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“It's not like you can stop me. I'm the one Massimo wants. He needs me. There's nothing stopping me from walking outside of these walls and making a phone call to my sister. One of his goons would come and pick me up in no time.”
Saffron did the unexpected thing and sat back with a smile. “I like you. You have spunk. Drive. Determination. You don't quit, and you don't cry. But you're not trained. You're not an operative. I can't in good conscience put you in the field even if I wanted to. I need to protect the lives of my team. Well, and Drake.”
“I’m thinking about them. I’m thinking about their lives. What they are doing is risky. I could end it all by walking in. That makes more sense than putting your people at risk. I can guarantee their safety.”
“I can’t guarantee yours.”
“I’m an adult. If I can do this without bloodshed and get you close enough to capture him, wouldn’t you rather do that?”
“This is a bad idea.”
“I’m going,” I said, lifting my chin. “With or without your help.”
“Fine. Kaya will be your backup on the ground. Before you say anything…" Saffron added, raising a well-manicured hand to halt any further demands. "Remember, you're not there to play hero. You're there to make Massimo think he's won. To distract him. Kaya is very skilled in getting in and out, and you'll be safest with her and Rook."
I blinked, trying to process her words. No, no, no. That wasn't the plan. I wasn't some damsel to be used as a distraction.
"What about Massimo?" I asked.
Saffron merely leveled her gaze at me, a single brow arching elegantly. It was her signature move, and it made me feel like an unruly teenager. "As long as you keep your tracker on and follow what Kaya says to do, he'll see you, you'll distract him, then Kaya will walk you out. No heroics, Daphne. Those are my terms."
"I just want to be useful."
"Daphne," she said calmly, "your feelings for Drake are clouding your judgment, and right now, you're too emotionally invested."
Emotionally invested? Well, wasn't that the understatement of the century. I was heartbroken, pissed off, and hell-bent on proving that I didn't need Drake to handle my life.
But as much as I wanted to argue, I knew Saffron was right. I was not in the best frame of mind for this mission.
But they did need me, and I wanted my life back.
I took a deep breath, nodding in agreement. "You're right," I said, trying to sound as composed as possible. "I'll stick to the plan."
Saffron gave me a small, understanding smile. "Good. I know it's hard, but try to keep your emotions in check. We need you to focus on the mission."
I nodded, feeling the weight of her words settling heavily on my shoulders. I knew the stakes were high and that I couldn't afford to let my personal life get in the way of what needed to be done. "Okay," I said, standing up from the chair. "I'll get ready."
Saffron nodded, and I turned to leave, my mind already racing with the details of the mission. As I walked out of the office, I couldn't help but wonder if Drake would be proud of me. If he would see that I was capable of handling things on my own.
But I pushed those thoughts aside, focusing instead on the task at hand. I had a job to do, and I was going to do it to the best of my ability.
As I made my way toward the locker room to change into my gear, I was resolute. Whatever happened with Drake, whatever the future held, I knew that I could handle it. I loved him, but I wasn't depending on him.
And deep down, I knew that this mission was about more than just proving myself to Drake. It was about proving to myself that I was capable of doing this. That I was strong enough to handle whatever the world threw at me, whether he was there to hold my hand or not.
Drake
Massimo's private island was off the coast of Italy, cut off and exclusive and guarded to the teeth.
Under normal circumstances, security forces patrolled the island. Coming from the sea, you’d be seen on radar long before you got anywhere near. However, thanks to the auction, radar detectors were off. So Gabe, Lachlan, Saint, and I had essentially parked two hundred meters off the island and swam underwater to arrive here.
I climbed out of the water onto the rocks alongside the northwest corner of the villa. I disposed of my lightweight miniature oxygen tank and shed my waterproof suit, revealing a tuxedo and dress shoes underneath.
I had a microfiber towel as part of my kit, and I used it to soak most of the water out of my hair then smoothed my locks into a slicked-back style. When I was done, I not only looked the part, I embodied it.
Infiltrating the island was a challenge, but we knew the drill. Gabe and I had both pulled infiltrations like this before. The key was to stay silent and undetected. This could be over in no time.
Still, I knew it would take a certain kind of finesse to get inside without being detected. After all, twenty guards that we could see were not something to sneeze at. For each of those twenty, I knew there would be at least two we couldn't see. So there was no way we could turn this into a firefight.
