Tess was impressed in spite of herself. “Fine. Now if we only had a name, we’d be in business.”
“Oh, I have that. I’ll also know him when I see him. Zahi Selim, an Egyptian ex-patriot. Young, around twenty-five or twenty-six. His family cut him loose when his behavior got too extreme, even for them. His father’s in the export business, textiles, and owns a number of European properties in major cities. Sort of like Fayed. You know, the father of Princess Di’s boyfriend?”
“The one killed in the crash with her? You mean, this Selim guy we’re looking for is a playboy?”
“And was working it big-time until Daddy cut him off and he ran out of money. Hopefully he’ll be returning to his former habits if he got an advance on this job. I almost had enough on him in London and reported what I had. My superior ordered him arrested without giving me prior notice. I had argued against it, but he didn’t listen.”
“Ah,” Tess said. “And they had to let him go. Not enough proof to hold him. Now he’s at it again.”
Cochran sighed and relaxed in his seat, tapping his long fingers on the armrests. Nerves or controlled anger? “My objections to his arrest were misconstrued.”
Tess regarded his expression, a mixture of disgust and resignation. “But you know him by sight? What if he recognizes you?”
“He won’t. I tracked him down and kept tabs on him, hoping for rock-solid proof of his involvement, but we never actually met. Mercier said he’d send a photo taken when Selim was in custody in London so you can see what he looks like.” Cochran frowned. “He’s a ballsy little son of a bitch. I’ll give him that. Smart, too, in some ways.”
“So how do we approach him?” Tess asked, getting excited now about a quick resolution to the op.
“We don’t. You do. He’s a sucker for fast women. Rich women willing to finance his habit. I want you to befriend him and entice him to come on board the yacht for a ride up the coast, supposedly to Monaco, where you two can gamble. Maybe offer him a little private action on the way.”
“Seems like a lot of trouble. Why don’t we just grab him? That would be simpler, wouldn’t it?”
“Risky. If he put up a fight, our grab might be misconstrued as an assault, or worse. If we render him unconscious, how would that look at the marina?”
“We could take him to the airport and back on the jet,” she suggested.
He shrugged. “Same thing. How would we get him out on the tarmac and onto the plane without being observed? I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I want an arrest for kidnapping added to my less than stellar record. Mercier could straighten it out eventually, I know, but our boy would be out of our hands for the duration. Better if he comes along willingly.”
“I see your point,” she agreed.
“Fine. We’ll need to get the location of his computer first. You’ll get him to take you home with him if you can, and you’ll pinpoint where it is. Then we’ll have located our proof. Next, once you’ve enticed him onto the yacht and we’re out to sea, we’ll get some answers.” He looked over at her with a smile. “Then maybe I’ll dump the little bastard overboard and see how the sharks like garbage.”
Tess smiled and shook her head. “You’d never do that.”
“Don’t think so?” He looked entirely too serious.
“Would you?”
He shrugged. “Depends on how cooperative he is and how I feel at the time.”
“Stop yanking my chain, Cochran. You’re treating me like a trainee agent, and I’m definitely not that. I’ve been around the block a time or two.”
“Fine, so take your hair down, show a little cleavage and let’s see your sexy look.”
Tess jerked upright in her seat and glared. “What?”
“So I can see if you have what it takes to persuade our boy to ride the seas with you. Looks like you might need a little work.”
“Go straight to hell!” she gasped, clutching her chest with one hand and the armrest with the other.
He closed his eyes and blew out a deep breath. “Well. A lotta work.”
Tess had never wanted to slap a man so badly before in her life. Instead, she stood up and marched to the back of the plane, into the bathroom, and slammed the door.
She leaned against the tiny sink and tried to calm down. When she could breathe normally, she raised her eyes to look in the mirror, attempting to assess her features objectively.
Could she entice with these looks? Would any man in his right mind follow her onto a boat?
Not unless she stole his wallet. Cochran was right. She needed a lotta work.
She let down her hair and fluffed it, letting a slightly wavy lock fall over one eye. Sexy? Maybe a little if she ditched the outfit and went back in there stark naked. Or maybe not.
Cochran was seriously impacting her self-image. Her image frowned back at her.
“I can do this!” she said in a desperate whisper.
Half an hour later she pranced back into the main cabin, copying the exaggerated runway strut of models she’d seen on television, and posed, hand on her hip, to get his reaction.
His lips pursed and his left eyebrow quirked up as he looked her over. His gaze traveled over her like a laser, burning her confidence to ashes as it tracked from her hair, over her skimpiest, half-buttoned sweater, over her straight-leg Kleins, right down to her strappy little sandals and back again. Then he looked away without so much as a comment.
What was he thinking?
“Well?” she demanded, resting both hands on her hips.
He smiled up at her. “The look is adequate, but I think the attitude will have to change. Sit down.”
She plopped into the seat across the aisle from him and crossed her arms over her chest. “Face it. I’m no femme fatale. Not in my genes.”
“Hey, the jeans are great. Could be a little tighter, but the cut is right and the color’s good. The sweater’s way too cutesy, though, even left open like that. And you’ll need a push-up.”
“Bra? You’re telling me what kind of bra to wear?” Tess was incensed. And red. She could feel her face burning. “So I’m a thirty-four B. Sue me!”
“Look,” he began with a studied blink and a sigh that screamed impatience. “Don’t take this personally. I’m trying to be helpful here. Sexy is in the attitude, and yours is too…uptight.”
She rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. “As opposed to down and loose?”
He grinned and nodded. “Finally the aha! moment. See, you’re halfway there, just knowing that. Now all you have to do is loosen up.”
Loosen up? Damn, if he said that again, she’d smack him!
She jumped up, paced down the aisle, turned and paced back, fists clenched. He made her feel like a weird old prude with ice water in her veins! And she wasn’t! She was not!
Furious beyond words, Tess leaned over, grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him soundly on the mouth. She could be sexy. She’d show him just how sexy she could be when she put her mind to it.
But