Page 121 of The Last Promise You Made

When we’d been guided to the ballroom, I’d spotted several potential locations guarded with retinal scanners and keycode locks. Getting into those places would be critical tonight, and the easiest way to make it happen was on Laredo’s arm.

Laredo assisted me up the steps to his private table. His touch felt cold, and my body screamed at me to run. I fought back that instinct, easing past the jaguar lying in front of the table. I didn’t glance down at it, but I felt the big cat’s tail swish against my shoes. What would it take for the animal to pounce? What words or actions would set it off? And did Laredo know them, or was the jaguar controlled by some other person in the ballroom?

He held my chair out for me and then pushed it in. As he did, he leaned down, lips resting next to the shell of my ear, hand sliding over my shoulder in an intimate caress, whispering, “Welcome to the adventure, Ms. Kent.”

I shivered again, and he chuckled softly.

“I wonder if my old friend knows what to do with a woman like you.”

He removed his lips and his hand, and my body let out a relieved sigh as he moved around the table to sit. A bell tinkled from somewhere in the room, and men dressed in tuxedos as see-through as the hostess's dress came out from hidden doors, carrying trays of glittering silver.

Our table was served first, the cut crystal plate layered with black caviar and creamy white brie on white and black crackers. The monotone-colored array was mimicked in every course that came after it. Shades of black and white and gray, with an occasional hint of red. A surprising flash of color that hit with an almost brutal force.

Throughout the meal, Laredo talked to me about nothing and everything—what it had taken to make tonight happen in just this way, the ranch and his plans to expand it. He was charming and confident. If it weren’t for the coldness of his gaze and what I knew about him, I would never have suspected he was anything but an extremely wealthy man showing off for his guests.

My eyes kept catching Ryder’s over Laredo’s shoulder. Neither of us was eating much, and we were drinking less.

“You should eat,” Laredo said when I’d left the majority of my blackened swordfish on my plate. “You’re going to need your strength.”

When I met his gaze, barely controlled annoyance flashed through it, either because I wasn’t eating the food he’d arranged or because I kept looking at Ryder. The flare disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, but the stony look that remained wasn’t much better.

“Why would I need my strength?”

His jaw clenched. Another challenge he didn’t like. “You wanted an interview and a tour of the estate for your little journal, didn’t you? You’ll need some stamina to get what you want tonight.” Each word held innuendo, not just the sexual promise he’d intended, but also a hint of the real threat.

Any remaining shred of doubt I’d had of whether he knew who I was or not disappeared. But it gave me an idea I hadn’t thought of before—a play that would make me sick to my stomach to make but was perhaps the only one a man like Laredo would respect.

“Do you really know what I want?” I said, lowering my tone and adding my own innuendo.

Interest sparked. “Perhaps I want to hear you say it.”

“I have something to offer you. A trade.”

He laughed, and to all the guests around us, it simply looked like he was enjoying himself while wooing his friend’s date. “What makes you think you’re in a position to bargain?”

I hesitated for a mere second. Going with my instincts while in the middle of an operation had always been my strength, but if I did this, there’d be no going back. I would be giving away any chance of retreat. But maybe this would keep Laredo busy enough to forget about Ryder.

Behind Laredo’s back, Ryder’s brows were furrowed, concentrating on me and paying no attention to the others at his table. It made him look like exactly what Laredo wanted—a jealous boyfriend. Ryder couldn’t hear what we were saying. Even if he pulled his phone out and opened the camera app to reveal my vantage from the tiara I’d tucked into my updo, he wouldn’t be able to hear it. I only had cameras without mics in my kit.

As Ryder’s eyes burned into me, I could almost hear his silent plea for me to play it safe.

But safe wasn’t going to cut it.

I pretended to sip at the champagne, running a finger along the rim and hearing the glass sing before setting it down. I leaned in slightly, feeling the neckline of the dress dip even more. Laredo’s eyes skimmed along the exposed skin.

“I have the last piece of Natalia’s code.”

Fury drifted through his eyes at her name, but his face remained frozen in a suave smile, so the rest of the ballroom saw nothing but a charming host.

“You should have kept that to bargain with later—when you needed to beg for your life.”

I forced my hand not to shake as I played with the beaded necklace Ryder had loaned me, finger trailing downward, drawing Laredo’s gaze once again.

Ignoring the threat he’d issued, I continued as if he hadn’t said anything. “I want a place at your side.” I waved to the table and the room. I picked up one of the diamonds glittering on the tablecloth. “I want all of this to be mine.”

He didn’t react to my offer. Didn’t do anything but quirk his finger to the waiter, and our plates were removed only to be replaced with dessert. Perfectly formed dark-chocolate cakes twined with white rose petals. They were beautiful, but I had no interest in it.

I sipped at the champagne, yearning for water instead. As beautiful as everything was tonight, it would never be anything I’d want. What I loved were jeans and T-shirts, unraveling clues, and—more recently—the smell of grass and hay. The scent of a man who spent his days outdoors and his nights loving his family. I wouldn’t want anything Laredo had to offer, even if he wasn’t the head of an evil cartel.

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