Complicity in Heels Read Online Free Page B

singer soon joined in on the impromptu riff. The popular song got the crowd clapping in unison.
    Spence leaned in toward Nikki. Startled, she jumped back.
    “Relax,” he said. “I’m not trying to make a move. I just wanted to make sure you could hear me.”
    “Oh,” Nikki replied, unconvinced. I saw the way you were leering at me in the limo, Spence .
    “Come on,” he urged in a serious tone. “Cordoza is waiting for us in the conference suite.”
    Nikki shrugged. I guess that means no festivities.
    “This way,” Spence directed. “Hopefully we won’t run into Lacey.”
    Spence and Nikki made their way past the glass-enclosed veranda and down a corridor to the opposite side of the Compound. When they reached the conference suite, they heard muffled screams. Spence hesitated to knock on the door. Concerned, Nikki looked at him. His hand hovered over the oak paneling for a few seconds before he knocked three times. No answer.
    “Perhaps we should come back another time, a better time,” Nikki suggested.
    Spence shook his head.
    Another scream sounded.
    He opened the door then stepped aside, motioning for Nikki to move forward. “After you.”
    Nikki sneered. Wuss .
    Inside the suite stood a grand boat-shaped conference table surrounded by twenty oversize leather chairs. Up front, tied to one of them, was a partially conscious brunette with a makeshift gag hanging loose around her neck. She was dressed like a businesswoman: charcoal skirt and jacket, her hair pinned up. A bleached blonde in a curve-hugging, sapphire-blue, sleeveless dress stood in front of her, holding a cattle prod. Her chin-length bobbed hair and fake tan stood in sharp contrast with the color of her outfit.
    Nikki’s expression darkened. “What the…?”
    “This isn’t as bad as it looks,” Spence said.
    “Really.” It seems much worse.
    Before he could reply, the blonde jabbed the brunette again with the prod. The bound woman’s body snapped back to life instantly.
    “The active SWIFT Network code for the bank you work for,” the blonde demanded.
    The brunette moaned but didn’t respond.
    “Lacey,” Spence called out to the blonde, interrupting her.
    She froze.
    “I told you this wouldn’t be necessary.”
    Lacey lowered the cattle prod to her side and turned to face him. “True.”
    “Then what the hell are you doing?”
    A smug expression flickered across her heart-shaped face. “There’s a fine line between stagnation and progress, and it needed to be crossed.”
    Spence shook his head. “Torture? Have you lost your damn mind?”
    “No,” Lacey said, placing the wand on the conference table. “Just tired of waiting for one of your harebrained schemes to pan out.”
    “Does the boss know about this?”
    Lacey snickered. “Not everything I do requires his stamp of approval.”
    Spence rolled his eyes. “Where is he? He wanted to meet with me pronto.”
    The former stripper delayed answering and approached the criminal pair with keen interest in Nikki. “Business call. Shouldn’t be more than ten minutes.”
    “A bank executive…” Spence said, pausing to take in the full explosion of Lacey’s cleavage bursting out from underneath the deep V neck of her dress. “I…umm…”
    Nikki elbowed Spence in the ribs. Hard.
    “Spit it out,” Lacey said.
    Spence paused, taking note of the discontent in her frigid blue eyes. “I can’t believe this. We need to get this mess you’ve created cleaned up before somebody realizes this lady is missing and pieces together what we’re trying to do.”
    “Handle it then,” Lacey snapped, pointing to the door. “We girls”—she gestured to Nikki—“need some private time to get to know each other.”
    With a nod, Nikki indicated that it was okay for Spence to leave. “I got this.”
    Spence looked skeptical. “You sure?”
    “Yeah.” I can handle McTitties here , Nikki thought.
    Spence opened the door. “Okay. I’ll be nearby if you need me.”
    Nikki moved