Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t convince Cruz to mess around with me. I could see it in his eyes -- he wanted me. But at the same time, taking down Rob and avenging his sister’s death was more important. I didn’t blame him.

“Are you almost ready?” Cruz asked as he pushed open the bathroom door.

I looked at him when I was done applying my bright red lipstick. I grinned mischievously, sauntering up to him. “What do you think?” I adjusted his bowtie and fixed a strand of his hair.

He had managed to clean up quite nicely. Most of the time, he looked rather haphazard and messy, but somehow, he had managed to look crisp and well put together. Maybe it was the clean-shaven face.

I kissed his jaw line lightly so that my lipstick wouldn’t rub off. “You look quite handsome. It’s becoming harder and harder for me to control myself…”

“You’re telling me.” His hands rested on my back. “I thought you were beautiful before… but now you’re absolutely stunning.” He took a step back to admire me. He licked his lips, his eyes wandering over every curve of my body.

I did a little twirl for him, causing the dress’ hem to flare out. “Franklin’s fiancé had good taste.”

“She was a wonderful woman.” Cruz smiled fondly. “It’s a shame that she died giving birth to Gina.”

I frowned. “That’s terrible.”

We were quiet for a moment before he took my hand, pulling me out of the room. “Come on, we need to go. Franklin just told me that there’s a high stakes poker game tonight at midnight. Anyone who is anyone will be there, and my bet is that Rob will be there, too. If we can get some incriminating proof that he’s the leader of a drug ring, we’ll be able to put him behind bars.”

“But how are we supposed to infiltrate his casino if he knows what we look like?” I asked, starting to get a little anxious. When I’d first proposed to tag along, I had thought it would be a thrilling experience. I would be like the spies in the movies, but now that I had really digested what we were about to do, it was pure insanity. There was a high chance of both of us getting killed.

“We just have to be sneaky. We won’t stay long. We just need to snap a quick photo of him, maybe look for some concrete evidence, and then we are out of there.”

I nodded my head, my fingers pulling at a loose thread on the side of the dress.

“Are you scared?” he asked, gently holding my face and looking into my eyes. “If you are, you don’t have to go. I can do this on my own…”

I shook my head. “No.” My voice cracked, betraying me in a moment when I needed to sound confident. “I can do this. I want to do this.”

“Okay.” He squeezed my hands. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” He kissed the top of my head and smiled.

“Are you two ready? If you don’t hurry, you’ll be late.” Franklin appeared in the doorway, holding a shiny silver card in his hand. “Here’s your VIP ticket.”

“Thanks.” Cruz pocketed the small piece of plastic. “Do we look the part?”

He looked us over and nodded. There was a melancholy look in his eyes. No doubt, his fiancé’s red dress was bringing back memories of her. “Here are the keys to my car. It wouldn’t be practical for you to go on the back of a motorcycle.”

“You expect me to go to a high-end event in a Ford Fiesta?” Cruz raised an eyebrow in question. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I have a garage, you know.” He tossed the keys.

Cruz caught them with ease, looking at the fob. “Since when do you have an Ashton Martin?”

“It’s a VanGuard company car.”

“What? They just gave you a Martin?”

“Pretty much.”

Cruz grumbled. “I didn’t get a nice car…”

“Come on, gripe about that later.” I placed a hand on his shoulder, pushing him out of the room.

Franklin’s garage was small but tidy. Everything seemed to have its designated place. Even the floor looked spotless.

“Please try to bring it back in one piece.”

“No promises.” Cruz chuckled, opening the door for me.

I ducked inside, settling into the soft leather seats.

Cruz jumped in beside me. With a push of a button, the garage door opened. He turned the key, and the engine started to purr like a kitten, causing a subtle vibration to run through my body.

“Call me if you need anything,” Franklin said, lingering by the side of the door.

“Don’t worry about us.” Cruz flashed him a confident smile. “Just take care of the kids. Hunter tends to ask for a cup of water in the middle of the night.”

Franklin nodded. “Be careful.”

“We will.”

Without another word, he eased out of the garage and onto the street. The roads were practically empty at this time of night. Cruz pushed the limit, rounding the corners at such an accelerated speed that I found myself holding onto the door handle for dear life. “Do you think you can slow down a bit?”

“What? Am I going too fast for you?” Cruz smirked, pushing on the gas.

“Cruz!” I screamed as we started to fly down the highway. “Are you trying to kill us?”

“There’s nothing to worry about, baby. I’ve done this a thousand times.” He reached over and grabbed my hand. “You have nothing to be afraid of when you’re with me.”

“Can you please watch the road?”

He slowed down to a crawl. “Are you okay? You loved it when I went fast on the motorcycle.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry… I just… don’t go so fast…”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you liked it.” He placed a hand on my thigh.

“I did… but I guess the motorcycle is different.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t know. Our bodies are pressed together… I felt safer with my arms wrapped around you…”

He smiled. “Well, if it's intimacy you want, it’s intimacy you’ll get.” He grinned, his hand sneaking higher up my thigh. “Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.”