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“Do you think we can get away with this? Do you really think it’ll work?”
He grins. “I do. I think this is just the thing to get close to Humphrey.”
I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing we’ll soon find the location of Bishop. A knock on the door breaks us apart from discussing our plan further.
“Dean, phone lines are back up,” Zack says from the doorway.
“Oh, thank god,” Dean says, standing. “I just have a few calls to make to secure our travel to the US, and to make sure everyone is where they should be.”
I nod, knowing when to take a hint to leave. On the way to my bedroom, I wonder if I can really pull a plan like this off? I guess I’ll have to pretend better than I ever have before.
I can’t let the chance at finding Bishop slip through my fingers because my heart is in the middle. This is bigger than me. If I need to play with fire, I’ll do it without fear. I’ll burn at the end, anyway. And as much as I hate to admit it, I trust Dean. Just a little bit. But I know he won’t let anyone hurt me at these swinger parties.
Right?
He’ll keep me safe, or else someone will get a face full of my fist if they touch me the wrong way.
While Dean’s on the phone, I familiarize myself with the house in the daylight, checking out each room, trying to get a feel for Dean the person. I know this isn’t his primary home, but he stays here, right? I’m sure he had some say in the modern decor. I’m sure it’s similar to his other properties.
Wealth oozes from the furnishings. Tall glass, carved wood, and polished stone in perfect sync. This excess is a life I’m not accustomed to. I’m not a part of this world. If I had to guess, Dean Maddox can afford a string of houses on every island in the world. Hell, he probably has his own private island.
I try to imagine myself as Mrs. Dean Maddox. Filthy rich. Everything I could ever want at my fingertips. People waiting on me hand and foot. Can I really pretend to do this? What if they figure out I’m a lie?
I remember my mother’s words, the ones she would say to me night after night when I would have a hard time falling asleep. She’d come into my room, sit on the edge of my bed and run her fingers through my hair. She’d say, “One day, Sophia, one day you’ll be away from this place and you can be whatever you want to be. You were born with the power to create, and you must start with yourself.”
I never gave her words much thought back then, but now I do. Now I need to look deep inside myself, find the woman I am, the woman who doesn’t take no for an answer. The type of woman who can handle being a rich socialite. Someone who has a squad of servants ready to serve her hand and foot. A type of girl who has expensive things, like swanky jewelry, luxury cars, and designer clothing.
I continue around Dean’s house, picturing it as mine. Imagining I live here and we’re married, living a life where we attend lavish parties and I laugh while drinking cocktails with other socialites.
I can do this. In the bronze framed mirror hanging in a wide hallway, I stare at my reflection, noticing my ordinary long brown locks, and brown eyes. I got this.
“Good news,” Dean’s voice calls from down the hallway.
I turn around. “What’s that?”
“We can leave the island once we have everything in place and our story secure.”
I smile. We’re one step closer to finding Bishop Blackstone.
The object of my revenge is within reach… almost.
The island shopping life was made for tourists. Under different circumstances, I’d love to spend my time wandering around tasting local wine, cheese, and bread. Getting lost in the magical background. People call this place Ilha Preta. Black island, for its volcanic earth. But it’s also a lush green, and beyond that, the ocean is crystal blue…
“What do you think about this one?” Dean says.
I tear my gaze from the scenic beauty outside the front glass of the jewelry store. Pretending to be married is not as easy as it looks, but it’s lucrative. After Dean briefed his team on our plans, he rushed me to the finest jeweler on the island to buy the biggest diamond he could find in the cutest little shop.
“I like it.” This feels odd. Having such an element of property around my finger.
It’s huge. The ring, not other things. I haven’t seen those things… yet. I blush at my own thoughts that no one can even hear. We’re standing in the middle of a jewelry store, purchasing a rock bigger than Gibraltar’s, with a band full of diamonds. An eternity one, the jeweler said. The pair costs more than most people’s yearly salary, and Dean purchases it without even blinking an eye.
