Chapter 32
The plan
Endo
Scarlett is her father’s pawn.
She is my pawn too. I don’t live with the delusion that I’m better than him in any way. But I am no hypocrite in this case because she’s not my daughter.
And I’ve been upfront with my intentions toward her right from the start.
Around three in the afternoon, we move to sit under the gazebo that my mother used to sit under.
She’d spend at least a few hours each day out here reading.
When I asked her why she read outside, she would tell me women require solitude and time for themselves.
She found that when she was outdoors, people bothered her a lot less.
In the house, people constantly needed something from her, even when they could get it for themselves.
I got the message: Leave Mother alone.
Scarlett hasn’t come out of the house yet, so I assume she needs time alone. This morning was rough. The twenty-four-hour hard deadline I imposed on her father must weigh on her as much as it’s weighing on me. If Daniel doesn’t deliver, I will have to follow through.
That means Scarlett will pay his debt.
For some people, taking their freedom is akin to taking their life.
I have already collected her and taken her freedom.
If her father fails, I’ll go the extra mile.
I’ll marry his daughter and, by doing so, ensure that Wilfred abandons him.
Moreover, if his daughter is married to someone like me, he’ll never get elected to a position he craves.
Marquis’s head falls to the side, and his eyes close. A soft snore tells us he’s fallen asleep.
Connor picks up a carnation from the vase on the table and tickles Marquis’s cheek while Declan tracks Slada, who is scouting possible exchange sites. When Daniel comes through with my brother’s location, I will need a neutral site where I can return his daughter to him.
Perhaps that’ll happen tomorrow. Perhaps even tonight.
My chest constricts painfully. I rub it.
Dec looks up from the laptop. “Something wrong?”
“No.”
“You’ve rubbed that spot a lot lately.”
“I have?”
He nods. “Won’t you let the doc check you out?”
“I’m fine.”
“Your father had a heart condition,” he reminds me.
“I said I’m fine.”
He jerks his head. “Speak of the devil.”
I turn to see Scarlett walking toward us. Sitting up, I fix my shirt, dust off my pants, and put my shoes back on. “That’s no devil. And if she’s the devil, what does that make us?”
Declan shrugs. “Don’t know, but I’ve got three options.” He turns the computer over so I can see the layouts of three possible exchange sites. We’re on good terms with the local underground kings who rule all three cities.
“Any preference?” I ask Declan.
“Second one.”
“Why?”
“It’s within the sniper range. The other two are a stretch.”
I assess the layout of the locations. Without sniper coverage, we’re all sitting ducks. Since I spot no advantages in the first or third sites, I settle on the one Declan picked. His ability to hit the target is important. I don’t want him to stretch unless he must.
“Hey,” I greet Scarlett when she walks up to the table.
Her hair is up, exposing her slender neck, and she smells like coconut lotion. Is that a bathing suit string tied at her nape?
“You going for a swim?” I ask as she reaches past me and grabs the champagne bottle. She swigs from it. No glass. No class. Straight up, like a sailor.
Declan claps softly so as not to wake up Marquis. “That a girl.”
I glare.
Connor plucks a carnation from the vase and hands it to her. “You’re fitting in, princess.”
“Princess?” I don’t think I should carry guns to the family table anymore. I might kill my nephews and cry crocodile tears of regret afterward.
Scarlett accepts the flower and tucks it into her messy bun. “Thanks, Con.”
“Con?” I repeat. “Since when are you using nicknames?”
He shrugs.
Scarlett moves away.
“Hey, I asked you a question.”
She keeps walking.
“Scarlett,” I shout. I dislike having to raise my voice, but here we are. It does nothing but wake Marquis from his nap.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
“She won’t speak to me.”
“Shocker,” Marquis says.
I narrow my eyes. “Go back to snoring.”
“I don’t snore.”
“He doesn’t,” his husband confirms, even though he heard it. “Doc’s going for a swim.”
“Yes, but why?” I ask.
“Because it’s a nice day,” Connor says. “Duh.”
“She’s drinking.”
“You worried she’ll drown?” Connor asks.
“Yes, I’m worried she’ll drown. She’s my collateral.”
“Is that all?” Marquis asks.
I lean in. “Cass is coming home. And if it’s in a body bag, there’ll be hell to pay. The first person to pay for his death will be her.” I point. “Giving up on my brother so I can have some pussy is not how this will play out.”
“Nah,” Declan says. “Cuz, you’ll have your cake and eat it too.”
I smile. “Correct.”
“I disagree,” Philip says as he picks up his knitting needles. “Something has to give.”
Scarlett arranges her towel on the grass and takes off her riding boots, then her clothing, underneath which she wears a black thong bathing suit. Her entire ass is showing.
“For fuck’s sake,” I curse.
“That’s a fine ass,” Declan says.
I close my eyes and count backward from ten. I absolutely will not bring guns to family gatherings anymore. This jealousy inside me is not a joke.
“You all cannot find her attractive,” I order.
“Why can’t they?” Marquis asks.
“Because I said so.”
“And because he might marry her,” Connor says.
Marquis’s eyebrows shoot up so high, I think they might hit the clouds gathering above us and make it rain.
“Is that true?” he asks.
I shrug. “Just an idea.”
“They hired a wedding planner,” Declan says.
Philip drops his knitting. “When is the date?”
“August,” I say.
“You should’ve cleared that with me,” Marquis says. “There are security measures we need to consider.”
“Marquis.” I pierce him with a look. “I don’t need to tell you everything.
I don’t need your permission to make decisions.
If I didn’t mention it, it’s because I don’t need your input.
What I need from you is for you to heal so that you can run my security at the location of my choosing.
That is your job. And you two.” I glance at my cousins.
“Don’t get all cute with my collateral. Scarlett is a smart woman, not some damsel in distress, and as much as I’d love to think she’ll stand idly by while her father works out Cass’s location, we remain on guard.
She rode that horse and made me chase her. Remember?”
As I say that, Scarlett lies down on the towel.
I lean back. She’s just tanning. When she opens up a book she must’ve picked out from the Keep’s library, I roll my shoulders and relax again.
My mother was right. Women shouldn’t be bothered when seeking solitude.
Scarlett will enjoy what’s left of the afternoon by the water with a book and champagne.
My collateral is living her best life. I don’t see why she’d ever want to leave.
I smile.
“Careful, Endo,” Marquis says. “She’s the type of woman men don’t recover from.”
“Is that your expert advice, dear?” his husband asks. “From the many women who have done a number on you.”
Marquis glares. “You’re supposed to help, not be a sarcastic sasshole.”
Phillip knits again. “I am helping. Endo will do what Endo does. And if he allows a woman to ruin what his family built, then so be it. We are all going down with him. You should let me shave you and cut your hair so you can make a gorgeous corpse.”
“I’m growing a beard.”
Philip scoffs.
I shake my head. “Nobody is going down.”
“Except Cass,” Connor says.
“Cass is alive.” I’m a believer in brotherly connection. When I was shot and left to die by the people who betrayed us before I hired Marquis as my head of security, Cass found me purely by following his gut. He said he felt I was in trouble, and he found me by following his brotherly compass.
I wish I could do the same for him.
But going on a yacht and sailing the world in search of my brother while relying on an internal compass to show me the way sounds far too woo-woo for me. Kidnapping a powerful man’s daughter was a better idea, and I’m sticking with it.
When I check back on Scarlett, she’s gone.
I drum my fingers on the table. “She went for a swim?” I can’t see the river from here.
“Mmhm,” Con says. “I watched her go down.”
“Want me to check her out?” Declan asks.
“Check her out?” Motherfucker.
He throws back his head and laughs. “You’re making this too easy.”
I snag an apple and bite into it as I get up and walk to the riverbank, where I can check her out myself. Thank you all very much.
Scarlett swims with the current, toward the harbor. There are boats there. I would be put out if she sank under a boat.
I stick two fingers into my mouth and whistle.
Scarlett swims faster.
Hm. I return to the table and speak into a communication unit. “Eleven, come in.”
“Eleven here.”
“You have a swimmer coming your way. Intercept and bring her back.”
“Yes, sir.”
I clear my throat. “I want her handled with care.”
“Yes, sir.”