Quinn - Iris Johansen [106]
“That’s why I allowed twenty minutes. Otherwise, we could have Jacobs out of there in seven. I’ve had Venable send me a dossier on the manager of the casino. I’ll study it and see how I can get around him.” She looked at him as she got into the car. “Or I’ll let you handle it. I’d judge you’re very good at manipulating people to suit yourself. I’ll do everything else. You get us out of that casino before Jacobs wakes up.”
“I’ll work on it.” He got into the driver’s seat and started the car. “Anything else?”
“Yes.” She took out a slip of paper from her notebook. “Stop at this address on the way out of town. Neither of us has suitable clothes for that kind of casino. It’s a boutique that will supply me with a gown that will make me look as if I belong in a casino frequented by the jet set. I told Venable to arrange for a tux for you, too. It won’t be designer, but it will be okay. I’m the one who all the attention will be focused on.”
“You don’t need a designer gown to garner attention. You walk into a room, and every man will do a double take.”
“That is true,” she said calmly. “Do you expect me to pretend modesty? That would be foolish. Good looks can be a valuable weapon. They can also be a handicap if you want to fade into the background. Either way, you have to accept what you are and make the most of it.”
“I gladly accept what you are,” he said softly. “I celebrate it.”
Sensuality.
She looked away from him, feeling the familiar rush of heat. How many men had hit on her through the years? Why was Gallo different? She didn’t know, but she’d better learn to handle his effect on her.
“You’d better not celebrate anything until we get Jacobs,” she said flatly. “And I know you like the way I look. I’d have to be blind if I wasn’t aware that I turn you on. But it doesn’t mean anything. Looks don’t matter.”
“Looks don’t matter. Age doesn’t matter. What does matter, Catherine?”
“Kindness. Love. Fighting for what you believe and the people you believe in.” She paused. “And, again, knowing who you are.”
“Admirable,” he said quietly. “We’re alike on many levels. I’m just a bit more shallow and far more attuned to the physical. I’m afraid I can’t get over that particular barrier.” He paused. “And I believe you may be having a few problems in that area, too. It’s been there since the first time we came together, and you’ve been trying to ignore it. But it keeps coming back, doesn’t it, Catherine?”
“Yes.” She wouldn’t lie to him. That would be a defeat in itself. “But I’ll find a way to not let it get in my way. That’s not why we’re together.”
“No, we’re together so that you can help Eve and bring me along for the ride.” He was looking straight ahead. “And I’m trying to stop being an ungrateful son of a bitch and forget how you looked in all your rotting-leaves glory. I have to warn you—it’s not working too well.” He gestured to a street up ahead. “I think that’s where the address you gave me should be. Do you want me to wait or go inside with you? I have some calls to make to set up my part of our exit plan.”
She felt a little of her tension leaving her. His voice was much more crisp, and it was obviously the end of the intimacy that had caused the tension. She was grateful to ignore anything connected to that intimacy at the moment. Honesty and boldness were fine, but she had to regroup and step back from Gallo. “I’ll go in alone.” When the car pulled to the curb in front of the elegant stone house, she opened the door. “If they need you to be measured for your tux, I’ll give you a call. My fitting shouldn’t take long. I’m a standard size and Venable knows my measurements.”
“Venable must know a lot about you. How long did you say you’ve been together?”
“He’s been my superior since I was seventeen. He recruited me.” She slammed the car door and headed for the front entrance. “And by the time I had Luke, he knew more about me than even my husband did. I was an agent and that’s all part of the job.”
“If I’d been living with you long enough to have a child, I guarantee