Briella
“You guys sicken me.”
I laugh when Syd comes through my ear piece. What does she expect? That I’m not going to hold my boyfriend/undercover husband’s hand?
“Fuck off.”
“Yup, he’s gone soft. Probably in more places than one.” One of the guys says in the same ear.
“Shut the fuck up, only talk when we need you.” Colby growls.
“Someone obviously didn’t get any sleep last night.”
I roll my eyes and check my surroundings. We knew from my talk with Calvin, that Colm had feelers out on the island to figure out where we were staying. You know, for an invite to his little shindig tonight. Apparently, it’s way bigger than that because we’ve heard Nadia raving about it and what to wear for hours. We heard a few tourists talking about it too.
We couldn’t have him or one of his lackey’s knocking down our door with all the surveillance equipment, so we figured we’d put ourselves in his line of sight to eliminate that step. Easy, considering he showed up at Nadia’s earlier. Colby turned the sound down and told me when I could look again. Just another of the many reasons I fell in love with him. The plus to their little romp being that it gave us time to get out on the island enough to get noticed.
We’re trying to figure out why he hasn’t pulled the camera’s down yet. He knows they’re there, Calvin confirmed it. Maybe he wants the “Mayor” who he’s convinced they belong to, to keep watching him screw his wife? The possibilities are endless.
I’m pulled from my thoughts when my arm is pulled and I’m pressed up against the outside of a local breakfast café before Colby’s lips are pressed against my neck. Then I feel his warm breath at my ear.
“He’s spotted us.” He continues to lick and suck my neck.
“Stop that or I won’t be able to form a coherent sentence.” A little moan escapes my lips and I hear him groan.
“Fuck, my dicks about to bust through my pants. You can’t make noises like that when we’re working.”
“And now I have a boner…any of you ladies… ow!” We hear Marcus say through our ear pieces.
“Well, what a surprise, just the two people I was looking for.” I put on my game face before squeezing Colby’s bicep to move.
“Wow, what a coincidence. It’s nice to see you again Mr. O’Leary.”
“Please, call me Colm. I’ve been trying to hunt you two down. I wanted to personally invite you to my party tonight. The whole island will be there!” He laughs as only powerful men can. “The party won’t be complete unless you guys are there.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” I give him a sugar sweet smile and look up at Colby. He has a similar smile plastered on his face as he nods in confirmation. Looking back at Colm one more time, I have a weird feeling of nostalgia. Crazy feelings threaten to explode when I notice we have the same nose, the same dimple in our right cheek. I want to make him suffer after what he did to my mother, what he put her through. I want no part of this man yet I have no choice. Did my mother notice the similarities day in and out when she was trying to heal?
I must be staring a bit too long when Colby pinches my ass to get my attention.
“We’ll be there.”
Colm gives us the rest of the information on where the party is before leaving. Not that we didn’t already know. Nothing seemed weird or out of place with him other than a few lingering glances my way. But I guess you wouldn’t want to be up front about illegal activity with two people you barely know. It’s not like I was expecting him to announce the party was a diversion for a shipment of new sex slaves to get dropped off.
The thought makes me sick to my stomach. It also drives a determination in me to get this job done. To figure out what’s really happening to aid these helpless women taken against their will.
As a team we discussed the option of calling in the local police. Let them know what’s going on because this is a lot bigger than the seven of us. That plan was squashed real fast when we saw Colm grabbing some lunch with the head of the police force. They are obviously in his pocket and therefore clearly cannot be trusted.
My phone starts ringing, and I look down to see the Mayor’s name on my phone. Colby sees it too and curses under his breath. We haven’t heard from him since that briefing a couple days ago and it was wishful thinking that we could figure this all out before he was bugging me for more information. Luckily, we prepared for this situation.
“Mayor Stephenson, what a pleasant surprise.” I roll my eyes at Colby.
“What the fuck am I paying you for? You’re supposed to be the best and I’ve gotten jack shit from you thus far.”
He’s bullshit, I mouth to Colby.
“You paid me to find out if and with who your wife was screwing on the side. We delivered that to you on day two. How is that me not doing my job?”
“Don’t get smart with me Briella, I’m a powerful man…”
“Did you just hang up on him?” Colby asks mystified.
“It appears so.” I laugh unable to believe I’ve done it too.
“I’m pretty sure yessing him to death and reassuring him everything is on the up and up isn’t hanging up the fucking phone.”
Okay, so Colby’s mad at my actions. But this will help in the long run.
“He needs us, I’m playing the game. Wait for it…” And on cue my phone rings again and I don’t pick it up until the fourth ring. I need to make him sweat. Let him know he’s not the puppet master.
“Hello.”
“Listen, I’m under a lot of stress. Can you at least give me a report?”
“Yes, she’s been with that man from the second day every night and we have it all on a USB drive. As soon as we get back, we’ll have a meeting and hand over the evidence.”
“The Irish mob boss?”
“Not on this island, and if he is he’s doing a damn good job of hiding from us… and your wife for that matter.”
“Fuck, I was so sure. Keep me updated Briella.” Then he hangs up.
“See, piece of pie.” I smile up at Colby.
“I don’t know whether to spank your ass or kiss it right now.”
“Maybe a little of both later?” I shrug and hear gagging in my ear.
“Shut the fuck up, like you haven’t been all up in Marcus’s business Sky.”
Radio silence is exactly the reaction I was hoping for. I grab Colby’s hand and start pulling him away from the busy area of the island. It’s full of little shops and tons of tourists. We’re about to walk around a little shop with pukka shell jewelry when I spot Nadia out the corner of my eye. I quickly pull Colby to the back of the building for cover.
“If you wanted to make out in private, all you had to do was ask.” Colby starts getting handsy as I crane my neck to keep Nadia in my sights.
“No, no, get your hands off my ass. Look…” I point my finger in Nadia’s direction and I’m stunned to see her with Calvin. They’re tucked away from the tourists and keep peering around to make sure they’re not being watched.
“Do you guys have access to any cameras in the market area?”
“Do we have camera’s?” Cross says like I’ve insulted him. “Camera’s, audio…”
“Stop with the showboating and pull up Nadia and Calvin in the opposite corner we’re in. I need to know what they’re talking about and why they look so secretive.”
A minute later there’s audio running in our ears and Nadia’s annoying as hell voice takes over my brain.
“Maybe we should wait?”
“No, it has to be tonight. Everything’s set in place.”
“If Colm finds out he’ll kill me.” She sounds scared and I’m willing her to give me something, any sort of information to know what they’re up to.
“I’m telling you, he’s trying to draw you in, but you can’t listen to him. I’ve told you what he’s into, now are you going to help me or not?”
Nadia nods her head before they head off in different directions leaving me wondering what the hell is going on now. Was Calvin trying to warn her away? Is my dad trying to sell her into prostitution? This could be my dad’s brand of retribution to get back at the Mayor.
“We need to get back and figure out what’s going on tonight. From the looks of it, we need all our bases covered.” Colby squeezes my hand before we make sure the coasts clear and walk back to our hut.
I’ve placed my trust in Calvin, I’m really hoping he’s not about to screw me and effectively my team over.
If he is, he better watch the fuck out.
***
“Still can’t get ahold of him?” Colby asks for the hundredth time on our walk back for a pow wow with the team.
“Nope. He probably fucking saw us.” I sigh in frustration. “I need to know if we can trust him!”
“My gut said yes up until this point, but now…”
“You’re not so sure. I feel the same way.”
I’m about to open the door to the hut when Colby pulls my back against his chest. He moves my long hair off one shoulder and starts kissing my sweet spot.
“We’ll figure it out. And like I’ve said before, if this is hitting too close to home we can send two others in our place.”
“No.” I whirl around on him. “I have to do this. My feelings aren’t an issue because I have none when it comes to my father.”
“Really, because you seem to be getting really angry just talking about him.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a deep breath. “What can I say to you to make you understand I need to do this? There will be no hesitation no matter what happens. Trust me Colby.”
“I do. I also worry about you, and before you feed me a line about being an independent woman, I need you to know that you’re mine and I’ll always worry about you. It comes with the territory of being mine.”
“I think I can deal with that.” I smile and stand on my tip toes to place a kiss on his mouth.
“Let’s get in there. We have less than six hours to figure out our plan for tonight.”
Colby smacks my ass making me jump. “Lead the way boss lady!”