“She didn’t come to Sunset Cove for our help then did she, Fox? So what did she come here for?” I demanded, desperate for him to see reason.
He gritted his jaw, shaking his head then walking away, clearly done with this conversation. “We’ve got work to do, and the dog had your dinner so you can make yourself something when we’re done.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered. Fox cooked every Sunday and his food was like a slice of goddamn heaven on my tongue. Now the girl’s mutt was apparently eating better than I would be tonight.
“You made your choice not to be here this evening,” he said coolly, reading my damn mind.
He rounded the light wood stairway and led me up to our office on the second floor. JJ was at the desk inside, his bare feet up on the surface, a mojito in his hand, and a cocky look on his face.
He looked to me, arching a brow. “Well look who finally showed up, el gruñón.” He kicked out of his seat, smirking at me and planting his drink down on the desk beside the notes laid out on it.
“Did you miss me, el coqueto?” A teasing grin pulled at my lips. A latino chick had gotten drunk and pissy with me and JJ a few years back on Sunset Beach and we mocked each other with the nicknames she’d given us from time to time. I was ‘el gruñón’ – the grumpy one – and JJ was el coqueto – the flirty one.
“I missed you bad, big boy.” JJ jumped on me, hugging me like a damn koala and I slapped his back as I laughed. He released me after an inappropriately long squeeze, encouraging me toward the desk and I gazed down at the papers laid out before me with interest.
“Catch me up then,” I said as Fox swept around the desk and dropped into the chair JJ had just vacated. He picked up a diagram of a ferry and tapped a circled area in the hold. “One of our men who works at the docks got us this today. He has it on good authority that all goods travelling to Ballena Island do so on this ferry.”
“La Mujer Bonita,” I read the name of the boat aloud. “Owned by Carlos Ortiz.”
“His wife comes in the club,” JJ said. “And woof, let me tell you, she’s no pretty lady. She’s got hair on the chins on her chins and sweats like a pig in heat when I grind my dick in her face.”
“Has she ever propositioned you?” Fox asked, leaning back in his seat and stacking his hands on his stomach.
“Nah, but…I mean she likes what I’m selling, she gets that hungry look in her eyes during the show. I could test the waters. She’s usually in on Thursdays for ladies’ night.”
“Alright, dangle the bait and see if she bites,” Fox instructed. “We can do it without her if we have to, but if you can get her talking about that boat then find out what you can. Our guy says Carlos started out the ferry business thirty odd years back after regularly transporting his friends from their home on Ballena Island to the mainland. So I’m guessing his old lady knows a thing or two about that boat too.”
“Got it,” JJ agreed.
“Are the watches gonna be here?” I tapped on the hold in the ferry.
“Most likely,” Fox said. “They’re heading to a jewellers out on the island who open in the summer for tourists.”
Ballena Island was notorious for its swanky city tourists who wanted the ‘real west coast experience’. They showed up with their polished surfboards, ass cheek implants and bleached white teeth every year, ripe for the picking. There was always money to be made off of people like that. The kind that floated through life like their farts tasted like strawberries and money grew on their cocks. Some of them accidentally drifted into our end of town sometimes and they scurried back to their resorts and beach huts pronto, preferring to remain inside their traveller’s bubble as they soaked up their oh-so-authentic boho bullshit experience.
“Rumour has it the mayor wants to set up an official ferry that runs that trip by the start of the season. It’ll be built like a brick shit house with safes and storage rooms for everything going out there. Carlos’s little family-run ferry won’t be taking any precious cargo once that happens. So this is our only chance to hit it,” Fox explained with that hungry look he got when there was money on the table. “I’ve been talking with our pawn broker and he says the watches will be travelling in one of these.” He pushed his iPad across the desk and I took in the photo of a metal lockbox which had a lock code on it.
“So we steal the box?” I guessed and JJ bounced on his heels, looking to Fox who was smirking.
“No, it’s got a tracker and an alarm system that’ll get us fifty shades of fucked if we try to force it open,” Fox said, but the glimmer in his eyes said he wasn’t concerned about that.
“So what’s the plan?” I pressed, not liking being out of the loop as the two of them shared a grin.
“We got a tip off that the code was sent to the jeweller yesterday by express mail so he could open the box when it arrived,” Fox explained, swinging from side to side in the office chair. “One of JJ’s girls works the mailroom on Saturdays.” He picked up an envelope from the desk with an express stamp on it and tossed it at me. I pulled out the letter from inside it, smiling at the code staring back at me. Man, I loved being us.
“We sent a forgery in its place. It was seriously quick work on JJ’s behalf.” Fox tossed him an appreciative glance and JJ’s chest puffed out.
A ripple of jealousy passed through me, but I ignored it, placing the letter back on the desk. We all had our roles to play, and I’d play mine soon enough.
“So, what do we need transport wise?” I asked.
“We need a fishing boat. Something old, inconspicuous. Paid for in cash. And clothes to match too. We’ll need a car waiting for us when we return to shore as well. Again, keep it lowkey. I want the getaway car parked in a blind spot away from the main beach with a change of clothes in the trunk.” Fox looked at me expectantly and a smile tugged at my mouth.
Vehicles were my forte. And I knew exactly how to get my hands on what we needed. “No problem.”
“We’ll need tools to breach the door to the hold,” JJ said thoughtfully, tapping on the diagram again. “If it’s a secured door we might need something explosive too.”
“We can’t force that door,” Fox said firmly then leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk, all cunning like. He really lived up to his name sometimes. “It needs to be picked. So if it’s reinforced, you’d better find out from his wife so we can come up with a way to deal with it.” He fixed JJ with a stare and he nodded seriously, running a hand down the back of his neck.
“Why can’t we force it?” I frowned.
“Because there’ll be too many eyes on us pulling this off in broad daylight. There’ll be plenty of boats out on the water, not to mention the coastguard keeping watch, but once the ferry is far enough out to sea we’ll board it and get hold of the contraband fast. I have a guy who I can pay off to shut down the engine so that we can get on and off, but he says it’ll only stay motionless for twenty minutes before they get it going again. But that should be plenty of time. That box will have travelled a hundred miles to get here, there’s no way they’ll be able to tell at what point the watches were stolen if we’re subtle about it, and the least likely place will be on the boat in the middle of the ocean.” Fox stacked up the notes as I grinned. The dude really was a genius sometimes. And the thought of preparing for this new job was getting my heart pumping and adrenaline coursing through my veins.
“Who wants a drink?” I asked, heading to the door and they both agreed.
I opened the door and my heart clenched as I found a very suspicious looking rainbow-haired girl scurrying away down the hall. I strode after her at a fast pace, my mood taking a dive as I grabbed her arm and twisted her around to face me.
“Spying on us, ghost girl?” I hissed and she pursed her lips, prising my hand off of her flesh before shrugging.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said innocently.
“Don’t give me that shit. What did you hear?” I demanded, sensing Fox and JJ moving up behin
d me.
“Nothing,” she said sweetly. “Just something about a boat, a code and a box of watches.” She smirked and I grunted in fury, looking back at the others.
“This is why she has to leave, this is unacceptable,” I snarled and Fox moved to my side.
I lifted my chin, waiting for him to berate her as I fixed her in my sights. Finally, he had to see what she was now. Trouble. And a fucking sneak. She could be feeding information back to our enemies for all we knew.
My gaze moved down her body, taking in the white tee she wore which showed a pink bikini underneath it. My dick jerked in my pants and my teeth clenched tighter as I tried to ignore that reaction to her. I’d been a fool for her once just like Fox and JJ had been. I wasn’t going to make that mistake twice.
“If you wanted in on our meetings, hummingbird, then you’d have to swear in to the Harlequins. Which obviously you aren’t allowed to do,” Fox warned her and she rolled her eyes.
“Good,” Rogue agreed. “I’d rather take the pistol you keep hidden under your coffee table and blow my brains out than join your gang.” She tossed her hair and walked away while JJ chuckled, earning himself a punch in the arm from me.
“Great. Now she knows where to get a weapon,” I muttered.
“I know where four of your hidden weapons are actually,” she called lightly as she disappeared down the stairs.
“See.” I pointed after her, staring at Fox who was watching her go like a man possessed. “We can’t let this stand.”
“Chill out, bro,” JJ said, laughing. “It’s Rogue. We know her.”
“We don’t know her.” I rounded on him, baring my teeth. “Not anymore.”
Was everyone in this house crazy except me?
“I’ll move the weapons if it makes you feel better, but she’s staying no matter how much you bitch about it, brother. Question me on it again and I’ll make you regret it,” Fox said in a deadly tone then headed downstairs after the snake in our house and my hands curled into tight fists as JJ followed.
I jogged after them down to the kitchen where Rogue was crouched down petting her dog as he lapped at a bowl of water. I noticed her toenails were each painted a different colour just like her hair and I ground my teeth harder as my eyes followed the curves of her bronzed legs up to the skull and roses tattoo on her thigh. Rogue Easton hadn't just gotten hot in the last ten years. She'd gotten fucking third-degree burns scolding. She'd always been my type, but this girl with her quirky hair and the white band tee tied up over her toned stomach and fitted Billabong shorts was just - fuck. No. I had to stop looking.
I walked over to the fridge, ignoring my friends as JJ made a show of spinning bottles in his hands as he fixed Fox and Rogue cocktails. I took a whole bottle of rum for myself, turning around and walking straight out the sliding door onto the patio. I was fuming as I dropped down to lie on one of the sun loungers, not bothering to turn on the fairy lights which hung from the awning. I lit a cigarette and toked on it until my lungs couldn't take any more poison, breathing out the smoke before twisting the rum cap off and swallowing a long swig.
Fuck this shit. Fox was going to walk us right into the same pit trap we'd fallen into ten years ago. As soon as our balls had dropped, that girl had become the centre of a war in our group that had threatened to break us apart for good. When we were kids, it didn't matter. We all loved her as a friend, and what more we felt we didn't understand or know what to do with. But when puberty gifted us raging testosterone and muscles that gave us the power to fight for her, that was when the cracks had started to form. I'd wanted her as much as the rest of them had. We’d all been pushing her to choose, trying to win her from each other, but hindsight was twenty-twenty and when I looked back on it now, I realised we should've sent her packing the second she got between us like that. They were my brothers. And I'd lost one already because of her. I sure as shit wasn't going to lose another. There was no one for me outside of this house. Those two guys were my whole fucking family. And with the way they were both looking at her, I knew it wouldn't be long before the shit started to fly.
Not on my watch.
I picked up the baseball cap I'd left here earlier and shoved it down over my head, pulling it low so I could shut out the world as I laid back on the lounger. One cigarette turned to three and I swear I hadn't chain smoked this much since my momma had died. If there was a god, he sucked ass at choosing the people he took from this world. My dad deserved to go a long time ago, but he'd beaten two rounds of cancer and clung to life like a fucking cockroach.
Apparently I'd inherited the same immortal genes from him. I'd taken two bullets last year and had the scars on my abdomen to prove it. That was why I never bothered to quit smoking. Fox was all about healthy fucking living. But what good was that in the lives we led? I wasn't going out of this world because of the tar in my lungs. No chance. One day, a bullet would get too near to my heart or a knife would cut too deep and that would be that. I didn't plan on wasting the life I did have in the meantime. That was why, when we weren't working a job, I spent my time fucking, smoking, drinking and just fucking living. If it brought me pleasure, I made a goddamn habit out of it. And if it didn't, I made sure I had nothing to do with it.
JJ understood that better than Fox. Though the difference between me and him was that he was an optimist who read mommy porn in his free time and always had so many hopeful, sunshine soaked plans for the future. Fox had stopped making plans beyond the next few weeks the moment Rogue had left our lives. He used to be so...full. Now he was like a half drunk can of soda with all the fizz let out of it. I'd tried my best to heal that wound in him when Rogue had left. But I'd had my own wounds to lick, and in the end, we'd all just found the best way to deal with our scars was to stop talking about them. About her.
Someone moved the lounger to my left and a soft body dropped onto it. I tipped my hat up, peeking over at the company I hadn't asked for.
Rogue lay with her long legs stretched out and a beer in her hand. I could hardly see the bruises on her face in the dark out here, but as I dragged on my cigarette, the cherry lit them up, making anger burn hot and potent in my chest. Why wouldn't she give us a name? It’d been a whole week and she still wouldn’t give us a damn thing. I'd tie the guy to the back of my bike and drag him through the streets of Sunset Cove in payment for this. But I had no way of finding out who was responsible without her input. Besides, why should I care anyway? She wasn't my friend anymore. She wasn't my anything anymore. Still, I'd killed assholes for less than this without knowing the ones they’d hurt. I liked playing karma. All I needed was a good reason to strike and I was the scariest motherfucker in the room.
"You picked the wrong Harlequin to bother, ghost," I muttered, letting my hat drop back over my eyes.
"I'm not here for you." A clicking noise sounded as she turned on the outdoor heater and warmth blazed from the fire at the top of it.
"If you're cold, why'd you come outside?" I growled.
"Well I didn't see you lurking like a fucking shadow out here," she said.
I sat up, leaning close to her and pushing the butt of my cigarette into her beer, making it hiss as it went out. Her lips parted indignantly as I stood up and glared down at her. "Why don't you take your dog and your flowery rainbow hair and get the fuck out of our house? Go back to wherever you came from, ghost."
"This is where I came from, asshole," she said coolly and my gaze travelled down to the key hanging around her neck on a leather necklace. I'd clocked it the second she'd arrived here. That key was one of five and all of them held a ticket to something we'd long given up on getting our hands on ever again.
"Is that why you're here?" I asked suspiciously, pointing out the key. "You wanna try your luck and steal the rest of the keys?"
She stroked her thumb over it, shrugging one shoulder. "I don't know what you're talking about, this is my grandmomma’s key."
"Drop the shit," I hissed. The girl didn’t even have a grandmomma
.
She got to her feet, casual as fuck as she pulled her top off and dropped her shorts so she was standing in front of me in her skimpy pink bikini, making my cock harden just like that.
Fuck me. That body.
She was tanned all over her toned flesh and I wanted to pull at the strings of her bikini bottoms to check if that trend continued. And if it did, that meant she liked to sunbathe naked which was a mental image I really wanted to verify the accuracy of.
Damn beautiful ghost tits. She is not getting in my head.
"You should really try chilling out sometime, Nathan." She pressed her finger under my chin to close my slack jaw then sauntered past me.
"Nathan?" I spat, turning to watch her and my eyes immediately fell to her pert ass cheeks before she dove into the pool and disappeared into its depths.
I seized the moment to adjust my swelling dick in my jeans, trying not to be head fucked by this girl all over again. She'd gotten to me before, I knew the taste of her spell. And I wasn't going to fall under it again.
She resurfaced in the middle of the pool and floated on her back, gazing up at the stars hanging above us in the sky, acting like I wasn't even there.
She knows my name isn’t fucking Nathan.
I was too stubborn to leave so I just sat back down on my lounger, my elbows on my knees as I continued to watch the siren in the water, her hair shimmering colourfully around her as she tried to lure me in. But I didn't let any girl get under my flesh anymore, none of us did. We'd all built our own type of armour and mine was made of ice and spite. No one had gotten within a mile of my heart since her. But when I looked at her out there, I was painfully aware of the cut she'd left on that ruinous muscle, a wound which was starting to pull apart and bleed.
"Where is he?" she asked after a while, her gaze still on the stars.
Sinners' Playground Page 14