Page 5 of Last Man Standing

“Aww,” Nova swoons. “He said those things?”

“You told me this place was safe and that your last job was done. So yeah, I came here instead of waiting for you back in Colorado. I thought it would be nice to try something new, meet you here amongst the pretty mountains, and most importantly, I wanted to meet Nova. This is her home, which is obviously the best place to get a feel for who she is. I might’ve made different choices if I knew I’d arrive to an interrogation, though.”

Exasperated, Lincoln swings around and meets my eyes. He doesn’t believe a single damn thing she says. “You said we had to go. Is that no longer the case? Is this location under threat?”

No more than it usually is. “We can stay.” I fold my arms and study Scarlett Castro. Sex on legs, that’s what she is. And beneath the tears I saw on the porch is a spine that makes me wary. Every word she speaks makes my cock twitch. Every time she glowers at Lincoln, my stomach tingles. “I’ll make some calls.” I drag my phone from my pocket without breaking eye contact with the sorceress I had no clue existed mere minutes ago.

I mean, I knew she existed. I would never deal with a dude without first familiarizing myself with his entire life story. But I’d never met her, and I sure as fuck hadn’t looked into her defiant eyes while she lied right to our faces.

“I’ll get us squared away for this fun little family reunion.” I unlock my phone, working on muscle memory alone. “Let the appropriate people know what’s happening.” Finally, I flash an arrogant smirk for the sprite in tight jeans. “Then I’m gonna enjoy my vacation in this cozy little house set amongst snowy mountains. I wanna get to know our new friend.”

And there it is. Her bravery makes way for fear. Her hubris, for trembling hands.

That spine she showed her brother folds faster than a warm pretzel.

She’s afraid. And I… well, I’m not sensitive enough to give a fuck.

I turn on my heels and stalk back through the house, across the living room, and out the front door. Moving down the porch steps, I wander toward the SUV that wasn’t here an hour ago, and hitting dial on my phone, I bring the device to my ear and peek inside the windows at the things Scarlett Castro brought along for the ride.

“Yeah?” a deep, masculine voice filters through my ear.

I expected a woman.

“La Bruja?” I straighten my back and shoot a heavy glare out toward the empty road. “Where is she?”

“Just stepped out. You alright?”

“Yeah. We’re not moving Nova today.”

Just like I do, the guy on the other end of the line speaks as few words as possible. “Why not? We had a plan.”

“Mm.” I stalk around the SUV and peek into the back. “Castro received a last-minute visitor. Unexpected.”

Tension grows thick and pulses from his end of the call to mine. “Trouble?”

“Dunno. Not the kind we’d normally expect. It’s his sister.”

“Castro’s sister?”

“Mm. He speaks highly of her, and she appears harmless enough. But Lincoln’s not gonna leave her so soon after she arrived, and I’m not bringing her along for the ride. So we’re gonna stay put for a few days and see what shakes out.”

“What do you think will shake out?”

I release a grunt. Something between an I dunno, and intolerance. “She’s lying about her reasons for coming. Claims she just wanted to see her brother.”

“You don’t believe her?”

“I believe her even less than I believe Nova’s claim of not memorizing the code. I don’t know what her plan is yet, but I’m gonna sit my ass down and keep an eye on both women for a few days. The truth will float eventually.”

“She hot?”

I cough out a laugh, unexpected and soothing enough to erase a modicum of the dread settled in my belly. “I knew you’d ask that. You’re a fuckin’ mess, Mav. Can’t help your damn self.”

“So she’s hot then.” His smile crackles and grows, audible despite our distance. “You act like I don’t know you. Poor chick has no clue that when she climbs into your bed before the end of the week, willingly, by the way, she’ll have walked toward the plans you set from the outset. Anything to keep the secret.”

“Mmhmm.” I glance back toward the house and watch Lincoln step onto the porch, alone and pissed off. Which is basically his default setting. “You can shut up now,” I murmur into the phone. “I’ll keep you updated when things change. Otherwise, you know where I am. Let the team know.”

“Will do. Clean this up quickly, okay? I was looking forward to having you back.”