by Helene Gadot
Maddox shrugged his huge shoulders. "No clue, but I am perfectly willing to take advantage of it."
Ridley couldn't say she hadn't used the same tactics herself before, even the seductress and wide-eyed damsel. Whatever was needed, but she wasn't telling them that. And she hated playing games and pretending to be weak.
She was weak once, and she promised herself she never would be again. She refused to be the victim.
"When are we going to his club?"
"Tonight. It's a busy tourist season, so it should be packed. And every night this week until we get something on him."
Great.
19-Maddox
Maddox looked up when Cormac slipped into his room. "Everything okay?"
Cormac shut the door with more force than necessary and leaned against it with a scowl. "No. Why the bloody hell am I her date at the club? I should use my invisibility like I have been for the last two weeks."
The real reason was Maddox wanted the two of them to come to at least a cease-fire. They had spent most of the planning session lobbing insults and trading snarls and eye rolls. It had been the same since Ridley moved in. While funny, it wasn't very conducive to teamwork. And if he wanted Ridley to join them permanently, Cormac had to agree. And he'd never agree if he spent no time with her and kept avoiding her.
"That's why I paired you with her. While the rest of us are covered by her illusions, you'll be able to slip off to other locations unseen if it becomes necessary." What they'd been trying hadn't been working. Mainly because Gregory hadn't shown up once this week while they were there.
Cormac eyed him with suspicion, but didn't call Maddox on it. It was a decent reason and true. It just wasn't the only or even the main one. "Fine. But I don't like it."
Maddox reined back his irritation. "It's just a night, Mac. With booze. You'll be fine."
Cormac sniffed. "I don't trust her."
"None of us do. Not really. But I trust her desire to remove this guy from the streets." And someone who spent her nights saving women from shitty situations was definitely a woman after his own heart.
"I do too. My concern is how she'll go about it."
"You think she'll go rogue?" Maddox worried about the same thing. He'd be an idiot not to. She'd played nice so far, but it felt like he was just waiting for her to disappear on them. On him.
"I'm willing to bet she already has her little twin working on it on the side. She's not a team player."
Maddox shrugged into his shirt. "None of us are." It was why they worked well together. It was why they were on the outs with the Legion.
"We are with each other." Cormac walked deeper into the room, pacing back and forth in the confined space.
"Yeah, now. Not at first." In the beginning, they'd fought and kept secrets and went on missions alone without asking for help. It had taken a year before they began to work with any fluidity.
"Please tell me this isn't just because you want to fuck her again?"
Anger pulsed through Maddox, and he turned to glare at his friend. "Fuck you. You know I don't pull that shit with women. And you know I put my team and mission first." Cormac knew better than almost anyone why Maddox did what he did. What drove him.
Every choice he made was for his brother. His brother who was killed way too young. Everything he did was to eventually find the murderer who took his brother from him. Working with the Legion was part of it, they had better resources than any other organizations in the world.
It's why they were stationed in Hawaii. Their last lead led them here.
Cormac paused his pacing, guilt and apologies shining in his eyes. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I know I'm being an ass. I just don't see how her joining us helps you. Or us."
Maddox released a deep breath. "I wasn't lying when I said sometimes it would be helpful to have a woman on the team. They are constantly overlooked, and it's a real tool. And her powers are impressive. And yes, I like her. A lot. She makes me laugh and something about her draws me in. But I don't trust her yet, so let's just see how this job goes. And try to give her a chance."
"I am giving her a chance. I haven't turned her in yet, have I?"
Maddox knew Cormac would without a second thought if he felt it was the safest move for them. He would always make the hard choices to keep the rest of them safe.
"Do you really dislike her?" Maddox didn't think so. He'd noticed the hidden smiles on Cormac's mouth while they argued. Not many people could go several rounds with Cormac and come out on the other side dry-eyed.
It looked like she enjoyed it as well.
"I don't know."
"Tell yourself whatever you want, but I think you've finally met your match and it stings."
Cormac adjusted his cuff links with his tattooed fingers. "She has too many secrets."
"Don't we all?"
Cormac grimaced and guilt welled inside Maddox. He hadn't meant it as a dig at Cormac's past, raised by a super villain mother.
"We need to know hers if they come with danger to us."
Maddox agreed with him. He just had no idea how to get her to confide in them. "Beckett will find something, I'm sure. But I'd prefer it if she tells us."
Cormac let out a snide laugh. "I don't see that happening. She's got so many shields it makes the rest of look like open bloody books."
Maddox sighed as he twisted his hair into a bun at the back of his head. "I know."
"Which makes me really fucking nervous. But if the files are sealed, it's got to be bad."
"We can help her."
Cormac stared at him incredulously. "Does she seem like someone who wants or needs it? You need to reconcile the fact that at the end of this, she might disappear. At best, she shakes our hands and goes back to her life. At worst, we find out she's a murderer or something and we have to turn her in."
Maddox turned to face Cormac, a strange desperation rising inside him. "Am I crazy? That I have to know? That I want her on our team? Really?" Maybe he should have just let her go. Maybe he was being a complete fool letting her stay there with them, letting her into their lives.
But he always trusted his instincts. And his instincts told him they needed her on their team. They told him she was what they were missing.
Cormac stared at him for a moment before he sighed. "No. Or if you are, we're all suffering from the same fucking delusion."
Finally, he admitted it.
"It's like we found the missing link, right?"
Cormac cursed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, but I don't like it."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I can't explain it. This isn't a paranormal novel where we've found our soul mate. That shit isn't real."
Maddox shrugged. "Maybe it is. The four of us were drawn together and I haven't regretted a second of it. Even when you're at your most assholiest."
"Mate, that's not a word. And we were drawn together by shared pain and determination and darkness. You gathered us up like we were broken toys and forced us all together. Now you're doing the same with her." Cormac's pain raged in his eyes like a violent thunderstorm.
It reminded Maddox a lot of Ridley when she didn't think anyone was paying attention. "Exactly. Have you looked into that woman's eyes? She may be good at hiding her secrets, but she's not good at hiding her feelings."
"So, what? You want to share her?" Cormac scoffed, but Maddox didn't miss the interest he tried to hide.
Maddox hid a smile. "Why not? And this is incredibly hypothetical and something that would be a long ways off. But for now, definitely share her as a teammate. Down the road? Who knows."
None of them gave a fuck about social conventions.
Cormac finally softened, just the slightest bit. "Let's focus on making sure she isn't the devil in disguise first. Then recruit her to the team. Then figure out if she would even go for something that insane."
Maddox opened his door, Cormac trailing him to the living room where the others already waited. Ridley took his breath away, her b
lack pants clinging to her curves, the flowing blue top hanging off her shoulders that dipped just low enough to show a hint of her luscious cleavage. She'd replaced her usual combat boots for a pair of heels, making her legs seem miles long.
He was half hard from the sight of her.
It was going to be a long night.
20-Ridley
An annoying sensation writhed in her stomach as Ridley took in the four men. They were way too good-looking. She was woman enough to admit she was shallow. Since she didn't so relationships, she rarely cared about the personalities of the guys she went home with. As long as they didn't make her want to punch them in the throat with their shitty comments and seemed like decent human beings, nothing else mattered.
These guys were dangerous. They were hotter than most men she ran across and other than Cormac, they weren't really assholes. And they cleaned up really, really well. Every night for two weeks, they'd dressed up and it was wearing on her. Living with them was wearing on her. They stayed too close; they asked too many questions; they smelled too good.
She sneaked a photo of them and shot it to Malia with the word help attached.
Her brows furrowed at Cormac's slick gray suit that fit him like it was custom made and the silky black shirt beneath it. "What the fuck are you wearing?" He was always fancy, but this was more than usual.
He sniffed and adjusted his cuffs. "We're not going to some shitty grease-filled bar in a back alley."
"Yeah, but it's still Hawaii."
"Which is why I didn't put on a tie."
He looked more like a dangerous mobster than a Legion soldier with the tattoos decorating his body, the shaved sides of his hair with the top longer strands slicked back.
There was no way he wouldn't stand out, even at a fancy club brimming with fancy criminals and tourists. She was starting to understand what they meant about needing someone else who could blend in a little better. Sexy girls were nothing special in a nice club. But guys like this? They were something special.
The others were dressed more casually, but they still looked too good. Maddox wore dark washed jeans and a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, his hair pulled into a man bun. Beckett had on black skinny jeans and a dark red shirt, the color vibrant against his dark skin. Reese wore a pale blue button up over a graphic tee and tan slacks, playing up the surfer boy look.
It was the first night they were all going to the same club. Cormac and Reese had heard whispers at the last one that he'd be at his most popular one tonight. It needed to work. They needed to complete this mission so she could get the hell out of there.
Ridley shook her head and slid her phone into her bra. "I hope y'all are paying for the drinks. I can't afford the type of place we're going to and I don't have anywhere to stash a wallet." She wasn't bringing a purse this time. She hated them and was tired of trying to keep up with it every night as she sat at the bar, waiting for Gregory to show.
"Don't worry. Cormac's buying."
Cormac scowled at Reese, but his lips twitched at Reese's sexy wink. "Brat."
"You love it."
Huh. Looked like the two of them had a little something going on. Which made them all even hotter. Fuck. Two weeks and that was the first she'd noticed anything between them. Were they hiding it? Did they worry she'd judge them?
She judged Reese a little for his taste in men since Cormac was such a prick, but she couldn't fault his hotness.
Maddox finished strapping a gun into his ankle holster above his motorcycle boots. "Let's move. Cormac, you and Ridley take the car. The rest of us will take the SUV. You two go in first, we'll follow about half an hour later."
Cormac stomped to the door, leaving Ridley to catch up. She flipped him off with a scowl. Irritating sexy shithead.
She slid into the passenger seat of the gorgeous Bentley Continental, breathing in the scent of leather and linen. It smelled just like Cormac. Delicious. Ridley gave herself an internal smack right to the face. She needed to stop finding the asshole hot. He wasn't hot. He was a petulant jerk and she needed to keep reminding herself of the fact.
But she'd always had a weakness for snarky assholes. And tattoos.
Considering her own extensive tattoos and snarky attitude, it was probably pretty narcissistic of her.
A cold silence fell between them as Cormac sped through the curved roads, his hands confident and at ease on the wheel. What would he be like on a motorcycle?
"If tonight doesn't work out, I can't go again tomorrow." Malia had texted her earlier that Tyler was back in town. He'd disappeared after she attacked him, but apparently he was through licking his wounds and was back.
"Why?"
"Some business I need to handle with Malia."
"I'm sure if you bat your lashes at Maddox or Reese, they'd be happy to help you."
She ground her teeth to keep from clothes-lining his fucking throat. "I'll keep that in mind."
He almost looked disappointed in her response. Did he enjoy the verbal sparring as much as she did? She was trying to remain focused on the mission and keep the peace so they didn't draw attention as a bickering couple on a bad date.
It was a high-class place after all.
Cormac heaved a sigh. "I'll drop you off at your garage in the morning and you can drive back once you're done."
"You aren't going to stay and make sure I'm not getting into trouble?"
"I'm not much of a babysitter. If you go rogue and get into trouble, I can finally convince the rest of them to turn your ass in."
"You go ahead and try to turn me in. You'll end up regretting it."
"Why? Because whatever you're running from will come after us just for knowing you?" He raised a sardonic brow.
Ridley stiffened in her seat, eying him warily. "Why do you say that?"
What the hell had Beckett turned up on her?
"Do you think we're morons? It's obvious you're running from someone in the Legion. Until we know who and why, you're a danger to my team. And on that same note, we can't help you."
"You should forget you ever met me. That's how you keep yourselves safe and help me." She wished they would listen to her. It was the only way, even though part of her enjoyed being a part of their team.
He tossed an irritated glance at her. "If I had my way, we'd do just that. But the others aren't going to do it. You're better off letting us help."
Why were they so intent on helping her, but not listening to what actually would? "I don't need help. I've been doing just fine for ten years."
"Have you? You live above your garage in squalor from what Reese and Maddox mentioned. You have one friend you trust. If you let us help you, maybe you can finally come out of the shadows."
Did Cormac realize how tempting his offer was no matter how foolish? They couldn't protect her from what was after her. No one could. It's why according to the rest of the world, she'd been dead since she was seventeen. Her illusionist powers made it possible.
She chose her words carefully. "I know you don't trust me and I don't blame you or trust any of you either. What I will tell you is that I'm safest if no one knows about me. There's no proof to help me. And all it will do is put you in the crosshairs if you tried to help. You have to convince Maddox and the others to let me go. I'll help with this job, happily. But I cannot tell you more than that."
"Cannot or will not?"
"Both." She wasn't the only one it would ruin if whatever was in that file was uncovered.
"I'll try to talk to Maddox, but I can't make any promises. He's a stubborn bastard and single-minded when there's something he wants."
"And why is he so intent on me?"
"There's something I guess you should know about him. He likes to collect broken things and try to fix them. He did it with all of us. Hell, he even does it with inanimate objects. You should check out the shed out back. He recognizes something in you that he recognized in us and himself."
"Why are you telling me all this?"
He was being almost nice. It was weird.
He took a minute to answer. "Look, you're hot and all and I even kind of like you. But I don't want anything to endanger those guys and you scream danger. Until we know the story, we can't prepare for it. Maddox will keep trying and Beckett will eventually dig whatever you don't want to tell us up. It's only a matter of time. If you decide to disappear tomorrow, I'll give you a head-start."
"I'm not fucking running again." Not until she had no other choice.
He slapped the steering wheel. "Then fucking tell us what the hell is going on."
"No." She crossed her arms and glared at him.
Cormac growled, his grip on the wheel tightening. "Dammit, you are the most infuriating bloody woman."
"Right back at you, mate."
"This is what I get for trying to be nice. I did what Maddox asked. I tried. He can suck my cock if he wants me to try again."
"Don't be nice. It makes me queasy and uncomfortable."
He snorted. "You and me both."
"I thought Reese was the one sucking your cock." She gave him an evil grin.
"Sometimes. You got a problem with it?"
"Only if you never reciprocate. You seem like a selfish lover." He probably thought it was supposed to be all about him.
He looked over at her, completely offended. "Of course I bloody well reciprocate. And I'm excellent at it."
"Are you?" Was he as excellent with different equipment?
"Yes. Are you?"
"Why don't you ask Maddox?"
He jerked the wheel a little too hard. "Oh, believe me, I plan to."
She shifted in the seat, turned on at imagining the two of them together, imagining Cormac's tattooed hand wrapped around Reese's cock.
Cormac smirked over at her. "You like the thought of it, don't you?"
She shook her head way too many times. "Nope. I don't care one way of the other."
"Bullshit. You're a terrible liar."
"Fuck you, I'm a terrific one." She clutched her jacket in her lap.
"Not right now, you aren't."
