2. Ronan
RONAN
T he trap had been set.
Senator Grayson Harrington’s little mouse of a niece had been far too easy to find.
It spoke volumes about just how arrogant he was that she was here and he didn’t seem to know.
We’d been watching him for so long, and there was no chance she would be here if he knew.
It didn’t matter, because it made it all the easier to lure her out of that tower he thought was so perfectly impenetrable.
“Put the damn knife away,” I said to Jett. The fucker was busy cleaning his nails in the damn hallway.
“I can, but then I can't get rid of the evidence now, can I?” he said, but he flipped the blade closed.
“It’s called soap and water, you moron.”
I let Knox kick Jett before I turned to glare at them both.
Talon wrapped his knuckles on the door of the penthouse. Fuck, we weren’t ready yet. The three of us turned to glare at him, but it wouldn’t change anything.
“What? Seemed like a great time to go in and see if the trap caught anything, am I right?”
I ran my tongue over my teeth, but nodded.
“Just behave. You’ll have plenty of time to play later. Right now? Well, Talon, this is your little setup. There’s more than one pest here.”
The door opened and one of our guys was there as expected. Talon showed the exclusive invitation out of protocol. There was encryption built into the invitation, making it hard to fake. Talon’s gift for hacking electronics were always useful.
“Sirs. Right this way.”
The penthouse was spacious and chosen for its location. Little Carrow Throne wouldn’t be able to say no; he was an addict for exclusive and gambling. What would be interesting tonight though, would be to see this little princess up close and without her uncle.
I elbowed Jett as he messed with his damn mask again.
“Leave the fucking thing alone,” I said, shutting up as we entered the main room. I watched Talon slow and I followed his line of sight.
Fucking hell. Was that the same little modest creature we’d been watching follow around the senator?
I watched Talon and could tell the bastard was throwing all the plans out the window. He smiled at our pretty little prey. Where had she been hiding all those curves?
I reached for Jett, making sure he kept his mouth shut. Knox? I caught the subtle movement of his eyes as he glanced her way, but he kept moving forward. Sometimes I was afraid to know what was going through his twisted head.
It didn’t matter. We had business to attend to first, before the next game. We were brought to two tables. Two of us at one and the other two at another. The buy-in two million, enticing the people we wanted here.
I didn’t like how the men were looking at our captive little bird though. Perhaps business would have to wait. The way Jett reached for his knife, I realized I wasn’t the only one wondering what to do with her.
Carrow Thorne had a woman on his lap, and it wasn’t his fiancéé.
Interesting. He hadn’t seemed to notice the princess any more than she noticed him.
Not a match made with their knowledge apparently.
He’d glanced her way, everyone did, but the little slut he’d brought kept his attention when he wasn’t losing money.
Our little princess moved about the room like she had confidence.. Surprising what someone was like when they were rescued from their tower.
“How about we change the terms of the next bet?”
The guy in question was nothing more than a businessman from a company who had tried to undercut the Barone family's investment.
“You win and you get to walk away with all your fingers. You lose? Well, you owe us interest and you don't seem to know how to pay up.”
I watched him, and the black mask he wore, simple as it was, made him look even more pale.
“Surprise. We have eyes everywhere, sweetheart,” Jett said and moved closer to him.
“I- I can pay right now.”
I motioned for the dealer to start. There was no option for our friend to decline anyway.
He looked up and I noticed Margaux Harrington coming toward him with a drink in hand. Fine, fine.
When she stopped by him and bent down to set his drink on the table, he made a choice that surprised me.
“Hey, beautiful. Come sit on my lap for good luck.”
She looked around the room. Looked behind me and over to the hall where the exit was until she made a decision.
The guy’s arm was already around her waist , making her choices limited. The rules were do as we needed. But what did this guy think she would change?
“Sit, please,” Jett said, scooting even closer.
The hands were dealt, bets placed. I looked around the table, and when it came time, one by one, we all showed our cards.
When it was our little friend’s turn, his hand trembled. He had a pair, that was it.
Jett mock gasped. “Oh man, tell me it isn’t so. Looks like you lost.”
I didn’t like the way his hands grasped the Harrington niece.
“Let her go. Time for interest to be paid. I expect full payment tomorrow unless, of course, you lost it all here?”
He grabbed Margaux as he stood, his chair tipping.
“I’ll have the money to you tomorrow, with interest.” He turned away from us and dragged her along.
“Sir, please let me go. This isn’t part of the deal.”
I watched with morbid curiosity to see how far she’d let this go. He got to the door before an expletive in his voice echoed.
“Deal with it,” I said to one of my guys. Jett, however, was up and out of his seat, heading straight for the hall.
“Fucking hell.”
I followed suit and rolled my eyes as I saw it.
Jett’s hand grabbed the guy's throat while Margaux crouched on the floor. She hadn’t turned away, nor was she trying to cling to Jett, not yet. Jett took the man’s head, and before he could make a single sound, slammed it against the granite counter on the entrance table.
The guy stumbled and fell. I motioned and someone came over, happy to erase that anything had happened.
I slowly walked toward Margaux and crouched in front of her.
“So, little bird. What do you think you just saw?”
She didn’t shake. She didn’t even try to hide the fact she’d been staring at the whole thing.
“I saw an asshole get what he was due. Now I have drinks to serve.”
I was speechless as she got up, fixed her dress, and walked away. Jett and I both exchanged a glance, neither of us sure what she was about.
Unexpected, that was my first impression. I wasn’t the only one watching her walk away. I put my hand on Jett’s shoulder and said, “She’s just a tool.”
I expected him to make some kind of joke like he always did, but he didn’t.
“Is she though? You should have seen the way she nailed him in the balls. It was beautiful.”
I followed Jett’s gaze. I could see why he was drawn to her curves, that ass, her beauty.
“Jett, she’s just a means to get what we need for Barone. We do not get attached.”
He looked away, and I swore.
“Stop pouting. You can have her when I’m done using her.”
I hated the way his eyes lit up.
“We do not get attached, Jett. Never.”
He nodded absently, but he was still watching her even as he followed me back into the main room.
We went back to playing poker without anyone saying anything. I was fucking bored. That’s what I told myself as my eyes kept finding Margaux. She didn’t have any idea who I was. She didn’t even seem to know that someone else was here; she should know.
Another of my invitees got up.
“Gentleman, it’s been a pleasure, but I have a plane to catch first thing in the morning.”
I nodded to the judge who had lost nearly every hand in the past two hours. He was never going to win, but I would have appreciated a challenge.
I cracked my neck. If shit didn’t get more interesting soon, it was just going to be the four of us at one table. No thanks. I spent enough time with these fuckers.
“Anyone else calling it a night?”
Another local politician and one of the rich pricks who had tried to fuck over my father also stood up and tucked their tails.
“It was a pleasure, gentlemen.”
I stood to follow them out, stopping them at the door.
“I trust you will be holding up your end of the bargain, then?” The guy I addressed paused and turned to me.
They pulled off their masks, not that they had hidden who they were from me or my boys. The masks were the illusion of secrecy. I already knew who was here.
This had been our little game. A web weaved, and they’d all come buzzing in.
“Yes. I lost. I’ll have the deed sent first thing tomorrow.” The local politician wasn’t losing much, not like the judge, really. Just a warehouse with strategic access I wanted.
The way the three men shifted, I moved aside for Knox.
The menacing fucker that he was really had a way with his presence.
No one could look away from him, and I’d guess it was more about the fact they didn’t know what he might do with the lighter he was currently flipping open and close, lighting as he went.
“Sleep tight little, pawns. Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” Knox said and shoved one of them out the door with the other hurrying after him. Their useless bodyguards tucked tail and ran.
Laughter drew our attention to the main room.
“Hey, princess, want a ride?”
I rolled my eyes.
Jett.
I nodded to Knox and we turned back.
“Fuck you.” Carrow was reaching for the woman he’d been making out with or ignoring at any given moment all night. I watched him eye Margaux as Jett reached for her.
“So, what do you say, pretty girl? I promise you, my dick’s much better than his.”
Her eyes widened behind that mask, but recognition of her fiancé wasn’t there.
“Fuck this. You can have her,” Carrow said tugging at his stand-in woman.
I shrugged.
“Let them go.”