Carnival Hill (The Harlequin Crew Book 3)

by Caroline Peckham

  "Errr, fuck yes," I said, glancing up at the time. We needed to get on the road now if we were gonna catch the dude post tennis club but that sounded like a payday which was more than worth it to me. "I'll shoot you a pic of the car once we've finished fucking it up."

  "Have fun," Tatum laughed and I cut the call.

  "Come on, Johnny James. We've got a job to pull."

  ***

  The sun beat down on my back as I stood leaning over the open hood of my Jeep with my short shorts on and my ass hanging out the bottom of them. I'd ditched my shirt and now wore a blue string bikini top and I was currently sporting an ebony wig cut into a sharp bob coupled with a pair of big black sunglasses which covered half my face.

  JJ was smirking at me from his position crouched down out of sight on the road, enjoying the view as I pretended to fiddle with the engine of my car which was currently blocking the road exactly where we expected our mark to show up at any moment.

  And right on cue, the roar of an expensive engine approaching brought a smile to my face. I cocked my hip out as I continued to play mechanic for our unsuspecting mark.

  The engine noise fell to a low rumble as I heard the car pull up beside me, but I didn't look around until I heard him call out to me.

  "Hey, err, miss, you're blocking the road."

  "Could you help me?" I called, going all helpless maiden on him as I waved a hand at the engine and bit my lip. "The water cap fell off down there and I can't reach it no matter how far I bend." I leaned right over to give him an example and a show and smirked at JJ as the sound of the guy’s car door swinging open followed.

  JJ crept out of sight around my car as the dude left his engine idling and strode up to me. He had slicked back blonde hair and a fancy chinos and shirt combo going on which screamed rich asshole for all the world to see.

  "I have a man I can call to come give you a tow?" he offered and I could feel his eyes crawling all over my flesh as he did so. "My place is only a little further along the road so you could come and wait there if you like?"

  I glanced up and looked over his shoulder, flashing him a smile as I saw JJ slip behind the wheel of the dude's fancy car. "Oh I don't think that will be necessary," I said sweetly. "If you can just reach it for me, I should be fine. Though I wouldn't say no to a drink between new friends."

  The guy smirked at me then stepped forward as I backed up, easily snagging the cap and placing it back where it belonged.

  By the time he'd dropped the hood of my car back down and was grinning in triumph, I'd already hopped behind the wheel and snatched the pistol from my door pocket. Mutt perked up on the passenger seat, cocking his head as he watched the show like he was in on the con too.

  I started the car up and squealed excitedly as the dude moved around to my window.

  "Thank you so much," I gushed as he folded his arms on the top of my open window and leaned in to look at me.

  "My pleasure."

  "Could you do one more, itty, bitty thing for me?" I asked sweetly and he nodded.

  "Sure. Anything."

  "Hand over your wallet and that pretty watch you're wearing then, big boy." I lifted the gun and pointed it at his face and the poor fucker actually shrieked in alarm, his eyes going all round and terrified. "Hurry up, dude. I don't have all day and my finger's getting twitchy."

  The guy sprang into action and quickly ripped his watch from his wrist, tossing it at me before following up with his wallet which was thick with green, green cash.

  I grinned at him, threw my car into drive and sped away with JJ on my ass in his stolen red Audi.

  Laughter spilled from my lips as the rich fucker screamed in horror, realising he was losing his car too, but we were long gone before he could even think about doing anything to try and stop us.

  JJ hit the gas, his fancy ass sports car giving my sexy little Jeep a run for her money as we tore up the empty roads towards the far side of town where the docks were.

  I yanked the wig off and tossed it in the footwell, grinning as my rainbow hair tumbled down around my shoulders and Mutt yipped in triumph.

  My phone started ringing just as JJ overtook me like an asshole and I laughed while flipping him off then answered it through the sweet speaker hook up situation I had going in this thing.

  "Hey, beautiful," Rick growled, making my toes curl with nothing but those two words.

  "I thought you were still pissed at me," I said because the bastard had been refusing my calls ever since I'd chosen to head back with the Harlequins the night of the attack at the clubhouse.

  "Yeah, well, I thought you could come make it up to me."

  "How tempting," I teased.

  "Don't go pretending you're gonna refuse me. I know you've been aching for a taste of my cock since the last time you had it."

  "Don't you go pretending that's not a two way street. And while you've been making do with the clam vag, I've had some premium D to keep me satisfied nicely."

  "The clam vag doesn't interest me. But if you're so into Johnny James's cock then bring him too. I'm all for pushing your boundaries, beautiful and I've been jerking off to thoughts of you sucking his cock while taking mine ever since the last time."

  "You're filthy," I snorted.

  "Says the girl who loved every second of it."

  I scoffed but damn him, I was more than a little tempted. "Where are you then?"

  "Where do you think, baby girl? I'm on the Isle."

  "JJ won't just hop in a boat and head over to your little island fortress."

  "Not even if I promise to be a good boy?"

  "How about you tell all of your men to fuck off for the day and we can call it a peace treaty?" I suggested.

  "How about you stop fucking me around and find a way to get your ass in my lap within the next hour or I'll have to come punish you for defying me," Rick growled.

  I opened my mouth to tell him to stop bossing me about, but he fucking hung up on me.

  JJ pulled in at the bait shop and parked in the centre of the lot. I drove along to a spot in the shade and by the time me and Mutt had jumped out of the Jeep, he was already standing on the hood of the stolen car.

  "Who here wants to help the Harlequins send a message to the owner of this car?" he called. "The asshole who owns it can't park for shit, so I say we show him how easily a car like this can get dinged up when you park it in the wrong place!"

  The crowd of people at the bait shop all howled their agreement and came running over as JJ jumped down. They started kicking punching and beating the car with anything they could find and the air was soon littered with the sounds of the alarm going off while glass smashed and the hooligans had the time of their damn lives.

  I took a quick video and forwarded it on to Tatum with a grin. That was the easiest five grand I’d ever earned for sure.

  I laughed, grabbing JJ's hand and dragging him back over to my car before slapping the stolen watch and cash into his hand with a wide smile.

  "Looks like we made enough to cover Luther's cut," I said enticingly, my blood still humming with adrenaline as JJ bit down on his bottom lip.

  "Shit, pretty girl. That's a lot of fucking money."

  "Is it enough to buy me a few hours of your time?" I teased.

  "Don't even joke about that," he said softly, placing an arm on the roof bars of my car as he leaned over me. "You can always have as much of my time as you desire, and it still won't be enough for me."

  My smile softened and I sighed at not being able to kiss him with so many witnesses around. It was bullshit. We needed to get the fuck out of here, but Fox would be back at the house by now and my trailer was too damn hot during the day. But I had just received an invitation which was playing on my mind…

  “Do you trust me, JJ?” I asked.

  “You know I do. Why?”

  “Does one of the pretty boats docked here happen to belong to the Harlequins? Or shall we steal one?”

  “There are more than a few that come unde
r Harlequin rule,” he agreed.

  “Let’s go then. Lead the way.”

  JJ looked like he was seriously tempted to ask me where we were going, but he gave in to the game and quickly led me down to the dock where a bunch of Harlequin thugs were hanging out and guarding their vessels. We chose a small speedboat and Mutt leapt in with an excited bark as one of the gang bangers offered up a key.

  JJ tried to take the helm but I hip checked him, knocking him aside and taking over.

  "Sit down, JJ, and enjoy the ride."

  He rolled his eyes then did as I said, leaning back against the seats and spreading his arms along the backs of them as he closed his eyes and sunned himself.

  I smirked as I drove us out onto the water, wondering if I'd lost my damn mind. But something told me I hadn't. Maverick might still be harping on about wanting to kill the Harlequins and all that shit, but he'd had more than a few chances to do it recently and I knew he wasn't just teasing me over JJ. He was into it. And I was definitely into it. So that was all I really needed to know to make this decision.

  If Rick wanted to call my bluff and see if I really would show up with another man in tow, then he was going to find out that I was still the same girl he'd grown up with and I never backed out of a challenge.

  So bring it on, Big Bad Wolf, because this little rainbow riding hood didn't know when to back down.

  Me and JJ chatted shit while he stayed in his position sunning himself for most of the journey across the water and he only opened his eyes when the angry bark of a man drew his attention.

  "This is private property!"

  "I have an invite," I called back and Mutt yipped.

  "Holy shit, pretty girl," JJ gasped, lurching to his feet and grabbing my arm as he realised where I’d brought him. His other hand went to the pistol at his waist but I caught his wrist and gave him a serious look.

  "It'll be fine, Johnny James. Trust me."

  "It's not you I have a problem trusting," he gritted out, his eyes on Dead Man's Isle as I directed the boat towards the jetty in front of the huge hotel that Maverick had claimed for his own. "I have a seriously bad feeling about this."

  The men on the beach were rushing about, pointing guns and calling more people to them but I just kept my chin raised and guided the boat forward.

  "Oh hey, Rupert!" I called, recognising the dude and he narrowed his eyes at me.

  "My name is Dave."

  "That's basically the same," I reasoned and Mutt barked in agreement.

  "Turn back, Rogue," JJ hissed.

  "Too late for that now," I pointed out. There were at least six guns aimed our way and the welcoming committee looked all kinds of pissy.

  As we drew closer to the dock, Maverick appeared. He was shirtless, his ink gleaming in the sunlight and a black baseball cap was placed backwards on his head. Jesus. What was it about a man in a backwards cap and shorts that was so freaking hot? He might as well have had his cock out and be priming it with lube for a fuck fest. Not that he'd have much need of any lube with me, because apparently I was a damn pussy tap for these boys. Drenching panties at the drop of a backwards baseball cap. Although I was pulling off a ‘casually disinterested’ thing at all times, so at least they had no goddamn idea about that.

  "Close your mouth, baby doll, you're drooling," Rick called as he strode towards us and I narrowed my eyes into a scowl at him. For fuck's sake.

  "You can't boss me about while you don’t have any shoes on, Rick. It's impossible to be intimidating while bare foot," I replied scathingly.

  JJ was rigid beside me, his eyes skipping between all the guns aimed our way and the man in charge.

  "Cute," Rick commented. "But you'll be eating those words soon enough." He glanced around at his men and barked an order at them. "Disarm the Harlequin trash and bring him inside for me to play with."

  Two of the guys moved forward and hopped down into the boat, roughly grabbing JJ and taking his pistol from him.

  One of them slammed a fist into JJ's gut as he started shoving him towards the dock.

  "Hey!" I snapped, lurching forward and trying to grab the asshole as he took another swing for JJ, but he threw his elbow backwards to ward me off and I caught it in the chin.

  I was knocked down by the blow, falling to my ass in the middle of the boat with a curse.

  A gunshot cracked through the air and blood splattered my bare skin as the Damned Man started screaming to high heaven.

  "No one lays a fucking hand on her!" Rick roared, his revolver in his hand and more fury in his eyes than I'd ever seen there before. "The next bullet will go between your fucking eyes. I won't offer this warning out twice."

  Mutt whimpered, moving close to lick my cheek and I scrambled upright as the dude who had elbow-clocked me sobbed and clutched at the bleeding hole in his leg.

  "Shit, you should get a Band-Aid for that," I told him, holding my hand out to Rick who still looked ready to murder someone.

  That fire in his gaze dimmed a little as he turned his eyes on me and he reached out to take my hand, yanking me up and out of the boat so fast that I stumbled and bumped into his chest.

  I blinked at him in surprise and he leaned down like he might kiss me, a savage smile lighting his face as he spoke against my lips instead.

  "Look who likes following orders after all."

  "Fuck you," I tossed at him, stepping back and flicking my rainbow hair, but of course he wouldn't just let me go and his grip on my hand tightened.

  "Bring the Harlequin to the freezer," Rick growled at his men before starting off along the jetty and tugging me with him.

  Mutt fell into step by our feet as I let Rick guide me along. My little pooch seemed unsure of Maverick but not outwardly hostile.

  "Boo. I thought you were gonna be fun today. But you're just gonna play the evil brother role, aren't you? Toss him in the freezer, do your scary mumbo jumbo, threaten to take over the world-"

  "I've got the world right here beside me," Rick said, jerking me to a halt as we stepped onto the sand and looking at me like he really meant those words. "What else do I need?"

  "Family," I replied instantly and I didn't miss the wince he tried to hide at that word.

  "The only person I ever gave a fuck about is looking right at me, beautiful. I don't need no one else."

  "I thought the great Maverick Stone wasn't afraid of anything," I taunted.

  "I'm not."

  "So send the goons away and spend the day with me and Johnny James. I already know you aren't going to kill him, and the freezer is gross and cold. It's a beautiful day and I wanna lose myself in this heat."

  Rick considered me for a long moment, turning his gaze back towards JJ who was being held between two of his men while another couple helped the asshole who had been shot get out of the boat.

  "P.S. You need to get my boat cleaned," I whisper shouted and Maverick barked a laugh.

  "Fine. Fuck it. If you're so desperate to prove something with this little stunt, then come on. Let's see you prove it." Maverick started walking again, leading the way across the sand towards the hotel before striding onto the tiles which surrounded the huge pool.

  His men followed until he stopped abruptly by a table and chairs and pointed the guys holding JJ towards it. They shoved him down and I moved to JJ’s side, brushing my fingers along his jaw briefly as he gave me a look that said I was seriously pushing his trust in me right now.

  "All of you fuck off to the mainland for the rest of the day," Maverick barked. "I've got some unfinished business to deal with here and I don't wanna see a single one of you fuckers hanging around while I do it."

  His men hesitated for a few beats then they all took off at once, some hurrying inside and calling out to others while a few just headed straight back to the jetty.

  Rick and JJ entered into some kind of scary dude stare off, so I slipped away towards the bar beyond the pool, hunting out something refreshing.

  Mutt scurried along beside me, pee
ing on things he wanted to claim for his own and sniffing everything before trotting into the hotel to investigate further.

  I found a bottle of whiskey and grabbed it. It wasn't really my first choice, but booze was booze, so I cracked it open and took a long swig.

  The Damned Men were still making a meal out of fucking all the way off, so I located the music system and hooked my phone up to it, playing Kiss Me More by Doja Cat and SZA as I started dancing.

  JJ and Rick were trading insults or having a dick measuring contest or some shit, so I was happy doing me while they got over it.

  I tipped my head back, swigged my whiskey and just danced with the feeling of the sun on my skin. I'd once heard the phrase 'dance like nobody is watching' when I was a kid and I'd made that my nindo (my ninja way). Life was short and happiness was fleeting so I grabbed everything by the balls and just ran with it. It may have been messy, but it meant I had a smile on my face more often than I didn't.

  "Tell me why you came here, baby girl," Maverick called when I was about eight songs in and feeling the buzz of the whiskey. “Because I was pretty certain it wasn’t meant to be about dancing.”

  I opened my eyes and gave him a coy smile, shrugging one shoulder as I looked between him and JJ who were now both sitting at the table together apparently just watching me.

  There was no sign of any Damned Men anywhere, so I was guessing they'd taken Rick's command seriously and we were all alone now.

  "Would you rather be trapped on a desert island with your best friends forever, or have an enormous mansion all to yourself for the rest of time?" I asked, moving towards them slowly while their eyes remained riveted on me.

  "Do you count as my friend?" Rick asked. "Because I feel like we crossed through the friends barrier when I taught you how to take my cock like a good girl."

  "Oh please." I rolled my eyes. "I haven't been good a day in my life."

  JJ snorted and reached out for the whiskey in my hand so I stepped closer to him, holding the bottle to his lips and giving him a taste. His fingers brushed the back of my knee, trailing higher as he swallowed and I drew the bottle back.