Savitri tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair and studied Rafe. “Isn’t he pretty, Adam?”
The man at her side grunted.
“Can’t fault your taste, but you should know…” Dani’s flirtatious grin grew downright wolfish. “He’s all talk. If you want someone who comes through, you want me.”
Maya made a strangled noise.
“What? She’s fucking hot.”
“I am,” Savitri agreed with a lazy smile. “That was quite a show you two put on. You must have wanted to catch my attention a great deal. I’m intrigued. For the moment.”
It was a dance, just like the one Rafe and Dani had been doing downstairs. They’d spend the next few minutes prowling around each other, trying to size up so many things about the situation—motivation, intent, interest—without giving any real intel of their own away.
Gray knew the steps to this dance. He could do it when it was necessary. He was even pretty good at it. But Christ, sometimes he just wanted to ask a straight fucking question and get a straight fucking answer.
“Can we cut the shit?” he asked bluntly. “We’re not here to cause trouble or be a problem for you. All we need is some information.”
“Oh, is that all?” Savitri raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow. “I guess they’re not here to play after all, Adam. How disappointing.”
“We play,” Dani corrected. “We play hard. Gotta get the work done first, though. You know how it is.”
“I do.” Savitri inclined her head slightly, then returned her attention to Gray. “So. You want information. It so happens that I have a great deal of it, but it’s not always cheap.”
Nothing ever was. He’d learned about the transactional nature of life early, and he’d never forgotten those brutal lessons. “You get what you pay for,” he agreed. “Emerge BioCore Systems.”
Her brow furrowed slightly, and she glanced at Adam.
“Formerly Paradigm BioTech,” he supplied immediately. “Also PolyMax Bioengineering, ParaMax BioCore, ParaMax Bioengineering, ApiGen—”
“Ahhh, those assholes.” Her gaze developed a distinct chill as she surveyed them all again. “And how did you get tangled up with ApiGen?”
“We broke into one of their facilities,” Dani answered blithely. “We’d like to do it again.”
“You do play hard, don’t you?” Savitri tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair. “Let me guess. You went back only to discover they’d vanished. No trace. As if they’d never even been there, even though it should have been impossible for a lab of that magnitude to pack up and leave without warning.”
“They have it down to a science, don’t they?” Adam murmured. “The bastards.”
Maya took a step forward, speaking up for the first time. “So you’ve run into them before?”
“Them, and a dozen more like them.” Savitri sighed. “That’s why they’re so good at disappearing. Their survival is about hiding. Hiding their IP and scientists from the TechCorps. Hiding from Charlie…”
Adam growled. “Hiding from us.”
Gray dragged his hands through his hair. “So they’re just gone? That’s it?”
“They’re somewhere. But the one place they’re not is in Atlanta. If they were, I would know. You need to talk to the guy who knows everything that’s happening outside of Atlanta.”
Gray studied her, looking for the silent, subtle signs of deceit. But there was nothing sneaky or dishonest in her demeanor. Her eyes were clear and bright, and she gazed back at him easily, without avoiding or holding eye contact too forcefully.
Finally, he nodded. “Who is that, and where do we find him?”
“Jaden Montgomery,” Savitri began. “And you can—”
Dani snorted out a laugh, then clapped her hand over her mouth. Maya dropped her face into both hands with a groan.
Rafe frowned, looking back and forth between them. “Uh, is that a problem?”
“Not exactly.” Maya dropped her hands. “We know Jaden.”
“Well…” Dani tilted her head to one side, then the other. “We know Dakota.”
“One of Jaden’s drivers,” Maya supplied. Then she winced. “Also our boss Nina’s ex-girlfriend.”
“Emphasis on the girlfriend part, not the ex.” Dani started toward Savitri’s chair. “See, the problem with Jaden is—”
In a flash, Adam moved, blocking Dani’s path to the dais. He reached for her wrist, but she twisted away faster than Gray could blink. Adam’s eyes widened in momentary shock, and he reached for the weapon in his shoulder holster, only to stop short as Dani backed away.
“You’re fast,” Dani observed.
“You’re faster,” Adam retorted, his brows drawn together. It didn’t sound like a compliment. “Don’t get near her.”
“Sure.” A wink followed Dani’s breezy assurance. “But I’ve got to warn you—if she asks nicely, all bets are off.”
“Adam.”
That was all Savitri said, but the man stood down. When he moved aside, Savitri propped her chin in her hand, her expression amused. “Do continue. What is Jaden Montgomery’s problem?”
“He has a jealousy issue, not to mention a little bit of denial. And the two intersect wherever Dakota happens to be standing.” Dani paused. “Anyway, Nina’s not his favorite person.”
“Nina sounds fascinating,” Savitri murmured, before straightening. “Well, I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. Consider this one on the house.”
“No, thanks,” Gray told her. “We pay our debts up front.” The only thing worse than owing someone was owing a stranger.
“I’ve got this one.” Dani smiled, the expression tinged with playfulness. “I don’t mind Savitri having my marker. I trust her.”
“I like people who recklessly trust me.” Savitri laughed and slipped a silver ring off her thumb. She tossed it to Dani, who caught it easily, one eyebrow upraised. “For you,” Savitri purred. “A VIP pass. Come back when you want to play hard. Bring the pretty boy.”
“You hear that, cupcake?” Rafe grinned at Dani. “No leaving me at home.”
“We’ll see.”
“Oh, you wanna go now?”
Maya drove her boot down onto Rafe’s foot again. “We should all go now. We have shit to do.”
“And I have people to do.” Savitri flicked her fingers at them. “Run along. If you do find them and need help crushing them, though … Well, that really would be on the house. Some practices are simply too abhorrent to allow.”
Dismissed, they made their way downstairs. By unspoken agreement—and with their mission completed—they headed straight for the exit. Gray found himself holding his breath as they wove wordlessly through the smoke and the neon glare and the jostling bodies.
Outside in the alley, he could finally breathe, though the night air was still muggy and thick. “That could have gone worse.”
Dani rolled the VIP pass Savitri had given her between her fingers. “Not as productive as I’d hoped, but at least we have a standing invitation from the owner.”