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rsadelleMaster Post - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
Victoria relaxed a little when the movie started and did her best to lose herself in the story. She was aware, the whole time, of Dueñas and her friends in front of her. It was too easy to notice them, every time they laughed, every time Dueñas leaned over to the woman next to her to make a comment. Dueñas's group left when the credits rolled, and Victoria relaxed into her seat, feeling like she could breathe for the first time since they'd arrived.
There was a restaurant three blocks from the theater, and Victoria was hungry enough to stop there instead of going back to her apartment for lunch. Before she could ask for a table for one, one of the women from the theater walked out of the restroom. The woman smiled at her briefly, and then more genuinely.
"You were at the movies."
Victoria smiled back. "Yes."
The woman looked at her for a moment, and then said, "Come have lunch with us. We can talk about the movie." Victoria had plenty of experience being hit on, but the woman's smile and invitation seemed to be just friendly. "Come on," the woman said when Victoria hesitated, "it'll be fun. I'm Kelsey."
Victoria wanted to be alone for a while - the second-best option to being with Leighton, which she couldn't have - but Victoria Teague liked meeting new people. And having an in with Dueñas couldn't hurt.
She smiled at Kelsey. "Victoria. I'd love to."
"Great!" Kelsey walked her to where the other women were already seated around a table. "This is Victoria. She was at the movie, and she's going to join us for lunch. This is Whitney, Megan, Bianca, and Erika." Kelsey pointed to each woman in turn.
"That'll be on the final," Whitney drawled.
"Stop it," Kelsey said to her. Then, to Victoria, "Don't listen to her."
Victoria took the chair next to Kelsey and smiled at the waiter who promptly brought her a glass of water and a menu. "What's good here?"
"Everything I had last time was good." Dueñas' statement caused the whole group to look at her. "Stephanie said it was good, so Antonio and I came for dinner on his night off."
"Antonio," Whitney explained, "is the hot bartender Bianca's dating."
"He's a good guy." Dueñas' protest was mild, especially as she followed it up with, "He's also very hot."
Victoria laughed, the way she was meant to. Maybe having contact with Dueñas wasn't going to be as useful as she'd thought.
"What about you, Victoria?" Whitney asked. "Hot bartender waiting for you at home?"
Victoria thought for a moment about what was waiting for her at home when they were done with this - Leighton, Gizmo, their life together - before she wrenched her mind back to the case and the situation at hand. "Not quite at that stage of things, but, yeah, there's a guy."
"Serious?" The question came from Dueñas.
Victoria see-sawed her hand in the air. "Spending the night serious, but I like to have fun. Don't know that I want something too much more serious than that right now."
*
Saporta laughed. "Come on, man. You'll have to meet Victoria. Come to the club one of these days."
Hitt raised his eyebrows. "That good?"
"Yeah," Saporta leaned forward, "she is. I'm not fucking anyone else, and Elle has a point. My club is a place people come to have fun. I want to provide them with everything they need to do that."
"And you want a cut of the profits."
And that was the business talk. They probably weren't done with all the posturing, but that was as good as an agreement to do business with them.
Saporta sat back in his chair. "Of course." He smiled, generous now that they were getting their way. "A reasonable cut."
"Reasonable," Hitt repeated. "And what do you think is reasonable?"
"You have to understand," Saporta said, "I have employees. They're going to get a cut of my cut, and anyone involved in moving the product directly is going to want a raise, which they'll deserve, to cover the risk involved. We're a pretty big club. We have a lot of employees."
Leighton didn't know if he'd done it on purpose, but that shift to "we" was clever. If his strategy was based on who else was going to get a cut, it was a good idea to remind Hitt that Leighton was getting her cut too, and Saporta would have to do that reminding. Hitt hadn't looked at Leighton again, and she knew guys like him. He wasn't going to look at her. In his mind, she didn't have any power and he didn't have to bother with her.
"And I have a lot of costs," Hitt said. "Running product through your club, with so many people involved, opens me up to new risks too."
"You really have to come in one of these days," Saporta said. "You can see how my club works, and meet the cops who come there to party."
Leighton glanced at Saporta, no more than was appropriate for Elle Masters hearing that for the first time. Either he knew that Butcher was a cop, or there were other cops hanging around the club. Or both. Leighton was willing to bet on both. That would help explain why the place hadn't been shut down yet, and why Saporta didn't seem too worried about the possibility.
Hitt actually laughed. "You always did like to take risks."
"Calculated risks."
"But risks nonetheless. So tell me, how much product are you looking to move?"
And that was it, that was Hitt as good as agreeing to do it. Leighton's eyewitness testimony on its own wouldn't be enough to convict them, but as soon as the deal went through, getting hard evidence would be easy enough, and then she could get the hell out of this cover and back to Victoria.
Smiling at Hitt and Saporta as they haggled over details was the easiest thing in the world.
*
"Trauma, or choice?" Erika asked.
"Oh, choice," Victoria said easily. "I just moved to New York. I don't want to give up my options too quickly." She smiled, letting it turn wicked at the edges. "I hear there are plenty of options here."
The other women laughed, and Whitney said, "Of every variety."
No one else seemed to find anything out of place in that - they kept on with bantering about what kind of options there were, complete with teasing Dueñas about having taken away the hot bartender option - but Victoria would give even odds that it had been a come-on. A very, very subtle one, but one nonetheless. It was too bad Whitney probably didn't have anything to do with their case; she could have used that.
The other women had the comfortable familiarity with each other that made Victoria acutely miss her own life. She didn't have that with anyone in Victoria Teague's life, and even though the women drew her into their conversation, she couldn't really have it. She would always be lying to them. It didn't stop her from participating, telling them Victoria Teague's backstory as easily as if it were her own and accepting their suggestions for dates she should get her guy - or any other option she chose to exercise - to take her on.
They were generous with their attention and advice in the way of women who were used to making friends, enough so that Victoria found herself genuinely enjoying herself, right up until the moment her phone rang and she pulled it out to see Saporta's name on the screen.
"You don't sound like you're at home waiting for me," Saporta said as soon as she'd greeted him.
"Nope," she agreed with cheer helped along by the other women's curious regard. "I went to the movies and met some people. We're having drinks and a late lunch." She looked over the table and amended it to, "But mostly drinks," drawing a laugh from the other women.
"Sounds like you're having a good time. Think I can come get you and show you an even better time?"
Victoria smiled, knowing exactly how to smile so the other women would know she was talking to a guy she was interested in. "I guess you could do that."
"Tell me where you are." Only after Victoria had given him the name and location did he say, "Elle's with me. I hope that's okay."
In truth, that was more than okay. Victoria was unsettled enough that just seeing Leighton might help. But she wasn't supposed to like Elle, so she made a face and said, "Fine."
Saporta's voice dropped. "Come on, Vicky-T, you know there's no one else for me."
Victoria sniffed. "That's what you say now."
"You're a tough woman," Saporta said. "I'll be there in twenty to show you how much I like that."
That, she judged, was enough to put a smile back on Victoria Teague's face. "I'll be waiting."
*
"Victoria?"
"Victoria." Saporta grinned. "She made some friends and they're drinking." He stepped out into the street and hailed a cab. "We deserve a celebration." He held the door and let Leighton get into the cab before he went around to the other side.
Saporta spent most of the drive on the phone, making arrangements with Blackinton and Suarez. Leighton guessed it would be less than a week before the drugs started flowing through the club, a few more days until she could get a cut of it. Two weeks, tops, and she could stop being Elle Masters and get Victoria back.
The restaurant could have been any place in New York, but the first thing Leighton saw when she went through the door was the table full of women at the back. Victoria was farthest from the door, and her face lit up when Leighton and Saporta came in. It was such a relief to see her that Leighton was halfway across the restaurant before she realized who Victoria was with.
It hadn't taken Dueñas or the other women that long to make the connection. Leighton couldn't see Saporta, only the table full of women, but that was enough to give her an idea about his reaction. Victoria's smile dimmed, and Dueñas's disappeared. The other women ranged from frankly curious - Whitney - to uncomfortable - Megan.
Saporta split away from her when they reached the table and went around it to bend down over Victoria and take her mouth in a kiss that made it clear that he considered her to be his. It set Leighton's teeth on edge, but she kept her smile open and friendly, even as she glanced to the side to see what Dueñas thought of it. She was struggling even more than Leighton was to keep her friendly demeanor.
"So," Whitney drawled, "your guy is Gabe Saporta."
"It is." Victoria had slipped her hand into Gabe's, and she was doing an excellent job of pretending not to know there was any connection between Gabe and the women she was drinking with. Even Leighton almost believed it. "How do you know him?"
There was a pause where everyone waited for someone to answer her. In the end, it was Saporta who said, "Bianca's my ex."
Victoria winced. "Oh my God, and here I spent all this time telling you about this guy I'm seeing."
"It's fine," Dueñas said with a graciousness that was only somewhat belied by the expression on her face. "You didn't know, and we've both moved on. Elle, I see that introduction worked out for you."
"Bianca introduced me to Gabe," Leighton said to Victoria. Victoria did a creditable job at a slightly annoyed smile.
"And now you've met Bianca too." Saporta hugged Victoria to his side. "The two of you coming into my life must have been fate."
Leighton caught the disgusted look on Whitney's face, but Saporta was looking at Victoria and missed it. It meant he also missed the hurt that passed over Dueñas's face and disappeared just as quickly.
*
No matter what Dueñas and Saporta said, things weren't fine. Dueñas's friends were clearly on her side, which meant Victoria probably wasn't going to see them again. In some ways, that was a relief. Victoria had no desire to spend more time than necessary rubbing in the fact that she had Saporta when Dueñas didn't. With strangers at the club, sure, but not with a woman who was still in love with him and who didn't seem to be connected to the business. On the other hand, the women clearly knew Leighton, and continuing to be friends with them might have given her more chances to see Leighton.
Victoria smiled up at Saporta. "It must have been." As long as he believed it was nothing more than that, they would be okay. It helped that Victoria running into Dueñas was actually a coincidence, useful though it was.
"Ladies," Saporta said to the group at large, "you're all as beautiful as ever." Victoria was still looking at him, so she saw the way his gaze hung on, then skipped away from Dueñas. Maybe Dueñas wasn't the only one still in love. Whatever their differences were, they were going to be the least of their problems soon enough.
"And you're as charming as ever," Whitney said, her tone making it clear just what she thought of his charm.
"That charm," Leighton said mildly, "is going to make me a lot of money. Where on earth is your waiter? I was promised celebratory drinks."
The waiter appeared as if summoned by her wish to add two chairs to the table and take drink orders.
"You have to try this," Megan said, pushing one of the appetizer plates at Leighton. "It's amazing. Stephanie was so right about this place."
Only someone completely brainless could have missed the tension at the table, which meant Megan was the peacemaker of the group. She'd pushed it at Leighton, though, which meant she was also firmly on Dueñas's side, not that Victoria expected anything else.
Dueñas pushed a different plate in Gabe's direction. "This one's vegetarian."
"Thank you." Saporta's voice softened when he spoke to her. Dueñas wasn't the only one who hadn't quite let go of that relationship.
"I had some earlier," Victoria said, drawing Saporta's attention back to her. "It's good."
In addition to his attention, it put Saporta's usual smile back on his face. "Well, if it's Victoria approved."
Victoria grinned at him. "This place is amazing." She leaned into his side, not hard when the shuffling to add him and Leighton to the table had put them so close together. "We should come back."
She only caught the way Saporta's eyes flickered toward Dueñas because she was watching for it. "We'll have to do that sometime."
Victoria put her hand on his thigh. Victoria Teague might still need to demonstrate her claim, but she wasn't so thoughtless as to kiss him in front of Dueñas, not when she knew something about their history.
*
The appetizers were delicious, but not enough to keep Leighton from watching the rest of the table. While Victoria navigated Saporta and Dueñas, with Megan keeping an anxious eye on them, Whitney, Erika, and Kelsey were talking about other places Stephanie had recommended.
"I can see," Leighton said after one particularly enticing description, "that Stephanie's really the one to know."
Erika laughed. "The rest of us have our skills, but if you're into food, then, yeah, Stephanie's your girl."
The waiter interrupted their conversation by bringing a round of drinks. Leighton was on her first, but from the glasses already crowding the table, she was the only one.
"Too bad Bianca's the only one whose skills include attracting cute members of the food service industry," Kelsey said. "That waiter."
Erika and Whitney both turned to watch him walk away. Leighton looked at Dueñas first, and caught her wince. A safe bet, then, that Saporta didn't know about Antonio the bartender.
"Cute members of the food service industry?" Saporta asked. It drew the attention of the whole table. There was a moment where no one spoke.
Whitney was the one to break the silence. "Bianca's new boyfriend," she said. "Also known as Antonio the hot bartender."
Saporta was still cuddled up to Victoria, but his attention was all for Dueñas. "Bartender. I thought you didn't want to be involved with anyone with a club life."
"He works in a tapas bar," Dueñas snapped. "Hardly the same thing."
"No," Saporta said, his mouth twisting into something unpleasant enough that Leighton started to wonder how deep his criminal enterprises went. People had ordered hits for less. "I suppose not."
Saporta seemed to catch himself, or else Victoria had done something under the table to catch his attention, because his face slid back into his usual practiced geniality, and he turned to Victoria.
"I am still in the club life," Saporta was talking only to Victoria, but loud enough for it to carry across the table, "which means I have some time now, but I'll be busy later." His voice dropped, but still not enough for it to be a truly private conversation. "And I am disappointed you didn't just wait for me. I was looking forward to that."
Leighton could admit that, objectively, Victoria did a good job of looking absolutely besotted. It didn't do anything to lessen her wish to punch Saporta's face in, or to grab Victoria away from him and show him who Victoria really belonged to.
Victoria tossed back the rest of her drink. "I wouldn't want to waste your free time." She reached for her purse, but was stopped by Saporta's hand closing over hers when she started to open it.
"This one's on me." He took out his wallet and tossed a few bills on the table, far more than they needed to cover his and Victoria's share of the bill. "Ladies, I hope you'll forgive me for stealing Victoria away. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon."
For her part, Victoria said, "It was so nice to meet you all," before she took Saporta's hand and left with him.
*
Saporta's grip was just a little too tight, nothing Victoria couldn't handle, but not exactly comfortable either. "Gabe." She pried at his fingers until he loosened it and looked down at her with a rueful smile.
"Sorry." He bent down and kissed her slowly, taking his time exploring her mouth. Even as unhappy as she was with the situation, it was enough to leave her breathless. Seduction was definitely a part of his skill set. "Sorry," he said again. "It's been a while since I last saw Bianca, and her friends don't like me much."
Victoria shook her head. "I can't believe that was your ex."
Saporta let go of her hand altogether to step out into the street and hail a cab that he helped her into. Once he was in, she slid across the seat to lean against his side with her head on his shoulder. Victoria Teague staking her claim, even though there was no one to watch them now.
"I just wanted to go to the movies."
Saporta linked their hands together. "That's the thing about this town. You think it's impossibly big, and then things like this happen." He kissed the top of her head, but his voice got fainter at the end of the sentence, and when she looked up, he was looking out the window as if he were seeing something else entirely.
It was a bad sign. They needed to wrap this case up before Saporta decided he was done with his rebound - or done with trying to rebound at all - and dumped her. Victoria knew she was good at attracting - and keeping - male attention, but even she wasn't a match for the way Saporta seemed to still feel about Dueñas. If he dumped her, she would be out, and as much of a relief as it would be to get out from under this case, she wasn't going to leave Leighton behind.
"What were you doing while I was proving this is just a small town?"
"Business meeting."
"Did it go well?" Victoria kept her head down, looking at their hands. Better if Saporta didn't pick up on just how interested she was.
"Well enough." After a moment, he sighed and said, stronger, "Really well, actually. I took Elle with me. She was good."
Victoria made herself stiffen. As much as she wanted to know everything about what Leighton was up to, Victoria Teague didn't like her.
Saporta huffed. "I don't know how many times either of us has to tell you this. I'm not interested. She's not interested." Saporta tipped Victoria's chin up so she was looking at him. "I'm interested in you. She's interested in the money and excitement the club can bring her."
Those were both lies. Saporta might be interested in her, but not as anything compared to what he'd had with Dueñas, and Leighton was interested in evidence. Victoria couldn't call him on it, not without blowing her cover.
*
"Are you all right?" Megan asked Dueñas in the wake of Saporta and Victoria's departure.
"Yeah." Dueñas smiled at the table, but it didn't go all the way to her eyes. "I'm fine. We're over."
"There's over," Whitney snapped, "and then there's watching your ex fawn over someone else right in front of you."
It was so miscalculated - too strong, too much of a reminder - that she had to have said it without thinking it through. Dueñas's smile wavered, but she didn't crumple.
"Eat up everyone." Megan pushed the appetizer plates toward the rest of the group. "You're going to need it to absorb all the alcohol we're about to drink." She followed it up by flagging down the waiter and ordering a couple of bottles of wine.
Leighton took the plates when they came her way, but left her glass of wine mostly untouched. As much fun as getting drunk sounded, Dueñas was still in love with Saporta, and she couldn't risk letting her guard down.
"We're over," Dueñas said two glasses of wine and twenty minutes later. "It shouldn't matter that he has some girl who's okay with just partying."
"Love doesn't work like that," Kelsey said. "When you love someone, you love them, and it doesn't matter if you're supposed to be apart now, you still love them." There was a story there, and maybe something in her use of non-gender specific pronouns.
"I left him," Dueñas said. She held out her glass, and Erika, who had the bottle at the moment, refilled it. "Shouldn't that make a difference?"
"No, honey," Megan said, her voice soft, "because you didn't leave him because you didn't love him anymore."
Leighton saw it coming, so she already had a package of Kleenex out of her purse ready to hand over when Dueñas started crying. Saporta was charming and successful as far as his business went, but it was hard to believe he'd inspired this kind of love. Still, Leighton could understand it. She'd be just as much of a wreck if anything happened that meant she couldn't be with Victoria. It was only the fact that she knew it was temporary, that they were doing it for a purpose, that was keeping her from falling apart now. It was going to hurt Dueñas when they put Saporta away, but Leighton was ready for it. The end of this job meant she could have Victoria back where she belonged, with her.
"Drink more." Kelsey pushed Dueñas's glass toward her. "It's the best thing for a broken heart."
Dueñas laughed a little through her tears. "I think I've drunk more since we broke up than I did the whole time we were together." Her face crumpled again. "And Gabe likes to party."
On either side of her, Kelsey and Megan moved in to put their arms around her. At least Dueñas would have them when Saporta was rotting away in prison where he belonged.
*
Seeing Dueñas rattled Saporta more than he admitted, or else there was something going on with the business he and Leighton had done together. Victoria was pretty sure it was Dueñas, though, because while he was distracted with her - nothing anyone would have noticed unless they were looking very, very carefully - he was still right on top of everything at the club. The distraction worked in her favor; he didn't notice at all when she slipped out on Monday for her weekly meeting with Mike.
"I hate this," she said as soon as she was in the apartment Mike was still supposedly crashing in and he'd let her know it was safe to talk freely. "I hate this case, I hate Saporta, I hate being Victoria Teague." She stalked a circle around the living room as she spoke.
"We can pull you out." Mike shrugged and sat on the couch. "Make up some family emergency and send Victoria Teague back to L.A. or something."
Victoria took a deep breath and sat down next to him. "No," she said. "No, I'm good to see this through. But remind me of this next time I'm bored with our caseload."
Mike laughed. "Yeah, right. You'll never believe me."
Victoria put the heels of her hands over her eyes and pressed in, blocking everything out for a few seconds. "Yeah," she said, "I think I will this time." She pulled her hands away and smiled at him, trying to show him he was okay even though he knew her well enough to read whatever she wasn't saying. "Saporta's still not letting me in on his business stuff, but I got a look through the files in his apartment. He has files on everyone who works for him. He also owns a bunch of other property. If you get me some paper, I'll write the addresses down for you."
Mike found something for her, and she wrote down everything she could remember from Saporta's files. "I think there's one or two more I'm forgetting. If I can get in again, I'll get them for you."
Mike took the list and skimmed down it. "This is a good start." Then he frowned.
"What?"
"One of these," he said, tapping the paper. "It looks familiar, but I don't know if it's something connected to this case." He shrugged. "We'll check them out, see what we can find."
Victoria sighed and tipped her head onto the back of the couch. "Probably nothing. I'm going to be his trophy girlfriend forever."
Mike nudged her with his elbow. "Leighton's too good for that."
Victoria sat up. "Are you trying to impugn my detecting abilities? That's not going to make me like this case anymore."
Mike grinned at her. "Nah, but it might get you out of your funk. You want to write a note for her?"
"God, yes."
*
"We're finally getting somewhere," Leighton said when she met with Michael. "Saporta and I had a meeting with a supplier, Rob Hitt. He's agreed to move product through the club. All we have to do is wait for it to happen, and we can get Saporta."
"Hitt," Michael repeated. "He's not in our files."
"No, he's not, but he seems to be big enough that he might be in Narcotics' files somewhere. He and Saporta 'go way back' - Hitt's words." Leighton settled back into her chair. "As soon as product starts moving, we can arrange to take them down."
"Good." Michael handed her a sheet of paper covered in Victoria's handwriting. "Victoria got a list of some buildings Saporta owns. Notice anything?"
Leighton skimmed down the list until something caught her eye. "Strenge's building?"
Michael nodded. "It could be that she just ended up there because of the personal connection."
"Or she could be laundering some of the club's profits. The jewelry is overpriced. Saporta and his operation pay too much for it, the excess comes back clean through the rent."
"And she makes money on the side from any legit sales." Michael took the list back. "Probably can't prove it without subpoenaing her financial records, but if we're careful, we might be able to coordinate it so she doesn't destroy any of it before we can get to it."
The club was the first priority. It would be a close thing to get the club and Strenge in short succession. "If we move in on a Friday or Saturday night, might be able to get everyone in the initial net and keep her off the streets long enough to get to her records." Finally. Finally, they were getting somewhere. Neither Saporta nor Hitt would want to wait, which meant she didn't have to wait. The sooner she could get Victoria out of there the better.
"Did Mike say how Victoria's holding up?"
Michael hesitated, just long enough that she knew it wasn't good. "He's worried, but she's hanging in there."
If Mike was worried, Leighton needed to be too.
"I have a note for you."
It wasn't much. Just "Love you" with a heart and a V. It wasn't enough, and the heart was shaky around the edges.
Michael gave her a sheet of paper and a pen without her having to ask for them. She couldn't say much, not in a note that might get intercepted even if none of the others had.
Leighton folded her note, ran her fingers over Victoria's words again, and handed both of them back to Michael.
*
"You're ignoring me again," Victoria said when she pushed open the door to Saporta's office.
"Never." Saporta got up and crossed the room to take her mouth in what would have been a very satisfying kiss if she were actually in love with him.
Victoria pulled away and pressed her lips together to even out her lipstick from where he'd no doubt smeared it. "You are. I've barely seen you all week."
"Now, Vicky-T, don't be like that." Saporta ran his fingers through her hair. "I've been working out boring business details. It's almost settled now."
Victoria stepped away and walked around him to sit on the edge of his desk, taking in the papers spread across it with a glance. Calculations of some sort. Victoria put her hands on top of them and leaned back, inviting Saporta closer. "How settled?"
Saporta took the bait and stepped between her legs. "Not settled enough for what you're suggesting. I thought you weren't that kind of girl."
Victoria rubbed one of her heels up the back of his leg. "Not the kind of girl to let you have me in your office the first time," she murmured. He swayed toward her just the way she knew he would. She was good at this, and he was predictable. "I am the kind of girl to spice things up."
"Victoria Teague, you continually surprise me." There was true regret in Saporta's eyes. "This will all be settled by Friday night, and then you can spice up anything you want."
Victoria turned away from his kiss and pushed him away so she could stand. "It better be. I'm not the kind of girl to wait around for you."
Saporta reeled her in with an arm around her waist. "So you've said." He dipped down and kissed her, full of promise. "Come to the club on Friday night. Everything will be settled. It'll be a good night."
"Fine." Victoria let herself be placated. "But you'd better have time for me on Friday."
"All the time in the world." Saporta walked her to the door. He kissed her again, a good-bye kiss this time, and opened the door to let her through. He probably hoped the kiss would keep her from noticing the way he'd dismissed her. There was a good chance he wasn't even thinking about her anymore.
It didn't matter. He'd said Friday. If she had any luck at all, whatever they were doing on Friday fit with the business he and Leighton had done, and that had to be good for the case. Good for her, too, because just the thought of Leighton blindsided her with a surge of longing. She smiled at Saporta's employees on the way out, even though she didn't want to. She wanted to go home, to Leighton and Gizmo and sex that wasn't part of a cover story.
It took an effort to walk at a normal pace to the subway when all she wanted to do was get away from the club.
*
Leighton let herself sleep late on Friday. The first night of Saporta moving product through the club was going to require a lot of energy, both to stay alert enough to gather whatever evidence she could and to keep up with the party Saporta was sure to make out of it.
She found herself restless all day, rattling around Elle Masters' empty apartment and unable to settle on any one thing. They were so close. So close to taking Saporta and his whole operation down. So close to getting Victoria back.
Leighton gave up trying to stay away around seven, and left the apartment for a quick dinner before she headed over to the club. It was early, and things wouldn't get going for a while, but it was an important night, and Saporta wouldn't think it was strange if she wanted to be there from the beginning.
In fact, what he said, when she arrived to a club that had just a few early partygoers scattered throughout the room, was, "Big night."
Leighton grinned back at him. He had to be excited about it too if he was out on the floor instead of in his office or out with Victoria somewhere. "That it is." She leaned over the bar to get the bartender's attention. "Two shots of Stoli."
"Starting out strong," Saporta said.
"One of them's for you." Leighton took the shots from the bartender and gave one to Saporta. "To expansion."
"And partnership." Saporta touched his glass to hers, the sound of it ringing in the sparsely filled room.
"Partnership," Leighton murmured before tossing her shot back. She wouldn't drink much more - she had to pay attention, and her testimony had to be admissible and above suspicion - but a shot with Saporta was a good way to give him the impression that she was partying all night.
Saporta leaned his elbows on the bar and looked out over the room like a cartoon king surveying the land from his tower. "Partying's already starting." He nodded across the room.
Leighton followed his gaze to see one of the croupiers pass a small plastic bag to a customer. It wasn't quite as smooth as the average dealer on a street corner.
"They'll get better with practice," Saporta said. "But it's not a bad advertisement tonight."
"Mmm, I suppose." Leighton gestured at the bartender to bring her a Manhattan. "The clientele has to know somehow."
Saporta quirked a grin at her. "I put out the word to some people I know and had the staff do the same." He gestured at the club. "This is going to take this place to the next level."
It would take them to a different level all right, just not the one he was thinking of. Leighton took her glass from the bartender and sipped at it, just enough that Saporta would remember her drinking from it.
*
The club was in full swing by the time Victoria got there. She followed half a dozen others down the steps - partiers who eyed her with questions on their faces when Novarro waved her in without making her pay - and into a club as packed as she'd ever seen it. Whatever Saporta had put in place was certainly bringing in business.
His height made Saporta easy to find, even in a packed club, and Victoria made her way through the crowd to where he was standing with Leighton, Blackinton, Suarez, and Strenge.
"Victoria!" Saporta wrapped her up in a fierce hug with a solid kiss to go with it. "You just made a great night even better." Saporta kept one arm around tight around her.
Victoria looked around the circle, but even Leighton didn't give away anything she could use. "Everything settled?"
"More than, and business has never been better. Tonight, Vicky-T, is a night for celebration." Saporta frowned at her for a second. "You need a drink."
"I need a refill," Leighton said. "I'll get it. Vodka and Red Bull like Gabe?"
Victoria made a face. "He hasn't gotten me to try that yet. Rum and Coke."
Leighton nodded. "Anyone else?"
The others declined, and Leighton left them for the bar.
"I'm glad you're being nice to her," Saporta said quietly enough that he wouldn't be heard by anyone but Victoria. "You'll like her if you give her a chance, and if things keep going as well as they have tonight, she's going to be around for a while."
Victoria scrunched up her nose for a moment before smoothing it out and smiling at him. "Fine," she said. "I will make friends with your gorgeous, single business partner."
Saporta tapped her on the nose. "That's my girl."
Victoria leaned into him and looked out over the crowd. The club was as busy as she'd ever seen it. "What'd you do to drum up this much business?"
Saporta looked positively smug. "Negotiated a deal that has us in charge of party favors."
Party favors. Party favors and Leighton involved in the deal meant it wouldn't be long before they had enough evidence to put him away. Victoria smiled brightly at Leighton when she came back with drinks.
"Thank you." Victoria sipped at her drink. "You were involved in all this?" She waved at the club.
Leighton smiled, the corners of her eyes turning up. "I finally got a chance to be a not-so-silent partner in this business, although the planning and contacts were all Gabe's."
"You did a good job." Victoria smirked a little. "And it's making Gabe happy." She leaned harder against Saporta, feeling his arm tighten around her in response. Victoria Teague would get along with Elle Masters, but she was still going to make it clear who Saporta belonged to. The contact with another body helped, a little, with the urge to throw herself back into Leighton's arms. Not long, she reminded herself, not if Leighton was involved in the deal.
*
Leighton smiled back at Victoria, projecting only friendliness. Elle Masters wasn't interested in Saporta as anything other than a business partner, and Leighton couldn't let anything of her own feelings for Victoria show. If Mike was worried about her, Leighton had to be, but even knowing Victoria as well as she did, she couldn't see past the party girl mask to see how bad things really were.
Leighton stepped closer, getting into Victoria's space and cutting through the circle of people. "Want to make him really happy?" Leighton flicked a glance up at Saporta. "Come dance with me. He liked it last time."
Victoria turned in toward Saporta.
"Go on," he said with a grin. The kiss he laid on Victoria's lips was one of casual possession. "That sounds like fun to watch."
Victoria rolled her eyes. "You're such a cliche." She returned Saporta's kiss with one of her own before giving him her drink and taking Leighton's hand to lead her onto the dance floor.
Leighton shoved her drink into Blackinton's hand as Victoria pulled her away from them. The point was for Saporta to see them, so they couldn't melt into the crowd and have a moment for themselves. Victoria stopped them just at the edge of the dance floor, where people might pass between them and Saporta, but they would be under his watchful eye most of the time, and they could never be too careful in the club about who might be listening.
"Come on," Leighton laughed when Victoria held herself a little stiffly - playing her role, Leighton thought, hoped. "This is supposed to be fun."
Victoria moved closer, her mouth softening into a smile. "Better than listening to all of you talk business."
Leighton laughed and put her hands at Victoria's waist, on the sides of her body where the touch wouldn't be so intimate as to draw Saporta's attention. "Tonight's not much of a business evening. This is just a party." She glanced over to make sure Saporta was watching and found the whole group of them had shifted so all three of the men could see them. "I think we're the entertainment."
Victoria looked at them too, then back to Leighton with a look of fond exasperation that was so good Leighton started to doubt that Mike was right to be worried about her. "Boys." Victoria drew closer to Leighton, her body moving with more ease under Leighton's hands. "What do you say we give them a show?" Victoria's arms draped over Leighton's shoulders.
Mike wasn't wrong. That close, Leighton could feel the tension that shouldn't be there in Victoria's body. Leighton slid her hands all the way around to the small of Victoria's back. A show, but also a moment just for her and Victoria. It was the closest she'd gotten to being able to touch Victoria the way she wanted to since this whole thing started.
"Do you know what you're doing?"
Victoria smirked. "Oh, I have some idea."
*
Saporta wasn't going to let this go for very long. He might have a lot of discipline when it came to business matters, but he was going to be ready for Victoria to be a part of his party in a more participatory way in another song or two. She had to make this count. It was probably her only chance to really be near Leighton. Sure, they'd done this before, but now Victoria Teague was going along with Saporta's wish for her to get along with Elle, and that gave her a little more freedom.
She let Leighton's hands on her back draw her closer, so they were pressed together, body to body. It was so familiar, so right to be that close to Leighton. Victoria had to fight not to melt into it and give herself away. It was harder, even, than dancing with Saporta. With him, she could let go and just dance, but with Leighton, she had to be careful. She had to be careful with her words, too, but that didn't mean they couldn't pass information.
"Not-so-silent partner, huh?"
She could feel more than hear Leighton's laugh. It was so familiar from nights spent dancing together that it made her ache.
"Yes. This," Leighton jerked her chin at the rest of the room, "is going to make me a very wealthy woman very soon."
Victoria's heart beat faster than the dancing, or even the proximity to Leighton, could account for. The moment Elle Masters became that very wealthy woman, Leighton would have what they needed to lock Saporta up, and then this, not dancing with Saporta, would be Victoria's life again.
"Lucky you."
"I was lucky," Leighton said. She followed it up with, "Maybe it was fate," but that didn't matter as much as the way Leighton's hands had tugged Victoria close for a second.
Victoria stopped trying to talk. It was too loud for real conversation, and they were supposed to be putting on a show for Saporta. The less she had to think about how to get information without giving them away to anyone else in the room, the more she could concentrate on what Leighton's body felt like along hers.
They got one more song before Saporta decided he didn't want to just watch. Victoria was keeping enough of an eye on him that it wasn't a surprise when he molded himself to her back, his hands sliding down her arms to cover hers.
"You don't have to go," he told Leighton when she started to pull away from them.
Leighton laughed and came back, not quite as close to Victoria as before. "Enjoying this up close?"
Saporta's lips pressed into the skin behind Victoria's ear. "Yes."
Victoria and Leighton had danced with other people before, and it had been fun. This time, Victoria felt more trapped by Saporta than anything else. But in the here and now, she couldn't give that away. She took one arm from around Leighton and twisted it back around Saporta's neck instead.
*
Saporta was a typical possessive asshole. Not that Leighton blamed him; she felt the same way about Victoria herself. The difference was that Victoria actually was Leighton's in a way she wasn't his. He hadn't wanted Victoria all to himself, not yet, and Leighton gentled her hold on Victoria, making it less grasping and more comforting, trying to give Victoria something other than his touch to hold onto until they could put him away and be together.
Saporta said something to Victoria that had her tilting her head into him and pulling away from Leighton. Then she was turning, without pulling all the way away, and Leighton's hands ended up on her stomach. It was a struggle not to tighten them, or slide them lower.
Victoria and Saporta kissed, long and deep, and Leighton had to marshal every bit of her self-control not to rip Victoria away from him. It was so much worse when they were this close. When they broke apart, Saporta looked smug and satisfied.
Victoria pulled all the way out of Leighton's arms. "Sorry to cut this short," she tossed over her shoulder, "but thanks for helping me keep him entertained."
Leighton forced herself to laugh. "I don't think you need my help, but you're welcome." She turned a little to watch them walk away. They weren't going farther onto the dance floor or back to the bar.
Leighton left the dance floor for the bar. Blackinton held out a bottle of water as she reached him.
"Thanks." Leighton gulped down half of it in one go.
"You owe me one," Blackinton said. "Something stronger than that." He made a face at Suarez. "Gabe and that desk."
Suarez half laughed and half grimaced. "Don't remind me."
"Do I want to know?"
Blackinton and Suarez both shook their heads, as in sync as if they'd been one person.
"You really don't," Suarez said.
"And you really don't want to go back to Gabe's office until sometime after they come back out here," Blackinton added.
Leighton went cold and hoped it didn't show on her face. She'd known what Victoria was doing with Saporta, but this made it real in a way that just knowing hadn't. She covered for it by drinking the rest of her water. "I'll just have to stay out here with you then."
Strenge joined the men in nodding. "Probably for the best."
"You looked like you were having fun out there," Blackinton said with half a leer. "Want to give it another go with a new partner?"
Leighton squinted up at him. "You're a little tall for me."
Blackinton clutched at his chest. "You wound me, truly."
Leighton laughed, because she was supposed to. "If you think you can keep from stepping on me, I think I can handle it."
"I accept your challenge." Blackinton extended his hand to her with a flourish.
Leighton took it with significantly less drama. Dancing with someone else she could do. She wouldn't have to watch what she was saying, and maybe she could lose herself enough in it to forget what Victoria was doing.
*
Victoria spent the weekend with Saporta. They went back to the club on Saturday night - Leighton was there, but moving around and chatting up clubgoers and didn't stop to chat for long - but Saporta kept her close for the rest of the weekend. Victoria tried to tell herself that if he was with her, at least he wasn't out making more deals, but it didn't make her any happier about it. Saporta didn't know her - the real her - well enough to tell that she was keeping that from him.
She finally got away from him on Monday morning. "Even party girls have things they need to do," she said, laughing. "And I'm sure you need to check in on the club."
Saporta squeezed her close. "I do need to check in. It was a good weekend, but I should find out how good." He kissed her cheek. "Promise me we can have dinner, though."
"I promise." Victoria kissed him, letting it linger and drag on. "Call me later," she said when they were finally done and she was gently pushing him out the door.
A shower was her first order of business, and cleaning up. This time, it had been long enough since she'd done laundry that it wouldn't be strange for her to drag the sheets down to the basement and into a washing machine. She probably wasn't lucky enough for that to be the last night she had to spend with Saporta, but they were getting close.
Doing laundry, straightening up the apartment, and a trip to the grocery store took up enough of her day that she didn't have too much time to think before she went to meet Mike.
"Saporta's distributing 'party favors,'" Victoria said as soon as it was safe to talk. "Please tell me we're close to taking him down."
Mike's nod was the best thing she'd seen in ages. "Very." He waved her onto a couch. "Leighton's in on the deal. Michael will talk to her later, but right now our plan is to take him down as soon as she gets the money from him. It'll be at the club, on a party night. We'll need you to keep an eye on the place, too. You have a different kind of mobility than she does, and we'll need both of you to keep an eye out and call it off if he seems suspicious."
It was a good thing he'd had her sit down; her knees went weak enough that she wasn't sure they'd have held her up. "Jesus fuck, finally."
Mike sat down near her, but without touching her. "It'll take a few hours to a day to finalize once we know we can do it. Leighton's going to be in contact with us. Follow her lead."
Victoria smiled at him and put her hand on his arm. "Don't worry about us. We can do this."
*
Working out details with Michael made the whole thing real. They were really going to do this. Sometime soon, provided nothing happened to spook Saporta, the whole operation would be over and Leighton would get Victoria back.
Michael didn't give her the note until after she had the plan - and the backup plan - memorized. The advantage to his life coach cover was that she could keep in contact with him. It wasn't something she'd used so far, but the success of the club would give her a good reason: now that she was successful at this, Elle Masters would be looking for the next challenge to take on.
"What did Mike say?"
"That she's doing better."
That made sense. Victoria had to know the end was coming, and that would make it easier. It was making it easier for Leighton.
Michael had been sitting there, watching her, for a moment too long. "What?"
Michael shook his head. "You know," he said. "This is going to take a toll, even after you're done."
Leighton looked away from his gentle understanding. "I know." It was the part she kept trying not to think about. Even when she got Victoria back, things wouldn't be the same. Couldn't be the same.
"Give me some paper." Leighton had to clear her throat before she could continue. "If things go well, we won't be undercover long enough for her to get this one."
Michael handed over paper and a pen and squeezed her shoulder before retreating to the other side of the room to let her write her note in privacy. There wasn't much she could write, nothing more than she'd said already. Saporta seemed to trust them both, but they still had to be careful just in case they were still being watched. There couldn't be anything that would make anyone suspicious. Leighton wanted to pour her whole heart out onto the page, but she contented herself with:
"She's strong," Michael said, breaking into her thoughts. "If anyone can tough this out and come out okay on the other side it's her."
Leighton nodded. Because Victoria would, she'd be okay. She wouldn't be the same, neither of them would, but she'd be okay. They both would. Leighton's hand shook when she had to give the note to Michael. He folded her into a light hug. It wasn't as good as Victoria, but he had Naomi. He knew something of what this was like for her.
*
Victoria spent most of her week with Saporta. Now that he had product flowing through the club, he seemed to have more time for her. They went to a truly forgettable movie and made out in the back row. He took her to a bookstore that specialized in film. They spent an afternoon on her couch watching French films, with Victoria finding she remembered more about the technicalities of film than she'd thought.
By the time Friday night rolled around, her skin was crawling with his nearness, and she realized how good he was. He knew so much about her - or about Victoria Teague, anyway - and she didn't know anything about what he liked, other than vegetarian food and business deals.
"Get out," she said with a laugh when he tried to crowd into her apartment on Friday evening. "Let me get dressed in peace." She brushed a kiss over his cheek. "I'll meet you at the club."
"All right." Saporta kissed her more deeply, groping her in the process. "But you'd better come up with a killer outfit if you're not going to let me watch."
Victoria twitched the edge of his flannel shirt. "One of us should."
"I'll have you know," he said, one of his hands palming her ass and the other sliding through her hair, trapping her between them and his body, "that I am a trendsetter." He kissed her again, demanding her response, and then let her go all at once. "Make me proud."
Victoria closed the door on him with a smirk that dropped away the moment the door was solidly between them. She was tired of it. Tired of pretending, tired of his hands on her, tired of not being able to go home to Leighton.
A shower made sense if she was setting a foundation for a killer look. It also let her scrub off the last traces of Saporta's scent and touch. For an hour or two, at least, she wouldn't have to smell like anything but herself.
Victoria Teague's closet was uninspiring. She'd been here long enough that Saporta had seen her in pretty much everything in it, and the things he hadn't were more casual, not clubwear. Maybe if she did something dramatic on top of the outfit. Lady Gaga makeup or something.
Victoria hadn't done much more than basic makeup on this op, but she was pretty sure there had been some more interesting things in the bottom of the makeup kit that the prep team had left for her.
She dug through it, looking for anything that could make a statement. Something that would make Saporta proud. Something she could push him away from with the excuse that he would mess it up. There. Metallics. Things that would stick to it, bigger than glitter. Big enough to make a splash. Big enough to keep Saporta careful with how he touched her.
Part 6
Victoria relaxed a little when the movie started and did her best to lose herself in the story. She was aware, the whole time, of Dueñas and her friends in front of her. It was too easy to notice them, every time they laughed, every time Dueñas leaned over to the woman next to her to make a comment. Dueñas's group left when the credits rolled, and Victoria relaxed into her seat, feeling like she could breathe for the first time since they'd arrived.
There was a restaurant three blocks from the theater, and Victoria was hungry enough to stop there instead of going back to her apartment for lunch. Before she could ask for a table for one, one of the women from the theater walked out of the restroom. The woman smiled at her briefly, and then more genuinely.
"You were at the movies."
Victoria smiled back. "Yes."
The woman looked at her for a moment, and then said, "Come have lunch with us. We can talk about the movie." Victoria had plenty of experience being hit on, but the woman's smile and invitation seemed to be just friendly. "Come on," the woman said when Victoria hesitated, "it'll be fun. I'm Kelsey."
Victoria wanted to be alone for a while - the second-best option to being with Leighton, which she couldn't have - but Victoria Teague liked meeting new people. And having an in with Dueñas couldn't hurt.
She smiled at Kelsey. "Victoria. I'd love to."
"Great!" Kelsey walked her to where the other women were already seated around a table. "This is Victoria. She was at the movie, and she's going to join us for lunch. This is Whitney, Megan, Bianca, and Erika." Kelsey pointed to each woman in turn.
"That'll be on the final," Whitney drawled.
"Stop it," Kelsey said to her. Then, to Victoria, "Don't listen to her."
Victoria took the chair next to Kelsey and smiled at the waiter who promptly brought her a glass of water and a menu. "What's good here?"
"Everything I had last time was good." Dueñas' statement caused the whole group to look at her. "Stephanie said it was good, so Antonio and I came for dinner on his night off."
"Antonio," Whitney explained, "is the hot bartender Bianca's dating."
"He's a good guy." Dueñas' protest was mild, especially as she followed it up with, "He's also very hot."
Victoria laughed, the way she was meant to. Maybe having contact with Dueñas wasn't going to be as useful as she'd thought.
"What about you, Victoria?" Whitney asked. "Hot bartender waiting for you at home?"
Victoria thought for a moment about what was waiting for her at home when they were done with this - Leighton, Gizmo, their life together - before she wrenched her mind back to the case and the situation at hand. "Not quite at that stage of things, but, yeah, there's a guy."
"Serious?" The question came from Dueñas.
Victoria see-sawed her hand in the air. "Spending the night serious, but I like to have fun. Don't know that I want something too much more serious than that right now."
*
Saporta laughed. "Come on, man. You'll have to meet Victoria. Come to the club one of these days."
Hitt raised his eyebrows. "That good?"
"Yeah," Saporta leaned forward, "she is. I'm not fucking anyone else, and Elle has a point. My club is a place people come to have fun. I want to provide them with everything they need to do that."
"And you want a cut of the profits."
And that was the business talk. They probably weren't done with all the posturing, but that was as good as an agreement to do business with them.
Saporta sat back in his chair. "Of course." He smiled, generous now that they were getting their way. "A reasonable cut."
"Reasonable," Hitt repeated. "And what do you think is reasonable?"
"You have to understand," Saporta said, "I have employees. They're going to get a cut of my cut, and anyone involved in moving the product directly is going to want a raise, which they'll deserve, to cover the risk involved. We're a pretty big club. We have a lot of employees."
Leighton didn't know if he'd done it on purpose, but that shift to "we" was clever. If his strategy was based on who else was going to get a cut, it was a good idea to remind Hitt that Leighton was getting her cut too, and Saporta would have to do that reminding. Hitt hadn't looked at Leighton again, and she knew guys like him. He wasn't going to look at her. In his mind, she didn't have any power and he didn't have to bother with her.
"And I have a lot of costs," Hitt said. "Running product through your club, with so many people involved, opens me up to new risks too."
"You really have to come in one of these days," Saporta said. "You can see how my club works, and meet the cops who come there to party."
Leighton glanced at Saporta, no more than was appropriate for Elle Masters hearing that for the first time. Either he knew that Butcher was a cop, or there were other cops hanging around the club. Or both. Leighton was willing to bet on both. That would help explain why the place hadn't been shut down yet, and why Saporta didn't seem too worried about the possibility.
Hitt actually laughed. "You always did like to take risks."
"Calculated risks."
"But risks nonetheless. So tell me, how much product are you looking to move?"
And that was it, that was Hitt as good as agreeing to do it. Leighton's eyewitness testimony on its own wouldn't be enough to convict them, but as soon as the deal went through, getting hard evidence would be easy enough, and then she could get the hell out of this cover and back to Victoria.
Smiling at Hitt and Saporta as they haggled over details was the easiest thing in the world.
*
"Trauma, or choice?" Erika asked.
"Oh, choice," Victoria said easily. "I just moved to New York. I don't want to give up my options too quickly." She smiled, letting it turn wicked at the edges. "I hear there are plenty of options here."
The other women laughed, and Whitney said, "Of every variety."
No one else seemed to find anything out of place in that - they kept on with bantering about what kind of options there were, complete with teasing Dueñas about having taken away the hot bartender option - but Victoria would give even odds that it had been a come-on. A very, very subtle one, but one nonetheless. It was too bad Whitney probably didn't have anything to do with their case; she could have used that.
The other women had the comfortable familiarity with each other that made Victoria acutely miss her own life. She didn't have that with anyone in Victoria Teague's life, and even though the women drew her into their conversation, she couldn't really have it. She would always be lying to them. It didn't stop her from participating, telling them Victoria Teague's backstory as easily as if it were her own and accepting their suggestions for dates she should get her guy - or any other option she chose to exercise - to take her on.
They were generous with their attention and advice in the way of women who were used to making friends, enough so that Victoria found herself genuinely enjoying herself, right up until the moment her phone rang and she pulled it out to see Saporta's name on the screen.
"You don't sound like you're at home waiting for me," Saporta said as soon as she'd greeted him.
"Nope," she agreed with cheer helped along by the other women's curious regard. "I went to the movies and met some people. We're having drinks and a late lunch." She looked over the table and amended it to, "But mostly drinks," drawing a laugh from the other women.
"Sounds like you're having a good time. Think I can come get you and show you an even better time?"
Victoria smiled, knowing exactly how to smile so the other women would know she was talking to a guy she was interested in. "I guess you could do that."
"Tell me where you are." Only after Victoria had given him the name and location did he say, "Elle's with me. I hope that's okay."
In truth, that was more than okay. Victoria was unsettled enough that just seeing Leighton might help. But she wasn't supposed to like Elle, so she made a face and said, "Fine."
Saporta's voice dropped. "Come on, Vicky-T, you know there's no one else for me."
Victoria sniffed. "That's what you say now."
"You're a tough woman," Saporta said. "I'll be there in twenty to show you how much I like that."
That, she judged, was enough to put a smile back on Victoria Teague's face. "I'll be waiting."
*
"Victoria?"
"Victoria." Saporta grinned. "She made some friends and they're drinking." He stepped out into the street and hailed a cab. "We deserve a celebration." He held the door and let Leighton get into the cab before he went around to the other side.
Saporta spent most of the drive on the phone, making arrangements with Blackinton and Suarez. Leighton guessed it would be less than a week before the drugs started flowing through the club, a few more days until she could get a cut of it. Two weeks, tops, and she could stop being Elle Masters and get Victoria back.
The restaurant could have been any place in New York, but the first thing Leighton saw when she went through the door was the table full of women at the back. Victoria was farthest from the door, and her face lit up when Leighton and Saporta came in. It was such a relief to see her that Leighton was halfway across the restaurant before she realized who Victoria was with.
It hadn't taken Dueñas or the other women that long to make the connection. Leighton couldn't see Saporta, only the table full of women, but that was enough to give her an idea about his reaction. Victoria's smile dimmed, and Dueñas's disappeared. The other women ranged from frankly curious - Whitney - to uncomfortable - Megan.
Saporta split away from her when they reached the table and went around it to bend down over Victoria and take her mouth in a kiss that made it clear that he considered her to be his. It set Leighton's teeth on edge, but she kept her smile open and friendly, even as she glanced to the side to see what Dueñas thought of it. She was struggling even more than Leighton was to keep her friendly demeanor.
"So," Whitney drawled, "your guy is Gabe Saporta."
"It is." Victoria had slipped her hand into Gabe's, and she was doing an excellent job of pretending not to know there was any connection between Gabe and the women she was drinking with. Even Leighton almost believed it. "How do you know him?"
There was a pause where everyone waited for someone to answer her. In the end, it was Saporta who said, "Bianca's my ex."
Victoria winced. "Oh my God, and here I spent all this time telling you about this guy I'm seeing."
"It's fine," Dueñas said with a graciousness that was only somewhat belied by the expression on her face. "You didn't know, and we've both moved on. Elle, I see that introduction worked out for you."
"Bianca introduced me to Gabe," Leighton said to Victoria. Victoria did a creditable job at a slightly annoyed smile.
"And now you've met Bianca too." Saporta hugged Victoria to his side. "The two of you coming into my life must have been fate."
Leighton caught the disgusted look on Whitney's face, but Saporta was looking at Victoria and missed it. It meant he also missed the hurt that passed over Dueñas's face and disappeared just as quickly.
*
No matter what Dueñas and Saporta said, things weren't fine. Dueñas's friends were clearly on her side, which meant Victoria probably wasn't going to see them again. In some ways, that was a relief. Victoria had no desire to spend more time than necessary rubbing in the fact that she had Saporta when Dueñas didn't. With strangers at the club, sure, but not with a woman who was still in love with him and who didn't seem to be connected to the business. On the other hand, the women clearly knew Leighton, and continuing to be friends with them might have given her more chances to see Leighton.
Victoria smiled up at Saporta. "It must have been." As long as he believed it was nothing more than that, they would be okay. It helped that Victoria running into Dueñas was actually a coincidence, useful though it was.
"Ladies," Saporta said to the group at large, "you're all as beautiful as ever." Victoria was still looking at him, so she saw the way his gaze hung on, then skipped away from Dueñas. Maybe Dueñas wasn't the only one still in love. Whatever their differences were, they were going to be the least of their problems soon enough.
"And you're as charming as ever," Whitney said, her tone making it clear just what she thought of his charm.
"That charm," Leighton said mildly, "is going to make me a lot of money. Where on earth is your waiter? I was promised celebratory drinks."
The waiter appeared as if summoned by her wish to add two chairs to the table and take drink orders.
"You have to try this," Megan said, pushing one of the appetizer plates at Leighton. "It's amazing. Stephanie was so right about this place."
Only someone completely brainless could have missed the tension at the table, which meant Megan was the peacemaker of the group. She'd pushed it at Leighton, though, which meant she was also firmly on Dueñas's side, not that Victoria expected anything else.
Dueñas pushed a different plate in Gabe's direction. "This one's vegetarian."
"Thank you." Saporta's voice softened when he spoke to her. Dueñas wasn't the only one who hadn't quite let go of that relationship.
"I had some earlier," Victoria said, drawing Saporta's attention back to her. "It's good."
In addition to his attention, it put Saporta's usual smile back on his face. "Well, if it's Victoria approved."
Victoria grinned at him. "This place is amazing." She leaned into his side, not hard when the shuffling to add him and Leighton to the table had put them so close together. "We should come back."
She only caught the way Saporta's eyes flickered toward Dueñas because she was watching for it. "We'll have to do that sometime."
Victoria put her hand on his thigh. Victoria Teague might still need to demonstrate her claim, but she wasn't so thoughtless as to kiss him in front of Dueñas, not when she knew something about their history.
*
The appetizers were delicious, but not enough to keep Leighton from watching the rest of the table. While Victoria navigated Saporta and Dueñas, with Megan keeping an anxious eye on them, Whitney, Erika, and Kelsey were talking about other places Stephanie had recommended.
"I can see," Leighton said after one particularly enticing description, "that Stephanie's really the one to know."
Erika laughed. "The rest of us have our skills, but if you're into food, then, yeah, Stephanie's your girl."
The waiter interrupted their conversation by bringing a round of drinks. Leighton was on her first, but from the glasses already crowding the table, she was the only one.
"Too bad Bianca's the only one whose skills include attracting cute members of the food service industry," Kelsey said. "That waiter."
Erika and Whitney both turned to watch him walk away. Leighton looked at Dueñas first, and caught her wince. A safe bet, then, that Saporta didn't know about Antonio the bartender.
"Cute members of the food service industry?" Saporta asked. It drew the attention of the whole table. There was a moment where no one spoke.
Whitney was the one to break the silence. "Bianca's new boyfriend," she said. "Also known as Antonio the hot bartender."
Saporta was still cuddled up to Victoria, but his attention was all for Dueñas. "Bartender. I thought you didn't want to be involved with anyone with a club life."
"He works in a tapas bar," Dueñas snapped. "Hardly the same thing."
"No," Saporta said, his mouth twisting into something unpleasant enough that Leighton started to wonder how deep his criminal enterprises went. People had ordered hits for less. "I suppose not."
Saporta seemed to catch himself, or else Victoria had done something under the table to catch his attention, because his face slid back into his usual practiced geniality, and he turned to Victoria.
"I am still in the club life," Saporta was talking only to Victoria, but loud enough for it to carry across the table, "which means I have some time now, but I'll be busy later." His voice dropped, but still not enough for it to be a truly private conversation. "And I am disappointed you didn't just wait for me. I was looking forward to that."
Leighton could admit that, objectively, Victoria did a good job of looking absolutely besotted. It didn't do anything to lessen her wish to punch Saporta's face in, or to grab Victoria away from him and show him who Victoria really belonged to.
Victoria tossed back the rest of her drink. "I wouldn't want to waste your free time." She reached for her purse, but was stopped by Saporta's hand closing over hers when she started to open it.
"This one's on me." He took out his wallet and tossed a few bills on the table, far more than they needed to cover his and Victoria's share of the bill. "Ladies, I hope you'll forgive me for stealing Victoria away. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon."
For her part, Victoria said, "It was so nice to meet you all," before she took Saporta's hand and left with him.
*
Saporta's grip was just a little too tight, nothing Victoria couldn't handle, but not exactly comfortable either. "Gabe." She pried at his fingers until he loosened it and looked down at her with a rueful smile.
"Sorry." He bent down and kissed her slowly, taking his time exploring her mouth. Even as unhappy as she was with the situation, it was enough to leave her breathless. Seduction was definitely a part of his skill set. "Sorry," he said again. "It's been a while since I last saw Bianca, and her friends don't like me much."
Victoria shook her head. "I can't believe that was your ex."
Saporta let go of her hand altogether to step out into the street and hail a cab that he helped her into. Once he was in, she slid across the seat to lean against his side with her head on his shoulder. Victoria Teague staking her claim, even though there was no one to watch them now.
"I just wanted to go to the movies."
Saporta linked their hands together. "That's the thing about this town. You think it's impossibly big, and then things like this happen." He kissed the top of her head, but his voice got fainter at the end of the sentence, and when she looked up, he was looking out the window as if he were seeing something else entirely.
It was a bad sign. They needed to wrap this case up before Saporta decided he was done with his rebound - or done with trying to rebound at all - and dumped her. Victoria knew she was good at attracting - and keeping - male attention, but even she wasn't a match for the way Saporta seemed to still feel about Dueñas. If he dumped her, she would be out, and as much of a relief as it would be to get out from under this case, she wasn't going to leave Leighton behind.
"What were you doing while I was proving this is just a small town?"
"Business meeting."
"Did it go well?" Victoria kept her head down, looking at their hands. Better if Saporta didn't pick up on just how interested she was.
"Well enough." After a moment, he sighed and said, stronger, "Really well, actually. I took Elle with me. She was good."
Victoria made herself stiffen. As much as she wanted to know everything about what Leighton was up to, Victoria Teague didn't like her.
Saporta huffed. "I don't know how many times either of us has to tell you this. I'm not interested. She's not interested." Saporta tipped Victoria's chin up so she was looking at him. "I'm interested in you. She's interested in the money and excitement the club can bring her."
Those were both lies. Saporta might be interested in her, but not as anything compared to what he'd had with Dueñas, and Leighton was interested in evidence. Victoria couldn't call him on it, not without blowing her cover.
*
"Are you all right?" Megan asked Dueñas in the wake of Saporta and Victoria's departure.
"Yeah." Dueñas smiled at the table, but it didn't go all the way to her eyes. "I'm fine. We're over."
"There's over," Whitney snapped, "and then there's watching your ex fawn over someone else right in front of you."
It was so miscalculated - too strong, too much of a reminder - that she had to have said it without thinking it through. Dueñas's smile wavered, but she didn't crumple.
"Eat up everyone." Megan pushed the appetizer plates toward the rest of the group. "You're going to need it to absorb all the alcohol we're about to drink." She followed it up by flagging down the waiter and ordering a couple of bottles of wine.
Leighton took the plates when they came her way, but left her glass of wine mostly untouched. As much fun as getting drunk sounded, Dueñas was still in love with Saporta, and she couldn't risk letting her guard down.
"We're over," Dueñas said two glasses of wine and twenty minutes later. "It shouldn't matter that he has some girl who's okay with just partying."
"Love doesn't work like that," Kelsey said. "When you love someone, you love them, and it doesn't matter if you're supposed to be apart now, you still love them." There was a story there, and maybe something in her use of non-gender specific pronouns.
"I left him," Dueñas said. She held out her glass, and Erika, who had the bottle at the moment, refilled it. "Shouldn't that make a difference?"
"No, honey," Megan said, her voice soft, "because you didn't leave him because you didn't love him anymore."
Leighton saw it coming, so she already had a package of Kleenex out of her purse ready to hand over when Dueñas started crying. Saporta was charming and successful as far as his business went, but it was hard to believe he'd inspired this kind of love. Still, Leighton could understand it. She'd be just as much of a wreck if anything happened that meant she couldn't be with Victoria. It was only the fact that she knew it was temporary, that they were doing it for a purpose, that was keeping her from falling apart now. It was going to hurt Dueñas when they put Saporta away, but Leighton was ready for it. The end of this job meant she could have Victoria back where she belonged, with her.
"Drink more." Kelsey pushed Dueñas's glass toward her. "It's the best thing for a broken heart."
Dueñas laughed a little through her tears. "I think I've drunk more since we broke up than I did the whole time we were together." Her face crumpled again. "And Gabe likes to party."
On either side of her, Kelsey and Megan moved in to put their arms around her. At least Dueñas would have them when Saporta was rotting away in prison where he belonged.
*
Seeing Dueñas rattled Saporta more than he admitted, or else there was something going on with the business he and Leighton had done together. Victoria was pretty sure it was Dueñas, though, because while he was distracted with her - nothing anyone would have noticed unless they were looking very, very carefully - he was still right on top of everything at the club. The distraction worked in her favor; he didn't notice at all when she slipped out on Monday for her weekly meeting with Mike.
"I hate this," she said as soon as she was in the apartment Mike was still supposedly crashing in and he'd let her know it was safe to talk freely. "I hate this case, I hate Saporta, I hate being Victoria Teague." She stalked a circle around the living room as she spoke.
"We can pull you out." Mike shrugged and sat on the couch. "Make up some family emergency and send Victoria Teague back to L.A. or something."
Victoria took a deep breath and sat down next to him. "No," she said. "No, I'm good to see this through. But remind me of this next time I'm bored with our caseload."
Mike laughed. "Yeah, right. You'll never believe me."
Victoria put the heels of her hands over her eyes and pressed in, blocking everything out for a few seconds. "Yeah," she said, "I think I will this time." She pulled her hands away and smiled at him, trying to show him he was okay even though he knew her well enough to read whatever she wasn't saying. "Saporta's still not letting me in on his business stuff, but I got a look through the files in his apartment. He has files on everyone who works for him. He also owns a bunch of other property. If you get me some paper, I'll write the addresses down for you."
Mike found something for her, and she wrote down everything she could remember from Saporta's files. "I think there's one or two more I'm forgetting. If I can get in again, I'll get them for you."
Mike took the list and skimmed down it. "This is a good start." Then he frowned.
"What?"
"One of these," he said, tapping the paper. "It looks familiar, but I don't know if it's something connected to this case." He shrugged. "We'll check them out, see what we can find."
Victoria sighed and tipped her head onto the back of the couch. "Probably nothing. I'm going to be his trophy girlfriend forever."
Mike nudged her with his elbow. "Leighton's too good for that."
Victoria sat up. "Are you trying to impugn my detecting abilities? That's not going to make me like this case anymore."
Mike grinned at her. "Nah, but it might get you out of your funk. You want to write a note for her?"
"God, yes."
*
"We're finally getting somewhere," Leighton said when she met with Michael. "Saporta and I had a meeting with a supplier, Rob Hitt. He's agreed to move product through the club. All we have to do is wait for it to happen, and we can get Saporta."
"Hitt," Michael repeated. "He's not in our files."
"No, he's not, but he seems to be big enough that he might be in Narcotics' files somewhere. He and Saporta 'go way back' - Hitt's words." Leighton settled back into her chair. "As soon as product starts moving, we can arrange to take them down."
"Good." Michael handed her a sheet of paper covered in Victoria's handwriting. "Victoria got a list of some buildings Saporta owns. Notice anything?"
Leighton skimmed down the list until something caught her eye. "Strenge's building?"
Michael nodded. "It could be that she just ended up there because of the personal connection."
"Or she could be laundering some of the club's profits. The jewelry is overpriced. Saporta and his operation pay too much for it, the excess comes back clean through the rent."
"And she makes money on the side from any legit sales." Michael took the list back. "Probably can't prove it without subpoenaing her financial records, but if we're careful, we might be able to coordinate it so she doesn't destroy any of it before we can get to it."
The club was the first priority. It would be a close thing to get the club and Strenge in short succession. "If we move in on a Friday or Saturday night, might be able to get everyone in the initial net and keep her off the streets long enough to get to her records." Finally. Finally, they were getting somewhere. Neither Saporta nor Hitt would want to wait, which meant she didn't have to wait. The sooner she could get Victoria out of there the better.
"Did Mike say how Victoria's holding up?"
Michael hesitated, just long enough that she knew it wasn't good. "He's worried, but she's hanging in there."
If Mike was worried, Leighton needed to be too.
"I have a note for you."
It wasn't much. Just "Love you" with a heart and a V. It wasn't enough, and the heart was shaky around the edges.
Michael gave her a sheet of paper and a pen without her having to ask for them. She couldn't say much, not in a note that might get intercepted even if none of the others had.
My darling V,It didn't even come close to all the things she wanted to say, but it made the promise she was determined to keep. Victoria wouldn't have to be Saporta's girl for much longer, and after the trial, she would never have to see him again.
We're so close. I miss you. I love you. Soon.
-L
Leighton folded her note, ran her fingers over Victoria's words again, and handed both of them back to Michael.
*
"You're ignoring me again," Victoria said when she pushed open the door to Saporta's office.
"Never." Saporta got up and crossed the room to take her mouth in what would have been a very satisfying kiss if she were actually in love with him.
Victoria pulled away and pressed her lips together to even out her lipstick from where he'd no doubt smeared it. "You are. I've barely seen you all week."
"Now, Vicky-T, don't be like that." Saporta ran his fingers through her hair. "I've been working out boring business details. It's almost settled now."
Victoria stepped away and walked around him to sit on the edge of his desk, taking in the papers spread across it with a glance. Calculations of some sort. Victoria put her hands on top of them and leaned back, inviting Saporta closer. "How settled?"
Saporta took the bait and stepped between her legs. "Not settled enough for what you're suggesting. I thought you weren't that kind of girl."
Victoria rubbed one of her heels up the back of his leg. "Not the kind of girl to let you have me in your office the first time," she murmured. He swayed toward her just the way she knew he would. She was good at this, and he was predictable. "I am the kind of girl to spice things up."
"Victoria Teague, you continually surprise me." There was true regret in Saporta's eyes. "This will all be settled by Friday night, and then you can spice up anything you want."
Victoria turned away from his kiss and pushed him away so she could stand. "It better be. I'm not the kind of girl to wait around for you."
Saporta reeled her in with an arm around her waist. "So you've said." He dipped down and kissed her, full of promise. "Come to the club on Friday night. Everything will be settled. It'll be a good night."
"Fine." Victoria let herself be placated. "But you'd better have time for me on Friday."
"All the time in the world." Saporta walked her to the door. He kissed her again, a good-bye kiss this time, and opened the door to let her through. He probably hoped the kiss would keep her from noticing the way he'd dismissed her. There was a good chance he wasn't even thinking about her anymore.
It didn't matter. He'd said Friday. If she had any luck at all, whatever they were doing on Friday fit with the business he and Leighton had done, and that had to be good for the case. Good for her, too, because just the thought of Leighton blindsided her with a surge of longing. She smiled at Saporta's employees on the way out, even though she didn't want to. She wanted to go home, to Leighton and Gizmo and sex that wasn't part of a cover story.
It took an effort to walk at a normal pace to the subway when all she wanted to do was get away from the club.
*
Leighton let herself sleep late on Friday. The first night of Saporta moving product through the club was going to require a lot of energy, both to stay alert enough to gather whatever evidence she could and to keep up with the party Saporta was sure to make out of it.
She found herself restless all day, rattling around Elle Masters' empty apartment and unable to settle on any one thing. They were so close. So close to taking Saporta and his whole operation down. So close to getting Victoria back.
Leighton gave up trying to stay away around seven, and left the apartment for a quick dinner before she headed over to the club. It was early, and things wouldn't get going for a while, but it was an important night, and Saporta wouldn't think it was strange if she wanted to be there from the beginning.
In fact, what he said, when she arrived to a club that had just a few early partygoers scattered throughout the room, was, "Big night."
Leighton grinned back at him. He had to be excited about it too if he was out on the floor instead of in his office or out with Victoria somewhere. "That it is." She leaned over the bar to get the bartender's attention. "Two shots of Stoli."
"Starting out strong," Saporta said.
"One of them's for you." Leighton took the shots from the bartender and gave one to Saporta. "To expansion."
"And partnership." Saporta touched his glass to hers, the sound of it ringing in the sparsely filled room.
"Partnership," Leighton murmured before tossing her shot back. She wouldn't drink much more - she had to pay attention, and her testimony had to be admissible and above suspicion - but a shot with Saporta was a good way to give him the impression that she was partying all night.
Saporta leaned his elbows on the bar and looked out over the room like a cartoon king surveying the land from his tower. "Partying's already starting." He nodded across the room.
Leighton followed his gaze to see one of the croupiers pass a small plastic bag to a customer. It wasn't quite as smooth as the average dealer on a street corner.
"They'll get better with practice," Saporta said. "But it's not a bad advertisement tonight."
"Mmm, I suppose." Leighton gestured at the bartender to bring her a Manhattan. "The clientele has to know somehow."
Saporta quirked a grin at her. "I put out the word to some people I know and had the staff do the same." He gestured at the club. "This is going to take this place to the next level."
It would take them to a different level all right, just not the one he was thinking of. Leighton took her glass from the bartender and sipped at it, just enough that Saporta would remember her drinking from it.
*
The club was in full swing by the time Victoria got there. She followed half a dozen others down the steps - partiers who eyed her with questions on their faces when Novarro waved her in without making her pay - and into a club as packed as she'd ever seen it. Whatever Saporta had put in place was certainly bringing in business.
His height made Saporta easy to find, even in a packed club, and Victoria made her way through the crowd to where he was standing with Leighton, Blackinton, Suarez, and Strenge.
"Victoria!" Saporta wrapped her up in a fierce hug with a solid kiss to go with it. "You just made a great night even better." Saporta kept one arm around tight around her.
Victoria looked around the circle, but even Leighton didn't give away anything she could use. "Everything settled?"
"More than, and business has never been better. Tonight, Vicky-T, is a night for celebration." Saporta frowned at her for a second. "You need a drink."
"I need a refill," Leighton said. "I'll get it. Vodka and Red Bull like Gabe?"
Victoria made a face. "He hasn't gotten me to try that yet. Rum and Coke."
Leighton nodded. "Anyone else?"
The others declined, and Leighton left them for the bar.
"I'm glad you're being nice to her," Saporta said quietly enough that he wouldn't be heard by anyone but Victoria. "You'll like her if you give her a chance, and if things keep going as well as they have tonight, she's going to be around for a while."
Victoria scrunched up her nose for a moment before smoothing it out and smiling at him. "Fine," she said. "I will make friends with your gorgeous, single business partner."
Saporta tapped her on the nose. "That's my girl."
Victoria leaned into him and looked out over the crowd. The club was as busy as she'd ever seen it. "What'd you do to drum up this much business?"
Saporta looked positively smug. "Negotiated a deal that has us in charge of party favors."
Party favors. Party favors and Leighton involved in the deal meant it wouldn't be long before they had enough evidence to put him away. Victoria smiled brightly at Leighton when she came back with drinks.
"Thank you." Victoria sipped at her drink. "You were involved in all this?" She waved at the club.
Leighton smiled, the corners of her eyes turning up. "I finally got a chance to be a not-so-silent partner in this business, although the planning and contacts were all Gabe's."
"You did a good job." Victoria smirked a little. "And it's making Gabe happy." She leaned harder against Saporta, feeling his arm tighten around her in response. Victoria Teague would get along with Elle Masters, but she was still going to make it clear who Saporta belonged to. The contact with another body helped, a little, with the urge to throw herself back into Leighton's arms. Not long, she reminded herself, not if Leighton was involved in the deal.
*
Leighton smiled back at Victoria, projecting only friendliness. Elle Masters wasn't interested in Saporta as anything other than a business partner, and Leighton couldn't let anything of her own feelings for Victoria show. If Mike was worried about her, Leighton had to be, but even knowing Victoria as well as she did, she couldn't see past the party girl mask to see how bad things really were.
Leighton stepped closer, getting into Victoria's space and cutting through the circle of people. "Want to make him really happy?" Leighton flicked a glance up at Saporta. "Come dance with me. He liked it last time."
Victoria turned in toward Saporta.
"Go on," he said with a grin. The kiss he laid on Victoria's lips was one of casual possession. "That sounds like fun to watch."
Victoria rolled her eyes. "You're such a cliche." She returned Saporta's kiss with one of her own before giving him her drink and taking Leighton's hand to lead her onto the dance floor.
Leighton shoved her drink into Blackinton's hand as Victoria pulled her away from them. The point was for Saporta to see them, so they couldn't melt into the crowd and have a moment for themselves. Victoria stopped them just at the edge of the dance floor, where people might pass between them and Saporta, but they would be under his watchful eye most of the time, and they could never be too careful in the club about who might be listening.
"Come on," Leighton laughed when Victoria held herself a little stiffly - playing her role, Leighton thought, hoped. "This is supposed to be fun."
Victoria moved closer, her mouth softening into a smile. "Better than listening to all of you talk business."
Leighton laughed and put her hands at Victoria's waist, on the sides of her body where the touch wouldn't be so intimate as to draw Saporta's attention. "Tonight's not much of a business evening. This is just a party." She glanced over to make sure Saporta was watching and found the whole group of them had shifted so all three of the men could see them. "I think we're the entertainment."
Victoria looked at them too, then back to Leighton with a look of fond exasperation that was so good Leighton started to doubt that Mike was right to be worried about her. "Boys." Victoria drew closer to Leighton, her body moving with more ease under Leighton's hands. "What do you say we give them a show?" Victoria's arms draped over Leighton's shoulders.
Mike wasn't wrong. That close, Leighton could feel the tension that shouldn't be there in Victoria's body. Leighton slid her hands all the way around to the small of Victoria's back. A show, but also a moment just for her and Victoria. It was the closest she'd gotten to being able to touch Victoria the way she wanted to since this whole thing started.
"Do you know what you're doing?"
Victoria smirked. "Oh, I have some idea."
*
Saporta wasn't going to let this go for very long. He might have a lot of discipline when it came to business matters, but he was going to be ready for Victoria to be a part of his party in a more participatory way in another song or two. She had to make this count. It was probably her only chance to really be near Leighton. Sure, they'd done this before, but now Victoria Teague was going along with Saporta's wish for her to get along with Elle, and that gave her a little more freedom.
She let Leighton's hands on her back draw her closer, so they were pressed together, body to body. It was so familiar, so right to be that close to Leighton. Victoria had to fight not to melt into it and give herself away. It was harder, even, than dancing with Saporta. With him, she could let go and just dance, but with Leighton, she had to be careful. She had to be careful with her words, too, but that didn't mean they couldn't pass information.
"Not-so-silent partner, huh?"
She could feel more than hear Leighton's laugh. It was so familiar from nights spent dancing together that it made her ache.
"Yes. This," Leighton jerked her chin at the rest of the room, "is going to make me a very wealthy woman very soon."
Victoria's heart beat faster than the dancing, or even the proximity to Leighton, could account for. The moment Elle Masters became that very wealthy woman, Leighton would have what they needed to lock Saporta up, and then this, not dancing with Saporta, would be Victoria's life again.
"Lucky you."
"I was lucky," Leighton said. She followed it up with, "Maybe it was fate," but that didn't matter as much as the way Leighton's hands had tugged Victoria close for a second.
Victoria stopped trying to talk. It was too loud for real conversation, and they were supposed to be putting on a show for Saporta. The less she had to think about how to get information without giving them away to anyone else in the room, the more she could concentrate on what Leighton's body felt like along hers.
They got one more song before Saporta decided he didn't want to just watch. Victoria was keeping enough of an eye on him that it wasn't a surprise when he molded himself to her back, his hands sliding down her arms to cover hers.
"You don't have to go," he told Leighton when she started to pull away from them.
Leighton laughed and came back, not quite as close to Victoria as before. "Enjoying this up close?"
Saporta's lips pressed into the skin behind Victoria's ear. "Yes."
Victoria and Leighton had danced with other people before, and it had been fun. This time, Victoria felt more trapped by Saporta than anything else. But in the here and now, she couldn't give that away. She took one arm from around Leighton and twisted it back around Saporta's neck instead.
*
Saporta was a typical possessive asshole. Not that Leighton blamed him; she felt the same way about Victoria herself. The difference was that Victoria actually was Leighton's in a way she wasn't his. He hadn't wanted Victoria all to himself, not yet, and Leighton gentled her hold on Victoria, making it less grasping and more comforting, trying to give Victoria something other than his touch to hold onto until they could put him away and be together.
Saporta said something to Victoria that had her tilting her head into him and pulling away from Leighton. Then she was turning, without pulling all the way away, and Leighton's hands ended up on her stomach. It was a struggle not to tighten them, or slide them lower.
Victoria and Saporta kissed, long and deep, and Leighton had to marshal every bit of her self-control not to rip Victoria away from him. It was so much worse when they were this close. When they broke apart, Saporta looked smug and satisfied.
Victoria pulled all the way out of Leighton's arms. "Sorry to cut this short," she tossed over her shoulder, "but thanks for helping me keep him entertained."
Leighton forced herself to laugh. "I don't think you need my help, but you're welcome." She turned a little to watch them walk away. They weren't going farther onto the dance floor or back to the bar.
Leighton left the dance floor for the bar. Blackinton held out a bottle of water as she reached him.
"Thanks." Leighton gulped down half of it in one go.
"You owe me one," Blackinton said. "Something stronger than that." He made a face at Suarez. "Gabe and that desk."
Suarez half laughed and half grimaced. "Don't remind me."
"Do I want to know?"
Blackinton and Suarez both shook their heads, as in sync as if they'd been one person.
"You really don't," Suarez said.
"And you really don't want to go back to Gabe's office until sometime after they come back out here," Blackinton added.
Leighton went cold and hoped it didn't show on her face. She'd known what Victoria was doing with Saporta, but this made it real in a way that just knowing hadn't. She covered for it by drinking the rest of her water. "I'll just have to stay out here with you then."
Strenge joined the men in nodding. "Probably for the best."
"You looked like you were having fun out there," Blackinton said with half a leer. "Want to give it another go with a new partner?"
Leighton squinted up at him. "You're a little tall for me."
Blackinton clutched at his chest. "You wound me, truly."
Leighton laughed, because she was supposed to. "If you think you can keep from stepping on me, I think I can handle it."
"I accept your challenge." Blackinton extended his hand to her with a flourish.
Leighton took it with significantly less drama. Dancing with someone else she could do. She wouldn't have to watch what she was saying, and maybe she could lose herself enough in it to forget what Victoria was doing.
*
Victoria spent the weekend with Saporta. They went back to the club on Saturday night - Leighton was there, but moving around and chatting up clubgoers and didn't stop to chat for long - but Saporta kept her close for the rest of the weekend. Victoria tried to tell herself that if he was with her, at least he wasn't out making more deals, but it didn't make her any happier about it. Saporta didn't know her - the real her - well enough to tell that she was keeping that from him.
She finally got away from him on Monday morning. "Even party girls have things they need to do," she said, laughing. "And I'm sure you need to check in on the club."
Saporta squeezed her close. "I do need to check in. It was a good weekend, but I should find out how good." He kissed her cheek. "Promise me we can have dinner, though."
"I promise." Victoria kissed him, letting it linger and drag on. "Call me later," she said when they were finally done and she was gently pushing him out the door.
A shower was her first order of business, and cleaning up. This time, it had been long enough since she'd done laundry that it wouldn't be strange for her to drag the sheets down to the basement and into a washing machine. She probably wasn't lucky enough for that to be the last night she had to spend with Saporta, but they were getting close.
Doing laundry, straightening up the apartment, and a trip to the grocery store took up enough of her day that she didn't have too much time to think before she went to meet Mike.
"Saporta's distributing 'party favors,'" Victoria said as soon as it was safe to talk. "Please tell me we're close to taking him down."
Mike's nod was the best thing she'd seen in ages. "Very." He waved her onto a couch. "Leighton's in on the deal. Michael will talk to her later, but right now our plan is to take him down as soon as she gets the money from him. It'll be at the club, on a party night. We'll need you to keep an eye on the place, too. You have a different kind of mobility than she does, and we'll need both of you to keep an eye out and call it off if he seems suspicious."
It was a good thing he'd had her sit down; her knees went weak enough that she wasn't sure they'd have held her up. "Jesus fuck, finally."
Mike sat down near her, but without touching her. "It'll take a few hours to a day to finalize once we know we can do it. Leighton's going to be in contact with us. Follow her lead."
Victoria smiled at him and put her hand on his arm. "Don't worry about us. We can do this."
*
Working out details with Michael made the whole thing real. They were really going to do this. Sometime soon, provided nothing happened to spook Saporta, the whole operation would be over and Leighton would get Victoria back.
Michael didn't give her the note until after she had the plan - and the backup plan - memorized. The advantage to his life coach cover was that she could keep in contact with him. It wasn't something she'd used so far, but the success of the club would give her a good reason: now that she was successful at this, Elle Masters would be looking for the next challenge to take on.
L-The writing was smooth and easy, no hesitation in Victoria's letters across the page. Leighton breathed a little easier to see it. Victoria still had to be with him, but she was hanging in there.
I love you, every moment with everything.
Yours,
V
"What did Mike say?"
"That she's doing better."
That made sense. Victoria had to know the end was coming, and that would make it easier. It was making it easier for Leighton.
Michael had been sitting there, watching her, for a moment too long. "What?"
Michael shook his head. "You know," he said. "This is going to take a toll, even after you're done."
Leighton looked away from his gentle understanding. "I know." It was the part she kept trying not to think about. Even when she got Victoria back, things wouldn't be the same. Couldn't be the same.
"Give me some paper." Leighton had to clear her throat before she could continue. "If things go well, we won't be undercover long enough for her to get this one."
Michael handed over paper and a pen and squeezed her shoulder before retreating to the other side of the room to let her write her note in privacy. There wasn't much she could write, nothing more than she'd said already. Saporta seemed to trust them both, but they still had to be careful just in case they were still being watched. There couldn't be anything that would make anyone suspicious. Leighton wanted to pour her whole heart out onto the page, but she contented herself with:
V-Leighton folded it carefully, smoothing her hands over the paper that was going to be in Victoria's hands in a week one way or another.
Every part of me is waiting for you. My love is yours, always and forever.
-Your L
"She's strong," Michael said, breaking into her thoughts. "If anyone can tough this out and come out okay on the other side it's her."
Leighton nodded. Because Victoria would, she'd be okay. She wouldn't be the same, neither of them would, but she'd be okay. They both would. Leighton's hand shook when she had to give the note to Michael. He folded her into a light hug. It wasn't as good as Victoria, but he had Naomi. He knew something of what this was like for her.
*
Victoria spent most of her week with Saporta. Now that he had product flowing through the club, he seemed to have more time for her. They went to a truly forgettable movie and made out in the back row. He took her to a bookstore that specialized in film. They spent an afternoon on her couch watching French films, with Victoria finding she remembered more about the technicalities of film than she'd thought.
By the time Friday night rolled around, her skin was crawling with his nearness, and she realized how good he was. He knew so much about her - or about Victoria Teague, anyway - and she didn't know anything about what he liked, other than vegetarian food and business deals.
"Get out," she said with a laugh when he tried to crowd into her apartment on Friday evening. "Let me get dressed in peace." She brushed a kiss over his cheek. "I'll meet you at the club."
"All right." Saporta kissed her more deeply, groping her in the process. "But you'd better come up with a killer outfit if you're not going to let me watch."
Victoria twitched the edge of his flannel shirt. "One of us should."
"I'll have you know," he said, one of his hands palming her ass and the other sliding through her hair, trapping her between them and his body, "that I am a trendsetter." He kissed her again, demanding her response, and then let her go all at once. "Make me proud."
Victoria closed the door on him with a smirk that dropped away the moment the door was solidly between them. She was tired of it. Tired of pretending, tired of his hands on her, tired of not being able to go home to Leighton.
A shower made sense if she was setting a foundation for a killer look. It also let her scrub off the last traces of Saporta's scent and touch. For an hour or two, at least, she wouldn't have to smell like anything but herself.
Victoria Teague's closet was uninspiring. She'd been here long enough that Saporta had seen her in pretty much everything in it, and the things he hadn't were more casual, not clubwear. Maybe if she did something dramatic on top of the outfit. Lady Gaga makeup or something.
Victoria hadn't done much more than basic makeup on this op, but she was pretty sure there had been some more interesting things in the bottom of the makeup kit that the prep team had left for her.
She dug through it, looking for anything that could make a statement. Something that would make Saporta proud. Something she could push him away from with the excuse that he would mess it up. There. Metallics. Things that would stick to it, bigger than glitter. Big enough to make a splash. Big enough to keep Saporta careful with how he touched her.
Part 6