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I stare back at the woman in front of me, a slight grin on her face, her lips pursed up, almost as though she’s begging to be bent over my knee. How the hell does a twenty something bank employee get wrapped up in this, anyway? She looks like she gives everyone she meets a run for their money, but she doesn’t look like she has a bad intention in her. Then again, the prettiest ones are always the most deceiving.
I let go of her wrists and look her in the eye before linking the cuffs back into place on the rail of the bed, ignoring her smart-ass mouth as I leave the room.
“I always do exactly as I’m told. Don’t you worry, I’ll be your good girl.” Her voice has gone high and playful, like she’s mocking me, but it’s still turning me on.Why?Last I checked, I’m not into mouthy women who don’t know when to shut their trap.
“She did it,” Luca grumbles, pacing the main deck of the ship. The sun is sinking into the ocean and there’s a breeze coming in from the east that’s pushing us in the wrong direction.
I turn the engine and pull in the sails, redirecting our course. “And what makes you think that?”
“Her eyes. She’s full of shit. She’s deflecting with all this sex talk. You guys see it too, right?” Luca stares back at Dante and I as though we’re all on the same page, but I can see already we’re not.
Dante shakes his head. “She’s so innocent looking. I mean, look at her.” He twists his body to peer through the porthole window downstairs. “She’s got a mouth on her, but it’s kind of cute.”
“Cute?” Luca rolls his eyes and tightens the running rig before tying the end neatly. “She’s manipulative! You start thinking she’s cute and you’re going to end up in Liam Wilde’s graveyard.”
“Is that really a thing? I thought that was just a story. Who’d make their own graveyard for everyone they’ve killed? That’s sick.” Dante runs his hand back through his hair and looks away from Lucy’s porthole long enough to dart a glare at Luca. The two get along fine, but they’re completely different people. Luca is cautious and calculated. It’s hard to get him to take a risk. Dante acts on instinct.
“So you’re thinking like the girl, then? You’re going to undervalue Liam’s power and end us all in deep shit. You act like you haven’t seen what his hit squads can do. He has the best army that money can buy.” Luca’s voice is torrid with anger as he holds his pacing to stare at Dante.
“No one is underestimating anything,” I snap. “We’re taking everything seriously, as though the girl stole whatever it is the Brit is looking for. Got it?”
Dante nods and stands from the steps. “We need to ditch the boat and get back to the Miami compound. We’ll be safest there until this whole thing blows over. There isn’t enough time to call for backup.”
“And then what?” Luca snaps.
“Then,” I say sternly, “we let the next shipment come into the yard before we make a scene. We can’t have eruptions happening all over town. We’ll lose our goodwill with the cops.”
“If we go back to the mansion, Liam will find us there,” Luca says. “We should get on a plane and go back to Sicily. We have backup there, and the Brit may be bad, but he can’t shoot our plane down out of the sky.”
“And put everyone there in danger? I’m making the calls, Luca. You’re following orders.”
I don’t often pull rank, but when I do, there’s immediate cooperation. “Luca, run a background check on this girl. Let’s see where she’s been. Dante, you…”
When I glance toward him, he’s sitting on the steps again, staring at the girl. Knowing her, she’s flashing him.
“She wants you weak,” I say, interrupting his stare.
“Who wants me weak?What?No. I’m not staring, I’m just—”
“Gawking. Like what you see?”
For some reason, a twinge of jealousy shoots through me, though I’m not sure why. The guys are like brothers to me and in the past, we have shared women, but this one is different, though I’m not sure how yet, or if that difference is even a good thing.
“She’s hot. You can’t deny that,” Dante says, craning his neck back to a forward position. “You really think she’s done all this shit they say she did?”
“I think she’s conniving. And if she wanted to, she could steal whatever she wanted from that bank and she knew it. That’s why she was in that secured room.”
“Then why are we helping her?” Luca adds. “I’m not onboard to lose my life to a woman who doesn’t know when to be quiet.”
I shut my eyes and try to center myself. I shouldn’t entertain questions; they only get me more questions. “Viktor asked us to protect her, so we protect her.”
“Let him protect her smart-ass mouth!” Luca stares back at me with a visible lump in his throat. He knows he’s overstepping his bounds.
“I’m willing to bet another few hours in those handcuffs will teach her the lesson we need her to learn.”
“And if it doesn’t?” Luca’s voice is strained, as usual.
“If she doesn’t, then we’re fucked.”
