Dead Man's Isle (Harlequin Crew #2)

by Caroline Peckham

  She moved to step past me and I dove into her way, blocking her path. “Please, wait,” I begged in a low and desperate tone. She was going to take everything from me, expose me to my brothers and turn them on me like rabid dogs. “Rogue, please don’t do this.”

  She gave me a bitter look, all her disregard for me clear and it hurt more than I could have predicted. I hadn’t expected to ever see her again when I’d decided to leave her on that ferry, hadn’t thought I’d have to deal with that look from her. But now she was here and I had to face it. The venom she pointed my way seeped deep under my skin and made all my organs rupture.

  “Why would I tell them?” she questioned sweetly, taunting me as she curled a lock of lilac hair around her finger. “When I can watch you squirm like this for as long as I like?”

  “Rogue,” I warned. “You can’t do this, or I’ll-”

  “Are you sure you wanna fuck with me, Chase? Because your first move kinda backfired, and now I’m in the driver’s seat and it looks like you’re my little bitch. Unless you want me to just get it over with and tell the others what you did right now?”

  “Fuck you, ghost,” I snarled and she smiled darkly, making my blood rise and fury tangle with the very essence of my soul. This girl was my personal poltergeist, here to haunt and terrorise me. She was a demon with the face of an angel and the body of a goddess. I was both captivated and captured by her.

  I pushed her against the wall with a snarl. “You can still walk out that door and take the first bus out of town,” I growled. “If you play this game with me, you won’t win.”

  “Well let’s find out, shall we?” she whispered, her breath brushing my lips and tasting like a sin I wanted to commit over and over again.

  She was going to torture me until the end of time. I was cursed to walk this earth and pine for a girl who despised me to her core, while desperately trying to hate her back. But when she was this close, her curves moulded to my muscles, my fingers on her flesh, I lost sense of all that hate and desire rose like a flame in its place. My cock twitched in hope of something it was never gonna get. I hadn’t touched a single girl since I’d left her on that ferry, she consumed my thoughts again as she always had. And I was plagued to want her as keenly as I didn’t want her.

  “Which one of you took the keys?” she asked sharply.

  “What keys?” I frowned.

  “The Rosewood crypt keys,” she said, her eyes accusing. “Mine and Maverick’s went missing from my trailer.”

  “I don’t know anything about that,” I said dismissively, still trying to work out how I was going to deal with her now. Could I get her down into the garage, bundle her into the back of Fox’s truck, drive her out of here and dump her somewhere out of state? She’d just come back though, the promise of vengeance in her eyes told me that much.

  “Well you’re gonna find out,” she insisted. “And you’re gonna help me get my hands on all the other keys too.”

  “No,” I said instantly, my heart jack-hammering.

  “Yes,” she tossed back. “Because if you don’t, I’m going to expose you for the rat you are, Chase. So you can start by giving me yours.”

  My teeth ground in my mouth as I glared at her, trying to think up a way out of this, but she had me by the balls. I couldn’t risk her telling Fox and JJ what I’d done. Fox already had me on probation, if he knew I’d intentionally left Rogue on that boat, he’d kick me out of the Crew for good. Maybe even the whole of Sunset Cove. I’d lose my family, I’d lose everything.

  “Fine,” I forced out.

  I heard footsteps pounding this way and withdrew from her just before Fox and JJ rounded into the hall. Rogue was quick to school her features, casually stepping away from the wall as my boys’ eyes fell on her.

  Mutt yipped desperately, trying to fight his way out of Fox’s hands, but he didn’t let go, holding the beast like he was the only thing stopping Rogue from evaporating before his eyes.

  “You’re back,” JJ rasped then ran forward, pulling her into his arms and Rogue hugged him tight, her fingers knotting in his shirt.

  I could see the genuine relief she felt to be in his arms again and my heart twisted as I took another step back.

  Fox was there in a heartbeat, placing Mutt in my hands and giving me a look that said if you let him go I’ll gut you, then turning and pulling Rogue from JJ’s hands, cupping her face and starting to inspect every inch of her.

  Mutt bit me everywhere he could and I cursed as his sharp little teeth drew blood.

  “Did he hurt you?” Fox asked her, practically begging, fear flaring in his eyes.

  “Not in any way I couldn’t handle,” she said seriously, but his fingers traced over bruises on her neck then paused on a hickie. His muscles bunched and he fell unnaturally still as her gaze flicked up to meet his.

  Rogue took hold of his hand, giving him an intent look. “I don’t want to talk about that. And if you try to make me, I’m going to leave again.”

  Fox’s jaw worked and his fingers threaded with hers, clearly calling on every ounce of self control he possessed not to lose his shit. But he would. I knew Fox, and he was going to explode the moment he could. But right now, keeping her here was more important.

  “Lock the door,” Fox threw at me as he led her down the corridor.

  “I want my dog,” she said, reaching for him and he whimpered in my bleeding arms.

  Fox nodded to me and I placed Mutt in her hands. He went crazy licking her and she laughed as she hugged him tight, her hand still firmly gripped by Fox’s.

  JJ watched her, barely blinking like he thought she might vanish if he looked away for too long.

  I locked the door up tight and pocketed the key, staring after them as they flanked her and walked down the corridor. She threw a look back over her shoulder at me, her long rainbow hair brushing her spine and drawing my gaze to the bare, tanned flesh of her lower back and the base of the angel wing tattoos she had inked there. She smirked at me and my heart shredded in my chest. My balls were officially in her hands. And not in the way I’d dreamed about once.

  She’d just turned me into a snake in the grass, an enemy against my own brothers. I had to help her try and get their keys. And I would. But when I had them, I’d take hers too, head to the Rosewood crypt and destroy the evidence lying inside it which could end my family.

  If she wanted a war, then she could have one. But she’d just taken on a man who knew no limits, and would go to the depths of hell and back for his brothers. So game on, little one.

  F ox kept a tight hold of my hand while Mutt continued to lick me like crazy and I couldn't help but grin at the dog's antics as he celebrated my return. Maybe I'd been wrong to assume the little fella would be done with me at the first sign of something better after all. He was my ride or die pup and I was pretty confident that we were in this for the long haul now.

  "Are you hungry?" JJ asked, moving to my other side, his arm brushing against mine as he crowded in close, and I had to fight the way my heart wanted to swell in response to being back here again amongst them. The scent of almonds reached me from his flesh and fuck, I’d missed that. But I’d never admit it.

  There was food laid out on the table by the pool and Fox dragged me into a seat beside him before scooting his own chair so close to me that I was surprised he hadn't just dumped me in his lap in the first place.

  He was wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses which I swear were the exact same as the one's Maverick had been wearing when he gave me a ride back on his boat yesterday. But I was willing to bet Fox wouldn't appreciate me pointing out the fact that he had the same taste as his adopted brother, so I kept my lips sealed on that.

  JJ dragged his chair around the table so that he was rammed up close on my other side and he shoved a half-eaten plate of food away from me as he called out to Chase to get me my own plate.

  "I guess I'll go get myself a new chair then too," Chase muttered irritably, letting me know that I'd just ta
ken his spot and I gave him a cherry pie smile before he stalked back inside.

  "How did you escape?" JJ asked.

  "What did he do to you?" Fox added.

  "Do you swear he didn't hurt you?"

  "Is your lip split?"

  "Where did you sleep?"

  "Did he give you decent food?"

  "Did he try and make you tell him anything about this place?"

  "Did he punish you for being ours?"

  "Jesus, let a girl breathe, why don't you?" I interrupted them, leaning back in my seat and wafting them away so that I could get a breath of fresh air which wasn't laced with testosterone.

  I let Mutt hop up onto the table and he quickly made his way over to Chase's half eaten meal and started in on his cheese selection. I fucking loved that dog.

  Chase reappeared with my plate while Fox and JJ managed to force themselves to lean back a little and give me some room.

  "Thank you, Ace," I said sweetly and Fox cut him a glare as he snatched the plate from him and took on the job of loading it up with food for me.

  "Don't think he hasn't been punished for losing you on that ferry," Fox growled, plenty loud enough for Chase to hear as he moved to get himself a chair and pulled it up on the opposite side of the table. With how close the others had moved to me there was a pretty big us and him vibe going on and I could see how much that pissed him off.

  "Aww, that's sweet you're putting all the blame on him," I said, picking up a few crisp grapes and popping one into my mouth.

  "We're so sorry, pretty girl," JJ rasped, his hand landing on my thigh as he leaned in close to me and I arched a brow.

  "It's like déjà vu all over again, isn't it?" I asked, my tone sweet but meaning acidic.

  "Take your hand off of her," Fox snarled, his arm closing around the back of my chair and making me feel like a bone being fought over by dogs.

  JJ glared right back at him, his fingers biting into my thigh in a way that I didn't entirely hate, but I wasn't in the mood to become the central attraction in a tug of war.

  I sighed dramatically and pushed to my feet, knocking the chair back and causing JJ's hand to fall from my leg while Fox's was pushed back with my seat.

  "Here's the short version. You three left me on that ferry for the cops." My gaze met Chase's just to drive the point home to him that I knew precisely who was to blame for that particular offence. "I was arrested with thousands of dollars worth of stolen merchandise. Then I was dumped in a holding cell while they processed me. But then my fairy godmother - who apparently rides a motorcycle and has a shit load of ink - showed up to save the day and the charges against me went poof." I snapped my fingers while the three of them just stared up at me, drinking in my words. "Must be nice to be a super scary, gangster. Apparently the rules just don't apply to any of you, do they?"

  "So Maverick paid them off then took you back to Dead Man's Isle?" JJ asked, concern colouring his features.

  "Yep. We had a great time. He tied me to a chair in his murder freezer while I was butt naked, we bonded over the way people who promised to love us enjoy throwing us away all the goddamn time yada, yada, yada. But when it came down to it, I just didn't want to be his toy any more than I wanna be anyone else's. So I ran away and came back here for my dog."

  Fox snatched Mutt into his arms so fast that my little buddy yelped in surprise and farted. A piece of Chase's lunch fell from his jaws and my nemesis cursed as he glared between the dog and me.

  "You just came back for Mutt?" JJ asked, reaching out for me again and giving me a look that made my heart twist.

  I shrugged one shoulder then tugged my shirt over my head to reveal the seriously hot black bikini Tatum had gifted me. "Not sure yet. I guess it depends how enjoyable my stay is here.”

  “How did you escape from Maverick?” Chase demanded and I sighed.

  "I snuck out onto the beach in the dead of night then sang a song for a dolphin who offered me a ride in return for my sweet melodies.”

  “The real story, pretty girl,” JJ said firmly, because I clearly responded so well to a firm hand.

  “I jacked a boat of course. And swam some. Then I made a new friend, drank some Margaritas, got a ride back to town and hung out at Rejects Park for the night – thanks for paying for my trailer there by the way.”

  “No problem,” JJ muttered.

  “Least you could do after ditching my ass.” I shrugged, shooting Chase a death glare that let him know he’d be paying for my rent there from now on. Or if the glare wasn’t clear enough, I’d spell it out later to be sure. “Now I'm gonna cool down in the pool while the three of you finish your little freak out and when I come back I wanna eat my lunch without anyone mouth breathing in my damn ear. Kay?"

  They all just stared at me like they had no fucking idea what to think of this and I smiled big as I hung my shirt over the back of my chair and unbuttoned my shorts. I dropped them to my feet, kicking my sneakers off before bending down to grab my shorts so I could toss them on the chair too.

  As I moved to stand upright, Fox's hand slapped down on the small of my back and I cursed in surprise as I was forced to grab the edge of the table to stop myself from face planting.

  His fingers brushed against my right ass cheek, making my skin tingle and I looked over my shoulder at him, finding him inspecting a bruise which had most definitely been left there by a set of teeth.

  I slapped his hand off of me and stood upright, turning to look down at him again and arching an eyebrow at him as he glared at me through those sunglasses.

  "Problem?" I asked while a vein in his temple began to pulse and I could practically see him choking on all the words he wanted to throw my way.

  "Fucking hell, pretty girl," JJ muttered, dropping back in his chair as he carved a hand through his inky hair.

  Chase was glaring at me. I didn't need to look his way to know that because I could feel his eyeballs trying to burn their way through my skin.

  Fox stood suddenly, sending his chair crashing to the ground before he threw his sunglasses down on the table hard enough to crack them. His forest green gaze met mine for the briefest of pain filled, furious seconds before he turned and strode away into the house.

  "She doesn't leave!" he barked loudly in a clear command for JJ and Chase and the next thing I knew the sounds of shit getting destroyed began to tangle with the air.

  I released the breath I'd been holding while waiting for him to lose his shit then turned and strutted my designer bikini covered ass over to the pool.

  I dove in like a freaking pro thank you very much, and I lost myself beneath the water as I began to swim.

  Fuck I loved that feeling. Always had. And I'd missed it when I'd been away from here. I'd missed the sea most of all, but just being able to swim was like a balm to the scars on my tattered heart.

  I cut through the water and made it to the far side of the pool before I surfaced again. The sounds of shit getting ruined still rang through the house while Chase and JJ had some hissed conversation which I clearly wasn't invited to join in on.

  I turned and pushed off of the wall, swimming beneath the surface again as I headed back over to them and when I grasped the edge of the pool and pulled myself up to lean my forearms on the tiles, I found Chase there waiting for me.

  One glance over his shoulder told me JJ had gone to try and calm down the raging badger and Chase's gritted jaw promised he had a whole lot of angry shit to spew my way.

  "No thanks," I said quickly, before he could get the chance to start in on me.

  "What?" he growled in confusion and I smiled at him. The kind of smile a shark would give a tasty little sealion. Or maybe the kind a siren would offer a pirate right before she drowned him for being a cock sucking motherfucker who had tried to fuck her over for the last damn time.

  I hauled myself up out of the water and Chase rose to his full height again, his bronze skin gleaming in the sunshine as his muscular chest tensed and no doubt all of the hateful thing
s he wanted to say to me circled in his head.

  "Listen to me, Ace," I said, taunting him with that nickname because we both knew I didn't say it with any fondness. "And I really suggest you don't do anything dumb, like interrupt me or call me names."

  He ground his jaw but held his tongue and I smirked at him in triumph. Fuck yes, payback really was a bitch, and I was going to enjoy wearing her face for him.

  "You and me just became best friends," I informed him as I took a step closer, moving right into his personal space and reaching out to press two fingers to the bullet scar he had on his lower abs. I pitched my voice low just for him as I spoke again. "I want those keys. And today, you're going to show me just how committed you are to this little deal of ours by giving me yours."

  "It's not here, ghost," he ground out as I slid my fingers down to the other bullet scar on his abdomen, the one which sat just above the waistband of his shorts. His skin was so hot to the touch, his muscles hard and inviting beneath my fingertips, but there was no way I was going to be dick blinded by this particular asshole.

  "Where is it then?" I asked sweetly.

  "Somewhere safe."

  I tutted at him like he was some disappointing naughty child and slid my fingers from his skin, down over the front of his shorts. He froze solid, his muscles tensing up as a grunt escaped him and my fingers came damn close to brushing against his cock, but that wasn't my destination even if I did have his metaphorical balls in my fist right now. I slipped my fingers into his pocket instead and tugged out the pack of cigarettes I'd known would be there.

  I took a smoke from the pack and held it between my fingers before tossing the box in the vague direction of the table behind him.

  "Here's how this will go. Tonight, after the others are all tucked up in bed-"

  "JJ's working tonight," he interrupted like JJ not being in his bed made the blindest bit of difference to my plan.