had three hours to get ready for a formal ball. Cy had called Paige, who had called Kenna, who had called Dani, who had called Katelyn. Soon her room was filled with women, dresses, shoes, hair products, and things she couldn't identify.
“They give you cleavage, although in this dress I don’t think you’re going to need them,” Katelyn said as she put away the boob enhancers that strangely resembled chicken cutlets.
“This dress is perfect for you.” Kenna clapped as she took a step back and checked out the fit. “I wore this to a ball at Mo’s, so it should be perfect for the charity event.”
“I've got just the shoes for you, too,” Katelyn dug around in her bag and pulled out a pair of silver heels. “I got these at a fashion show in Milan, but they’re a size too small. I think they should fit you perfectly.”
Gemma slid on the expensive designer shoes and got a tingly feeling. She’d never tell Cy, but these shoes were almost as hot as he was. Almost. “This is amazing. Thank you so much. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you.”
“Wait, we’re not done yet.” Dani dug around in her purse and pulled out a velvet bag. “Sometimes less is more. Especially when less is a huge diamond.”
Gemma gasped at the large diamond pendant. “I couldn’t possibly wear that.”
“Sure you can. It will make a statement and statements without words are the best way to get information. People will be clamoring to find out who you are and will gladly answer your questions.”
Paige stepped over to fasten the necklace. “You look perfect. Remember, just smile.”
“Oh no, it’s time! Okay, purse, shoes, dress, hair, makeup, jewelry,” Kenna checked off. “You’re good to go. We can’t wait to hear how it goes.”
The ladies grabbed their things and headed downstairs with Gemma. Gemma was so caught up in talking
