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“I just did,” Tyree volleyed. “And you making a joke proves my point. You barged in, hadn’t been fully briefed, and have been attempting to scrap my mission from day one.”
His mission.
There it was—ego.
Catarina’s spine snapped straight and I had a feeling Tyree was in for a tongue lashing. Catarina didn’t disappoint.
“The first issue with your plan is you have no understanding of your target. You’ve given no consideration to what drives him and that’s where this whole operation is going to fall apart. You accuse me of wanting to make a name for myself when your ego is so inflated you’re unwilling to listen to reason when I’m the one who’ll be putting my ass on the line while you sit in a hotel room sorting through surveillance footage thinking you’re in charge.”
Catarina turned her sharp gaze my direction. “Martin Jackson is a thrill seeker. He was born into money. This is not a rags-to-riches scenario. The money doesn’t drive him. You going in flashing money with a hot woman on your arm will not entice Martin.”
“What will?” I queried.
“Me.”
“Of course that’s your answer,” Tyree spat.
Catarina ignored her teammate’s outburst, keeping her crystal-blue eyes on me.
“We have two women undercover. Neither has been able to get close to Martin. That’s because the coaching they’ve received goes against the profile. Martin enjoys the chase. He’ll fuck easy, he’ll own easy, he’ll sell easy, but he will not respect or trust it. The man craves the chase, the thrill of corrupting a sweet, innocent woman.”
I had no doubt the coaching the two undercover women had received came from Tyree.
“So, what’s your plan?” Jack joined the conversation.
“Beth brings me. I go to a party with her, play the innocent, doe-eyed friend who’s visiting from some Midwest small town. A fresh out-of-towner who is scared out of her mind.”
“And that will get us what? Weeks of waiting around for you to make your move?” Tyree interrupted. “The sale is happening in a week. We don’t have time for you to play Miss Innocent.”
“If Martin is there he’ll approach me in the first five minutes,” Catarina forcefully replied. “He’s driven by impulse. He’ll see what I want him to see and he’ll eat it up.”
“And you say I have an ego,” Tyree huffed.
That got Catarina’s attention.
Her eyes sliced back to Tyree and they narrowed.
“There’s your second issue—you don’t understand what drives me. It’s the deed, not the glory. I don’t tell the story, I do the work. You, on the other hand, are driven by praise. And when you don’t get that praise you sing it yourself. You have zero knowledge of social engineering yet you pretend you do because you cannot stand not being the smartest in the room. Normally, I don’t care what other people need to do to make themselves feel good. But when it’s me going out into the field, putting myself out there as bait to be owned and possibly trafficked, you bet your ass I care. Check yourself, Tyree, or I’m out and you lose Martin and the women he’s auctioning off. Even if Wilson gets an invite, he won’t get close to Martin.”
“Fuck—”
Joan intervened before Tyree could spew his insult. “Where does that leave Wilson?”
“He goes in as planned—a wealthy buyer. He has my back while I’m getting close to Martin and I feed him what I learn.”
“What exactly do you think you’ll learn in seven days that will help us take Martin’s operation down?”
“A lot. Everything. Men like Martin tend to forget the sweet, little, innocent woman is in the room. He’ll speak freely thinking I won’t understand what he’s saying. And besides, men get stupid after they’ve… you know.”
Catarina added a sultry smile to her inference, making sure Tyree didn’t misunderstand.
My reservations were waning.
“There’s a party tonight,” I put in. “I’ll go in, get the lay of the land, and tomorrow you go in.”
Catarina shook her head.
“We both go in tonight.”
