A Taste of Liberty: Task Force 125 Book 2 (14 page)

Getting Hassan was a cakewalk compared to this job!

Carlo startled her as she stepped outside her room.  “Good morning, Sarah.”

Sarah turned to see Carlo at Carolina’s door.  “Good morning, Carlo.  Have I missed any fun?”

Carlo walked the last few steps to Sarah and put his arm around her waist in a semi hug.  “I think I could bring you up to speed.”

Damn.  This guy is good.

Sarah smiled, still unsure of Carlo's real role in the household and careful not to burn any bridges.  “I'm sure if anyone could, it would be you.”

“Victor will be down shortly for breakfast by the pool.”

“Thank you, Carlo.”  Sarah left Carlo in the hallway and walked downstairs to the patio.

             
A tray with cups, coffee and juice waited on the patio table.  As Sarah poured herself a cup of coffee, she felt someone approaching close behind her and took a slow, deep breath.

“Good morning, Sarah.  Did you sleep well?”

She turned to see Victor standing behind her in an open, button down shirt and blue jeans.  She eased closer to him and fingered his buttons.  “Very well, thank you.”

“Good.  Perhaps tonight we can help you sleep even better?”

Sarah raised an eyebrow and gently stroked Victor's arm. 
“Sounds intriguing.”

Victor reached around her waist.  “Good.”  He whispered in her ear.  “That was my intention.”

In a moment, he turned to Carolina who was lying by the pool. 
“Carolina, my dear.”

She didn’t even look up from where she was lying.  “Yes, Victor.”

“I think we should go shopping after breakfast.  What do you think?”

“Sounds lovely, Victor.”

“Carlo, tell the driver we'll be going shopping after I've had my coffee.”

“Yes, Victor.”

Sarah took a sip of her coffee.  “I think I’ll go get dressed.”

Carolina looked up and smiled.  “Let me know if you need any help.”

Sarah heard Chris’ voice in her earpiece.  “I think the redhead has a thing for you.”

When Sarah returned to her room to change, Chris explained that she would pick up a “dead drop” during her shopping trip.

A tiny panic overtook her.  “Chris, I’ve never done a dead drop before.  I have no idea how to do it.”

Brian’s voice was the next she heard through the earpiece.  “Don’t worry, baby.  I know I’m your first.  I’ll be gentle.  Just leave everything to me.”

Sarah chuckled.  “Why do I feel
kinda
naughty now?”

~~~

Even with Brian’s assurance, Sarah was still nervous about doing the drop with all the women around.  She hadn't had a chance to gauge the dynamic in the household yet.  Carolina seemed to be the harem keeper.  She handled the women and seemed to act as Victor's number two while Carlo was the houseboy and all around gopher.  One thing Sarah did know was Carlo and Carolina hooked up at every chance they got.  She walked in on them having a quickie in the bathroom before the shopping trip.  They invited her to join them but it looked as though they had things pretty well in hand.  She begged off.

The plan was for Brian to meet her in town and give her the bugs and cameras she'd need to wire the house.  With so many people and such a large house in the mix, Vince felt it was better if she had enough bugs to plant in most rooms and cameras to hide in the important places, like Victor's office and bedroom.

~~~

Sarah browsed through the handbags at the Louis
Vuitton
store while the other girls milled about and racked up Victor’s credit card bill.

“Excuse me?  I'm shopping for my girlfriend and could really use a woman's opinion.”

The familiar voice with a slight Texan twang caused Sarah to smile as she turned around to see Brian impeccably dressed in a linen shirt and pants.  He had a befuddled look on his face and Sarah had to hold back a snicker.

This is one man who never shops for women.

She smiled, tossed her hair over her shoulder and gave him a flirty response.  “I suppose that qualifies me to give you an opinion.”

“Do you like this bag?”  Brian extended a $2,100 Louis
Vuitton
Alma handbag exactly like the one she'd loved and lost when Hassan's boat blew up in the Mediterranean.

Sarah took a deep breath and fingered the embossed leather bag.  “Yes, it is a beautiful bag.  I had one like it myself once.  Any woman would love it.”

Brian bobbed his head in relief and sighed.  “Great!  Thank you so much.  I really had no idea what to get for her.”

A snicker sneaked out before Sarah could stop herself.  She played along.  “I’m sure she’ll like anything you give her.” 

He squared his shoulders, smiled a big Texas grin and dropped his sunglasses to look her in the eyes.  “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Sarah watched as Brian walked over to the cashier and then busied herself looking at scarves.  She couldn’t help but notice that the rest of Victor’s girls were watching Brian too.  She laughed silently to herself. 

Sorry, girls.  He doesn’t pay for it.

She picked a scarf she liked and walked over to the cashier after Brian left.

The clerk smiled.  “Are you with Mr. Bolshoi?”

“Yes.”

The cashier wrapped the silk scarf in tissue and placed it into a shopping bag already sitting on the counter.  She handed Sarah the bag. 
“
Grazie.
 
Buon
giorno
.”

When Sarah stepped outside, she looked into the paper bag and saw the Alma handbag Brian asked her about in the store.  A little thrill shot up her spine. 

Yay
!  I get to keep the three thousand dollar handbag!

When she opened it, she saw all the electronics she would possibly need to completely wire the house and pool area.

Oh, that man has style.  You can bet those Cold War spies didn't get
schwag
like this.

“Shall we have lunch, ladies?”

Sarah quickly closed the shopping bag at the sound of Victor’s voice.  She looked up to see Victor ushering her and the three other girls into a nearby restaurant.  They were shown to a large circular booth with a back so high it was practically a private room.

“Carolina and Laura, you sit on that side.”  Victor slid into the center seat.  “On my left, I want Sarah and then Anna.”

Sarah sat next to Victor as instructed.  She needed to warm up to him so she had an excuse to be in his room.  Without access, she wouldn’t be able to plant the bugs or look for hard evidence.

Sarah sat as close to Victor as she could without being on top of him.  She reached over, picked up his linen napkin from the table and whispered in his ear as she spread it over his lap.  “Let me help you with that.”

Victor nipped her earlobe.  “It isn’t the napkin I need help with.”  She had to separate personal feelings from work and this was work, plain and simple.

She stroked his thigh and whispered back.  “I can help you with that, too.”

The only thing that matters is the task at hand.  Do what I have to do and don’t worry about Vince. 
Time to charm the pants off this guy.
 
Mojo
don’t fail me now.

Victor had his driver drop him off at a business meeting and return the girls to the villa to wait for him.  Sarah saw her chance and snuck into his office but after a complete search, found nothing she could use as evidence.

This guy needs a better security consultant.  I can’t believe he doesn’t have cameras in here.

She decided to push her luck and go to his bedroom.

There has to be some evidence here in the house.

She checked the closet first and found a ghastly green suitcase.

Why not?

She opened the case and what she saw blew her mind.  She held up one of the Russian documents and scanned it for information. 

I hope Chris has his earpiece in. 

“Chris, are you listening?”

“Always, sweetheart.”

“You won't believe this.  I've got a suitcase here. 
Crappy quality.
 
Green alligator.
 
Repellent choice in luggage by the way.
 
Anyway, no surprises.
  It wasn't even locked.”

“Spare me the fashion commentary and get to the point, Sarah.”

“I've got documents in here, probably hundreds.”  Sarah rifled through them as she spoke.  “English, Russian, French and I think this might be Dutch.”

“Can you fire off some photos for me?”

“Sure.  Hold on a sec.”  Sarah pulled her phone from her pocket and started snapping photos of the documents, sending them directly to Chris.  “Have you got them?”

“Sweet
motherlode
, Sarah.”
  Chris whistled.  “This is unbelievable.”

Sarah was jumping up and down inside.  She never thought it would be this easy. 

“We've got him, don't we?”

“You bet your sweet
bippy
we do.  Okay, put it all back and stand by for instructions.”

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief as she put the suitcase back in the closet and made sure everything was as she had found it.

Last mission.
 
Almost done.

Sarah heard the door to Victor’s bedroom open.  She threw the case back into the closet, spun around and flung herself onto the bed.

To her surprise, it wasn't Victor but a tangle of bodies otherwise known as Carolina and Carlo.  She’d stumbled across them having sex all over the house since she arrived.  It took a moment before they noticed her there.

“What are you doing in here?”  Carolina seemed more curious than annoyed.

“I was just waiting for Victor.”  Sarah got off the bed and walked toward the door.  “Please don't let me interrupt.”

Carlo nudged Carolina and winked.

Carolina grinned and turned toward Sarah.  “You aren't interrupting at all.  In fact, we could always use a third.”

Oh, hell.  I knew I'd probably have to have sex with Victor but I wasn't expecting this.

“Well, I've never…”

Carolina crossed behind Sarah and ran her hands over Sarah's shoulders.  “Don't worry, Sarah, we'll show you what to do.”

A thrill went through Sarah. 

These two are gorgeous and they want me?

She rode the self-esteem wave for a moment but, as flattered as she was, she had way too much on her mind to play along.

Carlo moved closer, facing Sarah.  He trailed his fingers over her arms and down to her hands.  He held her hands up to his mouth and gently kissed her palms while Carolina stroked her back.

How am I going to get out of this?  Just think of it as a spa treatment.  Yeah, that’s it. 
A spa treatment.

Carolina gently kissed the nape of Sarah’s neck while Carlo kissed her softly on the lips.

Oh, that’s a hell of a spa.

Carlo and Carolina sandwiched Sarah as they kissed each other. 

Carolina’s hands traveled down Sarah’s back and around her waist, reaching into her shorts while Carlo pulled them both closer, giving Sarah the benefit of feeling his solid erection up close.

Sarah tried not to giggle as she thought about how the boys would react to seeing this scene. 

There’s your Black Betty video, Brian.

With nowhere to move and pinned between two beautiful bodies, Sarah went with it.  In moments, all three of them were on the bed. 

Listening to this will kill Chris.

Soon Carlo turned his attentions to undressing Carolina. 

When Sarah looked up, she saw Victor, standing by the door, arms crossed over his blocky, muscular chest and a smile on his face.

Sarah rolled from the bed and walked toward Victor.

His chest rose and fell as he watched her cross the floor.

She ran her hands around his waist and up his back while he snaked his hands around her back before bending to kiss her, hard. 

His lips and tongue were firm and demanding. 

His erection, restrained by his trousers, was no less demanding of her attention. 

She moved to unbuckle his belt but he stopped her.

“I have a very brief meeting I must attend.  We'll finish this tonight.”  He turned and ducked out the door.

Sarah looked back at Carlo and Carolina, saw her chance and ducked out as well.

They won’t miss me.

~~~

Vince pushed his chair away from the table and rubbed the back of his neck.  He reached for the cigarette he'd left in the ashtray and took a long drag before snuffing it out in the small glass dish.