A/N Sorry for the long delay. I kinda lost my Eliot/Katie mojo for awhile. This chapter isn't betaed since I was rushing to post it. Please message me if you see any mistakes!
Katie walked into the room with Quinn following her and Eliot glared at them both. He made her feel guilty so she looked away.
"Next time you pull that kind of shit, we're going to have problems," he warned Quinn, walking towards him. Quinn bucked up but Katie rushed in between them, placing her hands on Eliot's chest.
"Please don't," she whispered, her eyes pleading with him. "Not now." He watched her for a moment before nodding once.
"I'm doing what needs to be done. While you're willing to risk everything to keep your precious woman from kissing another man, I'm not. Let's keep the mission in mind, not your relationship, or we're all dead," Quinn answered angrily. Eliot continued to glare but backed down his menacing stance.
Tossing a wallet to Hardison, Quinn added, "Here's the other guy's information. They're planning to meet with someone named Tony Price at seven tonight and then after that they're in a high stakes game with him and whoever their contacts are. Delivery is the day after tomorrow."
"Is the game part of this?" Eliot glanced over Hardison's shoulder watching the information he was pulling up on the screen. Letting out a low whistle, he shook his head. "Tony Price, otherwise known as Antonio D'Arresta, the Patriarca Family henchman for Peter Limone…"
Everyone was quiet for a minute before Katie asked, "I'm assuming this is more bad news."
"You've heard of Luigi Mannochio I'm sure. He's the former boss of The Patriarca Family before he turned over control to Limone. It's the mafia in Boston. Whitey Bulger was responsible for a large number of that family being indicted in the mid '80s due to him being an FBI informant then," Quinn explained. "The Patriarca Family is big in Boston again."
"Not just Boston, they're into stock and internet scams too. The mafia of the tech world," Hardison added, still typing.
"So that's…" Katie glanced at Quinn, then Eliot. "So that's really bad right?"
"Very," Eliot nodded then began pacing.
"I didn't think it could get worse," Parker whispered before standing up. "I always forget our track record of going from bad to worse. If we don't steal the painting, someone is going to kill Hardison and probably Sophie then the rest of us. If we do steal it, we'll have the Patriarca family after us." Walking over to the window, she opened the curtains, staring into the night.
"There's also the strong possibility that there's another 'family' involved in the sale," Quinn muttered under his breath, sitting on the chair opposite Katie.
The room was quiet other than Hardison's typing. Chewing her lip, Katie waited anxiously to find out what Eliot's plan would be but seeing a sense of defeat in their eyes, she realized he didn't have a plan and neither did anyone else.
"Why don't you just steal it and make it look like Blackpoole was behind the theft?" she asked innocently. "Then these mafia guys can come after him."
Eliot stopped and looked at her, surprised. "Great minds think alike. I was trying to work that out in my head."
She smiled at him, their eyes locking for a moment before Quinn said, "Okay master planners, how exactly do we do that?"
Glancing at him, Katie shrugged "Oh…I have no idea. I'm not the planner. I'm the suggester. And now I'm going to let you guys work this out while I'm the 'orderer' of room service."
oXoXo
After they ate, Katie excused herself for a shower, leaving the others to their planning. They finished making their plans and Eliot told Parker and Hardison to get some sleep.
Quinn watched Eliot, an amused smile on his face, trying to bait him into something. The hitter waited, refusing to give in by speaking first.
"It really bothers you, doesn't it?" Quinn finally said, rising and walking over to the couch then stretching out on it very casually. "I mean Katie, of course. I see it in your eyes, how you're trying to be so professional about everything but it really burns right through you."
Eliot shrugged and glanced at him. "Not at all. Why should it? I know you want it to bother me but I see no reason to fly into a jealous rage over an act."
"I'm not talking about jealousy," Quinn laughed and after a pause, he added, "I'm talking about the fact that pretty soon Katie will realize that you will put a price on anything…including her. You're completely willing to sacrifice her 'for the greater good' of the others. What's an acceptable loss when it comes to her?"
Coldly, Eliot watched him for a long time, desperately wanting to finish what he started on the roof. "You underestimate me. She isn't in danger, nor will she be, from you."
"Oh I see. So, that explains why you were so calm when I got her on the elevator to myself."
Eliot rose slowly and walked towards the other man. "Like I said, pull one of your tricks again and I'll rip you apart. I wish she didn't have to suffer such indignities, but if you think I'm going to lose my cool because she has to fake a few kisses, you're sorely mistaken." Turning around he walked to his room, shutting the door behind him, but not before he heard Quinn's parting shot.
"If she was faking it, why did she look so guilty when you got mad?"
Katie was curled up in the middle of the bed, wearing a robe, her hair wrapped in a towel. He leaned against the door with his head back, enjoying the few minutes he had to his own thoughts. Trips where he never got any time alone like this made him go slightly insane. He needed space and both Katie and the team knew that. Usually he was able to sneak off to go to the gym or something to let him quiet his mind but this trip hadn't let that happened for days.
"You okay?" Katie asked sleepily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
"Tired. Tense," he answered, taking off his shirt. "I'm going to take a shower."
"Hmm…want help?" she asked and he walked over, bending over and kissing her lightly on the forehead.
"No, that's okay. Get some sleep." He let her pull him down to sit beside her on the bed. Seeing the concern in her eyes, he shook his head with a slight smile. "I'm fine. Just need a minute to clear my head."
Katie watched him for a moment, gently stroking his hair and looking serious. "You're not going to jack off are you?" Unable to resist, she grinned and he rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying…I know you guys do that kinda thing."
"Not with you around. Unless, you want to watch or something…" He pushed her to lie back and stood up. "You don't need to stay awake if you don't want to."
He was at the bathroom door when he heard her voice again. "Babe?" Turning to look at her, he saw she'd opened the robe and showing every inch of her naked body. He hesitated, his mind and body disagreeing on which direction he should go. Closing the robe again, she winked and said, "I'll be here waiting for you when you're done clearing your mind."
oXoXo
As soon as the shower started, Katie slid to the side of the bed, sitting up. When she was sure he was in the shower, she closed her robe, tying it shut, and walked to the door, then slipped out of the bedroom quietly. Quinn looked up at her with a slow grin as she walked to sit in the chair facing him.
"Stop trying to set him off and don't pull another stunt like you did on the elevator," she warned, trying to look threatening. "Whatever your goal is here, you're putting everyone in danger with this bullshit."
"Are you trying to say you felt nothing?" Sitting up, he reached out to put his hand on her leg but Katie jerked away from him before he could.
"No, I felt something. I felt revolted that I have to act like I love you when in fact you make me sick."
Anger flickered in his eyes and he sat back watching her. "All I know is how you responded. That wasn't all an act."
"Yes, it was. You're an idiot if you think that anything you've said and done will ever make me remotely attracted to you. No one likes the situation but you're going to get someone killed if you keep trying to…whatever it is you're doing concerning me. I'm not going to suddenly fall for you and leave Eliot so just stop it."
Quinn laughed and leaned forward. "You're a fool if you think this is about seduction. I want you to see your boyfriend for what he really is. I want you to open your eyes and realize that he'd do whatever it takes to get what he wants, including sacrificing you."
"Why do you care what I think or how I feel about him? It doesn't affect you either way. When this is over, Eliot and I will go on with our lives and you with yours. Hopefully we'll all get through this mostly unscathed. But if you keep messing with him, trying to piss him off, you're endangering people I care about and that does affect me. You said no woman is worth losing money over so stop trying to expose Eliot as some lowlife piece of shit like you."
Standing up, she moved to walk away before he grabbed her hand, jerking her back so she fell almost on top of him. He grasped her neck so she was inches from his face. His expression went from angry to amused as he rested his other hand on her now completely visible bare leg. "I'm warning you Katie. Don't push my buttons or you will regret it." She attempted to pull away from him but his grip grew tighter. "You're so naïve to think you can come out here and confront me on your own. I could take anything I wanted from you right now…" His hand moved up her thigh as he continued. "If I wanted to. Or I could take you from this room and Eliot wouldn't be able to stop me because you foolishly underestimated me. Now, I'm going to let you go with a warning this time. But if you ever speak to me like you just did or 'warn' me again, I'll show you what I'm capable of and it has nothing to do with pleasure. I suggest you march back in there and suck your boyfriend's dick or whatever and be grateful that I didn't show you how powerless you really are. Understood?"
Katie nodded slowly, her eyes reflecting the level of hatred she had for this man. He leaned closer, so she could feel his breathing on her lips almost touching hers. His eyes studied hers for a moment. "How do you think Eliot would feel to know you came out here naked other than this robe? Attempting to perhaps tease or seduce me and putting yourself in such a vulnerable position? Do you think he would look at it as an innocent mistake on your part?"
"I wasn't…" she answered shaking her head and trying to pull away. "Please just let me go."
"This is the last warning I'll give you." Once again, his lips came dangerously close to hers before he pulled away, letting go and pulling her robe to cover her bare leg. Katie rose quickly and without a word, she returned to the bedroom, her hands shaking. After closing the door and locking it, she leaned against it trying to calm down.
How could she have been so fucking stupid? Eliot was right about her getting herself into these situations. And if he found out what happened, he'd be furious. Unfortunately he'd be right too. She heard the shower water being turned off and rushed to return to the bed, lying down facing away from the door. By the time he crawled into bed with her, she'd calmed her breathing.
"Are you cold?" he murmured in her ear, wrapping his arms around her tightly, and she realized she was still shaking a little bit. Snuggling up to him she made a noncommittal response. Eliot kissed her lightly on the neck before adding, "Babe, I'm so tired. It's not that I don't want to but…"
"Its fine," she whispered with a quick kiss. "I'm tired too. Just hold me, okay?"
"Why don't you take off the robe?" he suggested and she sat up to remove it. Eliot covered her with the blanket and Katie rested her head on his chest, allowing him to gather her up in his arms. Unconsciously, he stroked her back, while she traced her fingers lightly across his naked stomach. Eventually she noticed his breathing had evened out and knew he'd fallen asleep. Tears burned her eyes but she bit her lip, forcing them back. What happened tonight was her own doing and she needed to realize that. She was in over her head with types like Quinn and being impulsive or smartass was going to get someone hurt.
oXoXo
The next morning Eliot woke to an empty bed and the sound of Katie and Quinn talking in the other room. Seconds later, he realized there was a third voice and rose to stand close to the door where he could listen.
"We really appreciate it," Katie was saying but apparently the other person didn't get her 'go away now' tone of voice.
"If you and your husband would like any tickets, please let us know." A young sounding male voice replied. "And if you want me to show you how to check on your TV for the events that we have tickets for, I can. Or you can just call if you need any help finding something to do. Vegas has quite exciting nightlife but there are shows and events during the day too and…"
"We'll call if we need anything. And thanks again for the champagne breakfast. I'm so hungry I could eat two of them so don't be surprised when we order more food! Gotta keep our strength up right baby?" Quinn said loudly with a chuckle. "Now if you'll excuse us, we better eat this before it gets cold…"
"Of course, sir."
Eliot heard the door click shut and Quinn retort. "Wow, such much for taking a hint buddy."
"I thought you said we wouldn't be bothered too much as newlyweds?" Katie asked before opening the door again. "I'm putting the 'do not disturb' sign up."
"I assumed that was the case. I've never been a newlywed, how would I know?"
Eliot began getting dressed and Katie slid back into the room. "That was close," she replied coming back into the room. "I thought the guy was going to offer to come in and join us for a few minutes there."
"We didn't really think about the fact that if housekeeping comes in, they're going to know there are more than two people in here," Eliot remarked, buttoning his jeans and pulling on a shirt.
"We'll manage to live without housekeeping then. It's not like we can't grab extra towels when we need them," she smirked, pulling clothes from her bag. "I can't believe you slept through him knocking on the door. You were really out last night."
"I can't either. That's not good," he frowned realizing all that could have gone wrong.
"Hey, nothing happened so don't worry about it." With only a shirt and panties on, Katie stepped over and wrapped her arms around his neck. "In three days, hopefully we'll be back at home sleeping in our own bed. And not sleeping with the fishes…"
"That's not funny," he replied but grinned anyway. "Are Parker and Hardison awake already?"
"They're pretending to be tourists and taking some pictures. Tara called wanting to talk to you. She left a number." Katie released him and walked into the bathroom. "I feel good about today. I think our luck is going to change."
"Don't jinx it. I was hoping I'd get lucky this morning and that didn't happen." He followed her so he could finish getting ready.
oXoXo
Parker took some pictures of Hardison posing by various doorways. Every time he posed he acting more ridiculous than the previous picture and finally she laughed when someone walked by giving him a strange look.
"What you laughing at, Mama?" He bounded over and began flipping through the digital photos on the screen.
"You. You're cute," Parker replied, then, realizing what she said, she added, "I mean funny."
"I'm adorable," he laughed then realized Parker was blushing and avoiding his eyes. He completely lost his chain of thought when she glanced at him through lowered lashes. "I mean…well, you know what I mean…"
Parker watched him for a long moment before reaching for his hand. She tugged gently, adding, "We should probably get back to the others. But umm…I just wanted to thank you for yesterday."
"You know I'd do anything for you," his whispered response made her smile. "Whatever you need, I'll always be there for you."
"I know." Parker continued to give him that look.
Clearing his throat nervously, Hardison stammered a reply, "Hey, when this is over, maybe we could catch a show or go to dinner or something."
"Are you asking me on a date?"
He shook his head. "Nah…nah, of course not…well actually, yeah, I was but not if you don't want me to be then I wasn't." Hardison tried to play it cool but failed miserably.
"If you were to ever ask me on a date, I'd probably say yes. If it wasn't a date, then…well, I'd still probably go. But I wouldn't do this," Parker answered before leaning forward to kiss him. Her lips barely brushed his before she stepped back and continued. "So were you asking me on a date?"
Nodding his head rigorously Hardison stared at her wide-eyed. "Yes, yes I was. Let me try that again. Parker, would you go to dinner and a show with me?"
"Depends on the show."