"I don't. And you don't want me to be either, do you?" I replied instantly. "It's like you told me and Fox - you just want to fuck me and use me and break me and dump me back at his door. Well, you found me broken to begin with and you did a good job of fucking me, so I guess it's time you dump me back there."
"Fuck, I forgot how infuriating you can be when you lose your shit," Maverick growled. "Do you seriously believe any of the crap pouring out of your mouth or are you just spitting venom at me because of the Mia thing?"
"I don't know what to think. You wouldn't be the first guy to lie their way into my panties."
Maverick surged forward, his chest pressing to mine, his lips against my lips and pure rage resounding off of his body. "Tell me what you feel when I'm here with you like this," he growled. "Tell me how I could lie about that."
My body was trembling, my heart racing and my soul aching and no more words would fall from my mouth. I closed my eyes and breathed him in, licking my lips and accidentally licking his too because of how close he stood.
"It's no lie, beautiful. You run through my blood. There ain't no way to lie about that. I told you to let me own you, to give yourself to me, but that was bullshit. Because I owned you before you said the words, just like you own me. Like you always have. Like you do for the rest of those assholes over in Sunset Cove too. Every fucking one of us knows it."
"They abandoned me," I growled, the pain of that cutting me deep every time I let myself think of it. "They left me on that fucking boat."
"Yeah. They abandoned me too," he agreed. "So let's not stand here and argue about shit that doesn't even fucking matter."
"It matters to me," I protested firmly, finding some ounce of strength as I placed my hands against his chest and pushed him back. He gave me a few inches, but his hands stayed locked against the edge of the pool either side of me. "Tell me why that clam vag was back here."
Maverick pushed his tongue into his cheek, clearly not liking me making demands of him but then he shrugged like he'd decided he didn't even give a shit and gave in. "She's a job. Not that she knows that. But she's Kaiser Rosewood's stepdaughter and my way in to his fucking estate if I play it right. I can't just stroll on over there what with it being on fucking Harlequin turf, but I want what's locked up in his crypt. Our crypt. I want to crack it open and take out those secrets and use them to destroy Foxy boy and his little minions as well. And I think you might just want the same thing."
My lips parted at that admission and I wasn't sure if it was the booze or the sun or the look in his gorgeously dark eyes, but I found myself nodding, admitting it, agreeing to something without even saying a word.
"How many of their keys have you got?" he asked, his gaze heating excitedly as he realised I was trying to play this game the exact same way that he had been. That maybe, just maybe, the two of us were up to the very same thing.
"Only yours and mine," I replied. "Hidden in my trailer. Though it might not be mine anymore because my rent is overdue and I can't exactly pay it from here."
"But you've been trying to find theirs too?" he pressed and I nodded again.
"I want revenge, Rick," I breathed. "I know you said it didn't fix everything for you and maybe it won't for me either. But if that secret gets out, they'll have no choice but to run from this town which they valued so much more than me. Than us. I can take something from them which will come as close to equalling what they took from me then maybe I'll be able to find some fucking peace afterwards."
"You really think you can get their keys?" he asked curiously and I chewed on my bottom lip as I considered it.
"Maybe. It was clear enough that Fox wanted me back even if it was only to fuck me. And JJ..." I trailed off because it just hurt so fucking much. I still couldn't really understand it. I'd felt like I was making real progress with them, all of them. Sure, we hadn't been anywhere close to returning to the way we'd once been, but I still couldn't believe they'd cut me loose so easily. What the fuck was that about? The things JJ had said to me before it all happened just didn't tally up to his actions, but I'd lived through their betrayal so maybe I was just a fool to think I was missing something.
"Of course Fox wants to fuck you, beautiful. They all do. You were the ultimate fantasy for all four of us for a long fucking time and that shit doesn't just disappear."
"What am I supposed to do with that? Even if it was true-"
"Don't bullshit yourself, baby girl, you know it's true. And I'm willing to bet you thought about fucking all of them more times than you can count too. It was there for all of us. We were just too young and fucking dumb to figure out what to do about it without destroying ourselves. The question is, do you still fantasise about that, or can you keep a clear head and go get those keys for us?"
"You want me to go back to them?" I asked in surprise.
"Want isn't the word I'd use," he replied. "But it seems to me that if the two of us work at this problem we have to come out on top in the end."
"Meaning you'll keep playing the Mia angle while I go and try to get their keys?" I asked, scowling at the idea of him still stringing her along, playing her, kissing her, fucking her.
"Well I'm hardly going to let all of my hard work with her go to waste on the off chance that you can pull this off," he replied scathingly. "But if you can pull your end off quickly then I won't have to keep her dangling for long. So what do you say? Do you wanna team up with me against the Harlequins, beautiful? Do you wanna help me make them pay?"
There was a little voice in the back of my head which was shouting out for my attention, trying to make me think of the reasons why I should have been saying no. Begging me to think this through. To see this deal with the Devil for what it was and turn it down. But another, hurting, more vengeful part of me was shouting even louder for me to bite his fucking arm off.
The Harlequin boys didn't deserve any better than this from me. They didn't deserve any loyalty or pity or anything from me at all aside from this. If we cracked open that crypt I would have more than enough money to set myself up somewhere far away from here with a new name and a new life. And they would be forced to face the same reality that they'd presented me with ten years ago when I'd been cast adrift and forced to run from every single thing I'd ever known and loved.
"I'm in," I growled, the Malibu helping deaden the sounds of the sad little girl crying for the boys she'd once loved with all of her heart. "But that means you'll have to let me go, Rick."
Maverick regarded me with an intent look and moved his hands from the edge of the pool to hold my face between them. "I'll never let you go again, beautiful," he growled. "But that doesn't mean I have to keep you in a cage."
I swallowed thickly, liking the sound of that a little too much and when he leaned in to kiss me, I was helpless to resist him. He guided my mouth up to meet his and I fell into that kiss, drowning against him and swallowing him whole.
I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing or if it would just turn into another regret for me to ache over, but I did know that being here in his arms felt right. And as our kiss deepened, I let myself forget about everything that existed outside of it, because while I was locked in it, nothing else mattered anyway.
I was in trouble in all senses of the word. My heart was in danger of combusting over losing Rogue and my head was a helicopter in a tailspin, tumbling towards sharp rocks. Not only did I have to work to keep Fox from taking a boat in the night and sailing over to Dead Man’s Isle on a suicide mission, I now had Luther on my ass looking for the cash I owed him for this month’s work. And as I hadn’t been taking any escort jobs since I’d fucked Rogue, my pockets were terrifyingly dry and I was down to my final twenty four hours to come up with the extra few grand I needed to make up my cut. I knew Fox would have leant me the cash, but that would lead to questions. And if he started digging too deep into my current predicament, I was gonna have to start lying to him and I couldn’t bear to do that to my brother. I knew it was stupid. I’
d already fucked the girl he’d claimed as his own. But it was Rogue. She wasn’t just any girl. How was I supposed to keep my hands off of her after I found out that she wanted me? My dick may have had superpowers, but it wasn’t capable of being that much of a hero.
The thing about me was, I’d always been a sap for Rogue. And I guess that was why a chunk of the money I could have given to Luther was currently tucked in my pocket about to pay her rent on the little trailer she had down at Rejects Park. Di and Lyla had mentioned it was due and I couldn’t make ends meet either way, so why not spend a little of my weekly earnings on keeping the place she’d wanted for herself?
Oh man, I’m fucked, I’m so fucked.
The worst thing about Rogue being out on that island stuck with that asshole, was not knowing what was happening to her. And the fact that she probably despised me again which was a hard, jagged pill to swallow. Like one of those round, uncoated pain killer tablets that always got stuck in your throat – who made that shit anyway? Satan?
I pulled up in the parking lot outside the trailer park and walked in, heading along the winding track to her little blue trailer and opening it with the spare key Fox had acquired. I stepped inside and was immediately hit by her coconut scent and the absolute sweetness of her.
I pulled the door shut behind me, moving through the small space she called home and stepping into her bedroom. The bed was unmade and there was a little yellow dream catcher hanging above the bed. I wondered if I’d ever featured in her dreams over the years, or if she’d worked to forget me as quickly as possible the moment she thought I wasn’t coming for her. How was she sleeping now? Alone? In some cold, dark place?
My hands balled and violence rippled under my skin. I held onto one small comfort, that I truly didn’t believe Maverick would hurt her. As much as Fox and Chase feared it, I was quietly assured that he wouldn’t. She’d already been to his island and returned unscathed. And if that wasn’t proof enough then all I had to do was remember the way he’d looked at her as a kid and the answer was there. But she had fucked him over, and surely he wasn’t going to let that lie?
Maybe I was just a fool who saw the good in people too easily, especially after all Maverick had done. But some part of me felt sure he still had a heart, and maybe a few pieces of it still resembled the one that had belonged to the brother of my past.
I didn’t wanna go all Fox on this place and rifle through her drawers, but I felt like I wanted to do something for when she came home. So I moved forward and made the bed, running my hands over the sheets to smooth them out. It was stupid and small, but it felt like getting it ready for her return. Because she would return. She had to.
I sighed, heading into the bathroom and taking a piss while I mulled over how I was going to come up with the money for Luther and when exactly life was ever going to stop being so complicated. The room was so small that I practically filled every inch of it and as I washed my hands and swung around, my hip hit the door and sent it flying into the wall beside the shower. A vent above it popped open and something bronze caught my eye.
“What the…”
I frowned, reaching up into it and taking out two familiar keys. My eyebrows arched as I twisted them between my fingers. These were Rogue and Maverick’s keys to the Rosewood crypt. They matched the other three in every way, but each of them had a tiny animal engraved at the base of the stem which differentiated them. Maverick’s had a shark and Rogue’s had a turtle.
I examined them for a moment then put them in my pocket, my heart pounding a little faster. Was Rogue really planning to get into the crypt? The thought unsettled me. It wasn’t like she’d ever manage to get hold of the rest of our keys anyway, but still… did she hate us that much that she wanted to unleash the secrets waiting in there? Surely not. There were valuables in there too, some jewellery, anything we’d robbed over the years which had been too hot to sell on at the time. Maybe she was after that. I hoped so, because I didn’t like the idea that she hated us so much that she’d be willing to set us all aflame and burn right along with us for the sake of her revenge.
I headed out of the trailer, locking up and walking back to my orange Mustang GT. Then I drove to Afterlife and pulled up in the parking lot ready for rehearsals. But time was ticking on my deadline for Luther and I really wasn’t sure how the fuck I was going to come up with the money by tomorrow. I could pull a job, steal a car and try to sell it quick, but Chase was the best at boosting vehicles and I didn’t wanna get him involved. Especially as he was often so drunk lately that I didn’t trust him to keep a secret when he could barely even walk in a straight line half the time. He spent most of his days down at Raiders Gym, then stumbled home at random hours of the night. I barely saw him, and I was seriously worried about him. I just had my own problems to deal with right now.
I headed into the club and found my dancers waiting on stage. Texas was shirtless, trying to teach Adam how to pop his pecs, Olly was in a raging argument with Bella at the side of the stage and Jessie was twirling a strawberry condom around her finger as she batted her lashes at Ruben while Estelle plaited Jessie’s long dark hair.
I clapped my hands. “Alright, boys only. Estelle, can you put Old Town Road by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus on?” I called and Estelle nodded, hurrying off stage to start up the music.
Di and Lyla appeared from the direction she went in, wearing crop tops and low riding sweatpants, smiling at me tightly before moving into one of the booths beside the stage. They texted me every day asking for information on Rogue, but I never had any to give them. I could only tell them we didn’t have her back yet, which was true, but I wasn’t going to be telling anyone about her being on Dead Man’s Isle. That was a problem for me, Fox and Chase alone. There were already too many questions about the girl we were hunting for flying around and we couldn’t risk Luther taking more of an interest in the situation and figuring out that Rogue had returned to the Cove.
“Olly,” I barked as he continued to lay into Bella about some shit. “If you don’t shut your mouth and get in position, you can skip the next show.”
Olly sighed, clawing a hand through his long black hair then walking over to join Ruben and Texas on stage.
“Nice to see you here for rehearsals for once, Bella,” I said and she smiled, looking a little red-eyed but definitely sober for once. She moved to join Di and Lyla with Jessie bounding after her, looking disappointedly at the condom in her hand. I wasn’t sure why she had to unwrap the things before she’d secured herself a cock to suck, but I guessed she was just that self-assured she’d find one if she put her mind to it. To be fair to her, I’d never seen her fail to find a cock yet.
Old Town Road started up and the boys fell into the new routine I’d taught them last week as I watched and barked out corrections.
“Roll your hips, Adam,” I ordered and he tried the move again but failed.
I sighed, jumping up on stage and moving behind him, dragging his ass against my crotch and forcing his hips to roll in time with mine. “Like that, you got it?”
“Yes, boss,” he said, trying it again and his abs flexed perfectly too as he tried it.
“Better.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “Okay, from the top.” I moved to the front of the troupe as Estelle started up the song again.
I fell into the rhythm of the music, glancing at the others as they hit every beat and satisfaction ran through me. We’d pair this number with cowboy outfits and finish it with pulling girls from the audience and making sure they fulfilled their dreams of riding a cowboy.
When the song came to an end, I beckoned Lyla onto the stage. “Adam, show me what you’ve got.”
He nodded, his cheeks touching with a little colour as he grabbed Lyla’s hips and threw her onto the floor, dropping down to grind over her and she arched her back into the movement with a laugh. He rolled her over once more so she was on top of him and he rode her over his cock, bouncing his hips as she swung an imaginary lasso.
Di and the other girls started cheering and laughing and a smirk pulled at my lips. Kid was getting good. And he was a decent listener too. He absorbed every tip I gave him without question.
We finished up rehearsals and I headed backstage for a shower, feeling better for the workout even though my head was still fucked and the knot of anxiety in my chest was still firmly intact.
“Hey boss, can I have a word?” Ruben poked his head in the bathroom as I wrapped a towel around my waist. His hair was coppery brown and his eyes were golden, his money maker face deeply bronzed and coated in a neat beard.
“What’s up, man?” I asked and he slipped into the room, pushing the door shut behind him. He’d changed into a black tank top and white sweatpants, his skin gleaming from his favourite moisturiser which he’d applied all over.
“I got a job offer I wanna discuss with you. I don’t wanna take it if it’s gonna be a conflict of interest, but it won’t affect my hours here, I swear,” he said.
“Oh yeah? Why would it be a conflict of interest?” I frowned.
“It’s at the Dollhouse,” he said a little guiltily. “I’m not dancing,” he said quickly. “You know I wouldn’t do that, but they’ve got this new…fetish room.”
“Keep talking,” I urged.
“The clients want all kind of weird shit, feet tickling, being whipped with sticks, there’s even a guy who wants to be treated like a baby, diaper changes and all.”
I wrinkled my nose. I wasn’t a prude, but that baby shit was messed up.
“Thing is, it’s a strictly no sexual contact job and you know I don’t like the escorting…but my mom’s sick and I need the extra cash to pay her hospital bills. The clients offer up to three hundred a job, but apparently they tip like crazy too.” His brows pulled together. “So, would it be okay if I took it? They said I can start tonight.”
“Three hundred?” I breathed. “How many jobs can you do in a night?” I demanded, my heart beating harder with hope.
Dead Man's Isle (Harlequin Crew #2) Page 15
