Lachlan

  She’d asked me if I could handle this. And the truth was, I didn’t know. The atmosphere on the plane was tense. I could feel her practically vibrating as the flight circled over the Winston Isles. I glanced out of the window, marveling at the striking azure blue water. Sure, I’d been to the Caribbean before. I had been on a million private jets all over the world. But there was still a part of me that was like a kid. I used to love traveling private with mum and dad. We would swear we could see specific people on the land below. It was hard not to continue the game in my head even as I looked down now, determined to try and see the king and queen on their balcony of the palace in the distance. I knew, of course, it wasn't real. But still, I looked. The pain of missing my brother was extra tight today. Would he be proud? Would he have so many questions about what I was doing and where I was going and how I had ended up like this? Probably. Would he have thought I was fucking cool that I got to be James Bond even for a few days? Hell, yes.

  Saffron looked less than thrilled. Her face had been buried in our dossier from the moment we took off from London. Hours and hours of pouring over our backstory, hours and hours of studying. Oh, I had studied too because I knew this mission stood between me and going home, going back to my life. Sure, I learned some cool things. And my grandfather was right; I had been lacking purpose. I thought sending me to the Rogues was bullshit, of course, but still, I could see why he'd done it. I felt more settled, but I was no spy.

  So, I just had to do this mission well, and I could go home. It was easy surveillance. We’d get in, watch the couple, and report back.

  I glanced at Saffron. “You know that dossier inside and out by now."

  Her shoulders stiffened, and I knew I should have just left her to it. Maybe this was how she calmed herself on a flight. I didn't know.

  “Do you know who Massimo Igno is? Do you have any idea how many people he’s killed?"

  “It's in the dossier. I read it. I studied it. I reviewed it. I know it."

  “Do you know what he will do if he so much as suspects who we are?"

  I swallowed. “I know. This is serious. I get it. But isn't there such a thing as being overprepared?"

  She clenched her jaws together. I could see the delicate muscles ticking back and forth. She shouldn't do that. She would likely give herself a headache from all the teeth grinding.

  “From the moment we get off this plane, we have to be who we say we are."

  I nodded. “Yeah, right. Hold hands, smile, watch them. Do you have a problem with that?"

  She sighed and leaned forward, placing her forearms on her knees as she did so. She'd worn a cream-colored India Rolan suit. It was exquisite on her dark skin. She’d changed her hair too. Her braids were different. One side had more of a wave or curl to them. I knew better than to touch her hair without her permission, so all I could do was stare at it, trying to identify how she'd done it.

  Maybe she'd had someone do it for her. Hell, what did I know?

  “From the moment we arrive at that villa, we will be watched. And you better get ready soon, or at some point he is going to get fiber optics in that house and spy right back on us. I know that you think you know how to do this, and you think you're going to just wrap your arm around my waist and call me sweetheart or love from time to time, but you shouldn't forget; we are faking this until we make it. There is no reprieve unless we are somewhere like the palace or the Royal Elite offices. Everywhere else we have to assume, as public space, we can be viewed without our permission. You can't ever call me Saff. I can't ever call you Lock. From the moment this door opens, we are on. And when I tell you it’s tiring, I mean it."

  "Won't we be safe in the villa?"

  “I don't know for how long. We're better off having any conversations we need to have privately in the shower."

  I swallowed convulsively. "I hear you. I hadn't realized we would be that together."

  “I know you think it's a game, but this is life and death. Massimo Igno could be our ticket to Drake Webster. If we can get to Webster, that's a jackpot."

  I frowned then, watching her closely. I could see it in her eyes. This Webster guy was the one she wanted. “Is he part of this? Drake Webster?"

  She shook her head. "He is Antonio Igno’s right-hand man and the person responsible for the death of my parents."

  I winced. "Shit. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

  She shook her head. “You weren't here then. It's not your fault."

  "Are we going to have any moments of privacy?"

  She shook her head. "Not safely. Like I said, Royal Elite offices but nowhere else. This needs to be the best acting job of your life. No mistakes."

  “I hear you. We are a team, right?"

  Her gaze lifted to mine. “Yes, we're a team."

  "So you trust me?"

  “In terms of this mission? Yes. You want something out of it, and so do I. Because of that, I think we make a great team."

  She wasn't saying the one thing I was curious about. "We're meant to be a married couple, Saff."

  She nodded absently.

  I continued. "The thing about married couples is they have to, um... You know, touch at some point. Is that going to be okay with you?"

  She nodded curtly. "Get ready. We're landing soon. Welcome to the Winston Isles."

  Saffron

  I was stressed and it showed.

  Yes, I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to this. I just had to get used to being locked in a house with Mr. Sex on a Stick. Ever since the incident in his cottage, I’d been careful with him. Distant. At least as best I could. It wasn’t like he made it easy.

  I hadn't even told Tabatha what had happened at the cottage. Because Lord only knew that she was inclined to forget about the rules and insist that I needed to have some sort of torrid affair. Sometimes Tabatha could be so by the book. And other times, when it came to me, she thought the rules didn't apply. Or that they shouldn't for some reason. That never made any sense.

  Maybe because you need to live a little.

  Lock drove us through the winding streets of the main island's old town, and it was beautiful. The sunlight on the azure blue waters was mesmerizing, and on the streets there was such a mix of new and old culture. There were traders along the road, selling everything you could possibly want from batteries to coconuts to sunscreen to fish. I loved it for its eclectic nature.

  It reminded me of times when I’d traveled to Jamaica with my mum. The street hawkers were such a juxtaposition to the skyscrapers of steel and glass. All I could do was take it all in.

  I'd have to come back to the Winston Isles for a vacation when I had more time.

  Lock seemed to manage driving on the wrong side of the road fairly well. “You're actually half decent at this."

  He lifted a brow. “I am surprisingly stressed out."

  "Sorry," I winced.

  “You're driving next time."

  "Must I?" I whined.

  He nodded. “Yup. You're the training officer."

  "Oh, now you acknowledge that I’m your training officer?"

  He gave me a tight smile at that one. “I acknowledge it. It’s just hard for me to take orders."

  "Let me guess, every one of your school reports said, Lachlan has a problem with authority figures?"

  He grinned then. A real grin. One I hadn't seen in a week. "Exactly. How did you know?"

  "Because it's something I wrote in my report to Gabe on you."

  He made a mock shocked face and clutched a hand to his heart. "Wow. And here I thought we were friends."

  “Is that what we are?" I asked softly.

  His gaze looked into mine for a brief moment, and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. We hadn't talked anymore about what had almost happened. We hadn't acknowledged it. And honestly, I’d pulled back from him. Way back. I dragged my gaze away. If I had to, even for a moment, relive the feeling of his hard erection between my legs, I was going to lose it.

  One more round with my battery operated boyfriend probably would have really helped me out. But mostly it just intensified the need, so I was going cold turkey.

  Oh yeah, that sounds like a fantastic idea when you're locked in a house with him.

  I had to do something. Lock on the brain was a problem. And I was finally getting what I wanted. A field assignment. Maybe it was just observation, but there was still a dangerous element to it, so it was something I could cut my teeth on. To show Gabe that his trust in me wasn't misplaced. Focus on the mission and not on my partner. Easy.

  When we pulled up to Royal Elite, Gabe's shoulders finally relaxed as he parked in front of the flat-roofed contemporary building. The white columns gleamed and the glass walls glittered. It looked modern. Just as I pushed open the door to get out of the car, an enormous man stepped out of the front door. At Rogues, we had all kinds of agents. Some of them former military and enormous. Many of them played bodyguard roles. We had spies who were meant to blend into the background. But this guy was stupid good looking. Massive. He was bigger than Lock. Had more muscle on him too. His light brown hair, blue eyes, and clean-shaven jaw screamed I could have been a pouty Abercrombie model in my youth.

  And then he unleashed his smile. Dear Lord. "Let me guess, you're Saffron Abott?" he asked in a low timbre.

  I nodded, barely able to croak out a hello. “Yes. That's me. This is my partner, Lachlan King."

  He gave Lock a nod and shook my hand, completely encompassing it in his. “I'm Jax Reynolds. I'll be bringing you up to speed. Ariel Winston's on her way."

  "Right."

  The whole recent history of the Winston Isles fascinated me. Ariel Winston had been a Royal Guard in the palace. And then somehow she'd left her employment there to start her own security agency. But her security agency still worked closely with the palace. It was fascinating. And she'd married a prince. An actual prince.

  Not that I paid a lot of attention to the gossip rags.

  Who are you kidding? You live for that.

  It was my one guilty pleasure, really. I loved anything about royals and celebrities. They led a life completely different than my own. Yes, the Abott name afforded me money and access, but I lived a life with no lights and parties and dancing until the wee hours of the morning. I didn't get to experience that aspect, so I didn't know those people. Hearing about their lives was endlessly fascinating.

  Ariel was also best friends with Queen Penny, who had also been a Royal Guard. Eventually, she'd married the king. She stayed on as a guard too, which I found so modern. She was my hero. Able to have both. And I couldn't quite squelch that inner teenage hope that I might actually meet the queen.

  "Thank you so much for taking the time to set things up for this."

  “It's not a problem. Gabe and I go way back."

  "Oh, I wasn't aware you knew my brother."

  He nodded. “I was sorry to hear about your parents."

  I swallowed hard and forced a thankful smile on my face because that was what people expected. “Thanks, I appreciate it."

  "Should we go in?" Lock asked.

  Jax nodded and led the way.

  As we followed him, I noticed Lock was glaring at him. "What’s wrong with you?”

  “I don’t like the way he was looking at you.”

  I choked out a laugh. "Are you serious right now?"

  He shrugged. “Yup."

  "Then maybe you didn't notice the ring on his finger?"

  Lock frowned. "That doesn't mean anything.

  "Wow," I said, laughing.

  “It doesn't."

  Almost as if on cue when Jax opened the door, a squealing toddler ran out. “Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy."

  With a laugh he stooped down and picked her up. She had a head full of curls and was mostly cheeks and dimples. "Mayzie, I told you not to run. You can slip and fall, especially in this office."

  “Yes, but I wanted to say hi, Daddy."

  "Okay, Mayzie, why don't you say hi to some new friends of daddy's. This is Mr. King and Miss Abott."

  The little girl blew Lachlan a kiss, and he grinned back at her, a full smile showcasing dimples of his own.

  My stomach squeezed. It was adorable. So was I really jealous of a toddler?

  She eyed me. “You're pretty."

  Way to melt my heart. "Well, thank you, but I’m not as pretty as you are."

  She giggled and tucked her face into her father's neck. "No. I'm not as pretty as my mommy."

  “I'm sure your mommy is beautiful." I gave her a soft smile.

  A harried woman came running around the corner. "Oh Jesus Christ, there you are, Mayzie."

  Mayzie clapped. "Mommy, you found me. You seeked me good."

  The woman took her from Jax and admonished her. "Mayzie, I told you if you wanted to play we had to stay in the back of the house, remember?"

  Mayzie frowned. “I sorry. I forgot." She pointed at Lock. “Isn't he cute, Mommy?"

  Her mother laughed. "Oh my God. This child. She's boy crazy already and she's only a toddler."

  Jax frowned down at his daughter, who looked nothing like either of the two of them. Mayzie's mother looked maybe like she was Indo-African? Her skin color was deep brown, though not as deep as mine. But her hair was a silkier texture with a slight curl to it. "Hi, I’m Neela. This one's mum. His wife."

  I gave her a grin and shook her hand. "Hi, I’m Saffron."

  Jax scowled at Lock as Lock turned his charming grin on her. "Lachlan King. It's nice to meet you. Your daughter's adorable."

  Neela rolled her eyes. “Don't buy it. She's a ridiculous flirt and will use her dimples to get whatever she wants."

  “I can see why."

  With a laugh, I added, "Lachlan sees no problems with that strategy. That's how he gets through life."

  Jax laughed at that. And then Neela excused herself and leaned in to give her husband a kiss. Jax lingered just a second too long, and Mayzie pushed at her father. "Ew, daddy, stop slipping your tongue in mommy's mouth. Gross."

  All of us laughed. And as the two of them were leaving, Jax's gaze stayed on his wife's arse. Oh boy, that was a man in lust with his wife, which was amazing. How did these kinds of things happen where people were so besotted with their significant other that they just couldn't keep their hands off each other? Trying to think back, I thought my parents were maybe past that point in their life. Well maybe not. I did see them sneaking kisses every now and again. But they weren't nearly as demonstrative as these two.

  When Jax led the way back toward what seemed like offices, I raised an eyebrow at Lachlan, and he shrugged. "Okay, fine. He's married."

  He said it with such a snotty countenance I had to giggle. To cover, I asked Jax, “Is this a work-life situation?"

  He nodded. “Yeah, it is sometimes. We have a couple of agents who stay on-site. When Tristan travels, Ariel will stay here. As she says, it's better for her health to not have to go blind up in the palace with Penny and Sebastian."

  I frowned at that. “Go blind?"

  His ears turned bright red as he lifted a brow.

  I snorted a laugh. "Ah, got it."

  "When Tristan's there, I think they're more discreet because Sebastian is very protective of Penny. But when his cousin is gone, they're more liberal. There isn't a member of staff who hasn't walked in on them at least once."

  I hid a laugh. "Oh my God."

  “Yes, yes, it is in fact an oh-my-God situation."

  Lachlan was loving every bit of this. "Oh man, Saint's going to be pissed he's missed this briefing."

  Jax led us into the conference room, and we took seats next to each other with Jax at the head of the table. “Your other agents are coming in tonight, correct?"

  I took out my tablet. "They made a stop in New York for some extra equipment."

  "Ah yes, Blake Security's Matthias."

  “Yes, actually. You know Matthias?"

  “Yes. He got us a new set of bulletproof vests last time they came through. He's the best in the business when it comes to tech and gear."

  I nodded. “Yes, he is. So they'll arrive tonight, but we wanted to get situated."

  "Excellent. My team's already set you up with equipment in the villa. Anything else you need, just let me know."

  "Thank you."

  The conference room door opened, and in walked a stunning brunette. She looked an awful lot like a Bratz doll. Barely over five feet tall, full lips, big dark eyes, and inky black hair that cascaded around her shoulders and down her back. And then she grinned at me and Lock. "Oh, you guys are here already. Nice to meet you. I'm Zia Barnes."

  Then the rest of the members of the team rolled in. Once we had a full house, Jax started the meeting, but then a redhead rushed in. "Sorry I’m late. Sorry, sorry, sorry."

  Jax threw up his hands. "My God, woman, can you let a man finish? Are you running the meeting, or am I?"

  “You're running it. I'm just observing.” The redhead flashed me a grin. “Saff Abott, right?"

  I nodded. “Yes. I stood to shake her hand, and she swatted my hand away and gave me a tight hug. “I met Tabatha last time I was in London. She couldn't stop talking about you, so I feel like I know you." She cocked her head and glanced at Lock. "Oh well, Tabatha did not tell me you looked like that."

  Lock gave her a bemused smile. "Lachlan King. Nice to meet you."

  “I'm Ariel, obviously."

  She indicated the red hair and rolled her eyes.

  I laughed. "That's perfect."

  "My mother was obsessed with the movie. This is the result." She plopped into her seat. "Okay, Jax, carry on."

  Jax walked us through protocols that we'd have to follow to keep the Royal Council happy. And while the palace couldn't officially assist us, they were absolutely assisting us. "This is perfect. Thank you so much."

  He gave a nod. "And as additional backup, if you have an event to go to, we will try and get at least two of our men in there."

  “Do you think that's necessary?" Lock asked.

  “Just for added security. We know the Ignos’ reputation, so we want to make sure that you're covered."

 

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