“Better?”
“If I didn’t have to find this asshole, I’d rip that dress off you, drag you onto my lap, and fuck you until you begged.”
She grinned.
“Oh no, please don’t…”
He laughed.
“I love you, Sarah. You’re definitely my girl.”
She gave him a kiss on his cheek and loved the red lipstick mark that remained behind. It was her ownership of him. While Dakota didn’t see his worth, she did.
He was a handsome, virile man who rocked her world.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked, buttoning his fly.
“Yeah, sure.”
“When this is over?” he began.
“We’re getting married, right?” she asked. “You’re not going to make some lame ass excuse, are you?”
He glanced over. “I meant with our jobs. We have to go back to work at some point.”
“I’m not leaving New Orleans.”
He pulled off the road and faced her. “What?”
“I’m home. I feel like I belong here, Dakota. I feel like this city is calling to me. When this is over, I hope you’ll stay, but I can’t make you.”
“Sarah.”
“I’ve learned something in all this,” she said, touching his cheek with her hand. “I didn’t think anyone could love me. I didn’t think you ever would. I have to be me, Dakota, and I’m going to stay here and work. I’ll see if Rogue can hook a girl up. There’s a lot of shit going on in this city. I can see it now.”
He listened.
“Robin Hood might need help.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“When this is over, I’m not walking away.”
“If I do?” he asked.
She lightly kissed him on the lips. “Then I’ll miss you, but that has to be your choice. We all have to make our own. I chased you here. I left my career. I feel happy here. I feel like I belong. I hope you find yourself, Dakota, and if you leave, I’ll forgive you.”
“Sarah.”
She was standing her ground.
Actually, she was protecting her heart. She figured that wedding would never come. She knew he’d find some reason like he did with Bonnie.
She had to protect her heart.
Sarah deserved it.
“I love you, Dakota, but the next move is on you. You left me behind, and I followed. Now you have to decide if I’m the woman you really want, and if you’re willing to stay for me.”
She turned in her seat.
“We should go. The cruise leaves in a few minutes.”
He pulled back onto the road, and Sarah had given him a lot to think about.
The new hair.
The new attitude.
She wasn’t playing a role.
Sarah was remaking herself in case he left.
Well, he’d call her bluff.
Dakota wasn’t leaving her again. He’d done that once. So, he hoped she was ready.
If Sarah wanted to stay, they’d stay.
He only hoped she didn’t regret it.
It looked like he, too, was going dark side.
* * * H U N T E R * * *
Rogue was in place.
He was on the bank, dressed in black, and watching them with binoculars. He could see them get out of the vehicle, access the boat, and then disappear into the crowd.
While he watched, he hoped they were ready.
This was going to be a test.
Could two ex-US Marshals pull off the ultimate scam and fool a boat full of criminals?
Could they really blend in and be one of the dirty in New Orleans?
For their sakes, Rogue hoped so.
He turned on his com and he waited. Time would tell, and their lives would depend on it.
* * * H U N T E R * * *
One Hour
Later
He was in the middle of playing poker with a bunch of sharks. It was an intense game, where he was trying to keep his shirt and all of Rogue’s mad money.
Behind him, Sarah was sipping some high-priced drink as he played poker with the best of them. This wasn’t an amateur game. This was a full on, everything he had to stay afloat, game.
When he heard her in his ear, and the tickle of her lips, his body reacted.
“Give me a kiss, Trix. I need some luck.”
She did what he asked, flashing every man there her assets. It was hard not to, but as long as Dakota didn’t tell her back off, she was going to play the part.
It was kind of fun.
“I’m going to find a ladies’ room,” she said, knowing that it was a perfect time to look around. She wanted to see what else was going on this floating casino.
“Take your time,” Dakota said, slapping her on the tight ass. “Daddy is busy.”
When she walked away, all the men began talking like men do when they’re alone.
“Is she your wife?” the man beside him asked.
“Hell no! She’s at home with the kids. She’s the sauce on the side,” he said, grinning. “A man always needs extra sauce.”
“I heard that,” she whispered in the com. “If you ever get sauce on the side, I’m going to wipe that stain right out,” Sarah said.
He tried not to laugh.
“She’s hot in bed and her mouth? Jesus! My Trixie ain’t no angel. She’s all kinds of dirty. Let’s leave it at that.”
The men all laughed.
“You’re going to hell,” Rogue said into the com. “Talk murder, and ask about some undocumented labor.”
He figured the man knew what he was talking about.
“I have a…business. Does anyone know where I can get me some undocumented labor?” he asked.
They all looked over.
“Maybe,” one guy said. “There’s a woman who frequents this boat. She and her man run a business that can handle all kinds of labor issues.”
He got what he was saying.
“I’m looking to move some labor from here to say…overseas. You know how much more the dollar buys there.”
The one man got it.
“You want Chesky. He’s all about labor allocation,” he said, as the dealer called the hand.
The money headed right toward Dakota.
He couldn’t believe he’d won again. It was probably because he was the ONLY one not drinking whiskey at the table. Sarah had been getting him rum and coke, minus the rum.
He wasn’t drunk.
“Where do I find this Chesky?” he asked.
“You have lots of goods?”
The man beside him asked.
“Maybe.”
“I may also want to get rid of my…harpy wife.”
All the men there laughed.
The man beside him was biting at what he was selling. He was focused on him.
“I can help.”
He pulled out a card and dropped it onto the pile of money.
“Thanks,” he said, tucking it and the money away.
“Are you looking to end the current deal with your…partner?” he asked, meaning Dakota’s ‘wife’.
“Yeah, do you know how to handle that?” he asked. “I’m looking for a way to keep it low key. I have some questionable businesses.”
“She knows too much?”
“Yeah, and there’s a prenup.”
They all got it.
“Bring her here and shove her in,” one guy said. He threw down his cards and folded.
“Yeah, but that will make me look like I was involved. I need someone who can make it look…accidental.”
“How much are you willing to pay?” the man asked.
“Half her life insurance. That’s about one million for some help.”
Dakota kept going, hoping this would lead him not only to Chesky, but to possibly Danforth Harrington.
“I’m running his financials to see if he’s ever been there,” Rogue said in his ear.
“Call that number when you’re situated. I know a man who blends, h
e’s good at taking care of shit, and he’s willing for the right price.”
He patted his jacket.
Then he won the hand again.
“Shit! Are you counting cards?” the drunk at the end of the table asked.
He laughed. “You can’t count cards when you’re pounding liquor.”
To prove a point, he tossed his drink back and lost the next hand so they wouldn’t kill him right there.
When he folded, he could hear Rogue in his ear. “Nothing on Harrington. His GPS is clear of the boat too.”
Well, shit!
“You’d better get moving, Dakota,” Rogue warned.
He agreed.
“I’m sorry, gentlemen, but I want to find Trixie, and relax,” he said, pointing down at his dick.
They all laughed, knowing what he meant.
Well, that was the plan for later, but for now, he needed to record everyone.
As he walked around the boat, he was taking in each and every gambler, the women on their arms, and even the people working the boat.
No one was missed.
The only person he couldn’t find was Sarah.
She’d disappeared.
As in, he was beginning to freak out.
His heart began pounding as he walked toward the back of the boat and still couldn’t find her. When he bumped into a raven-haired woman, he excused himself.
“Looking for someone?” she asked, invading his personal space.
“Yeah, my girl.”
The woman laughed as he walked away.
That’s when he heard Sarah.
“I found him,” she whispered into the com. “I went down into the lower level, and he was having a meeting with someone. They saw me, and he told me to get the hell out,” she whispered over her com.
“Where are you?”
“I’m all the way at the back of the boat where he disappeared. I think he knows I’m following. All of the sudden, he looks panicked.”
Dakota knew it was time.
He began moving quickly through the passengers on the large boat. When he was almost there, he heard Sarah.
“He’s going to bail. I’ve got him.”
His heart was thumping.
“Sarah! Be careful,” he hissed.
There was the sound of struggling. Then a muffled scream. Dakota got damn scared.
River.
Alligators.
Sarah.
That was all he could think of.
“She went over!” Rogue shouted into the com. “He shoved her over, and then he dove in. He’s swimming for shore on the opposite side!”
This was the worst-case scenario, and he had to move fast. His girl had gone over.
The pictures in his head were enough to turn his blood to ice.
When he got to the back deck, he could hear her calling for him on the com and in the air over the engines of the boat.
Shit!
“She’s hanging over the prop!” yelled Rogue. “You don’t have much time!”
Dakota raced to the edge and looked over.
Above where the water was churning, he saw his woman hanging by her fingertips, and they were slipping.
Damn those nails of hers!
“Sarah!”
He climbed over the rail to drop down on the little ledge. Grabbing her wrist, he had her.
Now came the hard part.
“Please don’t let me fall,” she said, staring into his eyes. “Dak, don’t let me go!”
That one sentence clarified everything for the man. He’d never let her go.
She was his.
“I’ll die,” she said, tears filling her eyes.
“If you go, baby, I go,” he promised.
And it was true.
Dakota wouldn’t lose her. If he did, he might as well fall after her. His heart would be dead.
“You won’t fall. I have you!”
They knew what was on the line. If he let her slip, she’d drop right onto the spinning prop of the big boat’s engine.
It would rip her to pieces, and then she’d be gator bait.
Carefully, he pulled her up, taking her hands in his. The big rock was cutting into his hand.
So he handled it.
It was tugged from her finger before she even realized it was gone, and tucked into his pocket.
As soon as she was halfway up, she could wrap her arms around his neck. Then, he had her in his lap.
She clung to him on that little ledge.
“Jesus, Sarah.”
“I grabbed him, but he shoved me over the edge. I couldn’t hold onto him in these heels.”
He didn’t care.
“Fuck him, Sarah,” he said. “I almost lost you.”
And there was Dakota’s wake up call.
And it was a scary one.
Chapter TWENTY-FOUR
Tuesday Night
Chartres Street
B ack at the base, Sarah was a hot mess—not over almost dying, but about the ring being gone from her finger. She was pacing, a wreck, and in a panic. The one thing she was tasked with not losing was the one thing that fell into the water.
Somehow.
Somewhere.
She wanted to be sick.
The entire time she was pacing, Dakota felt like a total asshole.
The ring wasn’t lost.
It was in his pocket.
“I’m so damn sorry,” she said, facing Rogue. “I didn’t mean to lose it. It was careless of me.”
“Sarah!” Rogue stated in horror. “You nearly died. Don’t worry about the stupid rock. It’s back to mother nature where it came from.”
“I’ll pay for it.”
He walked toward her. “Honey. It’s a rock on a band. It’s fine. You matter more than that ring. You could have been killed. I don’t prioritize trinkets over human life.”
Tears were falling.
Rogue hugged her. “Shhh, honey, it’s only a ring. It’s nothing in the grand scheme.”
“Still. I failed.”
He took her shaking hands in his. “Sarah, go get changed and we’ll talk about it later. You need to come down off the adrenaline rush. You’re not thinking straight.”
She walked out of the room, and it was easy to see that she was devastated.
When she was gone, Rogue faced Dakota.
“You have to convince her that it’s gone, and it’s okay. I don’t want her upset over it. It’s just a freaking ring. I wish I told her it was fake to begin with!”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why the hell not?” he asked.
Dakota realized something.
“You like her a lot.”
He stared at him.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Rogue broke his silence.
“I do not.”
“You do! You want to mother hen her! At first, I thought it was a sex thing, but it’s not.”
“Shut it.”
Dakota grinned. “You love Sarah. You love Sarah.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
“Nah, you won’t.” He made the ring appear in his hand. Rogue lifted a brow. “Why the hell are you torturing her for then? Haven’t you made her cry enough?”
He moved toward Dakota.
“What kind of sick game is this?”
“Back off, big brother. This is my point. You want to be a big brother to her.”
The man stared at him.
“Yep. That’s it. You want to protect her. Well, here’s why I have the ring.”
From his pocket, he pulled out the original twenty thousand, and he handed it to him.
“I don’t get the correlation.”
“Well, you let me use that, and I was able to do this.”
He handed him fifteen crisp thousand dollar bills.
“What is this? Buying my silence?” he asked angrily. “You don’t deserve her!”
Dakota was good at figuring things out, and earlier, he noticed something. When
Sarah had hugged him before, dressed all slutty, he didn’t react. If you were a man, you at least tensed when a sexy woman put her body against yours.
It was hormonal.
Rogue didn’t.
So, he was gay, or…?
“Do you like men?”
“Are you out of your mind?” he asked. “Where did that come from?”
He laughed. “Is that a yes?”
“No. I’m totally heterosexual. I’ve never been with a man or plan on it. Why?”
That’s what he thought. Rogue Ravenscroft, the quiet one, was playing the big brother.
“She feels the same about you,” he offered.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you need to explain this hush money.”
“I’m not telling you to be quiet. I’m telling you that I want to buy that ring. I’ll get you the last five thousand at the bank. I can’t do it now.”
“What?”
He was confused.
“She loves that ring, and the second she saw it, she had that reaction. You know, the ones that women get when they see their engagement ring.”
He finally got where the man was going with it.
“You’re going to propose. You slipped that ring off her finger to surprise her!”
“Yes. It seemed tacky to propose with it on her finger. I want her to get the whole deal.”
Rogue smiled. “You can keep your five thousand. In fact, this money…we’ll put it in the house kitty fund.”
“To buy pussy?”
He stared at him.
“Who broke you?”
He began laughing.
“There’s a long list, but I’m doing this because my Sarah…she deserves that ring—even if I couldn’t normally afford it. I want her to have it as a memory of our relationship.”
“That’s genuinely sweet, Dakota.”
He went even further.
“When these jobs are over, she’s not leaving. Sarah told me she’s staying in New Orleans, and she needs your help getting ‘setup’.”
“Okay, and?”
“I’m going to need a job too. I’m not leaving without her.”
He got it. It looked like there would be two more players in the game, and oddly, he was okay with that.
Atonement: The Hunter Mercenary Series (Book One) Page 37