can strong-arm me as if we’re operating in the wild west.
I turn to him fully. “Whatever means you’re using to handle it with Crew Vega hasn’t worked in years. I need two minutes with him and I promise whatever alpha rodeo you two have going on will be brushed under the rug once and for all.”
A frown sets into his handsome olive-skinned face. “No.”
In contrast, my expression is smug. “A wager?”
He shakes his head and turns toward the front. “No.”
“Oh, but you like wagers, right, love?” I ask, reminding him of the one he threw down, the dare of a lifetime, while I was still weak in the hospital. I reach up and poke Grady on the shoulder. “Are you a gambling man? Who would you put your money on when it comes to your boss? Cole or my charming self?”
I can’t see his entire face through the mirror, but his blue eyes crinkle. “My money is on you, Bella.”
“Fucking-A,” Cole mutters and squeezes my hand.
“Indeed.” I smile for the first time since we were in the presence of my family last night. Well, I take that back—I did smile in the shower this morning when Cole cursed the invention of condoms right before he slid one on and fucked me in the shower. I do need to get some birth control sorted quickly. I hope Gracie can help me out with that as well. I pull my hand from his and put my fingers to his chin. When he turns to me, I brush the pad of my thumb over his bottom lip, wishing we were alone again—I’ve missed every part of him. “Don’t be a sore loser, darling.”
The next thing I know, my thumb is caught between his teeth and a smirk plays on those lips I’ve enjoyed for the last twelve hours.
“Fuck me,” Grady sighs. “Now I know how Jarvis feels. I take my kids to preschool in this car. When all this is said and done, you two need a long vacation where no one has to see you or listen to you on surveillance so you can work this shit out of your systems.”
I smile bigger when he kisses my thumb he just bit. “Will I ever work you out of my system, baby?”
“I’m counting on it never happening.”
Cole
A thick folder lands with a thud on the table.
Crew’s dining room in his shitty farmhouse headquarters has been transformed since we left two days ago. Three enormous screens have been hung over the faded wallpaper that looks older than Red. Each screen displays a live surveillance feed. One of the land we’re standing on, another is a building in the woods I don’t recognize, and the third is my house and property.
Didn’t know they were doing this but seeing as my boss and his boss want me dead, can’t say I’m not grateful.
Crew, Asa, Grady, Jarvis, and Ozzy—who I just met—are a group of men trained and more than willing to carry out the shit the rest of us can’t because that shit is against the law. They get paid handsomely for it because they’re on their own. Should they get caught, no one will claim them or help them out of a situation besides one another.
A group of risk takers—measured risk takers—who get paid a shit ton for taking out the dark underbelly of the world.
Crew flips open the folder. “We need to get to it. Our list of shit to discuss is long—”
“Excuse me,” Bella butts in.
All their attention turns to her.
“Bella, don’t do this,” I warn.
She ignores me and levels her eyes on the leader of this secret group. “Do you trust me?”
He shows no emotion whatsoever. Not a tick, a frown, or even a damn shrug to appease her. Definitely not a smile. “What kind of question is that?”
“A fair one,” she insists, crossing her arms. “Have I ever once given you reason to question my work or my judgement?”
Crew doesn’t take his eyes off her. “You’re not.”
“What you’re doing for me, I’ll never be able to repay the debt. You’re working to give me my life back and I’ll be forever grateful. Should I not end up dead or in prison—”
“Don’t talk that way,” I warn.
She continues to ignore me and I wonder if she remembers I’m the one delivering all her orgasms.
“Whatever this is,” she motions between me and him, “is done. I trust you and Cole equally and I need your respect for each other to mirror that.”