Page 126 of The Scarab's Game

Rav’s calm voice came through the earpiece, “Guards have moved starboard.”

A gun blast cracked across the water as Enzo staggered backward, his finger clenching the trigger. The wild shot triggered chaos on deck, and Rav provided an update I couldn’t make out over the ringing in my ears.

I fought through the pain in my eardrums and grappled with Enzo.Fuck, he’s strong.But I had surprise on my side, and more importantly, I had my woman to protect.

My. Woman.

I surged forward, colliding with Enzo to tip him off balance.

As he brought the gun back down, I kicked one of his legs out, and he toppled. His gun dropped. He flailed for my jacket, but I freed myself as he fell into the water.

I spun, searching for Jenn. She was still on the deck, dazed but unharmed. I hauled her to her feet, my grip probably too tight, but it wasn’t the time to be gentle. We darted for our boat, and I kept myself between her and every Fenix player I could.

Checking over my shoulder, I spotted Noah at the light. He gave me an almost imperceptible nod, then stepped in front of Massimo, preventing him from coming after us. What did that mean? I filed the information away for later analysis—right now, getting Jenn to safety was all that mattered.

Rav’s voice rang out from our boat, “If I hear any more gunshots, Dante’s dead!”

“I’m going to kill you all!” Enzo bellowed from the water. No gunshots, though. He must not have found his gun.

I practically tossed Jenn into the boat, jumping in after her. I tackled her to the ground, covering her body with mine, and shouted at Dante, “Go!”

The boat lurched forward as we sped away from the yacht. A minute—or five or ten—later, Dante said, “The yacht’s engines are starting up. You can take the gun off me.”

Rav’s reply was terse. “Not until we’re out of sight. You don’t want them to suspect you were working with us.”

Beneath me, Jenn began to struggle. “Get off me!”

I eased up, but only enough to grab her hands, preventing her from hitting me. “Not until you’re safe.”

Jenn continued to fight against my grip. “I’m cold, my face hurts, and the floor of this stupid boat hurts, especially with all your stupid weight on top of me!”

Fuck.I sat up quickly, pulling her with me into a sitting position. I took inventory—torn dress, messy hair, mascara-streaked cheeks, and a swollen eye. And Noah’s jacket! I yanked it off her and threw it overboard. “He might have put a bug or a tracker in there.”

Jenn wrapped her arms around her body, her teeth chattering. “Who are you people?”

Rav came closer, positioning himself beside us. He kept his gun trained on Dante, but his eyes on the men aboard the yacht.

I removed my jacket and wrapped it around Jenn’s shoulders. Cupping her face gently, I tried to meet her eyes, but she swatted my hands away. “What do you mean?”

“I think we’re clear,” Rav announced.

“Noah told me everything,” rasped Jenn. “I didn’t believe him at first, but the disc, and the guns, and…”

How much had Noah revealed? How much damage control would we need to do?

“It’s me and Rav,” I said. “We’re the same people you’ve known most of your life.”

But Jenn wasn’t buying it. “You’re a heist crew. You stole the scarab, didn’t you?”

She knew. There was no going back now. Everything I’d built with Jenn over the past week was crumbling in front of my eyes. The way she’d looked at me earlier? Gone. I’d known this moment would come, but I hadn’t been prepared for it.

Jenn continued, her words coming faster now. “And the disc. And you’re a con artist. Scarlett’s your mastermind, like it’s some freaking movie. Your mom’s in MI6?—”

Oh shit. I also wasn’t ready for the team to hear that.

“And Enzo framed your dad for espionage. And Jayce?—”

“Wait, what?” I grabbed her hands again, trying to slow her down. My father?

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