Page 8 (1/2)

Chapter Four

Ruby didn’t realize her sto her as the s her in her seat as Lucas piloted them closer to her own personal hell

Fare Island sat in the rasses and stony fjords that jutted out into the deep blue, daring the water to try to break it Her stepfather couldn’t have chosen a better headquarters for his operation Out in the middle of miles of water, dotted with unexploded ordnance from World War II and the occasional shark, it wasn’t a place the uninvited would stuovern the sale of kilos of cocaine, arranging transport for hu caches of ar serious daer in the jet’s front , all she could think about was that here she was, right back where she’d started NoEven with all of the shit that ca with it, Fare Island was home—a criminally dysfunctional hoed, sure, but home nonetheless

The slash of white cutting through an otherwise green scene ca strip ell monitored and only a few miles from the main house

“We’re cleared for landing” Lucas’s voice cah her earphones “We have to operate under the assu at all times Our objective is to uncover the tio down soon, so the Silver Knights can be in position and stop it If you have questions about the plan contained in the folder, about hoe’ll do that, or our cover story, now is the tiet them out”

The Luc Svendsen she’d read about in the file last night wasn’t her father’s equal, but he was a right bastard of a powerful villain who dealt in secrets and blackmail The treasure trove of scandalous information he supposedly had access to would be unbearably appealing to Rolf—and he’d be willing to kill to gain access to it The idea of Lucas ending up on the wrong end of her stepfather’s 9mm shouldn’t bother her Hell, it would be karmic justice Still, she couldn’t squash the bitter unease building inside her

Confusion about his cover or the plan wasn’t the proble “What about concerns?”

“Keep those to yourself”

She bristled, her uneasiness gone in a flash of annoyance “You know, you really are an asshole”

His eyes were hidden by the reflective aviator sunglasses, and a day’s worth of dark scruff roughed up his jawline Still, he didn’t have any probleht of her state-lutely”

If her stohtful spot, it would have done a loop-de-loop at the cocky badassery of the sa and a flush warmed her cheeks Dammit, he shouldn’t be able to unsettle her like this

Unsettled? Is that e’re calling it?

Ignoring the question that could only lead to total idiocy,

Ruby turned her gaze back to the island runway As the plane’s tires touched down on the tarmac, she let out a deep breath and focused on what really mattered Not the asinine attraction toward thethe next few days so she and Jasper could finally be free of her stepfather’s poisonous talons and the Elskovian Silver Knights’ scheo after this operation

If everything rong, her father would kill theht and the Silver Knights were able to stop the aro Her stepfather had his hands in enough other criminal enterprises that that she and Jasper would ent for the rest of her days with Jasper’s life hanging in the balance