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“Are you okay?” Saint asks, gripping my hand tighter.
“Yeah.” It comes out in this weak whisper that I immediately regret. I’m strong. I’ve just gone through a major, life-threatening surgery, I’ve fought for my life, and I’ve won. Now, I just need to roll a seven or eleven one more time. I clear my throat. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
Dante parks the SUV and the three of them turn toward me, helping me out of the truck. Their eyes stay on me like I’m their top priority, like they’ll do anything to keep me safe, and I believe it. I believe it with all my heart.
“Stay to the left of me,” Saint says. “If I need to pull my gun, I want to have full access. You’ll be between Dante and I so don’t let go of us. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“And if you need to go back,” Luca says, holding up a fist, “just give me the signal, and I’ll take you right back to shore.” It’s another Alliance hand gesture. I wasn’t sure if he caught mine in the hospital, but I’m glad he did. His playfulness makes me smile.
My eyes widen and I lick my lips with nervous energy, as we step into the warm water, and wade past the thick murky sand. If I was going to choose where to take my first swim in the ocean, it wouldn’t be in this oily mess. A plastic water bottle bobs in the distance, startling me backward. At first, I think it’s a fin.
Sharks.I hadn’t thought of sharks. Sharks and jellyfish. Jellyfish and rogue waves. Rogue waves and the man standing in front of me in waist deep water, wearing a business suit.
What the hell is wrong with this guy?He’s letting me live through my brain surgery only so he can tread me out into the ocean and make me confront my fear of water and bald heads in the same day? Maybe it’s mind tricks.
“You’re doing so good, bella,” Dante says, holding me tight around the waist. “We’re almost there.”
I should be more scared, but for some reason, I’m not. In fact, the gently lapping waves feel kind of nice against my skin. Maybe I died and came back a different person. Maybe this is an alternate universe version of Lucy.
Oh God, I hope she still likes orgies with hot mafia men.The thought of it makes me realize I do.Thank God!
“You arrived, mate. I was afraid you’d decided against the deal.” I’m not sure what I expected, but if the Brit weren’t out to kill me, I might ask him to be part of my harem. He’s tall, I’d guess six five or six and he’s built like a tank with perfectly chiseled muscles hidden behind a suit coat and tie. His sleeves are rolled up, showing sleeves of tattoos, his beard’s long, and he stands solid against the water in a way that commands attention.
“Bonus points for creativity,” I say. “When I retell this story to my friends, they’re going to think I made the whole thing up, meeting in waist deep water and all. Why not just meet on an offshore boat?”
Saint squeezes my hand as though I’ve overstepped my speaking role, but Liam laughs.
“None of us belong in the sea. So then, when we’re standing here, we’re all weakened. If I were to meet you on my boat, I’d have an advantage. Just like you’d have an advantage on the pier.”
Whatever you gotta tell yourself, buddy.I say the words to myself as not to cause anymore drama, but I’m not sure the eye-rolling is so concealable.
Saint reaches out toward Liam and sinks his hand into his, a spray of water between them. “We’re here to talk. There are no deals being made today.”
“The deal is your girl tells the truth. Judging by the looks of her, she hasn’t got much fight left.” He glances toward me. “Out with it then. Tell me what you know… the truth. I can smell a liar two countries away.”
I have a barrage of insults ready to sling, but I bite my tongue out of respect for Saint. “What do you want to know?”
“Brilliant. You can start by telling me where the contents of the safe deposit box are.”
“No offense, but I don’t have any clue where your safe deposit box is, or what was in it. I was in that room stealing for a friend of mine. Her box had ten grand in it, and it was from her fiancé.”
The man looks at me long and hard, his dark eyes seemingly studying me for the slightest haze of a lie as a few pelicans fly above us. I think I read somewhere that was a bad sign. Pelicans only circle when there are small fish jumping. Small fish jump when there are big fish chasing them.
My heart races, but Saint grips me tighter, holding me against him with care.
“I’m reaching for my phone,” Liam says, peeling back his suit coat to pull out his cell. “Are you telling me you’ve never seen this?”
I take his phone in my hand and look at the image he’s pulled up. It’s a necklace, a necklace I’ve definitely seen before. My heart stalls and my headache swims harder against my skull.
“You know something,” the man barks at Saint, “your girl is a picnic short of a sandwich. I can see it on her face.” He pulls his gun from his pocket and aims it toward me.
“I’ve seen the necklace,” I blurt out. “I’ve seen it. I’ve seen the necklace.”
I swear I see a shark moving in behind him, but the light changes and a wave rolls in, rocking me backward enough that I lose sight of the spot I’ve been staring at.
“Where?” Liam growls. “Where have you seen the necklace?”
“Can I show you something?” I stare toward him as I speak, studying the darkness in his gaze for a fleck of kindness, but I’m afraid I don’t see much of anything. I wonder if he’s soft underneath it all like Saint, Dante and Luca. God knows when Saint is the Wolf, no one would believe he’d be crying at my bedside, begging me to live.
