Dance Around - Susi Hawke

Prologue

Dan

Spain, Three Weeks Earlier…

I was already past irritated and spoiling for a fight before we were even boots down in Spain. But standing outside of Salvador Dominguez's villa and seeing the sheer number of Blythe brood members walking around with full control of the place? The idea pushed me over the edge.

My mouth was moving the second I turned to see Gil watching me with blank eyes. "There wasn't enough time for you to have this many men in place already. You showed up on our doorstep saying you wanted to include us because this is a joint commission. From where I'm standing, we were a last-minute afterthought. You made sure you had the upper hand through sheer manpower, didn't you? I'll never understand your need to be in control of every damn thing."

His striking near-violet baby blues went from blank to sparking in a nanosecond. Strutting forward, he quickly closed the small gap between us. Gil poked me in the chest and barked right back at me. "Really? Tell me how you truly feel, Danny boy. Perhaps you'd like to see just how controlling I can be?"

Clay shoved between us before I could answer. With his back to my chest, Clay shoved me aside, smoothly holding his palms up in a placating gesture. "Gil, I apologize for my brother and his brutish ways. I'm certain there is an excellent reason why you already have the estate so well in hand without including us in the process. Pardon me for asking, but perhaps you could explain the situation so Dan will shut the hell up and we can get down to business?"

After muttering a few choice words in my general direction, Gil flipped his gorgeous hair over his shoulder. Although he spoke directly to Clay, his overly patient, almost patronizing tone told me his words were solely intended for my ears.

"Certainly. As soon as I located Salvador and verified his position, I sent my men forward while I detoured to get you and your brothers. This is my first time setting eyes on the place in person. And yes, I did act fast, and my men haven't been here long. I didn't want to give him a chance to get away or have any innocent people show up."

He paused and gave a quick standby order into his comm, then looked back at Clay with his most innocent smile. "I had to think of every possible number of ways this could've gone wrong. Now, thanks to my strategic movements, Sal is practically gift-wrapped and waiting for us to interrogate. Shall I go over it again, or am I done explaining myself?"

When all eyes turned to me, I flushed bright red and muttered a curt, if sheepish, apology. "Sorry. Next time I'll ask instead of assuming."

Gil's face lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. "Why thank you, Danny boy. I couldn’t ask for more." He turned toward the house, holding a hand up to his shoulder and crooking a finger in invitation. "Let's go interrogate an asshole, shall we? I don't know about you boys, but I think this will be a great tension reliever."

Dear and Gibby shoved past me, shooting glares my way as if daring me to say another word. I shook my head and trailed behind everyone. I definitely didn't look at Gil's perfect bubble butt along the way. And if I did, I didn't do it twice. Or more than three times.

The brood had both Sal and his villa well in hand. The staff were lined up against one wall, while the man himself was strapped to a chair and chained in silver. The last bit was overkill since the man was human, as far as we knew. Either way, he wasn't escaping anytime soon.

Gil threaded his fingers together and pushed his palms out, cracking his knuckles while he studied Sal with his pseudo-angelic smile that fooled so many people. After chewing his lip, he glanced at Clay. "In the spirit of working together, I'm going to let you make the call. Should we interrogate him or check in with Morty?"

Groaning, Clay scrubbed a hand over his face before shaking his head and pulling out his phone. "We can't, especially when he's human. This goes above our paygrade, I'm afraid. I'll give Morty a call."

Gil's single sign of disappointment was his failure to flip his hair over one shoulder as he turned to go check on the staff members. While Clay made his call, I watched Gil stop and