Page 51 of Carnal Wagers

I reset everything in its place as they mock-fought, locked the drawer and then the office, before leaving the apartment almost as I’d found it, minus my few additions.

Tonight, the real game with husband dearest began.

Chapter 15

I knew someone had invaded my space the moment I opened my front door. It was the floral scent in the air. The smudge of a woman’s heel on tiles I’d left pristine hours ago. The creeping sense of being watched. I flicked my knife open before my next breath.

Devin the Shiner and Big Charlie flanked me, pulling their guns. I cracked my neck, twirling my favorite knife around my finger, and took the first step in. After a day of droning meetings, the promise of a good fight itched through my bones.

The staccato thumping of our strides clapped through the silent, dark space. We weren’t subtle. We weren’t quiet. We slammed doors open, denting walls with doorknobs, and rushed through each room…but there was no one here. Not in the living area, not in my office, and not hidden in the bedrooms.

Devin found the first bug concealed in the crook between couch cushions. It was a terrible place for it, as if it had either been dropped by accident or placed as a ruse, but that didn’t matter. I upended the kitchen and living area. I tore out the upholstery in chairs, broke the cabinets and drawers, scattered about kitchen utensils, and tugged out appliances.

I would meticulously clean and fix it all up later, when every last bug was found. Until then, this let me pound against the glass wall that contained me. It tied up my mind in a task, instead of letting me collapse on the edge of my bed, staring at the ceiling, with some of the worst, most terrifying questions on my mind: “What was the point? What did it matter?”

The frenzy burned out as quickly as it came, and I clung to the dining table, head hung between my shoulders, my chest heaving as Devin and Charlie wordlessly sifted through the debris with a scanner. A fine sheen of sweat coated my skin. Cuts decorated my hands from splinters and glass, and a creeping chill slowly engulfed my gratification.

“Got them, boss,” Devin called out. Items clacked against the table. “Three bugs and a camera in this area. You want us to scan the other rooms?”

I shook my head, my rage drained desert-dry, and twiddled with the tiny tech. The camera fit between three ridges of my thumb’s fingerprint.

Who would have the audacity to try this? The cops knew better. The cartel wasn’t this subtle, and my rivals wouldn’t have bothered.

“You sure, boss?”

“I’ll handle it. Find out who got access, and where, and to who these are transmitting.”

The front door clicked shut behind them, and I let out a weighted breath.

I listlessly scanned the damage left in the open-concept living area and waved it away. I didn’t have the headspace for it right now.

The scanner revealed zero bugs in the bedroom-turned-storage space and the second guest bedroom. Nothing in my office either. My bedroom was another story. The closet was riddled with them. One bug in every four pairs of pants, shorts, or suits. A few in my shoes, and a camera taped to the wall under a note asking, “How long will it take for you to find all thirty in here?” with a winky face. A sharp zap of intrigue jolted energy into my limbs. Challenge accepted.

In my bathroom, a camera was glued to the edge of the showerhead with a direct view down. That led me to discover the new lineup of accessories across my double sinks: matching frosted-glass toothbrush tumblers, a soap pump, and a tissue box, alongside a hairbrush that definitely wasn’t mine, bath products, perfume I’d never seen before in my life, and a bug lackadaisically placed atop its cap.

A scoff escaped me, because right then I knew exactly who had decided to mess with me. The lopsided pull of my lips tweaked my cheek, and a bolt of pure ecstasy jolted through my veins.

“Oh, mo síbhean, your brashness never ceases to surprise.”

A stuffed animal sat on my bed, a bug in its fur. Another listening device was positioned beneath a pillow, and two more were in the nightstands. One was glued atop the headboard, with the words “Keep” and “Me” freshly etched into the wood around it. It was intriguing enough that I left it…for now.

Finally, I caught sight of the showpiece of her break-in against the far wall, in plain view of the bed. It was a boudoir picture, her picture—creamy breasts cupped in a lacy purple bra, legs spread for a panty-strip view over perfectly shaved pussy lips, bits obscured by a white shawl dangling over her elbows. I licked my lips and cupped my throbbing crotch.

She was just as spellbinding in the photo as in person. Deep, expressive, bright eyes with a cunning edge. Sharp jawline compared to the rest of her soft features. Light-brown hair, almost ash-like in color. And thick pouty lips I wanted to spread around my cock.

My phone chimed with a message from a new number.

Unknown

You found me. Took you long enough.

You should leave it right where it is so you always have sight of me.

I changed the contact name and typed out a reply, scanning the surroundings for another camera.

Are you certain you want to mess with me?

Síbhean