Deadly Deals by Fern Michaels Page B

grumbled.
    Tyson looked over at the small, Asian American woman as though taking her measure. He didn’t bother to respond. “Ahhh, perfect. Finger pad is just right. Good flexibility. No sign of arthritis. Nails trimmed just right. You’ll do!” he said dramatically.
    Annie was so befuddled, she didn’t know what to do. When Tyson winked at her, she almost blacked out.
    Isabelle leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I think you have a problem here, Annie. You went from no man to two men all of a sudden. I saw that wink. It was roguish. The others saw it, too. He’s interested in you. I bet you could bring him to his knees if you tried.”
    Annie swallowed hard. Feast or famine. Tyson was waiting for a comment. If Isabelle was right, and the wink meant something, she did have a problem. Well, she knew how to wink. In the end, she made a kissing motion, then laughed. She smiled and kept smiling, to Tyson’s discomfort. She leaned over and whispered, “You wouldn’t know what to do with me. Trust me.” She loved the man’s startled expression so much, she decided to go a step further. She dropped her voice even more. “I know how to…”
    Myra couldn’t believe her ears. She gasped, and she gasped again as she whispered to Kathryn, who then passed Annie’s comments down the line.
    His ears red, Tyson made a production out of searching for something in his bag. “You couldn’t possibly…,” he muttered.
    â€œMr. Tyson, do I look like someone who makes idle boasts? I’m up for a sizable wager. Now, let’s get this show on the road. Time is money. By the way, how much money are we paying you?”
    Tyson told her.
    â€œReally! I hope you can earn it. Shall we get started?” Annie wanted to be done with it all so she could go on the Net to visit the tutorial the girls were talking about.
    Clearly flustered, Tyson asked Annie if she wore a hearing aid or if she thought she might need one to hear the tumblers turn over.
    â€œMy hearing is as perfect as the rest of me, Mr. Tyson.”
    The girls gawked, their eyes round as saucers. Annie never ceased to amaze them.
    â€œCall me Tee.”
    Her heart beating like a trip-hammer, Annie did her best to pay attention and ignore the closeness of the man beside her. She liked the smell of the man and said so, her ear pressed to the makeshift safe door.
    â€œThank you. I don’t think anyone ever told me she liked the way I smell before.”
    â€œShhh, ah, this is the first one. Keep going. There’s a first time for everything. What was it like doing two stretches in the federal pen? That’s it. Number two. I thought you said this was hard.”
    â€œIt is hard. It’s the third one you’re going to miss. It wasn’t a picnic, but once I made up my mind that I had to do the time, I did it and walked out a free man. Believe it or not, law enforcement calls on me from time to time to…help them. I do it gratis. How would you like to go dancing someday?”
    â€œDancing? You did that on purpose to throw me off so I’d miss it, didn’t you?”
    â€œI did. You have to focus, pay attention, and not allow yourself to get distracted. For instance, you could be going for the third tumbler, and the guard is a little early. You have to keep going and let the others worry about the guard. Capisce? The third tumbler is always the harder one. Once it took me nine times. Start from the beginning. We have all day. So, would you like to go dancing someday?”
    Annie pressed her ear to the safe door. Suddenly she felt like crying and didn’t know why. “Someday may never come, but if it does, I get to lead.”
    Tyson threw his head back and laughed. “You got it! Now concentrate.”
    â€œYou may not know this about me, Mr…. uh…Tee, but I know how to multitask.”
    As Annie concentrated on the task in front of her, she