Dark Deception (Vampire Royals of New York #1) - Sarah Piper Page 0,99

see the wheels turning in his head. As far as Charley knew, Rudy had never fenced cars before, but Travis’ involvement seemed to change things.

“So that about does it,” Charley said, rising from the chair. “I’ll get you the list of pieces once I’ve had a chance to think about everything again, but this should give you a pretty good idea of what’s going on over there.”

“Very informative,” Rudy said, unable to keep the note of satisfaction from his voice.

Charley finally relaxed. All in all, her presentation had been pretty convincing—she could see it in the way Rudy smiled now, greedy and eager, eyes glittering with the promise of a hot score.

But like a flower kept in the closet, Charley was fading quickly. It wasn’t just the double life, the lies, the scamming.

It was that she missed him.

Somehow, in their short time together, Dorian Redthorne had gone from random hot hookup, to phone sex fantasy man, to Rudy’s mark, to a real person, to an immortal vampire, and right back to a real person again—one she desperately wanted to know. To be near. Now, she wasn’t just fantasizing about him; she was thinking about him. Remembering him and their conversations, the breakfast spread, the drive. Craving Dorian’s touch, the sharp sting on her bare flesh, the soothing kisses that followed.

“Nice work, Charley.” Travis pounded on the table, startling her from her thoughts. “You’re quite the resourceful little slut.”

Charley flashed him a carefree smile, refusing to take the bait. “I know, right? While you were jerking off alone last night, I actually got some useful information. As a matter of fact, I got more intel in one night than you managed to cobble together in all your months of surveillance.” Then, turning to Rudy, “So when are we making a move?”

“You’re on a need-to-know basis,” he said. “The moment you need to know, I promise you, you will.”

But that was the thing—Charley did need to know. Right fucking now. If she had any chance of throwing a wrench into the works, she needed to know exactly how and when those works would play out.

Fuck.

There was only one thing left to do.

It was a risk—one she’d never before taken. Not once in the five years since she’d been working for Rudy. But now, it was her only shot. And when she thought again of Dorian, of how quickly he’d opened his home to her, his bed, hell—even his heart—Charley knew she couldn’t back down.

Popping her hands on her hips, she looked her dickbag, asswipe, shithead of a boss straight in the eyes and said, “I’m sorry, Uncle Rudy, but that’s bullshit.”

His eyebrows lifted, his lip already curling into a sneer. He was T-minus five seconds from erupting, but Charley couldn’t pull back now.

“Look,” she said firmly. “You guys sent me in there almost entirely unprepared—no mention of the family members in town, no mention of the size and scope of the fundraiser, and worse—no mention that the host was a man I’d already met before—one who obviously recognized me.” Charley shook her head, still steamed about that particular trick. “Despite all that, I still managed to do my job. Now, out of everyone in this room, I’m the closest one to Redthorne—the only one who might be able to wrangle some additional info out of him, or lure him out of the house at the right time. Even with all the surveillance in the world, you two don’t stand a chance without me.”

“Careful,” Rudy warned. “You’re getting dangerously close to insulting me.”

Charley’s chest tightened, but she wasn’t done.

“Dorian Redthorne isn’t some drugged-up celebrity or bratty kid spending Daddy’s trust fund. He’s a serious collector, and he’s not going to be taken so easily. Face it, guys. You wanna get close to that cache? You’re gonna need me, every step of the way.”

“Fuck.” Travis tried to shove a hand through his hair but gave up when he couldn’t break the gel barrier. “We haven’t mapped everything out yet. We’re still waiting on more surveillance photos from my other guy.”

“Just how many other guys are in on this?” she asked.

No response.

“Fine, figure out the logistics,” she said. “But when it’s time to go in, I’m going in with you.”

Rudy remained silent, and inside, Charley cheered. It was as close to agreement as she was going to get out of him.

Today’s small victory achieved, Charley picked up her bag and headed for the door, tossing one last barb over her shoulder. “Call me when you