Play Dirty (Wages of Sin #2) - Neve Wilder Page 0,36

the warmth of his skin seeping into Az’s body, thawing the numbing cold that seemed to claw at his insides.

“I’ll be in touch,” Madi muttered, squeezing Az’s hand before releasing it. “About the money transfer.”

“Yes, of course. I’m sure our paths will cross again.”

Az held his breath as it seemed Madi was about to turn and walk away without another word, but then he met Az’s gaze. “They always seem to, don’t they?”

Az gave a slight smile. “Yes, mot—” He cut off the term of endearment. “Somehow, they always do.”

10

Madigan

Madigan stared out at the glassy expanse of cerulean. He loved the ocean. He loved the beach. And, had he not been on a private stretch of oceanfront, he’d have loved the scantily clad men and women, too.

He could do without the incessant, circular tumble of his thoughts, though.

Relax, he made the silent demand of his brain.

He could also do without Cas stretched out next to him, constantly glancing up at the deck where Jonah was working on his laptop. The guy was so palpably in love, his skin glowed with it. Could’ve been the oil he’d slathered on himself earlier, too.

The fiftieth time Cas looked over at Jonah’s back, Madigan snorted softly. “He’s still there.”

“He’s testing a game I’m working on. I’m curious what his reactions are. Fuck off.”

Madigan tilted his head back. All he could see was the back of Jonah’s head and his shoulders. “What’s his left shoulder blade saying? Looks unimpressed to me.” He smirked at Cas’s sneer. “Guess all that time you spent mooning over him back in the day finally paid off, though, huh?”

“I didn’t moon.”

Oh, he’d definitely mooned, but Madigan figured he shouldn’t tapdance on that subject for long, no matter how much he enjoyed trying to rile Cas. Their relationship had shifted subtly over the past six months from open hostility to a more brotherly version of antagonization. His gaze flickered over Cas’s Speedo again. “I can’t believe Jonah lets you out in that.”

Cas snorted. “Number one: this is one he bought for me. Number two: ‘lets me’? Please. No wonder you’re single—”

“Single by choice.”

“Uh-huh. And third…” Cas stalled out. “Nah, I think I actually covered it in two.” He stretched out on the lounger and canted his hips so that the fabric of the suit stretched even tighter over his cock. “Ah, there’s three.”

Madigan rolled his eyes, then closed them and tried to concentrate on the warmth of the sun beating down on his skin and the sound of the waves lapping at the shoreline.

The second the cargo plane had landed on a private airstrip outside of La Paz from Rio, Madigan had booked a flight back to the United States, taken a break from the Red Queen’s list of targets—god knew there were enough mercs after them now—in favor of two lower profile jobs. He’d kept an eye out for Az. But, given the shitstorm that had gone down in Rio, he’d not expected to see him. Didn’t mean he didn’t give a second look to every movement he caught from the corner of his eye or every broad back and strong neck capped by glossy black hair.

He’d kicked around on the West Coast while Cas did more research on the flourishing trafficking operation Madigan and Az had accidentally uncovered. He’d finally accepted an invitation from Jonah to come relax at their small compound in Belize.

That wasn’t exactly how Jonah had extended the invitation. What he’d actually said was, “You sound like shit. We’ve got a guest room.” That was rolling out the red carpet in Jonah speak, though.

He’d been here a week now, lying in the sun far away from the gray November skies he’d left behind in New York, eating all the fresh fruit and local cuisine he wanted, sampling the nightlife both alone and with Jonah and Cas, listening to Cas as he explained what he’d gathered about the trafficking ring and trying to convince himself he was relaxing. He might’ve even bought into the lie if his shoulders and back weren’t so tight all the time.

Now that Jonah and Cas were together, it wasn’t the same being around them. There was something about them that felt slightly inaccessible to Madigan, like they had an impermeable cocoon around themselves. He couldn’t help but revisit some of the things Azrael had said to him in Rio.

He sighed, picked up his beer bottle, and drank the warm dregs. “I don’t know that I ever properly apologized for what I said