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“He could be, but I doubt he’d sit by and let you do all the heavy lifting.”
“So, what would you suggest?” Scottie sat there for a moment in silence. “There was a reason other than his obvious desperation to get Theo back. He’s Carolyn’s ex-wife. There is no way in hell that Xavier doesn’t know about Duke. One look at him and he’ll know it’s a setup.”
Scottie winced. “Shit.”
“Yeah, shit,” I muttered. After a beat, I turned around and pulled the seat back down. “You can get out.”
“Thank fuck,” he ground out, unfolding himself from the back and crawling through the opening. I slid to the bench seat across and allowed him space to get out, then put the seat back in place. He grinned at me like he’d won.
“No,” I said harshly. “You will not be going with me. You will have nothing to do with the negotiations. Am I clear?”
His face fell. “But—”
“I let you out because it’s hot as fuck back there. I didn’t want you to die before I finished with you. But you will not go anywhere near Xavier. He’s going to have a file on the kid, which means he could know who you are. It was hard enough to get this meet, and if you fuck it up, we’ll never have another chance to get Theo back. Just you being in this car is dangerous. What if he decides to search the vehicle?”
It took a week of planning and talking with Xavier before he agreed to meeting with me. I wasn’t about to fuck that all up over my boyfriend’s hurt feelings. I sucked in a breath at the mere idea that he was my boyfriend. Yes, I had admitted that I had very deep feelings for Duke, but I hadn’t actually considered what that meant for me. I shook that off and kept the shrewd, calculating side at the forefront.
“Shit,” he sighed, resting his head back against the seat.
“This is how I know you can’t come with me. If this were any other job, I know your training would have kicked in and kept you from allowing something so stupid to happen. Your judgment is clouded.”
He nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”
“I usually am,” I said, grinning at him. “The sooner you realize that, the easier this will be.”
He rolled his eyes at me, but eased back into the seat. “So, should I hide in the trunk?”
“No, we have no idea what Xavier will do when we arrive. It’s better if you try to blend in. He might overlook you if you’re posing as the driver. He definitely won’t overlook a man hiding in the trunk. We’ll have to pull over and switch with Fox.”
He winced, knowing I wasn’t thrilled about having Fox out in the open with everyone else. “Sorry.”
“Too late for that.”
“If it helps, I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Oh, I know you will,” I grinned. He might think I was talking about sex. I most definitely wasn’t. I wouldn’t say I was a vindictive person, but I could be just as catty as any other woman if I was pushed. I just didn’t let that side of me show.
“Fox,” I said, turning my head to talk to him.
“Yeah, I’m on it. Thank fuck he has to wear this monkey suit. I might have shot someone if I had to wear it a minute later.”
We pulled down a side road and I checked my watch. Thankfully, we’d left early, but we’d have to hurry so we didn’t fall behind. I’d hoped to get there first and scope out the area. Showing up too early would raise red flags. No doubt, he already had someone at the meet just in case we did just that.
The car came to a stop and Duke shoved the door open. “Be quick,” I said, setting the timer on my watch. We have maybe three minutes to spare.
I got out and took a deep breath as I looked around. I was in a dress, which made me feel uncomfortable to say the least. I didn’t dare have any weapons on me. That would be foolish. The guys had guns, which was expected at something like this. However, as the woman posing as the buyer, I had to appear that I was untouchable with only my muscle to protect me.
“Man, I love your boots,” Fox said with glee. “Not nearly as cool as the Kamau’s, but definitely awesome. Can I keep them?”
“No,” Duke said in a low voice.
“Cool, what about these jeans? They really make my ass look nice.”
“No.”
“The shirt?”
“No.” Duke shot me an irritated look. “Why does he want my clothes?”
