Page 19 of Catch Me If You Can (The Mancini Way)

“Yes sir I’ve got everything in place. I made sure to pick a place that our guys could have access to. Our table will have eyes and ears on it the whole time and his shadow will be on-site.” That was one for the win column, since we weren’t allowed to tap any of Hank’s places or the man himself the fact that I could get close to him eliminated the legal aspects. In essence it was entrapment yes, but there were loop holes a mile wide that we could skate through, I left such things to the organizers. If we got burnt once more none of this will fall back on me, I’m just an agent doing the job she was assigned to. It was spectacularly confusing how they’d worked it out in their minds but hey if it worked none of that will matter; I got butterflies in my stomach at the thought, the truth is I was becoming less and less hopeful of it working. I’d accepted sometime in the last day or so that I wanted him to win, that I didn’t want him to be the criminal mastermind they suspected him of being. A very precarious if not dangerous turn of events; I also accepted that my excitement at seeing him again had more to do with my attraction to him as a man and less to do with the job. I was now walking a very tight rope of uncertainty but couldn’t seem to control the feelings he’d awakened in me; they just added another layer for me to peel away.

“Good, good, how do you feel, ready to beard the lion in his den?”

I had to roll my eyes at that see, no clue whatsoever as to the true nature of this guy.

“I’m ready to do the job sir.” Liar.

“Good woman, try to get some more insight into this guy see what makes him tick, so far we’re batting a thousand and I can’t stress enough how much we need something.”

No pressure though.

“Sure sir I’ll do my best.”

I was surprised at how easily I shed my nervousness in its place was an excitement at seeing him again. I wondered what outlandish things he’d say to me tonight or would he play the smooth operator? I made sure I got there ahead of him I’d already spotted my cover, the fact that I was able to find them that easily only meant that someone as sharp as Hank probably would too; hopefully he’d just think they were there on him and had nothing to do with me. He had to be accustomed to having a man on him by now, he’s been aware of our presence for almost a decade and had in fact fought and won a few cases against us for violation of his privacy which is why the team was even now sitting the required distance away as was ordered by the judge. No doubt that stuck in the craw of the one who was after him.

Chapter 13

Mancini

Did they have to be so fucking obvious? I mean seriously, after all this time you’d think they’d have upped their game. They might as well have been wearing a sign that said G-men. She on the other hand was looking exceptionally pretty in her off the shoulder blouse, which is all I could see of her outfit from my vantage point across the room. Her hair fell in curls to her shoulders and I noticed her little butterfly pin slash camera, was pinned to her blouse again. I approached with an air of nonchalance even though I had no doubt the place was bugged to pick up even the fall of lint from my cuff if there was any. I flashed my boyish grin to unnerve her as soon she caught sight of me. I’ve been told that it’s very disarming to the opposite sex. Watching that blush spread from her cheeks to her shoulders, I was reminded of what she looked like when I watched her in her bed the night before. Sweetly innocent and yet so fucking alluring, it won’t be long now, I could feel the burn in my gut the need that wouldn’t be assuaged until I’d taken her. I had the feeling that when I did finally have her beneath me it was going to take a very long time to slate my lust.

“Good evening Cierra.”

“Hank.”

She seems a little more nervous than the other night and I wondered if it was because of our audience or her natural reaction to me the man?

“So how are you finding our fair city? Visited the shops as yet?” I took my seat across from her.

“I’ve done some shopping yes.”

No you haven’t you spent the first part of the day with your colleagues trying to figure out where and what I did last night. My easy smile gave nothing of my inner thoughts away, picking up my menu I scanned our surroundings from beneath my lashes they might be more than one variable here after all and it always paid to be careful.

Cierra

After a pretty awkward start the evening progressed rather smoothly, he’d pretty much demolished my feeling of calm with his first smile and it had taken me a while to get back on even footing and I was finally able to put on my professional cap and remember why I was here. Maybe having ears and eyes on me helped keep me focused whatever it was I was grateful, I had a hard enough time keeping things light. There were times when it seemed Mancini was playing games, he kept making a point of being suggestive, not that he was overly lewd or anything like that no he’s too much the gentleman for that, but it seemed he was trying to get under my skin with every word.

“So what is it that you do again Sierra?”

“I’m in acquisitions.” I took a sip of my wine to take my eyes off of his, he was looking right into me as if he knew my every secret it was to say the least very unnerving.

“Really what is it that you acquire?” There he goes again with that knowing look and my traitorous feelings were no help either, each time he looked at me like that as if he would like nothing better than to take me right there at the table my heart tripped and my blood heated. I was beginning to realize that he would always have this effect on me, that no matter how much I steeled myself against it, against him he will always make me melt. I have no real experience with this need I had for him, the feelings he seemed to call forth so effortlessly; he made me question myself. I’d come here with my own doubts as to his guilt to begin with and so far I’d seen nothing to suggest that he was indeed the man they’d painted him to be all these years, instead he was just guilty of knocking my carefully structured world off its axis.

“Things; how about you Mr. Mancini I mean Hank apart from the nightclub business what else if anything do you do? Or is it true what they say about you?”

“And what’s that Cierra what is it that they say?”

“Well word around town is that you’re a playboy heavy on the play.” I finally looked back at him because suddenly I needed to know the answer to this more than anything.

“One shouldn’t believe everything they hear it could prove to be a danger.”

“Why so ominous?”

“Am I? I thought it was adhering to a known school of thought, it’s a very dangerous thing to believe everything you hear without first getting the facts for oneself.”

“And what are the facts?”

“A bit personal don’t you think especially after you made a point of telling me how intrusive I was the other night?”

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