Dead Man's Isle (Harlequin Crew #2)

by Caroline Peckham

  Before he got the chance to get me any more riled up, I turned my back on him and dove off of the boat.

  Salt water enveloped me and I focused on kicking to the surface and starting to swim without letting myself think about the fact that I was heading back into the heart of my enemies and leaving my only ally behind.

  I swam and swam and it didn't take long before my toes were brushing the sand and I was wading towards the shore instead of swimming.

  When I stepped onto dry sand, I turned to look back, watching as Maverick started the speedboat up, our gazes locking one final time before he whirled it around and sped away across the waves.

  My heart pattered to an uncomfortable beat as I watched him go and I licked my salty lips before wringing the worst of the water from my hair and clothes and starting off up the beach.

  It was going to be a long walk back to the Cove, but I was willing to bet I could boost a car or hitch a ride along the way at some point.

  For now I just started walking down the golden beach with my toes in the water and the sun beating down on me to dry me through.

  While I walked I tried to think through my plan. It was all well and good for me to say I was going to return to the Harlequins, but the reality of that meant allowing the men who had betrayed me all over again to take possession of me. And as much as I had faith in my amazing acting skills and outstanding poker face, there was no way I was going to be able to just play nice with them after that shit. Although, as I considered it, I guessed that wouldn't really be a problem. It wasn't like I'd been playing all that nice before they'd dumped me on that ferry so I could probably just present them with my real emotions on what they'd done to me then let the wind blow me where it would from there.

  Fox had made it clear he wanted to keep me around so no doubt he would do that regardless of how I felt about it anyway even if it was only in aid of getting his dick into me. Of course, I had the small and no doubt thrilling obstacle of him knowing that I'd fucked Maverick to contend with now too. That was going to be one hell of a reunion. Though as I thought on it, I could admit that I wasn't exactly dreading going to bat with the badger. A small, clearly insane part of me actually kinda loved our back and forth arguing bullshit.

  "Can I help you?" a girl's voice drew my attention and I looked up from my feet where I'd been watching the waves rush over them while I walked and spotted her laying on a sun lounger further up the beach. She was wearing a white bikini and had long, blonde, perfectly perfect hair that hung around a stupidly pretty face.

  "Help me what?" I asked in confusion, glancing around to see if there was someone else here who she might have been talking to. But no, it was just little old me out here alone with her, but as my gaze moved beyond her to take in the mega mansion behind her I realised what the issue was. I'd just wandered into this Barbie Doll's Dream House and my poor ass feet shouldn't be walking on her private beach.

  The girl pushed herself to sit upright, taking off a pair of big, black sunglasses and glancing back over her shoulder towards the megalodon of a house which actually had a spire like a church sitting on top of it. Wow, rich people were insane - had these people seriously designed their home to look like a place of worship like they were gods forced to live down here on earth amongst the masses?

  "Come have a margarita with me," she called, surprising me. "If my boyfriend sees you wandering across our beach, he'll lose his shit. But if you're day drinking with me then it's just a friend of mine who's come over for a visit."

  I probably should have been telling the posh bitch to keep her fancy drinks for her fancy friends, but this was free booze she was offering, and I was not the kind of girl dumb enough to say no to that.

  I started walking up the beach to join her and she grinned at me, flashing a set of perfect teeth as she grabbed the margarita mixer from an ice bucket which was sat beneath her parasol in the shade and quickly poured me a glass to match her own.

  I dropped down onto the sun lounger beside hers as I reached her and took in her perfectly put together appearance. Shit, this girl could have been a damn model. She was all long legs and big blue eyes and had something about her that would have been enough to make me go a round for the other team if I didn't love the D so fucking much.

  "I'm Tatum," she said, passing me the drink.

  "Rogue," I replied, adjusting my borrowed boxer briefs and wincing at the wetness of them.

  "Wanna tell me why you're wandering along the beach looking like you’re lost?" Tatum asked as she leaned back on her sun lounger and took a sip of her drink.

  "I was kidnapped by a guy I used to know and spent the last ten days on his island fortress," I said, pointing out over the water towards Dead Man's Isle across the waves. "But I have some unfinished business back here in town and a nice big dose of revenge to dish out, so I came back."

  Tatum laughed, but not like she didn't believe me, more like she could see how much I meant that and was cheering me on.

  "I'm guessing the kidnapper thought lending you his clothes was cute instead of just giving you your own then?"

  "Mostly I think he liked me being naked, so I guess buying me stuff that actually fit me didn't occur to him," I replied with a shrug and she smirked at me.

  "So are you planning on walking all the way back to town? Because that's a long ass walk in this heat."

  I shrugged. "I figured I'd swim occasionally to cool down, maybe boost a car from some rich asshole who doesn't need it as much as I do."

  Tatum laughed again and I found myself liking her as I sank my margarita in one long hit.

  "Go long, Tate!" a dude's voice drew my attention half a beat before a frisbee smacked into the sand between our sun loungers. A tall guy with dark hair swept back in that perfect preppy rich boy way jogged down the beach after it, pausing as he spotted me.

  He was stupidly attractive, like the kind of guy you saw on swimwear commercials with a surfer in the background but who never actually got wet himself. Hot, but not rough enough around the edges for me.

  "I can't play with you right now, golden boy, I'm having drinks with a friend," Tatum explained as he jogged up to us and the dude turned his bright green eyes on me.

  "Oh, hey. Sorry, I didn't know there was someone here...how did you sneak through the house without me noticing?"

  "I didn't," I replied. "But if I had I would have robbed you blind while I was in there, so it's probably a good thing that I arrived via the beach."

  The guy grinned and Tatum laughed loudly.

  "Well, I'm gonna go and see if I can convince one of the guys to come play with me then. Unless you girls want in?" He grabbed the frisbee and waggled it temptingly but Tatum shook her head.

  "I hardly ever get to hang out with girlfriends. You go play over there so we can talk about boys without you eavesdropping."

  The guy grinned and leaned down to press a heated kiss to her lips before jogging away from us and yelling back towards the house in the hopes of tempting someone else out to play with him instead.

  "Your boyfriend doesn't seem so scary," I pointed out, wondering why she'd thought he'd flip out if he saw me wandering along his private beach.

  "Oh no, that one isn't," she agreed. "I was talking about Saint." She turned to look back towards the house and pointed, making me look around too. There was a guy standing up on the long balcony which ringed the second floor now, a phone pressed to his ear while he looked out over the sea and gave off a seriously pissed off vibe. He was wearing a pair of chinos and a linen shirt which looked freaking tailored, and I swear he was actually oozing money and privilege. He wasn't looking our way but even from looking at his profile, I could tell he was just as attractive as the first dude. His dark skin and chiselled features made him hard to look away from, but there was a coldness to him that made me think he'd kill your grandma with a letter opener if she pissed him off. "But don't mind him. I've been training him up and he can almost hold a full conversation with non-billionaires without his
upper lip peeling back these days."

  I snorted and took another healthy swig of my drink as I lay back in my lounger. "So how does that multiple boyfriends thing work for you then?" I asked, processing what she'd said. "Do they have a bunch of other girlfriends too, or-"

  "No," she replied firmly and I couldn't help but smirk at that possessive bite to her tone.

  "Hey, there's no need to get defensive," I said, raising a hand in surrender. "I have way too much dick drama of my own. I’m not scoping out any of your men. On that note though, how many men are we talking here?"

  Tatum shrugged, pretending to go all coy on me but then she leaned closer and lowered her voice. "I'm at my limit with them, but any time I get caught up in the idea that it might be insane for me to have so many hot men all to myself, the group sex helps me remember that it's the kind of insane I can handle being. Just about."

  "Hmm." I drained the last of my drink as I let that tempting little sausage float about in my brain and I tried to figure out how many cocks would be too many cocks. I started off by counting holes, but then I had to account for hands. And of course, if it came down to turn taking then realistically the sky was the limit. But then when would my poor lady V get a break if she was taking part in a ten cock rotation?

  A girl could dream though. And I had to say that the idea of choking on a cock while getting railed by another guy did seem pretty fucking hot to me. Then again, recently it felt like my damn libido was working on overdrive, so maybe my pussy had just gotten sun stroke and was having an episode. Surely it wouldn't remain this fucking thirsty for long. I guessed it was my own fucked up way of self-medicating. I certainly couldn't afford counselling to help get me through the turbulent waters of Sunset Cove, but a prescription of regular dick did help me to forget my problems pretty well.

  Tatum's phone pinged beside her and she picked it up, sighing as she read the message. "Saint has some business thing to go deal with," she explained as she quickly tapped out a reply. I caught sight of the squid emoji she sent him before she locked the screen and dropped the phone down beside her again. Girl after my own heart. Everyone loved the squid emoji. I was pretty certain it was the best emoji there was.

  "How about I make you a deal?" Tatum offered. "You hang out here and get day drunk with me this afternoon and I'll get one of the guys to give you a ride into town in a couple hours to wherever you need to go. We've only been living here for around six months and I haven't made many girlfriends out here yet, so you'd be doing me a favour. I can even lend you a bikini if you wanna get out of those boxers?"

  "Well, I was enjoying the way the wet, sandy material was chafing my ass crack, but now that you mention it, a bikini does sound good."

  "Perfect." Tatum reached out to refill my drink before clinking her glass against mine and I couldn't help but grin at her.

  I might have had a bunch of gangster assholes to get back to, but a few drinks on a private beach with a new friend couldn't hurt. Besides, I deserved some down time. Because once I was back in the hands of the Harlequins, I knew the shit was really going to hit the fan.

  ***

  Four margaritas later, a lot of laughter, a brand spanking new designer bikini which apparently I was welcome to keep because Tatum claimed it suited me better than her anyway, and way more detailed discussions than I'd ever thought I'd have about the joys of double penetration and I found myself sat in the back of a fancy ass Audi something while yet another one of this girl's boyfriends gave me a ride back to Sunset Cove.

  I relaxed back into the new leather smell of the seats and watched the town I knew so well pass me by from the comfort of the A/C while we listened to Joke’s On You by Charlotte Lawrence on the radio and Tatum and her man practically bounced in their seats over their destination tonight. The two of them were heading into the lower quarter, much to my surprise but it hadn't taken me long to figure out that this girl wasn't your regular boring rich bitch anyway. They were going to an underground cage fight and though I had been sorely tempted to join them, I had revenge to get on with.

  I had to direct them down the graffiti covered streets towards Rejects Park and when we finally pulled up outside it, I could tell they were more than a little out of their usual comfort zones, but neither of them commented on the state of the place. And to be fair to them, there were already working girls cat calling the car as well as a dude in a hoody who had perked up way too much at the sight of them and I would bet my left butt cheek he was selling some less than legal substances tonight. But it was still home to me, so I grinned as I made a move to jump out of the car, thanking them for the ride.

  "Give me your hand," Tatum demanded as she held a pen ready and leaned back through the seats. I obliged her and she quickly scrawled her phone number onto my flesh. "Call me and we can set up that night out."

  "Okay. But you're going to have to party like a sinner if you wanna come out dancing around here, rich girl, or everyone will see what you are from a mile off," I teased.

  "I think I can handle that," she promised with a grin and I flashed her a smile before hopping out into the balmy air.

  It was dusk already, the sun slowly stripping from the sky and leaving trails of dusky pink across the horizon.

  I glanced about, making sure I couldn't spot any lurking Harlequins before I headed into the trailer park and set a beeline for my little blue trailer. I just hoped that Joe McCreepy hadn't turfed me out the second my rent went a day overdue. On that note, I needed to sort out paying for the weeks I’d missed and maybe one or two in advance before I headed back to Harlequin House, because knowing Badger the way I did, he was bound to lock me up in his stupid house again the moment I arrived.

  There were a few people out smoking on the little decks which fronted their trailers, but the park was pretty quiet for the most part and I smiled to myself at the sense of homecoming I got as I closed in on my place.

  I broke into a jog as I got close, rounding the side of my trailer and dropping down to retrieve my key from where I'd stashed it beneath a rock there.

  I hurried back around to let myself in and sighed as I closed the door behind me. The place was quiet, empty and a pang in my chest made me miss my little dog. I'd asked Lyla to keep an eye on him for me if I didn't come back from my job with Chase the day the Harlequin boys had fucked me over on that ferry so I'd known he would be okay, but I still wanted him here.

  I flicked the lights on, a prickle running down my spine as I looked around at the familiar space. I couldn't place my finger on it, but something made me feel like the trailer wasn't exactly the way I'd left it. Like someone had been here while I was gone. But as I looked around at the space, I couldn't figure out what that might be.

  I moved through the small kitchen area and into my bedroom, stopping abruptly and gasping at the sight of the perfectly made-up bed I found there. Bed making was for heathens with nothing better to do with their lives than straighten out blankets! Someone had been in my fucking home.

  My heart began to pound as the reality of who that must have been settled over me. There were only a few douchebags who kept forcing their goddamn noses into my business after all, so it wasn't hard to figure out that it must have been one of them.

  My mind shot to the keys I'd left hidden inside the vent in my little bathroom and I broke into a run, throwing the door open to the shower room and letting it bang against the wall as I flicked the light on.

  My heart plummeted right down into my ass and beyond as I stared up at the vent above the shower. It had been left open, the grate pushed aside and even before I shoved my hand in there and felt all around inside, I knew what I was going to find. Nothing. Not a fucking thing. My key and Maverick's were gone. And one of the assholes I needed to use them against had taken them.

  My mind whirled with that and I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to figure out what the fuck I was going to do now. This changed everything. They might have guessed I was after their keys before, but finding Maverick's alongsi
de mine would have banished any doubts they may have had about how serious I was about claiming them. They knew I was after the contents of that crypt. Which meant they knew I was out to get them. Could I really risk heading back into the lion's den with them knowing that?

  I needed to think. And I probably needed to talk to Maverick, though using my cell phone to call him was beyond risky. I already knew that Fox had put a tracker on the damn thing and for all I could tell he would be able to trace my calls and shit too. Was that likely? Who fucking knew. But I was starting to think I might have to risk it.

  I took the sparkly, pink mermaid phone out of the side of my bikini strap where I'd wedged it and headed back into the living area of my trailer before plugging it in to charge.

  I didn't know what the hell to do now. Was it too much of a risk heading back to the Harlequins now? But what was I really risking anyway? I was pretty certain by this point that they had no intention of killing me which meant I was only really risking them being mad. And did I give a shit about that? Not one. Because I was pretty fucking mad at them myself.

  A loud knock came at the door and I froze. Shit. I wasn't ready to face them yet. How the hell had they figured out I was back so quickly?

  "Rogue?" Di yelled. "I know it's you. No one else has crazy hair like you do, bitch!"

  A breath of laughter escaped me and I moved to open the door for my friend, my smile widening as I found Lyla and Bella right behind her.

  "You're lucky," Di announced, shouldering her way in before I even got the chance to shift my ass aside for her. "We were just arriving back with our pizza when we spotted your unicorn hair heading this way. I figured if we feed you, you'd give us all the info on the drama you're in with the Harlequin Crew."

  I inhaled deeply as she carried the pizza boxes over my threshold and moved aside for the other girls. "You would be correct in that assumption." I caught Lyla's arm before I closed the door and she turned to look at me, her honey blonde hair falling down her back at the movement. "Can we go grab Mutt quickly before we eat?"