36. Sydney
CHAPTER 36
SYDNEY
I crack open one eye, despite my mind knowing better.
There’s a hint of sunlight in the room, so I know it’s daytime, but it’s muted, as though someone has drawn the curtains.
There’s a large bowl of breath mints next to the table.
Breath mints? What could those possibly be doing here?
I don’t remember them being here yesterday. Maybe they brought them in last night? I was so tired when I climbed into bed that I—well, actually, I don’t remember.
My mouth is exceptionally dry, as though I haven’t had a drop of water in days.
“West. Hey, West,” I whisper because I don’t want to wake him up, but I do want to know why I can’t remember anything and why I have a mountain of breath mints next to my pillow.
“West.”
Lucky is snoring softly over there, and Crew hasn’t moved in the time I’ve been awake.
West rolls onto his side, facing me. His weight at the center of the bed causes me to shift toward him. My elbows touch his.
I don’t bother to move back as a very grumpy West opens his eyes to look at me.
“Only you could get black-out drunk and not have a hangover the next day,” he says quietly in a rough voice. He closes his eyes again and shifts the pillow to fit comfortably beneath his head.
“West. Why do I have breath mints?—”
A large hand presses onto my mouth, and his eyes snap open—stark blue and shooting ice daggers at me.
He lets go, grabs my arm that’s underneath me, and pulls on it, flipping me over onto my opposite side to where my back is against his chest. He flops his arm over my midsection and grumbles in my ear. “Go back to sleep.”
Surprisingly, I do. I’ll ask about those mints later.
Later came exactly thirty minutes after I closed my eyes.
“Why is there a bowl of breath mints here?” Crew asks as he sits down next to me on the bed and grabs a mint.
The shift in the mattress causes me to roll toward him, except West tightens his hold on my waist, pulling me back to him.
“Oh, these are the good mints,” Crew says as he pops one into his mouth. “Alright, Lucky and I are off to grab breakfast and talk to a port manager.”
“You don’t want to give me one more day to figure out where that container is?” West asks dryly.
Crew smirks. “I’m more of a boots-on-the-ground kind of guy.”
“Just make sure you’re not a boots- under ground kind of guy if you run across that guy.” West points to the drawing of the henchman on the nightstand.
Crew picks up the notepad. “I’ll keep an eye out. This is good.”
He taps me on the head with the notebook and then sets it down. “Come on, Lucky. We’ve got things to do.”
Lucky sighs and follows him out the door. “Everybody is in a rush these days. I just want to enjoy one nice, slow breakfast.”
They disappear out the door, and West and I turn to look at each other. We both jump out of the bed at the same moment we realize we’re snuggling.
“I need to go shower,” he mutters.
“Yes, I need to make some coffee.” We both bump into each other as I try to reach for the coffee pot and he tries to brush past to the shower. I don’t take a deep breath until the bathroom door closes.
I open my phone to check my messages while I listen to the water running in the bathroom.
I have a text from my middle brother, which is not good.
Brooks: what the hell are you up to? Maverick says you’re not answering calls or texts.
Me: Everything’s fine.
I send him a picture of me taking a sip of my coffee as proof of life.
Me: Don’t you dare say anything to Mom and Dad. I’m an adult and on a great vacation.
Brooks: and you’re a horrible liar. If you don’t keep responding when we check on you, then I’m going to come find you myself and make sure you’re okay.
It’s more of a promise than a threat. My brothers are sweet and overprotective. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I’m enjoying this little adventure so much.
I send a quick reply to Maverick’s latest text, then open the number for Fletcher Farley.
Me: I’d like to talk to you…when West can’t hear us.
Fletcher: I’ll be waiting for your call.
I don’t dare call him right now when West could step out of the bathroom anytime. I’ll have to wait until he goes downstairs to make another phone call.
A heavy knock sounds on the door. I take a tentative step toward it. Maybe the other guys left their key cards.
Resting my hand on the knob, I peer through the peephole, but what I see seems a little unbelievable. I reach for the lock, flipping it open then grasp the door handle.
“What are you doing opening the door without me here?” West asks as he steps out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. Glory, glory, glory. My jaw might be on the floor as I stare at him. He winks at me then looks pointedly at the now partially unlatched door.
I swallow the lump in my throat and swing the door wide to show him who’s standing on the other side. Bodie and Gracen stand there, smiling at us.
“We heard we were missing out on all the fun.” Bodie grins at both of us. Gracen just smiles and steps inside. I step to the side, making room for Bodie to follow her in.
Bodie glances at a very shirtless West. “Or maybe we’re interrupting the fun.”
“Wow, have you seen the view from here?” I ask brightly as I point to our balcony facing another building.
Everyone ignores me.
“This couldn’t be a phone call?” West asks wryly as he adjusts the towel wrapped around his waist. They don’t make hotel towels as big as they used to.
“Gracen was kind enough to pull me out of retirement,” Bodie says.
Gracen nods. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you, Sydney. I was afraid we were going to waste away at that Italian villa.”
“Oh, yes, I can see how tragic that would be,” I say with a laugh.
“You’ve never been stuck for three months with someone who doesn’t actually want to retire.” She looks at him slightly over her shoulder. “I need him to start working again so that I can catch a break.”
West chuckles, and I blush. Bodie just shrugs with that easy smile still on his face.
“She came in the other day and said that she cracked the code.”
West snorts and shakes his head. “Remember what happened the last time you guys went chasing after something together?”
I seem to be the only one who doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
“Yeah, that’s how we got married.” Bodie shoots back.
“Really?” I ask, surprised. I’ve worked with Bodie for almost two years now. In that time, I had learned zero details about him personally.
I trusted Bodie’s recommendations because of how he treated me. Always kind, always professional. He took good care of me as an employee and made sure I was never put in uncomfortable circumstances. It told me a lot about his character. I just hadn’t bothered to delve deeper to find out about his personal life or what he actually did for a living. West claiming that Bodie is nothing but a conman has me second-guessing the way I read people.
Or maybe I still have a good read on people and that at his core he’s good.
“Really,” Gracen explains to me. “He tried to steal my family’s chess set from me, and that just wouldn’t do.”
“How very rude,” I tell her.
She bobs her head up and smiles easily at me. “I knew you would understand. There’s nothing else to do but marry him.”
“Yep, sounds like you were backed into a corner on that one.”
“So what does cracking the code have to do with you being here?” West asks. “And why did you send Lucky and Crew, for that matter? I only needed a car. Not a driver and his stooge.”
Gracen grins at that. “Which one is the stooge?”
“Depends on the moment,” West says grumpily.
“It has everything to do with what you’re looking for,” Gracen tells us.
West holds up a hand in the air. “Wait. Let me get some pants on for this.”
“I don’t mind,” I offered.
He glares at me and taps my nose as he walks by. “You don’t get a vote in this.”
“Bummer.”
He grabs a pair of jeans from his bag and disappears into the bathroom again.
I move farther into the room, pulling out some chairs from the table. “I’d offer you something to drink, but the hotel coffee is pretty bad.”
“Don’t worry about us,” Bodie assures me. “I already got my espresso on the way.”
“You mean you got two on the way,” Gracen teases him.
I can’t help but smile at the ease they’re teasing each other. Their mannerisms toward each other immediately lighten the mood. It’s easy to breathe next to them. I like it. Not quite the same way I enjoy being around West, but I think it’s that their enthusiasm is infectious.
West comes out of the bathroom wearing jeans and a shirt. Bummer.
“Hmm,” I say.
“I agree,” Gracen says with a wink.
I grin at her while Bodie scowls, and now it’s West’s turn to blush. I wasn’t sure that was even possible.
“Tell us why you’re here,” West says as he sits down in the chair next to mine, scooting it infinitesimally in my direction.
“Well, you talking about unencrypting that file? Your whole mess with the Riccis? It got me thinking about the numbers my grandpa carved on the chess set. They were coordinates.”
I look at West out of the corner of my eye. He doesn’t move.
“The coordinates land it somewhere on the coast almost exactly at the San Francisco port. You’re after the missing Ricci money, aren’t you?” Gracen asks. There isn’t a smile on her face anymore.
Both of us hold our breath, waiting for her to go on or at least explain things more clearly.
She doesn’t. She simply holds our stares as she asks, “Or maybe something priceless?”
This time, West turns to me and says, “It’s up to you.”
I nod then turn back to them. “It’s actually not priceless. I’m here looking for thirty million dollars.”
The color drains from Gracen’s cheeks a little, and Bodie smirks.
“What on earth are you looking for thirty million dollars for?”
West nonchalantly slides his arm over to the armrest on my chair, offering me silent support. I grasp his hand and embark on telling them the same long story I’d explained to West about my dad.
“So that money is more of a blood money payment.”
I shrug. “They ended my dad’s career, so I figure they owe him some compensation.”
“You realize who you’ve taken on?” Gracen asks quietly.
“I do have my suspicions about them,” I say in my best innocent voice.
Bodie throws his head back and laughs loudly. Even Gracen chuckles a little. “Touché. But now I’m curious what the connection is. What else have you found on the flash drive?”
West clears his throat. “Enough to do some damage to the mafia family.”
Gracen nods. “Good. They’re into some bad stuff.”
“And you’re not?” West asks dryly. He really doesn’t trust these people. But then again, he doesn’t really trust many people.
“Do you suppose you should call your grandmother?” Bodie asks Gracen.
Gracen shudders. “Absolutely not.”
“She might know why they’re laying claim to thirty million dollars. Aren’t you curious?”
“If I’m going to call anyone, it would be Grandpa,” she shoots back.
Bodie nods. “Wait until she’s out with her bridge group, then call.”
“Why would your grandma know about the mafia?”
Gracen grimaces. “The things my grandmother knows could fill the dark web.”
West looks at me with a smirk. “She tried to kill her husband.”
“What a happy marriage.”
West shrugs. “They’re still married. Maybe it’s the couples therapy the world needs.”
“I think you’re off your rocker,” I tell him with a smile.
He grins back. Full-on grin. It’s becoming a habit. “I don’t know; it’d add some spice to wonder if you’d wake up in the morning to a knife at your throat.”
“Well, we both know that all it takes to scare you is to wake you with a smile,” I tell him sweetly.
That grin turns sinister, and he turns to face me, stretching his arm out behind me. “Oh really? And what about when I come in between you and your snacks?”
He is most definitely not playing fair. Close physical proximity is an underhanded trick that I think he’s starting to know he has the upper hand in. The rat.