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“It was almost like an invitation,” Joe chimed in.
“Or a dare,” Marco muttered. “Are you worried you’ve brought back a virus?”
“Maybe something worse,” Benny said dramatically, raising his eyebrows.
“Do you have a machine here you don’t care about?”
“I do,” Joe piped up, “but I haven’t finished downloading everything I want to keep.”
“Do that, then plug in that drive and see what happens, but first I need to bring you up to date about tonight. I’ll be making the trip to the farmhouse, and we’re going to use that bug in the meeting room to make sure Oleg and Ivan know about it.”
“Are you sure about this, boss?”
“As sure as I can be. Everything’s ready to go. The FBI will be ready to pounce.”
“But there’s no cover except those trees at the back of the property,” Joe declared. “Liam’s team have to run across all that open space. They’ll be sitting ducks.”
“These guys are pros. They know what they’re doing.”
“I sure as hell hope so,” Joe grunted. “At least it’ll be dark. That will help.”
“It will, and they’ll have night vision goggles. Benny, I want you to set me up with a sat phone in case there’s no cell service. Joe, you’ll be coming with me.”
“I’ll get the vests out. What weapons do you want?”
“I’ll discuss that with you shortly. Right now we need to go to the meeting room and make sure Oleg and Ivan know I’ll be there. I want them to think I’m playing their game by their rules. Let’s go.”
* * *
Wandering around the second floor, Steph had found a home theater, and a games room complete with a pool table and pinball machines. After playing a couple of games, she’d ambled across the hall and discovered an expansive lounge with a porcelain tile floor overlooking the recreation area. It offered sliding glass doors to a wide terrace, and though the rain made it difficult to see everything, staring down at the large pool and tennis court, she could imagine the fun to be had during the summer.
“What do you think?”
Turning around, she smiled broadly as Marco walked up to her.
“It’s incredible,” she replied. “When I said this place was like a resort, I was right.”
“There’s a winding staircase off the patio. You don’t have to worry about tracking water through the house to come up here, but tell me, what have you seen so far?”
“The theater and the room with the pinball machines and pool table.”
“Uh-huh,” he muttered, putting his arm around her shoulders and guiding her back into the hallway. “I’ve been thinking about what you said. I know you’ll be going crazy while I’m gone, so I’ve thought of a way to calm your nerves.”
“Marco, there’s nothing that will stop me worrying.”
“Probably not, but this might help,” he said with a grin, stopping at an arched door. “Are you ready?”
“Should I be worried?”
“Very…”
Chapter 29
Marco opened the door, stood back, and waved Steph forward. As she walked in, she thought she was entering a magnificent bedroom suite, then noticed details that told a different story.
A wicked tale of salacious scenes.
Heavy brass rings hung in rows down the round poles of the wrought-iron, canopied, four-post bed, and across the head and footboards. Casting her eyes across the room, she gazed at a large sheepskin rug draped over a bench sitting in front of the fireplace. Goosebumps popped up on her arms as she imagined lying naked on the thick, plush pelt, warmed by flickering flames while the soft fur tantalized her skin. At each end sat an armless velvet tufted chair. Lifting her eyes to the top of the mantelpiece, she spied three tall honey-colored candles.
