Page 81 of Heist in Paradise

Even then, it was unlikely any of us would make it to the end of the year. Dr. Z didn’t keep heroes, and if this job proved anything, it was that he was a damn spiteful bastard.

As if hearing my thoughts, Ryle glanced over at me in the dark. “I hear Haiti is nice this time of year.”

Nate groaned. “No more islands.”

“Agreed.” I stumbled over a thick bramble. My ankle rolled, and pain lanced up my calf. “No more fucking islands.”

The girls moved in a single file in front of us, Zola leading at the front, Callum’s thick silhouette guiding from the rear.

“Okay, well. Alaska is also nice.”

“Too cold, dude,” Nate whined.

“But puffins.”

“I’m not freezing my balls off for some bootleg penguins.”

“I bet Madoc would love it,” Ryle said, and I felt them both glance at me slyly. I very deliberately didn’t look back at them. “All that nature and open air. I mean, we’d lose him once the local wolf pack adopted him.”

“We could always make fur coats from the sick ones,” Nate piled on.

“You’re a fucking monster.”

The two of them devolved into arguing, the sound soothing and familiar. I breathed properly for what felt like the first time in days.

The relief was short-lived.

There was a vibration in my back pocket. I stumbled again, catching myself, the two of them laughing at me. I wasn’t laughing. I could feel the shape of it, the implication weighing heavily on my every step. There was a lump in my throat that I couldn’t swallow down. It had been there for hours, choking me with unspoken grief.

I saw the opportunity in the dip ahead, between the trees. Pretending to stumble on my rolled ankle, I hissed and bent down, relying on Ryle to hold Nate steady.

“Jesus, you good, man?” Nate asked. “You sneak a few beers while my back was turned or what?”

The knife slipped out of my boot and into my palm. “Let’s rest up ahead for a minute.”

“You sure? What about Callum and Zola?”

Callum, my stoic giant, didn’t falter, didn’t look back, already knowing what I was about to do.

“He’ll reach the beach and protect the girls. We won’t be long.” My voice was steady. My pulse was not. We came to the dip and carefully lowered Nate to a nearby rock, where he sagged in on himself. While Ryle fussed, I stalked a quick path around the clearing, mentally gearing up.

Then I stopped, took a beat. “Ryle?” I called.

“Yeah?” He wandered over.

As soon as he was within my reach, I shoved him hard against the tree and pinned my knife to his throat.

“What the fuck?” Nate started to rise, wincing, but I snapped at him over my shoulder.

“Stay out of it.”

Ryle went completely slack against me, completely unresistant. His wide eyes swam over my face, confused and hurt and too fucking convincing.

Had I really been so blind this whole time?

“Tell me everything,” I growled at him. “Who are you working for?”

“What!?” His voice was a squeak. “You, Jax. Only you.” His hand came up, his fingers sweaty and nervous as they wrapped around my wrist. He didn’t try to pull the knife away. “What’s going on?”