Undercover Engagement (10 page)

“Can you run in those boots?” Jason asked.

Elvis looked at me expectantly.

"Hello,
I’m
not the one Millie sneezed on."

Elvis raised his bushy eyebrows.

"Yes," I said to keep him going.

“Then, by the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you man and wife.” Elvis finished.

“What?” we asked in unison.

“Next,” Elvis called to the Teletubbies waiting their turn.

Jason took exactly one second to absorb the fact that we'd just been married before whisking me toward the exit. I, on the other hand, was spinning like ATV tires in six inches of mud. I twisted to see the doorway.

Shadow knocked down the guard, but didn’t make it past the beefy boyfriend. I should have been relieved to see him go down in a blaze of fists and cuss words, but all I could do was stress about just getting married. Looking around, it should have been obvious. Crepe paper wedding bells and champagne bottles decorated the hall. White and silver balloons bobbed to the air conditioner’s rhythm.  How I missed it all before was beyond me.

I’m married. I’m
married
.

A scantily clad woman in a feathered headdress led us to the photo booth where we had our wedding picture taken with yet another Elvis impersonator.

“I can’t believe that just happened.” I stared dumbfounded as the photographer snapped our picture. I'm pretty sure I blinked.

“Listen here, Sweetheart,” the fake Elvis said, “I can see that you’re
all shook up
with happiness right now, but this is your weddin’ photo. Let’s see that
hunk-a-hunk-a burnin’ love
.” He turned to the camera man. “One more shot.”

Jason wrapped his arm around my waist. His eyes held so much love for me I knew without a doubt he would cherish me until the day he died. He cocked his head to one side and sang in a husky voice, “
Have I told you lately, that I love you
?”

I grimaced. How could he make Elvis jokes at a time like this? “Ugh, that was so bad.” This whole situation was completely ridiculous. What was I going to tell my parents – I got married, by accident? The conversation would be comical at best. I pursed my lips while the Elvis struck a pose on my other side and Jason turned us toward the camera.

“Come on, Sweets,
If you love me, let me know
,” Jason sang.

It was getting harder not to smile.

The camera man held up a hand, “
Treat me nice
.”

I smiled. I couldn’t help it – apparently I just got married. I stepped away from the photo booth, only to hear Jason say to the Elvis, “
I’m left, you’re right, and she’s gone.”

“Jason.” I wiggled my finger and gave him a come-hither look. “We should get going.”

He set his hands on my hips and broke into a huge grin. “
Kiss me quick
.”

I did.

“Let’s get out of here. There are still
suspicious minds
around.” Jason added an Elvis drawl to the song title.

I let him pull me away and said, “That has got to stop.”

W
e did find a door to exit the building, but it opened to a creepy alleyway that neither of us felt good about. There were too many unidentifiable lumps against the wall and the smell of human excrement was overwhelming.

“In here.” Jason ducked into a door labeled “staff only.” The room turned out to be a co-ed locker room for lower level entertainers and was completely deserted.

Walking in like he owned the place, Jason turned into an empty cul-de-sac lined with full-length lockers and a bench down the middle. The lockers were hot pink. The paint so thick it could have peeled off under its own weight.

He opened a woman’s locker, labeled with the name Jazell, by listening as he turned the lock and making all the right guesses.
I didn’t know he could do that
! Inside hung a dancer’s warm up suit, a pair of running shoes, and a makeup bag. “Get changed.”

“Here?” I crossed my arms in front of my body.

“We’re married.” He smiled mischievously. “There’s no need to be shy.” Sliding his arms around my waist, he pulled me close.

“Ummm, I, I ...” Married by an Elvis impersonator as part of a World Records stunt didn’t feel like a
real
marriage. The whole thing happened faster than ordering a hamburger and a side of fries at a drive thru. Okay, so technically we were married. I remembered signing papers, but, I was pretty sure there was still the possibility of annulment. I mean, I was practically forced into the marriage. Not by Jason, but by some guy who wanted to kill us. Hmm, death or marry Jason? I looked him up and down. He stripped off his button up plaid shirt and I let out a horrifically-overcome-by-his-physical-beauty sigh.

He laughed, brushing his fingers across my cheek. “You are the blushing bride.”

“Jason!”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to press my luck.” He kissed my forehead. “I’m pretty sure we can get it annulled, as long as we don’t...” He cleared his throat.

“I get it.” I let him off the hook. More for my sake than his, my mind was starting to go down that path and if I didn’t stop it soon, the rest of me would follow.

“Take the clothes in the bathroom.” He dropped the bundle in my arms. “Then dump the wig and put on enough crazy makeup to look like a dancer on her way out.”

“I can’t take her clothes – what will she wear home?”

“We'll leave your stuff here and I'll put some cash in the pocket.” He peeled off two hundred dollar bills and tucked them into my front pocket. “I’ll stand right by the door while you change.”

I changed, unpinned the wig, and slathered on enough blue eye shadow and body glitter to light up the Strip.

My dad would be so proud.

Speaking of my dad, he was going to flip a lid and I couldn’t blame him. He’d known Jason for less than a week. Shoot – we’d been engaged for less than a week! Now we were married and Dad never got to walk me down the aisle. Something needed to be done about that, but there wasn’t anything I could do right now so, I focused on what I could accomplish and tucked the rest away.

The tight braids came out easy enough but my hair stood and kinked in all directions. Worst hair day ever and that included the time my friend Sarah tried putting it up in hot curlers. Sticking my head under the sink, I rinsed it as best I could, ringing the excess water into the garbage can. I flipped the hand dryer to blow upward and blasted my hair to moist instead of dripping in a matter of seconds. The crazy, wind-blown look wasn’t my norm, but that’s what we were going for.

I stepped out, carrying everything. Jason patted down my jeans. He handed me the flash drive, cell phone, and then a wad of cash before throwing them in the locker.

“Where exactly am I supposed to put these?” I held everything in my palms. Jazell's clothing didn't exactly have pockets. 

“Somewhere safe.” He did a quick look down at my chest, the push-up bra did amazing things for my small allotment – then back up. I stuffed the money and the flash drive in the left side making sure it would stay put. 

It was Jason’s turn to flush. I smiled up at him and reached out to touch his arm. Even though we were running for our lives, and if we survived, our future was still in question, just being with him made me feel safe. I closed the distance between us.

“This is going to be harder than I thought.” He pulled me to him for a breathless kiss. His lips were warm and possessive, taking as much as he gave. He pressed me up against the lockers with one hand flat on the locker door and the other wrapped around my waist. I melted toward him, letting the kiss take me to places I’d never allowed myself to go before. How could I ever have a normal life without kisses like this? They were the best part of my day, lifting my spirits, filling me with courage, and melting my insides to puddles of happiness.

The door we came through banged open, breaking us apart like two kids caught kissing on the front porch.

Dancers streamed into the room. Sparkle, glitter, and the smell of hair spray, brought me out of my just-kissed daze.

I cleared my throat. “What’s the plan?” I whispered. It was hard to think of anything but his lips and I was more than ready to dive back in.

“
We’re gonna move.”
He said in his best Elvis voice, giving his hips a little shake.

I rolled my eyes. “Stick to spy work, you’re a horrible impersonator.” 

“Whoever is watching will be watching for a couple, so we need to go separately this time.” He stepped to the sink to wash off his scruff.

I resisted the urge to wrap my arms around him from behind and hold on like a bulldogging cowboy on a steer. “I don’t want to go alone.”

“I don’t either, but it’s going to be safer that way.” Using paper towels he swiped away at his cheeks, but left a goatee. “Hopefully, by the time they realize we aren’t together, we’ll be gone. You go first. Head straight for the front door and don’t look back. I’ll take another route and we’ll meet up at the car.” He grabbed a ball cap someone had left on the counter and pushed it low over his eyes. “Do you remember where we parked?”

I shuddered to think of entering the parking garage by myself. “Yeah, unfortunately.”

He placed his hands on my shoulders. My heart quickened and my cheeks flushed as I thought of our last kiss.

“You can do this. I know you can.”

“Okay.” I nodded. I could do this for the love of Pete. If I could help the guys on the ranch castrate steers, then I could do this. I wrinkled my nose. A smelly calf was one thing, a burly assassin was something totally different. Courage all came from the same place, right?

“If anything happens to me,” he flipped open my phone, “Call this number, I’m saving it under Elvis.”

I smirked.

“Tell them you have a missing bird. Did you get that? Missing bird. They’ll trace the call and send a team to help.”

My hands shook as I took the phone.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be on the phone the whole time.”

“Okay,” I said again. A great feeling of dread weighed down on me. “Can we say a prayer?”

“Sure.” We both folded our arms and bowed our heads. I ignored the haughty male dancer who whipped his feathers over our cheeks as he flitted past. Jason offered a short prayer for safety and guidance. I felt warm, but couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Somehow I knew this wasn't the right plan, but there was nothing I could do about it. I placed my life in the Lord’s hands, kissed Jason once more, and walked out of the locker room on my own.

T
wo steps out the dressing room door and I jumped when my phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hey, Sweets.”

“Hey.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You?”

“Just leaving now.”

“Hmmm.” I kept the phone to my ear and tried not to look nervous as I made my way straight through the heart of the slot machines.

“We are supposed to be talking.”

“I’m coming up blank.”

“Do you think your parents will be glad we eloped?”

Eloped, ha
! “That doesn’t count. Where was my something old? Something blue? You’re not getting off that easy. My dad would come after you for stealing his chance to walk his only girl down the aisle.”

“I thought we could just send them the photo by way of announcement.”

Of all the things to bring up right now. We’re trying to stay alive, I couldn’t even think about my parents. In fact, I’d only made it through the drugging and pretend/real marriage ceremony by not thinking about them. Besides, my parents would be devastated that I’d eloped, just as much as they’d be heartbroken if I never came home. The worry they would feel if they knew what I was up to deflated some of my bravado.

“That would be safer than telling them in person.” I entered the casino’s main floor.

“What do you want me to get you for a wedding present?”

“Nothing, we’re getting it annulled.” I practically had to shout over the slot machine din. An older gentleman glanced over with raised eyebrows. I shrugged to him and continued towards the main entrance.
If
I married Jason after all of this, it would be in a church and he’d be in a tux, not a Texas-sized cowboy hat and fake stubble. Really, really attractive fake stubble. I’d only caught a glimpse of his goatee, but it reminded me of Tony Stark and that was enough to make me lose all the strength in my knees.

“Come on, Sweets, there must be something you want.” His footsteps echoed in the background and I could hear him shake out his keys. He must be close to the car. All I had to do was get to him.

I pushed the glass doors open into a wall of heat. My clothes sucked to my body instantly and sweat beaded at the back of my neck. Looking left and then right, I oriented myself in the afternoon sun. “The only thing I want is for life to be normal again.” I felt the tears well up. Since I was alone, I let them fall.

Silence hung on the line. “Jason?”

“I’m so sorry. I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make this up to you. Look, I’m here...” I heard a dull thunk and a clatter as the phone hit the ground.

“Jason? Jason?” I paused mid-step, just outside of the street entrance to the garage. The line went dead. Closing the phone, I waited for it to ring again, hoping he’d just lost signal, but knowing in my gut something bad had happened. The attendant in the booth looked up from his book, smiled, then returned to his reading.

Hide.

It only took a second for my mind to process the command. I jumped behind an elephant shaped bush just as Jason’s car skidded around a corner and pulled up to the striped arm that kept even drunk drivers from escaping without paying. I gasped as the driver’s window rolled down to reveal our Shadow. He had a bruised cheek bone and a split bottom lip. Jason reclined in the passenger seat. He looked like any other man who’d partied too hard and had a willing buddy to drive him home.

“I lost my ticket.”

“You’ll have to pay for the whole day.”

“That’s fine.” The stranger passed over the money. The gears ground as he pulled away, proving his inability to drive a stick. I sank to the bumpy landscaping rocks.

My husband...