Page 94 of The Merciless King

The less you say, the more power you hold.

In any negotiation.

“Good,” Connor says. “We’ll be down the road, and the feds will arrange a tactics team to be near the Baldassare compound by six tomorrow evening. Once we see you leave, we’ll tail you.”

Mack holds up his finger. “But the more you can message us, the better prepared we can be.”

“Think we should put a tracer on him?” Connor asks.

“No,” Decker and Nathan say as one.

I shake my head.

I haven’t been searched, but there is every possibility they might, given they’re about to share the location of their human damn slaves with me.

I would if I were the bad guys.

“Track my phone. I can’t guarantee they’ll let me take it with me, but I’ll use the buyer as my reason for needing it.”

Mack nods. “That should work.”

“So, what the fuck was that about killing the guards before?” Nathan asks, leaning back in his seat.

Huh?

“It’s his magic tongue,” Mack says.

What?

I frown as I stare between the two men, and Connor barks out a laugh.

“Okay, start from the top,” I tell them.

“You don’t want to know.” Mack laughs. “But yeah, you are one hell of an actor. If I didn’t know you were undercover, I’d think you were in love with that woman.”

I rub my jaw and consider my answer.

“Oh, hell,” Decker says.

“No. It’s fine. She’s not what I expected, that’s all,” I reply, shaking my head. “We’re fucking like rabbits. It helps to pass the time.”

When I glance up, Connor is staring behind me.

Oh, fuck.

I turn and Gianna is staring at me from the doorway. Her usual sparkling eyes are dimmed, and I know she heard me.

––––––––

THE DRIVE HOME is quiet.

I’m so sick of lying, I can’t force another sentence out of my mouth.

I want to apologize but I’m concerned if I start talking, I won’t stop. When you have feelings for someone, lying feels bitter in your mouth.

I try to remember this woman isn’t mine and I owe her nothing. Her family steals humans and profits from them. Then releases them to other evil motherfuckers who use them as slaves.

Still, the look on her face when she overheard what I said to the guys is weighing heavily on me.