Page 47 of High Stakes

“Everyone is alive and well,” I say, and clench my teeth so hard that my jaw pops. “So about this job detail.”

Cabrera leans forward and folds his arms across the desktop.“Mainly surveillance. I want to hit the hotel without drawing attention, but they have a high-security detail and I haven’t been able to get close to the vault.”

“What’s in the vault?” I absorb the information as he speaks, my mind already working on a plan. “Is it a functioning hotel?” I need to know if civilians will be in the building. That’s not something I want to be dealing with.

“The same that’s in every fancy, heavily-guarded vault,” he says, and sniffs in disdain, like the answer is obvious and I’m just dense. Or he’s just due for his next fix and starting to get fidgety. Either is possible with this man. “The hotel is just a front, no one lives there. I have several teams already set up. They each have different jobs. What I need from you three is safe cracking, security hacking, and additional fire power.”

“So to be clear,” I say slowly, wanting to make sure he understands every single word I say. “No civilians, security and cyber detail, and a pay cut of what’s in the vault?”

“Si,” he confirms with a jerk of his head. “You will receive a 30% cut of what’s in the vault.”

I nod my head slowly. All of those things are possible and sound easy enough. “Why so many different set ups?” That’s the part that keeps pulling at my attention. It doesn’t feel right.

He shrugs his shoulders and leans back again, a look of boredom on his face. “To ensure that it gets done in a timely manner.”

I digest his words and my skin prickles. “This is a rat race.” I try to keep the venom from my voice, but do a piss poor job.

A slow smile spreads across Cabrera’s face. “Do you want the job or not, Kennedy?”

I take a slow breath and roll my shoulders until my neck pops. If I take this job I can never tell the boys where the money came from, but we so desperately need the cash to start a life here. “Yes.”

He stands and holds out his hand. “Excellent,” he says with a sinister smile. I wrap my fingers around his and he gives me a firm shake.

My skin crawls and my stomach drops to the floor. It feels like I’ve just made a deal with the devil and sealed our fates in the lowest level in Hell.

Emelia’s voicecuts through my memory, pulling me back to the present. “Hector, go make sure the space is set up. I want the security center available to Silas immediately. Hayden and Declan will need access to the armory.” We’re sitting around a circular table in a small conference room, having been released from our bonds with nothing short of vows of fealty to our queen.

Hector nods slowly and hesitates a moment too long, his eyes dragging up and down her form. He knows what’s about to happen, and he is pissed he’s about to miss it. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she whispers, and moves forward to wrap her arms around his neck. She leans forward and scrapes her teeth across his earlobe, whispering something for only Hector to hear. His body goes rigid, every muscle tense, and I can see the front of his pants grow taut as her teasing does its job. She’s so sinfully devious, and she knows it.

I can’t wait to tan her hide for this. My palms are already tingling with the thought of painting her pale skin red. I watchas Hector disappears with Tobias, only to be replaced by another man dressed similarly to Hector. My nostrils flare and my skin tightens. I’m not sharing any more pieces of her, so this guy can just fuck right off.

“Marcus.” Emelia acknowledges him with a smile. “What’s up?” His eyes cut to the three of us, staring at him intently, and then back to Emelia. “It’s fine,” she says, and waves her hand at us. “They know.”

He lets out a long sigh and nods once before launching into a detailed account of their business ventures. I cut my eyes to Emelia and arch a brow, but she just shrugs me off. “Only a few people know who I really am,” she explains, and drops heavily into her chair. “Most people deal with Tobias and then he comes to me for orders. Sometimes I sit in on the meetings and give hand gestures that both Hector and Tobias look out for.”

My mind flits back to that very first meeting we had with Tobias and the way she moved her hands and her head. “You are a devious little minx, aren’t you?”

She grins and tilts her head to the side. “It’s safer that way. The people who know the truth are fiercely loyal and keep the others in line.”

Marcus clears his throat. “We don’t put up with any shit here. Emelia earned our trust and loyalty by putting herself into the trenches and doing the dirty jobs just like the rest of us. She saved my life once, and I swore to return the favor as often as possible. Though she does make it exceedingly difficult ninety-eight percent of the time,” he mutters loudly with a grimace.

“I can’t imagine,” Hayden quips with a smirk.

“Thank you, Marcus,” she says dismissively, and waves her hand.

Marcus looks at the three of us, his eyes shimmering with understanding. “Enjoy the ride, boys,” he calls over his shoulder as the door clicks shut behind him.

Hayden is up and has the door locked before I can even give the order. “I hope you know, Angel, that you have earned yourself one hell of a punishment for this. I can smell the ideas that Declan has cooked up from here.”

I stand and pull the chairs away from the table, dragging each one slowly to the wall. “Our theme of the day is denial.” I lick my lips and already feel my blood rushing south. “We’ve all had an issue with denying our feelings for too long. So now, we’re going to deny you your release.”

Silas moves until he’s standing behind Emelia. He grips her arms, holding her in place while Hayden drops open mouthed kisses along her neck. My fingers trace up her body until they are wound in the thick hair at the base of her neck. I grip hard, pulling until her face is upturned and she has no choice but to look into my eyes. “Take off your clothes. Now.” We release her at the same time and I smile as she slowly removes every piece of clothing hiding her body from us.

“Please let me go first,” Silas whines, and palms himself through his pants. I nod and gesture him forward. It’s the least he deserves for all that he’s been through. Silas surges forward and slants his mouth over hers in a searing kiss. My cock throbs heavily as I sit back and watch him pull away, bending her over the table.

Silas sinks to the hilt in one thrust, ripping a strangled cry from Emelia’s lips, and a shiver snakes up my spine. “Take it, Princess,” I growl deeply. “Remember, you don’t come until I tell you to.”

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