Charley sidled up to him. “Do I make you nervous?”

I would be better against a sniper I can’t see. “No.” He held his voice as flat and even as he could, his eyes direct on hers.

“Losin’ time, Charley!” James’s voice bellowed from the hallway.

She rolled her eyes, but her smile lit her face. Their bodies separated by only the fabric of his suit and the tiny triangles of her costume, Wyatt’s instincts insisted he reach, touch and taste.

“Get over here, Charley.” Lily pressed the button on the stereo and Queen blared through the room.

Wyatt pointed toward the door. “I’ll just-uh-I’ll just catch up to James.”

A small giggle escaped from Lily as she stuffed supplies into a bag, and he whisked himself away.

10

The Cessna Citation swept through the clouds and cruised somewhere around thirty-thousand feet. The sun sparkled off its wings, adding warmth to Charley’s spot by the window. After the hour of practice with the silver beast, her mind buzzed, pushing toward overload from the gross amount of information she’d digested. She relaxed into her seat, her body disengaging, and hoped her mind would follow.

Next to her, Lily read, and across from them both, James and Wyatt sat. Heads together, they scoured a mound of paper-based intelligence. The six-seater could have held Cael too, but thanks to the government’s stupid rule, he’d get his own transportation. Charley refused to be without a vital member of her team.

“Charley?” Wyatt said.

Eyes closed, head against the soft leather, she didn’t move. “Yeah?”

“I have Candie booked for seven tonight-a private arrangement. Is that enough time?”

“Yes.” She breathed in and out, the movement of her chest as smooth as the tilt of the plane’s wings.

“Is there anything you’d like to know?”

He worries like he used to. Charley opted not to let him know she understood. A bump of turbulence shook the plane before it leveled off again. “You can tell me about the club if you want.” She didn’t need more detail to be believed as Candie, but if it assuaged his own apprehension, he could run through it all again.

“Jefferson Champs is the owner,” Wyatt said in clipped recitation. “Soleil Champs is his wife and a partner. They’ve owned the club for three years, although the last year has been their most successful-at least as far as public record indicates.”

“What’s its name?” Lily asked.

“Ah…” Papers shuffled from Wyatt’s seat.

Charley couldn’t imagine that he didn’t know. A ruse? Distraction?

“Mind Benders.”

“Unique,” Lily said.

“The club opens at five, closes at two. Four poles are strategically placed throughout the room. One report indicates sixteen women dance there daily. Dances range from five to ten minutes each with a fifteen minute break for the dancer while another takes over.”

“Holy shit!” Charley sat upright, her eyes open wide. “Ten? As in minutes?” She turned to glare at Lily. “Ten?” The longest routine she’d practiced lasted three minutes and thirty-two seconds.

Lily leaned away. “Yeah, well, I read that in one of the books I told you I brought.”

“You’re not making this easy for me.” Charley crossed her arms.

“And who, in her right mind, thought being a super secret, sexy agent with U.S. government ties would be easy?” Lily’s retort came with fire and a smile.

Charley threw herself against the back of the seat.

Wyatt motioned to his papers. “So, ah, back to the club?”

Charley flicked her hand at him, cocked her head in his direction. “Floor’s all yours.”

“Um… dancers. So, sixteen dancers, about ten wait staff-mostly women. Four bouncers, two remain at the entrance throughout the night. The club has never been cited for any violence, no drug busts, no fires or anything. By all accounts it’s a clean operation.”

“The club is just the venue, right? It’s not of significance itself,” James said.

“Uh… well, right, but, there is something else.” Wyatt tapped the edge of the papers and folders as if to align them.

“What do you mean, ‘something else’?” The muscle in James’s jaw worked as if he chewed an overcooked steak.

Wyatt shifted, crossed and uncrossed his legs.

Charley’s entire body tensed. “Ditto that.”

Lily nudged her, sniffed the air.

“I smell a rat, too. Speak. Now, Wyatt.”

“Everything I’ve told you is true,” Wyatt said.

“Wyatt?” Charley tapped her foot against the floor as her grip on the armrest grew tighter. “What else is there to tell?”

“Watch the seat there, Charley.” Lily’s hand laid on top of Charley’s for a brief second.

“Candie is our in, but her information is not our only objective.” Wyatt took a deep breath.

Before Charley could comment again, her stomach flip-flopped with the plane’s descent. She turned back to Wyatt where he sat, stiff within his seat. “What is our ultimate goal then?”


***

In the bright sunlight, Montreal’s dense forest of glass reflected in the water at its edge. Traffic ran through streets at a busy pace, though on the outskirts, trees grew for miles. The plane banked, turning a circle toward the airport.

Wyatt realized he’d have one last chance to convince his key player. “Char-”

“Secondary missions are a breach of contract, Wyatt.” She didn’t even glance in his direction.

She baffled and tantalized him-a chameleon of emotions he didn’t know how to read. Less than eight hours remained to complete the project. Wyatt had been promoted up the ranks because he followed the rules. His commander told him not to divulge all details unless desperate.

Dammit. I need her.

Rubber met pavement before the plane taxied to the private FBO. It rolled to a stop with an abrupt push forward.

Wyatt had yet to come up with a proper argument. As Charley put it, he had failed to inform her of a part of the program.

They all straightened at the knock on the door.

“Did someone know we were coming?” Charley asked.

Taxiway crew responded only to the captain-another government agent assigned to Charley’s plane. Once an aircraft found its position, ground crew either waited for the passengers to deplane or moved back to their work.

“Only those required by FAA rules would know, “ Wyatt said.

He and James both laid hands on weapons hidden at their waists. Wyatt knew James had no direct affiliation with the FBI, but he’d secured equal clearance through Cael and Charley. Wyatt moved forward to unlatch the door and released the steps.

A Canadian official stepped up to them. His dark blue uniform identified him as Law Enforcement. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to return to your point of origin,” he said, his voice authoritative.

“I’ll handle this,” Wyatt mouthed to James, with an accompanying look to Charley. “I’m sorry, officer, but we’ve been authorized to land.”

“There are no authorized planes at this FBO today.”

Wyatt withdrew papers from his suit jacket. “Will this do?” He passed them to the officer, but turned away.

Charley tapped her toes against the floor of the cabin and her fingers along her thigh.

Wyatt turned back as the man spoke.

“We’ll have to confirm these. Please remain within the plane with the door closed. Do not re-engage your engines.”

Wyatt returned to his seat, two hands against the sides of his head.

“Why are we being held?” Charley asked. “I thought the U.S. and Canada had a customs and immigration agreement?”

Wyatt blew out a breath of frustration. “They do. This guy is D.E.S.-drug enforcement. My only thought is that private planes are piping in or carrying out drugs.”

He and James exchanged glances.

“Why do you guys keep looking at each other like that? And what were the papers you gave him?”

“Standard U.S. customs documentation,” Wyatt said. “They should identify us as well as the plane. They may ask to do a search, though.”

“So? Why is that a problem?” Charley asked.

Wyatt turned to James.

Charley threw her hands up into the air. “All day it’s been one thing after another! Either tell me what’s going on, or I’m going to have our captain turn us around just like those guys ordered.” Her finger angled its way to Wyatt.

He stretched his legs, swatted and pulled at his trousers. “There are a few items they might question. My gun is restricted, but I do have paperwork as well as the Authorization to Transport. My bigger concern is the supplies we have and the hardware for our… observation.”

“Supplies?”

“We have drugs, truth serums, among other items, in case we need them. We-” The maternal disapproval she aimed his way sent shivers along his spine.

Charley shrugged. “So, we’re visitors, and I have medical issues. Easily explained. For the hardware, well, that’s business.”

Yet another flip of her on-off switch. Wyatt shook his head, waved her off in agreement, but huffed out a breath before he continued. “We’re on a tight schedule.” A quick glance at his watch caused the other three to do the same.

The knock on the outer shell of the plane brought them all back to attention. The same officer greeted them as the door opened.

“You all are free to disembark,” the officer said. “We apologize for any inconvenience the additional time has caused you.” The officer handed Wyatt the paperwork with a nod, turned and walked away.

“Easy as that?” Lily asked.

“Well then. See?” Charley walked through the door. “If you want to talk to me Wyatt, come and get me. Otherwise, I’m getting a drink and going home.”

“She’s not going to make this easy, is she?” Wyatt asked.

James shook his head. “We’ll hang back until you’ve convinced her, or she gets back on and we fly away.”