she pushed the phone into his hands. Then she looked at Taylor. “We need to move up the schedule. Fast.”
Ignoring her, he did a quick check, made sure he was secured, and then pulled up another image. Sent it. Sent another. Then a message.
Ever had the feeling your house of cards is about to come toppling down?
* * *
PATRICK stroked a hand along Ella’s ass, digging his fingers into her rump. “I should let my boy here take a turn at you. And I might . . . later on. Maybe I’ll let all of them. When I’m done.”
Blood lay heavy on his tongue. His nose throbbed, but he didn’t think it was broken. If the auction wasn’t so close . . . fucking cunt. One more thing she’d suffer for. After.
Reaching down, he pulled a condom out of his pocket, put it between his teeth. Peering up, he made sure Minton had her secured. She struggled against the leather that held her, struggled hard, but it was useless. Minton was the best at restraining them in a way that would leave no marks.
Reaching for his zipper, he said, “This is the first of many, many lessons, Ella . . . remember it.”
His phone chimed.
He ignored it.
It chimed again.
He dragged his zipper down.
It chimed a third time.
When it rang, he swore and grabbed it.
* * *
SHOVING the phone at Taige, Joss glared at her.
She fumbled and then picked it up, swearing in silence even as she caught his mental line.
You really should have covered your tracks better on the blonde, Joss prodded, his voice a ragged snarl in her mind.
Good thing about telepathy. Made this a lot easier.
Taige’s eyes sparked fire as she said into the phone, “Hey there, slick. You should have covered your tracks better on the blonde.”
The panic she saw in Joss’s eyes gutted her.
The panic, the urgency.
Fortunately for him, she’d let herself take a few walks into the gray over the past forty-eight hours and she’d figured a few things out.
“Who in the fuck is this?”
“Now, now, Whitmore,” Taige drawled, smiling a little. “You really should have paid your boys better . . . might have kept one of them from crossing sides.”
Heavy, ragged panting. “Who. Is. This.”
“Oh . . . now that is going to make me talk, that snarly mean growl. She was a pretty girl. Hell, maybe she still is, but how the hell do I know? Hard to talk to her, seeing as how she’s kind of indisposed . . . over in Dubai. Gotta go . . . having a chat with somebody you know very, very well in just a few. Ta-ta!”
Disconnecting the phone, she hurled it at Joss. He didn’t even seem to notice, covering his face with his hands, groaning.
“You crazy-ass idiot. Are you trying to screw this up or get yourself killed or what?”
“I’ve got to get out there.”
Nalini was behind him. “I’m going, too.”
“No. It’s too soon for me to take another girl out there.”
She snorted. “Hell, he’s going to get suspicious no matter what, and that’s why you need me out there.” She smiled thinly. “Trust me . . . this is my specialty.”
“No,” Joss growled. The fear continued to grow, beating and growling inside him, a pacing, caged beast. “Damn it, he’s going to begin his stupid ‘protocol’ to cover his ass, which means he’s going to start getting rid of people.”
“That’s why you need me,” Nalini said gently.
“Listen to her,” Taylor said.
“Fuck you,” Joss bit off. They didn’t know—
“She’s going,” Taylor said, his voice icy. “And if you don’t like it, I’ll have your ass arrested before you leave the city limits. You’re walking an edge, Crawford, and you’re not going out there solo. Too much is riding on this. Lives on the line, have you forgotten that?”
Joss glared at him.
A hand touched his side.
A rush of calm flooded him and he looked over, found himself staring into Nalini’s eyes. For a moment, just a brief moment, those large, dark, compelling eyes . . . all he could see. “We got this, Crawford. Just trust me,” Nalini said, smiling at him.
With a terse nod, he headed out of the room.
* * *
AS the door closed behind him, Taige started to swear. “If he figures out what she just did to him, he’s going to blow a gasket.”
“He’s close to blowing anyway,” Taylor muttered. “We need to get ready. I think this is going to hit boiling point sooner than we’d expected.”