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“And will you be talking to your husband by this evening when we all descend on you for dinner?”
“Tonight’s cancelled,” I mumble. “I can’t imagine everyone is up for it after last night, anyway. I’ll eat the curry myself.”
“Okay,” she breathes, sounding as convinced as I feel. Not about the curry. I’ll eat it all, no problem.
3
JAMES
I knew there wouldn’t be a meeting today. Not after the state of Danny last night, and definitely not after turning up at their villa this morning and seeing both of their faces. All is not well in the Black residence. So I took him out on the water, hoping to shake some life back into him. He managed to pull his head out of his arse briefly in front of Daniel before Fury took the kid back to the villa to do some studying with his private tutor.
Then... back to brooding. I let him be. I’ve learned during the short time Danny and I have known each other not to disturb him when he’s sulking like a brat. He’ll talk when he’s ready.
“I’ll see you later,” I say as he trudges off up the beach toward his villa, raising a hand in acknowledgment. I frown at his back. “Is now a good time to talk about the next shipment from Chaka?”
“No.”
“What the fuck have you done, Danny?” This despondency, Rose’s face, neither are a result of too much alcohol on his part and a meltdown on hers. Something’s happened.
“I’ll see you later for dinner,” he calls, ignoring my question. “And get some fucking sunscreen on your back.”
I rake a hand through my wet hair and roll my shoulders, feeling my skin becoming tight, just from a few minutes’ exposure. I pull my wetsuit back up my chest and call Otto.
He answers immediately. “I was just going to call you.”
“Why?”
“Click the link I just sent.”
My phone dings in my ear, and I pull it away, doing as I’m told, knowing before I’ve seen what Otto’s sent me that I’m not going to like it. But I massively underestimate how much. “The fuck?” I whisper.
“Yeah.”
I stare at the online article, my eyes scanning the headline. “Who rules Miami?” I say, my blood getting hotter with every word I read about The Brit and The Enigma, and the FBI, who is powerless to stop them running amok in Miami. I finally get to the reporter’s name. The reporter who clearly has a fucking death wish. “Who the fuck is Natalia Potter?” I ask. And where the hell has she got this information from?
Have I ever asked such a stupid question?
It’ll never be over. We know that, which is why the boatyard has been repaired after we blew it up. It goes unspoken, but the girls know we’re not out. We need control of Miami. So long as we maintain control, we’reincontrol. Power equals safety. Keep a presence to keep a life outside Miami. Disappearing isn’t an option because we’ll always be found, so we must keep a finger on the pulse to keep our lives. Simple.
“I’m working on it,” Otto says, hanging up before I can bark my order to take her down.A reporter, James.Afemalereporter, who clearly has no fucking idea who she’s dealing with.
I take a few breaths and dial Chaka.
“Is he dead?” he asks in answer.
I look at Danny in the distance, my frown returning.What the fuck has happened?“I’m afraid not.” I start heading back to our beach hut. The beach hut that is far from ahut. “Just a bit distracted at the moment.”
“Ah, Daddy Black,” Chaka says, a little laughter in his tone.
I slow to a stop, surprised. News travels fast, but not all the way to fucking Africa, and definitely not when everyone has purposely been keeping Rose’s pregnancy under wraps, for obvious fucking reasons. I hum a noncommitted reply and look back up the beach, seeing Danny in the distance. How the fuck does Chaka know? “We still good for the delivery on the nineteenth?” I ask.
“We might have a problem.”
“I’m sure we don’t, Chaka,” I say, watching as my toes sink into the silky sand with each step I take. The problems are piling. “Because we’ve stepped on a few Russian toes and promised the Mexicans a really fucking great deal, and not delivering on the deal isn’t going to look good. Could cause some bad feeling, if you know what I mean.” Or have them turning back to the Russians for their supplies.Do not make me threaten you.
“I’ll express your concerns.”
“To whom?”
