“Thanks, Herb! Hey, you know Mark over there was just telling me that he wished he knew more about SEPTA’s safety record.”

“Really?” Herb looked like he was going to wet his pants. He thrust the plant and the t-shirt at me and practically vaulted over the couch to get to Mark. As soon as he was out of earshot Adam turned to me.

“Well, he does have a fox connection after all.”

“You caught that too,” I said, impressed by his intellect, and feeling a familiar warm rush and pull in my nether regions.

“Of course I did,” Adam said, giving me a sexy smile. “David Herbert Lawrence, D. H. Lawrence, author of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Sons and Lovers and …”

“The Fox,” I finished, smiling back. “You know I feel strangely turned on that we both knew that.” Ideas of sneaking him off to the bedroom were occurring to me. I really was becoming a nympho. Adam was like a drug.

“Me too. Your mind is very sexy. Want to sneak off and grab a quickie?” he asked, as if reading my thoughts. I didn’t get to answer, though, because the rest of our party was arriving, with U. Hu leading the pack. Wow, I didn’t think he would actually come.

“Mr. Hu, I’m so …” I started to say as U. Hu darted past me and went directly to look out my window. “Uh, Mr. Davis, how are you?” Right behind U. Hu, stood my elderly neighbor, looking all spiffed up in a suit and tie and holding a single red rose. He gave me a lecherous smile.

“Here you go, cupcake. This is for you.” He handed me the rose and checked out the room. Then he went off to take a walk down memory lane with Gabrielle. I looked toward the door again, saw Yuri, and did a double-take. Yuri was kind of a scary guy.

“Good evening,” he said simply.

“Hey, Yuri, my man, how are you doing?” Adam said, punching him in the arm.

“You know, you’re one tall guy. I’ll bet you played ball in school, huh?”

“I vas a rower.”

“Really? Hey, see that other really tall dude over there? That’s Braden Pierce. He rowed for Harvard.”

Yuri looked interested and wandered off to talk to Braden. I noted, looking around the room, that U. Hu was peering surreptitiously out the window now, and that Mark’s eyes looked like they were glazing over as Herb hit his stride.

“You rowed for Boston University, didn’t you?” I asked Adam.

“Yeah, that’s how Braden and I originally met. I’m busy hosting, though. Hello there,” he said with a smile, as Mario and Regina came in.

“Yo, how’s it goin’?” Mario asked, congenially.

“Hi. I’m Regina Roselli. I don’t think we’ve met. Nice place! I love the décor.”

“Hi, Lily Adler and this is Adam Roth. You should go over and chat with Bruce,” I pointed. “He loves talking about decorating.”

“Great! Thanks!” She bee-lined for Bruce but Mario hung back.

“Booze is that way,” Adam indicated the kitchen where Cam was set up.

“Yo, thanks, man!” Mario bee-lined for the kitchen.

“Yo welcome,” Adam said with a smile.

“Hey Lil, hello Adam my Adam,” a raspy voice slurred from the doorway. Donna stood there, her wig slightly askew, one false eyelash a bit crooked. She had on a skin-tight lycra dress that left nothing to the imagination - nothing at all, unfortunately. Who knew you could get camel toe in a dress? Worse than the outfit, though, a cloud of pungent perfume surrounded her. The smell was so powerful that I almost gagged. I would probably never get it out of my apartment.

“Donna!” Adam said with a smile fixed in place. “You’re looking … uh, hey. We have alcohol! Right through there.” He pointed to the kitchen.

“Thanks baby. Maybe the two of you can join me in a little toast later.” She staggered off toward the kitchen. Thank goodness Jess was in there too to defend her man.

“Don’t think about it,” I said when she was out of earshot.

“Yeah,” Adam replied simply.

“Hey, yo. I’m here for the party.” We turned back to the door where a vision in black leather and neon purple leopard skin stood, looking hostile.

“Hi, Vixen, right?” I asked with a smile.

“Yeah. The real name’s Vivian, but I like Vixen better. You got any tats?” she asked, checking me out.

“Nowhere where you can see,” Adam said suggestively and I glared at him.

“Ah, c’mon. I see more pussies in my line of work than a gyno. What’s she got going on down there?” She gave Adam a conspiratorial look.

“It says, ‘Adam was here’,” he replied with a grin. Bastard.

“Weren’t you thinking about getting your balls pierced, sweetie?” I asked, grinning back. Adam swallowed hard and started to look a little pale.

“I can get you a deal,” Vixen assured him.

“Thanks,” he said, sounding hoarse.

“So you got booze here or not?” she asked, turning back to me.

“Kitchen.” I pointed and she headed off to join the gang, in what was obviously the most popular room in the place.

I noticed that as Vixen went in, Mario and Donna came back out. I had the feeling that she had cleared many rooms. Mario went over to talk to Yuri and Braden. I was sure he would have a lot to add to the conversation. His beer gut spoke volumes about his athleticism.

Donna headed for Mark, who looked like he was on the verge of becoming comatose. Even she would probably seem enticing after listening to SEPTA safety statistics. Gabrielle had a smile frozen on her face as Mr. Davis chatted her up, and Bruce sat listening to Regina tell him something that made him look despondent.

I was about to close the door when I saw another figure standing there. Wow, Scratch had made it.

“Hey,” he said, eyes darting around the room.

“Hey,” Adam repeated.

With that stimulating exchange, Scratch wandered in and headed toward the kitchen. He and U. Hu should talk. And finally, there he was in my doorway, Mr. Charming himself, R. Nardo.

“You got bourbon?” he demanded.

“Hello, we’re so happy you could make it,” I said sweetly.

“Kitchen,” Adam indicated, pulling me to his side as Nardo headed off. “Lilith, what did I tell you about not pissing off the locals?”

“What about the comment you made about SEPTA to Herb?”

“Herb isn’t quite as menacing as Ray. Besides, I think he has a crush on you and I don’t like it.” I rolled my eyes at him.

Now that everyone was present and accounted for, Adam and I observed them for a few minutes. Donna had elbowed her way in on Herb and he had wandered off. Mark no longer looked bored stiff. Now he looked nervous. I noticed that he kept moving, and I suspected that Donna was doing her best to feel him up.

Herb was intercepted in his wandering by Vixen, who was exiting the kitchen drinking straight from a bottle of Jagermeister. She and Herb seemed to strike an animated conversation immediately. Maybe there was some connection I was unaware of between mass transit and tattoo artistry.

Scratch had left the kitchen, holding a cup of beer, and he was trying to look casual, while obviously watching U. Hu, who was trying to look casual, while obviously watching Scratch.

Mr. Davis finally took pity on Gabrielle, and wandered off to join Mark and Donna. Mark looked at him like a drowning man who has just been tossed a life preserver, and literally climbed over an end table to get the hell out of there. I saw him throw a homicidal look at Adam, who waved and grinned happily at him.

Gabrielle set her music on auto-play and went over to talk to Regina, thus allowing Bruce to make his own escape and head for the kitchen, which seemed to have become some sort of sanctuary.

Nardo stalked out a second later and sat down in a chair with a glass of something and just glared at everyone. Yuri came over to sit near Nardo a moment later. The two of them might hit it off actually. They were both such warm, friendly guys. I wondered what in the hell Mario could be talking about with Braden.

Mark made it to the kitchen safely. Mario finally left Braden a moment later, and went over to join his wife. Gabrielle and Braden, in turn, both headed our way. They had just joined us when Bruce came out of the kitchen holding a drink with a paper parasol in it. Where did he get that? As soon as he got into the room, he sniffed the air, started making a gagging noise, and staggered dramatically toward us.

“Lily, I can’t bear that horrible perfume any longer. You must turn on your ceiling fan whether it’s November or not,” he hissed at me.

“Fine,” I said and went over to hit the switch. The fan started turning and slowly picked up speed. A minute later, something flew down and hit the floor. Gab, who was standing closest, went over to pick it up.

“It’s a flash drive!” she said excitedly. Suddenly, all conversation stopped and everyone turned to look at her.

“Go to your fan,” I said to Adam, repeating what the note in my wallet had instructed.

“Your fan was on when you got in,” he replied. “Probably to see if something taped to it would stay up there. Maybe he forgot, or got interrupted and that’s why he didn’t turn it off.”

“I’ll take that, thanks,” said a voice I didn’t recognize. Everyone turned toward it at once. It was U. Hu and he had a gun! Braden immediately pulled Gabrielle into his arms to shield her.

“It was you!” she said triumphantly from the protection of her husband’s embrace. “You’re the Fox!”

“No, sorry, but I’m not The Fox. I’m the Yakuza. The Morettis have gotten too powerful in this town, and it’s time they remembered that they are only one group of many.”

“I thought the Yakuza was the Japanese mafia,” Mark said. “Aren’t you Chinese?”

“My father is Chinese. My mother is Japanese. Now hand over the flash drive.”

“You can hand it over to me instead.” Everyone turned to look again. This was like a tennis match. It was Yuri, this time, who also had a gun, and it was pointed at U. Hu.

“You’re the Fox!” Gab said.

“No. I am vith Russian mafia. He is correct that Moretti has gotten arrogant, but it vill not be the Yakuza that holds power. Give me the flash drive.”

“Unfortunately, it won’t be either one of ya’s,” a voice slurred from the kitchen. We all turned to look. It was Donna! And she had a gun pointed at Yuri. Donna armed was scarier than the other two put together. God only knew what she would hit.

“Cougar mafia?” Adam asked.

“Ha! You should definitely keep that one around, Lil. Not only is he making you holler real good, but he’s fuckin’ hilarious.”

“Are you the Fox?” Gab asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“No. I once was a fox, though. Back when I was Miss Philly Cheesesteak, Sal Moretti couldn’t keep his paws offa me. He was my boyfriend until he threw me over for some young slut. I want revenge. Now hand over the flash drive.”

“Not so fast.” We all turned toward the door, where Ray Nardo stood, pointing a gun at Donna.

“And why do you want it?” Adam asked.

“Because I’m the Fox.”

“See!” I said to Mark. “I told you he seemed like a criminal.”

“You seem like a criminal to us,” Scratch said, pulling his own gun and coming up behind Nardo. “Now!” he said, and suddenly a group of guys wearing body armor that said ‘FBI’ came flooding through the door and quickly disarmed everyone present. Scratch took out a badge. “Mike Kazinski, FBI. All clear, Jake.” With that, in strode Jacob, looking as cocky as usual.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Our guests had all gone home. Well, at least the ones who weren’t arrested. I noticed that Vixen and Herb left together. That was an interesting pairing. Our friends had also headed out, with our assurances that we would contact them as soon as possible to let them know what happened. Now Adam and I sat listening to Jacob fill us in on all the missing details. He had an interesting story to tell.

“Special agent Kazinski was placed in this building to watch Ukita Hu and Yuri Ivanovich, both of whom were known to be associated with organized criminal factions. We didn’t think it was a coincidence that they had both picked this building to live in, especially since this isn’t their part of town.”

“And you weren’t at all worried about Lily being here?” Adam asked.

“I didn’t know she was here at first. The apartment is listed to somebody else,” Jacob replied, sounding uncharacteristically tense.

“My landlord never does anything quickly. He probably just never bothered to update the information,” I explained.

“And besides, we didn’t even know what was going on. We just figured it was possible it had something to do with Moretti, since this is Moretti’s part of town. He had tried to upset the balance of power, which made him very unpopular with both the Asians and the Russians.”

“They did have an agent on the inside,” I reminded Adam, who still seemed angry.

“We’ve also been watching this building from across the street for months.”

“So I wasn’t imagining it that night. I thought I saw someone watching the building.”

“Kazinski was working the streets, and he got wind of a hit that was supposed to go down on one of our witnesses against Moretti. The shooter was somebody called the Fox, but nobody knew who he was. We got a warrant for a wiretap, and we sent in one of our surveillance experts.”

“Dan McGuire,” Adam said.