Prescription: Makeover by Jessica Andersen Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jessica Andersen
most carefully hidden files. What could go wrong?
The memory of Zed’s casket flashed in her mind’s eye, showing her exactly what
could
go wrong.
She countered the fear with determination, but even that emotion started to wane as the clock on the deserted secretary’s desk clicked past ten minutes, then fifteen.
Tired of waiting, Ike was headed back into William’s office when she heard a noise out in the hallway near the elevator lobby. Moments later, the outer office door swung open and an enormous man stepped through. He was seven-feet tall if he was an inch, with wide shoulders encased in a skintight purple T-shirt, wearing narrow designer jeans in a lemony color that was a stark contrast to the gray, drab New York spring day.
Ike’s pulse accelerated and she reached for her midback holster, only to remember she still hadn’t replaced the .22.
Before she could decide on plan B, the guy raised his hands. “I’m a friend.” He gestured behind him. “See?”
A woman stepped into the office, perfectly dressed, perfectly made up, perfectly feminine. Not necessarily a friend, though. Ike felt a kink of dismay at the sight of Max’s wife. “What are you doing here?”
The giant man glanced from Raine to Ike and back. “This is our victim?”
Raine frowned for a second before she said, “I guess so. You’re looking…good. Ike?”
Ike bared her teeth, suddenly sweating in the layers she wore beneath her stuffed-tight jeans. “I thought I’d try out a new style.”
The giant shook his head. “Sweetie, if that’s the new look, I really don’t want to see the old one.”
“And you are?” Ike snapped.
“Stephen Flores,” he said as if she should know exactly who that made him. He didn’t bother holding out his hand, probably figuring — correctly — that she wasn’t in the mood for social niceties.
Or else he didn’t want to touch her, just in case drab was contagious.
Raine smirked. “He’s head of makeup and costume for several Broadway productions. Max asked me to call in a favor. He said you need a new look.”
Ike’s heart picked up a beat. “My look is just fine, thank you.”
“Not if you’re going in deep,” William’s voice said from behind her.
She spun and found him and Max standing just inside the waiting area. Her stomach did a backflip when she saw the expression on William’s face, a complex mixture of reluctance, annoyance and something else. Something she couldn’t quite decipher but that had her blood flaring hot, then cold.
Her voice wasn’t quite steady when she said, “You’re sending me into Kupfer’s lab?”
He nodded shortly. “On two conditions. One, you let Stephen and Raine be in charge of the makeover. New hair. New makeup and jewelry. New wardrobe.” His mouth kicked up at the corners. “A whole new you. I don’t want there to be any chance of Odin seeing through your cover.”
A chill chased its way down her spine, but she nodded. “Done. And the second?”
“I’m going in with you.”
She stared at him for a heartbeat before she said, “No, you’re not.” She looked to Max for support. “You can’t possibly expect me to bring him into the lab. How are we going to explain that? And I can’t teach him enough science in the time we’ve got to —”
Max held up a hand. “He’s not going into the lab. But he’s damn well going to be with you every step of the way. You’ll wear a wire and a camera, and if things go bad, he’ll be there to pull you out.” Max stepped to William’s side so the two big men stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a united front that said,
This is nonnegotiable.
“We’ll rent rooms near the Markham Institute and stay together when you’re not at work,” William said as though it made all the sense in the world. “I’ll have a surveillance vehicle outside the lab, and you can sneak me in after hours to look around. It could work. Hell, we’ll make it work.”
Ike’s stomach shimmied at the
The memory of Zed’s casket flashed in her mind’s eye, showing her exactly what
could
go wrong.
She countered the fear with determination, but even that emotion started to wane as the clock on the deserted secretary’s desk clicked past ten minutes, then fifteen.
Tired of waiting, Ike was headed back into William’s office when she heard a noise out in the hallway near the elevator lobby. Moments later, the outer office door swung open and an enormous man stepped through. He was seven-feet tall if he was an inch, with wide shoulders encased in a skintight purple T-shirt, wearing narrow designer jeans in a lemony color that was a stark contrast to the gray, drab New York spring day.
Ike’s pulse accelerated and she reached for her midback holster, only to remember she still hadn’t replaced the .22.
Before she could decide on plan B, the guy raised his hands. “I’m a friend.” He gestured behind him. “See?”
A woman stepped into the office, perfectly dressed, perfectly made up, perfectly feminine. Not necessarily a friend, though. Ike felt a kink of dismay at the sight of Max’s wife. “What are you doing here?”
The giant man glanced from Raine to Ike and back. “This is our victim?”
Raine frowned for a second before she said, “I guess so. You’re looking…good. Ike?”
Ike bared her teeth, suddenly sweating in the layers she wore beneath her stuffed-tight jeans. “I thought I’d try out a new style.”
The giant shook his head. “Sweetie, if that’s the new look, I really don’t want to see the old one.”
“And you are?” Ike snapped.
“Stephen Flores,” he said as if she should know exactly who that made him. He didn’t bother holding out his hand, probably figuring — correctly — that she wasn’t in the mood for social niceties.
Or else he didn’t want to touch her, just in case drab was contagious.
Raine smirked. “He’s head of makeup and costume for several Broadway productions. Max asked me to call in a favor. He said you need a new look.”
Ike’s heart picked up a beat. “My look is just fine, thank you.”
“Not if you’re going in deep,” William’s voice said from behind her.
She spun and found him and Max standing just inside the waiting area. Her stomach did a backflip when she saw the expression on William’s face, a complex mixture of reluctance, annoyance and something else. Something she couldn’t quite decipher but that had her blood flaring hot, then cold.
Her voice wasn’t quite steady when she said, “You’re sending me into Kupfer’s lab?”
He nodded shortly. “On two conditions. One, you let Stephen and Raine be in charge of the makeover. New hair. New makeup and jewelry. New wardrobe.” His mouth kicked up at the corners. “A whole new you. I don’t want there to be any chance of Odin seeing through your cover.”
A chill chased its way down her spine, but she nodded. “Done. And the second?”
“I’m going in with you.”
She stared at him for a heartbeat before she said, “No, you’re not.” She looked to Max for support. “You can’t possibly expect me to bring him into the lab. How are we going to explain that? And I can’t teach him enough science in the time we’ve got to —”
Max held up a hand. “He’s not going into the lab. But he’s damn well going to be with you every step of the way. You’ll wear a wire and a camera, and if things go bad, he’ll be there to pull you out.” Max stepped to William’s side so the two big men stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a united front that said,
This is nonnegotiable.
“We’ll rent rooms near the Markham Institute and stay together when you’re not at work,” William said as though it made all the sense in the world. “I’ll have a surveillance vehicle outside the lab, and you can sneak me in after hours to look around. It could work. Hell, we’ll make it work.”
Ike’s stomach shimmied at the