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“He ruined mylife!” I screamed. “What little there was left of it, he ruined. I’ve been turned upside down, twisted and deformed, and I lost the one remaining thing that mattered—you—because ofhim.Then he shot me. He wanted me dead. So it’s only fair I return the favor.”
“What have these years done to you?” he rasped.
“Prepared me. Put fight in me.”
Though it hurt—oh, itwounded—I shoved past Theo toward the door.
“Scarlet, get back here.”
I didn’t bother refusing. The distance I was putting between us was sending enough of a message.
“Scarlet! Where do you think you’re going? On a boat with limited space?”
I tripped, nearly clanging my chin on one of the steps of the spiral staircase. Damn it, Theo had stuck his hand through one of the railing’s gaps on the stairs and hooked my ankle.
“Do you forget where you are? Neri’s my co-conspirator, not yours.” Theo glared at me through the same gap.
I gave him an ice-pick gaze right back. “Neri and his good buddy Henry aren’t a problem right now.”
Theo’s eyes narrowed, suspicion at its finest. He said carefully, “And how do you know that?”
“Easy.” I kicked out, dislodging his grip before lifting my skirt and resuming my steps. “I drugged them.”
The glitter of his eyes caught fire before being shoved into the darkness as I broke contact and continued up.
“You—what?”
“I feel it needs to be said one more time,” I called out, knowing he followed behind. “I didn’t board this boat thinking you’d be here to conduct an epic rescue. I had my own cards to play, so if you don’t mind, don’t get in the way.” I gave myself enough time to turn back and say, “I’d given up on you, Sax.”
“Don’t do this,” he said.
We’d hit the parlor, the same area where Neri and Henry were still hanging out—or, now splaying out. Neri was sprawled on the white leather couch and Henry had hit the floor behind the bar. Both were completely passed out, and all glasses were drained of scotch.
Theo took in the scene. “You gave them some potent motherfuckers.”
“Slow-acting roofies,” I said, while rolling Neri onto his back. “Newly on the market. Poker isn’t the only underground connection I’ve made.”
“And the FBI didn’t question this?”
I leveled Theo with a look. “I’ll give you enough time to answer your own question.”
“Neri will kill you for this,” Theo said, but didn’t bother trying to stop me. I’d piqued his curiosity, and he was watching me with interest. Or maybe morbid fascination. Where did his rainbow-haired beauty go?
“Hardly. I’m not stealing anything he’ll know about.”
I pulled out my phone and a cord from the purse I’d left on the couch, searched through Neri’s pockets and found his. I plugged the two together and began downloading all the information on Neri’s cell.
“You think you’re going to find Trace through Neri’s contacts?” Theo asked.
“I received credible information that Neri’s been in contact with him, information that’s since been confirmed.”
“And how’s that?”
I glanced up long enough to nail him with a look. “Clearly, he’s been in contact with the Saxons.”
“I only asked him to have me here so I could get to you. He did it as a favor. You havenoidea what he was planning on doing with you, do you?”
“Had you not intervened?” I asked dryly.
