13. Emilia
CHAPTER 13
If I didn’t wrap this mission up soon, I was going to end up too used to this lifestyle. Sipping mimosas while lying out on the sunbed on the bow of Alessio’s smaller yacht while the bastard worked from his laptop next to me wasn’t the worst way to spend my days.
Knowing what a twisted prick he was made it harder than normal to act like an adoring girlfriend, but I had a job to do. He would face the consequences soon enough.
At least I finally satisfied my boat craving, although I would have traded him for my guys.
How could I go back to my mundane days at the Pack lands after being spoiled for months? It would be too cruel.
Maybe El Lobo would be so pleased with all I accomplished he’d send me to the territory on the beach in Mexico with a staff to bring me frozen drinks and tacos. It wasn’t much to ask for in return for my dedication.
I could assassinate all the people he needed at night while I rotted away in a hammock during the day with a pi?a colada in both hands.
Maybe I could just kill Alessio now. Slip him some of my special powder and throw him overboard. It was nicer than he deserved, but I was willing to get this mission over with so I could hurry up my retirement.
“What are you thinking about?” Alessio pulled me from my daydream.
I turned my head and lowered my sunglasses.
“You’re smiling,” he continued.
I chuckled. I’m sure I was. “Just fantasizing about how nice it would be to have nothing to do all day every day but exist on a beach.” With you six feet under.
“Couldn’t agree more,” Derek said just low enough for me to hear with my shifter abilities. He claimed a chair on the deck above, giving us the illusion of privacy.
“Do you want to dock? We can go to the beach if you want,” Alessio offered.
I shook my head and pushed my glasses back up. “No. Too sandy. This is a long-term plan.”
Unfortunately, ending him now wasn’t an option. We still needed him. The Velez was nothing if not thorough, and they weren’t yet ready to tie everything up in a nice bow. I had to play nice, and dumb, for a while longer.
He cocked a brow. “So you’d like to simply exist on the beach? That’s the ultimate goal?”
“With a frozen drink in each hand that someone brings me every half hour so they can remind me to rotate as I tan.”
He nodded a few times. “And how is that different from today?”
The setting and company, for one. “This is what inspired my daydream. This is pretty ideal, but living on a yacht isn’t very realistic.”
“Ah, but living on the beach is?”
“You live on the beach.”
He beamed. “So you’re living with me in this future.”
“Fuck no,” Derek said.
I smiled. “Maybe.”
If there were any men in this hypothetical situation, it would be Marco, Cruz, Derek, and Javi. I’d even let them rotate responsibilities. One giving me massages, one making me drinks, one reapplying my sunscreen, and the other could... Oh, yeah. Cook me food. Tacos with chips and salsa, specifically.And we’d spend the nights fucking until we passed out from exhaustion. Hmm yeah, that was the dream.
“So you want to stay in Miami? You don’t miss California?”
I pretended to think. “The water there is too cold. I need to be able to swim year-round.”
“So Miami is in the running.”
I sipped my drink. “Or Cuba. Or Mexico. Or Bali. I’m open.”
“Well, I could make the first two happen. I’m not sure Bali is an option.”
Derek scoffed. “Bali it is.”
I sighed. “Fine.”
“We can visit though. I’ve heard it’s beautiful.”
Could I get a vacation out of this? Maybe that will piss off his men even more. Make him go technology-free while we were there. Let the other teams and Brazzi rain down havoc without anyone able to reach him.
Ugh, it would be a logistical nightmare for the guys though. At least one of them would want to come with, and they were already spread too thin.
I added it to the list of things to do when this was all over.
His phone rang, and he let out a sigh. “We can discuss more later.”
He stood as he answered and walked toward the cabin, allowing me to finally relax. Having my guard up and constantly having to think three steps ahead was exhausting. My job wasn’t as simple as lying next to him and sipping fruity drinks.
I was plotting. Listening. Observing. Coming up with ideas of how to spin whatever he told me as a weapon against him.
Even knowing he thought moving to Mexico was somehow a viable option was something to consider. Did he not view the threats his men received as potentially dangerous? Was he truly so oblivious to the power the Velez held? The damage and destruction they would rain down on his puny business?
Or was he overconfident?
Did he think they were something he could overcome? Overthrow?
He was losing territory by the day, yet he felt comfortable moving there?
Or was it an idea for the distant future? He thought he could fix things before taking me back?
Was he delusional, stupid, or brilliant?
His decision-making was too inconsistent to figure out. At least he was somewhat predictable when it came to me. He said yes. He made it happen. Consequences be damned. His men’s opinions of him be damned.
I was ready to go home, back to the guys, but Javi wanted me to stay until my birthday party. The different teams worked on fragmented parts of the mission, and it was important to have an eye and an ear on Alessio at all times.
At least my shifter side aided in that.
Even with the breeze and closed windows, I could hear his entire conversation. Unfortunately, it was boring. One of his warehouse managers gave an update on a shipment. He wasn’t even using any code language. Delivery of the weapons went smoothly. All inventory had been double-checked and was being prepped for shipping now in the salvaged portion of the building.
One of the teams was assigned to this location and would already have this information.
I waited for him to come back out after the call, but he rang someone else.
“What’s the latest?” He sounded stressed.
I pulled out my phone, ready to relay the information in a text to the guys, but Derek stopped me.
“I’m already on it. Don’t get caught listening.”
“Fine.” I lay back down and closed my eyes.
“You’re sure it was Brazzi’s men?” He went quiet. “This can’t still be retaliation. We were even.”
Ha. As if that was how criminals worked. You hurt them, they hurt you, and all is forgotten? Silly boy.
“Fine. We can’t let them completely cut us off. Get some men to find their warehouse in Hollywood. If they want to disrupt our business, we’ll do the same.”
“Sounds juicy,” I muttered.
“I doubt it,” Derek replied.
“No, we have to be ready,” Alessio snapped. “Everything is in place. The move has to happen this weekend.”
What move? Did they find a new warehouse?
“I don’t care if they need more time. I want things set up and functional by Sunday night. Franco already set the port arrangements. We need to be ready to move the inventory immediately. Even a few days will cause a backup, and we have orders.” Another pause. “You have no idea what I did to secure this spot at Fascell. We have a short time frame. It must come in on Saturday afternoon and be unloaded by seven. Make it happen.”
His steps clicked toward me on the deck, so I turned onto my stomach with my face away from him.
“Sorry, amor.”
I lifted my head. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just work stuff.”
That might have just been exactly what we needed to end all of this. I didn’t let myself think about the end of this mission too often. It wasn’t like we had a specific deadline. It was over when we finished. But this information could be exactly what we needed to bring him down.
Maybe.
Some details might not be what the guys and other teams were looking for. It wasn’t my job to filter what they knew. I provided what I could and waited to know if it was enough, and that time might be coming soon.
Why did I sort of hope that wasn’t the case?
I should want to be done. A huge success like this could change the trajectory of my career within the Pack.
But it would mean going home, and I didn’t know what that word meant anymore. I didn’t think of my parents’ house or the gym as home. I didn’t even think of the men I worked with over the past ten years as my team anymore.
Home was with Marco, Derek, Cruz, and Javi now. Wherever they were.
Unfortunately, staying with them was an unlikely option. I could try to negotiate a relocation or have them brought into the Pack lands. Neither of those seemed realistic. We were needed in different areas.
The end of this mission could very well be the end of us.
“Are you ready to head back?” Alessio lounged next to me with his arm over his eyes.
“Sure,” I answered automatically.
I would prefer to stay out here all day but didn’t want to push it.
He raised his other arm and gave a thumbs-up to whoever was watching or waiting for a response.
Alessio’s front door swung open, nearly making me shift out my claws at the unexpected intrusion. I twisted on the couch and gasped.
“Ama!” I jumped and ran into her outstretched arms. “What are you doing here?”
Shit. I hadn’t factored her into these plans. My eyes widened as they met Derek’s where he sat at the dining room table. He gave a small nod. He’d let the others know, and they would adjust.
I stepped back, and she beamed at me. “I couldn’t miss your birthday!”
“You came for me?”
She winked. “Of course. When Alessio told me about your party, I insisted on being here. Plus, Pedro and I have been talking, and I wanted to see him too.”
I cocked a brow. “Oh, so he’s who you’re actually here for.”
She rolled her eyes and pulled me back to the couch. “He’s only a small perk. Now tell me everything you’ve been up to. Has my brother been behaving?”
“Yes.” I let out a happy sigh. “Things have been so much better since the incident. He still works a lot, of course, but he’s much more present when we’re together.”
“That’s good. I’m glad he’s keeping you happy.”
“And what about you? Is Pedro keeping you happy? I didn’t realize there was more than friendship there.”
She fell back against the cushions. “I always thought he only saw me as Alessio’s little sister. I’ve had a crush on him for a decade but never thought he’d see me, you know?”
I nodded but couldn’t actually relate.
“The pool party changed everything. I’m not exactly sure what it was about that day, but he was much more forward than ever before. He was flirty and so relaxed. When I called him out at the end of the night, it was like he hadn’t even realized it. But he had as much fun as I did, and it’s been steady progress since then.”
“Was leaving him hard?”
She bit her lip. “A lot more than I was expecting. As much as I love my work and living in Costa Rica, I can’t help but miss him and you.”
“And Alessio?” I teased.
She waved her hand. “Yeah, him too.”
I laughed with her and rested my elbow on the back of the couch. “So you’re thinking of moving back?”
“I already put in my notice with the sanctuary. I’ll go back next week to finish up, and then I’ll be here permanently.”
I matched her smile, but my heart dropped a bit. Getting closer to her would only make this harder. As much as I’d missed her over the past few weeks, I’d prefer for her to be as far away from her brother’s mess.
“That’s so exciting! Where are you going to live? Does Alessio know?”
“I’ve been looking but haven’t found anything I want to commit to yet. I’ll probably stay here for a while, at least until I figure out where I want to be. As long as that’s okay with you,” she added quickly.“I don’t want to crowd you two.”
“Me? Shouldn’t you be checking with your brother?”
“No, he’ll go with whatever you say.”
She gave me far too much credit. “He might let me pick where we go to dinner most nights, but I’m pretty sure he has the final decision on who lives in his house.”
“Nah, you say you want me here, and it’s done.”
I smirked. “Fine. I guess I wouldn’t mind having you stay here.”
“I don’t want to get in the way of anything.” She giggled. “We can come up with a signal or code word you could text, and I’ll know to stay in my room. With headphones on.”
“Stop.” I pushed her arm. “We can be respectful of you too. Plus, it’s not like I live here. I still have my own apartment.”
“That you’re rarely at.”
“When Alessio isn’t around, I stay there,” I shot back.
“Well, now you won’t have to. I’ll be here, and you’ll have to keep me company when he’s gone.”
Huh. That was a good point. He wouldn’t want either of us staying alone if we could be together, which could cause complications down the road. Telling either of them that I needed space or privacy probably wouldn’t go over well. I’d offend Alessio and hurt her feelings.
Maybe this was a bad idea. I could suggest a few apartment buildings to Ama, but she’d think I wanted her gone, which I did. Just not for the reasons she’d think.
I needed to get to the guys if something came up. Sure, they could handle ninety-nine percent of things on their own, but that didn’t mean I wanted to live with Alessio.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for that level quite yet.”
“Of sleeping over with me?” she teased.
“When it’s just you, sure, but Alessio and I still have some work to do between us. Moving in together is too much too soon.”
She put her hand over her heart. “As sad as that makes me, I appreciate you making him work for you. Most women would take advantage of everything he has and can offer. One of my favorite things about you is that you don’t care about that. You hold him to a higher standard. Just because he has money doesn’t mean you’ll put up with his shit.”
I smiled. “Exactly. He can’t just have everything he wants.”
“I knew I loved you.” She patted my leg. “Now we have to hurry and get ready for tonight.”
It was only a little after four, but knowing her, she had grand plans of doing my hair and makeup and treating me like a life-sized doll.