Spying Under the Mistletoe (Love Undercover #2) - Stina Lindenblatt Page 0,22
my couch, watching a hockey game on TV while Adam is parked in his SUV outside of her apartment building, keeping an eye on the place.
It’s not an ideal situation since we have no control over who enters and exits the building.
And that thought churns sourly in my gut.
It’s another reason why Liam wants me to be Chloe’s boyfriend and push the agenda of spending nights together. Clearly, it’s been a while since he was single and dating.
Given that Chloe and I didn’t kiss after our first date, I’m not sure how likely his plan will come to pass. The closest I got to a kiss was the one I planted on her cheek.
That was my choice—to leave her wanting more.
Things would be a lot easier if we could just tell her the truth, but I have no idea how to do that without revealing our true identities.
And that’s a bridge we don’t want to cross yet.
We want to draw Nikolai out, and this is the best way.
“Let’s just say, I owe my kindergarten teacher a huge box of chocolates for putting up with me at that age,” I say to Adam.
The laughter of my five teammates comes through the phone.
“That bad, huh?” Jayden asks.
“It wasn’t what I was expecting, that’s for certain.”
I get them up to speed on the Christmas concert and my date with Chloe.
“She’s already falling for your charms?” Adam asks. “Nice job, man.”
“It’s more about Whiskey’s charms than anything. This little guy can charm the shit out of anyone.” The little guy in question is snoozing contently on my lap while I watch the San Francisco Rock game.
I cringe as the Calgary Flames score. The Rock are now down two in the second period.
“Any word yet on who has the contract out on Chloe?” I ask them.
“No,” Liam says. “The Feds can only say that whoever’s interested in her also wants to locate Nikolai. The sole difference is, whoever has the contract on her wants to take him out. The Feds just want to lock him up for the rest of his life and destroy the mafia kingdom he inherited.”
“Is it really that big of a deal if someone kills him instead?” Connor asks. “It would certainly save tax-payer money.”
“If the Feds can lock up Nikolai, they can also take out other players in the crime family. That’s their ultimate goal.”
“Sounds great—except for the part where whoever has the contract out on Chloe will sweep in and deepen their network in the area,” I say. “The reason they haven’t so far is because the Orlov crime family is too deeply entrenched in this part of the world. The only way to gain control of the territory is to take out the entire family.”
“Including those members who have nothing to do with the criminal activities?” Connor asks.
He’s right. Chloe can’t be the only innocent in this game.
“The Feds are working on that, too,” Liam says as a Flames player lands in the penalty box. “It’s a never-ending battle. But for the most part, it’s their battle until they ask for our help.”
“Well, who do we have here?” Adam says, voice on full alert.
“Who?” I ask, my heart suddenly pounding unexpectedly in my chest.
“It’s a woman who doesn’t live in the building.” He describes her as best as he can due to the distance and lighting.
“Whoever it is, she isn’t purposely hiding her face. So she’s probably some innocent visiting the building.”
“Can you tell what apartment she buzzed?” Connor asks at the same time I say, “Are you able to send us a photo?”
“I have no idea. Her body was blocking the panel, so I couldn’t see which button she pushed. But I’m sending you her photo now.”
A moment later, the image comes through on our phones.
What the fuck?
“Her name is Tabitha Windhouse. She’s the president of the Dalhousie Elementary PTA.” I give them the CliffsNotes version of what I know about her.
“Too bad we can’t bug Chloe’s apartment. Then we could hear if that’s who Tabitha is visiting.”
This is where being the good guy is problematic. You can guarantee the mafia has no issues bugging people’s homes, vehicles, or phones if it suits their purpose. The same can’t be said about the Feds or us unless there is approval from the higher powers. If they’re caught illegally bugging someone, any evidence they collect could be inadmissible in court.
Which means the bad guys might win.
And no one wants that—except for the bad guys and their greedy lawyers.