leaving a message in a place that no one knows me.”
“People like me know all about people like you, Mr. FBI. People like Mykonos and Navi . . . they love talking to the people mingling in these locations. And the Navis of the world will know you.”
“So you turn me into an old man.”
She didn’t like this. “You don’t speak the language.”
“Do you speak Hungarian?”
“No, but I have five languages to tap into.”
Neil interrupted both of them. “English is the universal language in these establishments, and you know it, Olivia.”
Leo took a long breath. “What is it you’re really worried about? No one is going to shoot me for asking questions in a place where people ask questions.”
“The fewer people that know we’re connected the better.”
They stared at each other, locked in an argument.
“Olivia,” Neil interrupted. “Your argument about the Navis of the world isn’t unjustified, but it’s weak. And more limited than people who might realize you’ve returned from the dead. Add thirty years to Leo’s face, send him in not to lure Friedrich around to talk to you, but because Leo has information about a job in Vegas that didn’t turn out like it should have. When word comes that Friedrich is in attendance, we send you in . . . with a team.”
Olivia turned to the monitor. “Keep your ass in California.”
“My London base is already working. The only face you’ll recognize is Jax. She’ll make sure you don’t shoot anyone you shouldn’t.”
“Jax is in Amsterdam.”
“Change of plans,” Neil said.
Olivia looked at Leo, then Neil. Neil’s plan was solid. Putting others at risk was never a concern in the past. And there were times she didn’t really care if she made it out alive.
Leo reached for her hand. “It’s a good plan.”
“If I find holes, we’re changing it,” Olivia warned.
“By all means,” Neil said, deadpan. “In twenty-four hours, we start rolling. Tell me what you need.”
“Communications,” Olivia said. “If Leo goes in, we need to be able to hear him.”
“Done. What about weapons? Cash?”
She shook her head.
“We’ll reconnect in twenty-four hours, sooner if everything is in place.” Neil’s image disappeared, and Leo closed the laptop.
“You all right?”
“I haven’t decided.”
He twisted her around and placed both hands on her knees, his eyes level with hers. “If you disappear, I’m searching for you and not watching my back.”
He was trying to scare her.
She would never admit his tactics were working. “You’ll watch your back.”
“Not like I would if I knew you were out there alone.”
One hundred percent commitment. That’s how this had to be to come out on the other side alive and with the information they needed.
“You’re manipulative,” she told him.
He smiled. “I’m in good company.”
Leo sat still while Olivia did her thing.
Not once in his career had he needed to wear makeup, let alone strips of plastic to add weight and disguise his bone structure.
Using paintbrushes and glue, she took her time. Music played in the room, and she worked in silence. The whole time she refused to let him see what she was doing.
Jax had arrived a couple of hours before, bringing with her the communication devices Olivia had requested. Once Olivia told Jax her plan on how to transform Leo, Jax left to return with a suit and padding.
Now, with Leo in one chair and Jax in another, they were both preparing to go in.
A Róka required a serious entrance fee, in cash, and the dress code wasn’t negotiable. Leo couldn’t help but think there would be more surprises once they were on the inside.
Olivia held out the jacket for him to get into and ran her hands over the lapels before standing back.
“Holy shit,” Jax said behind her.
“Looks good?” Leo asked.
Olivia twisted him until he faced the mirror.
Chills ran down his arms. She’d added weight and wrinkles and a nose that appeared to have been broken in the past. The facial hair he’d grown for her had been removed. She’d put a second skin over his head, and now he had the receding gray hairline he hoped to avoid.
He looked like a larger version of his grandfather before he’d passed. “Wow.”
She patted his ass, smiled through the reflection in the mirror. “I’d still do ya,” she teased.
“Hollywood needs your skills,” Jax told Olivia.
Jax stood in a hip-hugging V-neck dress that cut so low it damn near went to her navel. The choice was to add not only a layer of distraction, since it was hard not to stare at her chest, but to