He smiled but took a sip instead of answering. She smiled back.
“Would you like to show me personally? Is that it? Is that why you’re being coy?”
“No… I mean… maybe. I do think you should sleep on it, however. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly.”
“You’re being protective of me…” she said, tilting her head on the side playfully, analyzing him.
“Just making sure you know what you’re saying.”
She leaned forward. “I’ve been around the block a couple of times, trust me. I may look sweet and innocent–”
“You don’t look sweet and innocent at all.”
“Oh? And how do I look then?”
He paused a moment, staring at her. “You look sexy. And daring.”
She smiled. “I told you, vanilla is boring. I want to have fun. I want to take a ride on the edge. I want to feel I’m alive. My art would be nothing without it.”
Another woman entered the Ceiling then. Androgynous in look with short dark hair and wearing a tailored suit, she walked swiftly toward Chaney. She bent down and whispered in his ear. Chaney nodded and stood.
“I’m sorry, I have to go, but please,” he motioned to the room, “enjoy yourself.”
“You’re going to build me up then let me down?”
“Consider this a tour. If you enjoy tonight, we can sign you up for a permanent membership tomorrow.”
“I wasn’t talking about the membership.”
He smiled at her. “Oh, that... I think you should sleep on it,” he said, then turned and left the Ceiling.
Salvi let her disappointment show. She glanced around again and found a pair of eyes watching her. She paused upon recognizing him. It was the ponytail guy from a few nights ago, the one who’d been staring at her on the first floor. He finished his drink, then stood and headed for the exit.
Who the hell was he?
Kara shook her head in wonder. “Jesus Christ, he’s going to take you to the basement. Chaney himself. Just like that!”
“Salvi’s got the moves,” Bronte grinned.
“I worked a lot of bars when I was younger,” Salvi said. “Maybe not as fancy as these, but you see one rich guy with power, you’ve seen them all. Stroke their ego, give ‘em a little attention, but also play a little hard to get. Works every time. They like a challenge. They like to conquer.”
“Just so long as they don’t conquer any more of my officers,” Ford said, not finding any amusement in her words.
Salvi dropped her smile. “He won’t.”
“That is, if it’s even him,” Kara said. “I mean, with all the heat on the street, would he take someone he doesn’t really know and show them his secret kingdom?”
“Depends how much he wants to get Salvi into bed,” Bronte said.
“And it depends if he has the means to erase any mistakes he makes,” Salvi said, her words settling heavy in the room.
“Just remember,” Noble said, breaking the silence, “get into the open, use the compact to trigger your emergency beacon and we’ll swoop in and get you. It lays dormant until you trigger it. Open once to activate it, twice to signal the emergency, three times to disengage.”
“I’ll have the team on standby,” Ford said. “All of ‘em. We’ll start the tracking device in your nails the second you leave the apartment tonight. We’ll follow you closely. Regardless, you have the power to trigger the beacon yourself, like Noble said. You even sniff a little trouble, give us the signal and we’ll swarm the motherfucker like nothing he’s ever seen before.”
“And Brentt,” Noble said, “there’s something you should know.”
“What?”
“We tried to have the drones follow you last night. They can’t see into the building, can’t pick up your heat signature, nothing. The whole building was designed so we can’t see what happens inside. Once you enter the Ceiling, we’re blind to you.”
“So the second you leave the Ceiling,” Ford said, “if you sniff trouble-”
“I will,” Salvi said firmly.
Ford stepped closer. “You sure you’re up for this?”
Salvi nodded. “I got this. Let’s find Caine’s killer, and let’s find out what happened to Clare.”
Salvi took one last look in the mirror. She wore a purple dress with a long slit up the side and was displaying the most décolletage she had since she’d met Chaney. Yet, still, it was a dress she could easily move in, should the need arise. Kara had dressed her in as much metallic and tech-looking jewelry as she could find, from a large upper arm piece to a webbed finger-to-wrist bracelet. They matched nicely with her thick digital nails adorned with the crushed mirrored glass.
“If this doesn’t get me into the basement, I don’t know what will,” she said to herself.
Her burner phone rang. She picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Use the compact, no matter how small the threat.” It was Mitch.
She exhaled softly. “I will. I got this.”
“I mean it, Salvi.”
“I know, Mitch. I’m not going into this lightly. Caine is dead. I haven’t forgotten that. And I haven’t forgotten what happened last time I went in alone. Trust me.”
He sighed with clear concern. “We’ll be waiting,” he said. “We’ll be watching you as best we can, but once you enter that club, maybe even that basement, we’re blind unless you–”
“Mitch, I know,” she said.
“Salvi… you know I can’t handle that again.”
She knew he was referring to his slain former girlfriend. The one whose killer had never been found.
“And you won’t have to,” she said, wondering if Caine’s death had derailed Mitch’s emotional recovery from that. “I will use my back up,” she reassured him. “I won’t try to be a hero. I won’t go it alone. I promise.”
Silence hung over the line for what seemed like an age.
“Just stay safe,” he finally said.
“You too,” she replied.
He ended the call and she looked up to see Bronte standing there.
“Don’t let him rattle you,” he said firmly, stepping toward her. “Don’t even think about him, Salvi. You focus on Chaney and what you got to do tonight. You keep your eyes and
