Sinners' Playground

by Caroline Peckham

  Maverick's phone started ringing and he answered it, tugging his arm out of my grasp.

  "Are you in position?" he demanded, dark eyes flicking to me as a smirk tugged at his lips. "I've got it on good authority that the Harlequins are coming. The moment you get eyes on them, call me. I'll be heading over soon. I'll text you with any more instructions."

  He cut the call and I was still so full of rage over the fucking lies the others had told me that I just stared at him as he tossed his cellphone down on the desk and tilted his head to look at me.

  "Shit, you seriously thought they gave a fuck didn't you?" he asked cruelly, a dark kind of humour glinting in his eyes. "You were starting to think that maybe you could have everything you'd once had with them. Please don't tell me you came here hoping to find the boy you once knew in me too." Maverick laughed at me and I swung my fist into his jaw before I could think any better of it.

  He grabbed me by the throat and slammed me down on his desk so fast that I could only gasp as he leaned over me, pinning me down as my heart thrashed in my chest and I grasped his wrist, trying to force his hand off of me.

  "Tell me, beautiful, how many of them have fucked you since you got back here?" he asked.

  "What?" I gasped, looking into his eyes as he leered down at me, his face right above mine. His grip on my throat was just enough to hold me in place without cutting off my air or really hurting me, but after what Shawn had done it still fucking terrified me.

  "Well Fox is telling the whole world that he's got exclusive access between your bronze thighs, and seeing as he knows Daddy will be home any day now to cut your pretty head off, I'm guessing he's been making full use of your pussy. But I also know how much Chase and JJ used to ache for a taste of you. And after your little boast about Johnny James’s cock, I have to assume he’d made good use of it with you. Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised if they had a bet running to see which one of them could fuck you first.” Maverick snorted a laugh but it sounded false on his lips. I just didn’t know what that meant. The mask he wore was so tightly fixed to his features that it was impossible for me to get a true read on him.

  "Let go of me, Rick," I growled, thrashing beneath him and he just smiled as I fought and punched, looking like he was actually getting off on seeing me panic.

  "Don't start letting yourself believe in dreams, Rogue," he said, dropping his cellphone and the key on the desk beside me as he reached out to smooth my hair out of my face before trailing his thumb over my lips. "I made that mistake once and I'll never do it again. If something seems too good to be true, then it always is. So tell me, why the fuck are you here? Because you sure as fuck didn't come here just to sell out those assholes for that key. There's something else you want from me."

  A loud knock came at the door and Maverick sneered angrily as he pushed himself upright, leaving me laying on the desk, panting in fear with my heart thrashing and the most utterly fucked up feeling singing in my veins. Because as much as I didn't want to, on some level I'd relished in that. I liked him showing me the worst of him because there was no bullshit to it. I didn't want to pretend that these men were the boys I'd known once because they'd proved a long time ago that I'd never known them anyway. And they sure as fuck didn't know me anymore. So I wanted to look into the depths of his darkness and figure out whether I could survive the fall into it or whether it would drown me if I tried.

  Maverick ripped the door open and I pushed myself to sit up, glancing at his cellphone and key which he'd left beside me.

  He threw a look over his shoulder at me then stepped outside to speak to whoever had interrupted us.

  My lips parted in surprise as I realised he’d just given me the perfect opportunity to do what I'd come here for. I’d been planning on trying to trigger some kind of alarm or somehow making it seem like this place was under attack, but stealing his cellphone was like a thousand times simpler than that.

  Though I was starting to seriously regret this plan. Why was I putting my damn neck on the line for people who wouldn’t do the same for me?

  Fuck the Harlequins.

  But fuck Maverick too.

  And fuck Shawn while I was at it. Always.

  I picked up Maverick’s cellphone, finding it still unlocked from his call and I quickly checked the caller ID to find the contact details I needed.

  I pushed my tongue into my cheek as I considered my options. I could forget the fucking plan, let the Harlequins go to hell and leave them to deal with their own problems. But if I did that then I was burning my bridges there and then what? Just stay here on the isle of psychos and let Maverick keep tossing me about like a rag doll? No thanks.

  Besides, I had unfinished business with that trio of lying motherfuckers. So I'd stick to the plan then I was going to go and wring their fucking necks, get my hands on their keys and blow up their goddamn world before running the fuck away like I'd been planning all along.

  I tapped out a message to Eckles on Maverick's phone, telling him that the island was under attack and that he needed all of his men back here asap to defend it. Then I pocketed the phone, grabbed my own cell too and threaded Maverick's key onto the leather necklace around my neck alongside my own.

  I ran for the safe, grabbed two of the pistols inside it then snatched a handful of cash, throwing it around the room like a savage before darting for the window.

  It was already wide open to let in the breeze and I hopped up onto the thin ledge outside it, looking down at the three floor drop below with a lurch of fear. Then I crouched down, gripped the windowsill and hung from it, sucking in a sharp breath before dropping onto the balcony of the room below.

  I landed on my feet but dropped into a roll to stop my ankles from taking the full force of the fall then scrambled upright again and ran inside.

  The room I found myself in was a suite and luckily it was empty, so I dashed for the door, checked the peep hole to make sure there was no one beyond it and then let myself out into the empty corridor.

  There was a sign for the pool pointing right so I ran that way, flinching as I heard Maverick's bellow of anger as he found me gone upstairs.

  I sprinted for the stairs, skidding as I heard men racing up them towards me and yanking open another door instead before slipping inside. I found myself in a supply closet which was thankfully big enough to warrant its own window. I pressed the door closed behind me and held my breath as running feet pounded by outside.

  The moment they moved on, I ran for a stack of white sheets, pulled them aside and dove in to hide between them.

  The scent of fresh laundry and citrus engulfed me and I fell utterly still as I waited for the searching men to pass me by. I had what I’d come for, I’d drawn Maverick’s men away from the warehouse and now the Harlequins would have the opportunity they needed to strike at The Damned Men.

  I just had to hope that I could get my ass out of here before Maverick or one of his men got their hands on me. Because if not, I was pretty sure I was fucked.

  M y phone buzzed and I tugged it out of my pocket, finding a message from Rogue.

  Rogue:

  Maverick’s men are heading back to the island. You’re welcome.

  “She’s done it,” I told the others with a grin and Chase hissed a yes while Fox smirked darkly.

  A signal was already going up around the place and we watched as men piled into the trucks at the edge of the warehouse. We might have all been hella pissed at Rogue for sneaking off to Maverick’s fucking compound, but she’d also offered us a chance to strike back at him hard, texting us on her little trip over to Dead Man’s Isle to lay out her plan.

  Fox had nearly busted his fist when he punched it straight into the wall then he’d shouted a load of angry threats and curses before finally calming down enough to accept the fact that the best thing we could do was go along with it now that it was already underway. There was no chance of us catching up to her and stopping her, so we were gonna make the best of it. But I was willing to bet
Fox would be chaining her to him once he got her home safe and never letting her out of his sight again.

  This warehouse was storing a shit tonne of cocaine and we were shortly gonna blow it sky high. Just so long as the remaining guards didn’t shoot us into the afterlife first, but I was feeling pretty invincible tonight. From the glint in Fox’s eye, I reckoned Rogue was gonna be put in the naughty corner when she got away from that fucking island though. If she got back.

  Fucking hell.

  I was torn between being impressed and terrified for her life. But I had faith in our girl. She’d make it back. And all we could really do now was trust her and hope for the best. I shot her a text quickly in reply.

  JJ:

  Get home, pretty girl. Be careful.

  The trucks filed out of the gates and I did a quick headcount of The Damned Men remaining.

  Seven. Easy peasy.

  Fox had his gaze set on the scope of his assault rifle. He was the best shot of the lot of us, so we knew the drill.

  “You’re gonna miss all the fun up here, Foxy,” I teased and his mouth hooked up at the corner.

  “I’ve got my eyes right on it, J. Now get into position.”

  I crawled back down the hill, shifting into the shadows by the fence as Chase joined me.

  “Bet I get inside before you do.” Chase smirked.

  “A thousand says I get there first,” I wagered and his eyes lit up with the game.

  He snatched my hand, shaking it firmly. “Deal, brother. Don’t die.” He turned and ran off in the other direction and I started following the fence, jogging along in the dark as I circled around to the west side of the warehouse. From there, I waited until the nearest guard was looking the other way, gripping the straps of my pack to make sure it didn’t jostle before darting quietly across the open stretch of ground. I flattened myself to the wall of the warehouse, drawing in a slow and silent breath as I raised my gun higher. Because chaos was about to descend from the sky.

  Make it rain, Foxy.

  A loud shot went off and the sound of a body hitting the ground reached me as men started shouting.

  I hurried to the edge of the building, throwing a look around it and my gaze slammed into a guy’s three feet away. Shit!

  He started firing, shouting out for back up and a chunk flew out of the wall beside me as I lurched back to take cover. Shots went off everywhere and a heavy thud told me Fox had dealt with my attacker.

  I threw another look around the wall, finding the way clear and I started running like James Bond, my arms pumping back and forth at my sides as I sprinted towards the front entrance.

  A guy had his back to me, shooting at a truck I guessed Chase was taking cover behind. I drop kicked the asshole to the ground and shot him in the head then the whoosh of a bullet rushed past my ear.

  A thud sounded behind me and I turned, finding a woman dead on the ground with a bullet between her eyes, a massive hunting knife clutched in her hand. Nice one, Fox.

  I ran for the entrance, gripping the bottom of the shutter and yanking on it hard so the metal slid up and over my head. I ran inside just as Chase flew in behind me, but before I could celebrate, a shot was fired at us and we dove behind a large pallet filled with blocks of cocaine.

  Holy fuck, Maverick’s not exactly hiding this shit.

  White powder exploded around us as more shots were fired and my heart thundered with adrenaline as I crawled around the side of the pallet with Chase at my back. The gunfire had quieted outside so that must have meant the last of our enemies were in here. And from the sound of the intermittent gunfire in the warehouse, there could only have been a couple left.

  I felt Chase reaching into the bag on my back and smirked as I realised what he was gonna do. There were a couple of Molotov cocktails stashed in there because I moonlighted as a deadly bartender.

  Chase lit them up and hissed in my ear. “I’ll distract them.”

  I nodded and he went fucking kamikaze about it, leaping to his feet and running away from me as he shouted loudly and threw the cocktails. A smash and a roar of flames followed by screams told me he’d pulled it off and I leaned up over the pallet, setting a guy in my sights and gunning him down with a few well-aimed shots. The last guy was on fire and frantically trying to put himself out, rolling on the floor while Chase ran forward and silenced him with a bang that echoed on eternally throughout the warehouse.

  I smelled blood, cocaine and alcohol sifting through the air and breathed in the taste of victory. Fox jogged into the warehouse, shouldering his rifle and smiling darkly at our prize.

  I released a low whistle, climbing up on top of a pallet and gazing around at the huge stash of coke here. This was serious shit. Maverick was in deep with the cartel and boo-fucking-hoo because whoever he was dealing with was gonna be as pissed as a coyote with a cactus up its ass when he found out that all of his precious supply was burned to the ground.

  It was damn tempting to steal it and sell it on ourselves, but that would just place a target on our backs with the cartel too and that was the last kind of trouble we needed.

  Chase took out the bottles of gasoline stashed in his pack and me and Fox did the same, moving around and soaking as much of the product in it as we could.

  “You owe me a grand, Ace,” I called as I leapt from one pallet to another, throwing gasoline around like pixie dust. A murderous, hot as shit pixie who was hung like a horse. A dicksie perhaps.

  “You wouldn’t have gotten in without Fox taking out half of your opponents. I took out four single handed on the east side,” Chase argued, ever the sore loser.

  “Alright, I’ll reduce the price to five hundred dollars, but you have to give me a victory blowie on our way home in the car.”

  “Only if you’ve got a chocolate flavoured condom with you,” Chase snorted as he played along.

  “Sorry babe, I’ve only got banana or passionfruit. You’ll have to pay the full grand.”

  “Come on assholes, let’s finish up here,” Fox said, but there was a ghost of a smirk dancing around his lips.

  We laid a trail of gasoline up to the door then Chase took out his lighter. I snatched it from him, dropping down and lighting the fluid before he could stop me and he aimed a kick at my head, missing as I jerked away. I laughed wildly as the blaze went up, the fire shooting away from us before tearing out around the whole warehouse.

  I tossed the lighter back to Chase and he caught it while we all stood there warming ourselves on the flames of glory. The smoke was soon too toxic to hang around and we definitely needed to be high-tailing it home right about now.

  I was hoping Rogue would be back at the house by the time we got there and my heart drummed at the thought of seeing her. I was gonna find a way to steal a kiss before Fox spanked her ass red or whatever the fuck he no doubt had planned out in his mind. Because with Fox, no bad deed went unpunished. And even though this had worked out seriously well for us, Fox hated half-cocked plans. And he especially hated plans that put the people he cared about at risk. Rogue had walked beyond enemy lines into the house of our arch nemesis. And now she was coming home to the wrath of a demon. You really like defying the big man, don’t you pretty girl? It’s lucky you’re worth the trouble.

  O nce the sound of pounding footsteps had faded away from the halls and I’d managed to go unnoticed when one guy stuck his head into the room to check for me, I crept out of my hiding place again.

  I glanced around at the closet I’d used to take shelter in and weighed my options. I didn’t know this building and I was guessing there were only a few staircases so if I tried to head down any of those, I was willing to bet I’d be spotted. So the window was my best bet.

  I was still on the second floor so I needed to figure out how I was going to get down, and as my gaze fell on the sheets I’d knocked from their neat stack, an idea caught in my mind.

  I hurried back over to them and quickly started tying them together to make a rope. Two more floors to go and I co
uld run for my boat - which I was hoping that bald dude had fixed.

  My fingers were shaking as I tied sheet after sheet into my makeshift rope and I heard more than a few people charging up and down the corridor outside. But it wasn't fear coursing through my limbs, it was adrenaline, the thrill of the job, the one thing I fucking thrived on and lived for.

  I'd been so caught up in getting my head around being back in Sunset Cove, surrounded by the ghosts of the life I'd once lived that I'd hardly run a single job while I'd been here and I was just now realising how much I missed it. Fuck taking hand outs from the Harlequins, I was a self sufficient woman with a doctorate in stealing shit and an honours degree in getting the fuck away with it.

  I cracked the window open and looked down at the drop below which led to a little courtyard in the shade with a couple of tables and parasols set up in it. I couldn't see anyone down there, but I could hear them around the front of the building, calling out to each other while they hunted for me.

  Maybe Maverick would have let me go anyway. But I wasn't counting on it. Especially not with his key. But I'd been prepared for that and perfectly happy to accept the risk when I came here. Who didn't love getting into the kind of trouble that could easily get you killed and then having to figure out some insane way out of it anyway?

  I opened the window wider, tied off my makeshift rope then climbed up onto the ledge. I grabbed the top of it then lowered myself over the side, clinging on as my sandals slipped against the brick wall.

  I cursed them as I flailed about, managing to kick them off one at a time and wondering why the fuck I hadn't worn sneakers. Rule number one of this shit - make sure you were ready to run the fuck away. Well, doing it barefoot would make it interesting I guess.