Page 27 of The San Marco Heist

He shrugged one shoulder. “So go to sleep. The rest of the team is.”

Rage burst through every inch of my body, and before I could stop myself, I slammed a fist on the table.

Malcolm straightened, his brows drawing down, then winging up as his gaze flew toward the open doorway to the rear-most cabin. Hopefully, worried about Rav overhearing an argument.

Breathe, Scar. Just breathe. Don’t lose control.“I let you come with us because I needed an extra resource and you said you wanted to help. Well, if you’re going to help, you’ll need to play by our rules. Otherwise, you can fuck off around London on your own and do whatever the hell you think will help Emmett get home safely. But if you can’t play with the team, you’re nothing but a liability.”

He turned off his tablet and started gathering papers, stacking them in the original order they’d come in. “It was a woman.”

He worked alone because of a woman? What did that have to do with this argument?

“Three years ago, Emmett and I met in Vegas playing poker. We were sitting next to each other at a table and hit it off. We had a few meals together, a couple rounds of golf, and made our way from one casino to another.” He attempted to suppress a yawn while he tapped the pages to straighten them. “On day four, my luck was riding high, so before we cashed out and left for dinner, we stopped at a craps table. I rolled the dice a few times, my luck continued, and my stack of chips grew to over fifty thousand.”

Part of me wanted to know how far in the hole Emmett had been or how deep into the stack he’d been counting when they met, but the wiser part refrained. He was an adult and had control of his finances. He’d never gotten in serious danger because of his risk-taking, so I’d stopped nagging him about it years ago. Until yesterday. When someone used a poker game—his weakness—to lure him in.

I felt Rav’s big frame in the doorway behind me, attempting to lull me into a feeling of calm.

Malcolm glanced up at him and continued. “Some women in impossibly short dresses joined us, insisting they become our good luck charms.”

“Typical.” Not that I could say much. I flaunted my body on almost every op we ever did, either to bring attention to me, or just to keep it off my face.

“We took them out for dinner after that.”

“And discovered they held PhDs?”Stop being so catty.

Malcolm laughed quietly, shaking his head. “Not quite. But we did discover one of them had a boyfriend. A very large, very mean boyfriend.”

“And this is the point at which Emmett saved your life?”

He pointed at me and winked, that same curl forming in my belly as the first time I’d seen him at Maguire’s party. “The guy tossed me out of the restaurant, hit me a few times, and that’s when Emmett came to the rescue.”

“Don’t tell me Emmett actually hit someone?”

“I offered the guy money, thinking that was why his girlfriend came after me in the first place—that I was her mark. But he didn’t pause until Emmett said he could get the guy an invite to a special game later that week. One he hadn’t even told me about.”

My younger brother knew a lot of people and knew how to get them to introduce him to even more people. It was a blessing and yet a curse at times. “Bet you were glad you weren’t working solo that night.”

“I don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t been there or if he hadn’t convinced the guy to leave it at a busted lip, bruised cheek, and a broken rib. But it wouldn’t have been good.”

“I can understand why you want to help. But where in all of that story is a reason for Emmett to tell me I can trust you?”

“Because we’re friends.”

For as much of a risk-taker as Emmett was, and how many people he got involved with, he did have an excellent judge of character. Maybe there was more to it, but I had what I needed to know. Malcolm owed Emmett—probably his life—so he wasn’t there to screw us over. Unless he was lying about everything, but I had a feeling he wasn’t. I rested a hand on top of the stack of papers, which included the starting point for our heist. The item, the location, and the time.

My eyelids drifted closed. I was so damn tired.

A warm hand landed on top of mine and gripped it. Rav must have been— I opened my eyes and it was Malcolm. Something deep inside of me reacted, like it hadn’t reacted in years—dry throat, thudding heart, shivers deep in my core.

Those big blue eyes threatened to swallow me. “I promise, I’m on your side.”

I forced my body to pull my hand away, my heart wanting to leave it there. I wanted a friend, a partner, someone to share the burden with me again. Emmett had always been my second-in-command, but Noah had been my support. When I left a debrief and wanted to scream or cry because Mum told me I’d done something wrong, Noah had been there. Every time I had to fake my way into a party or some office, Noah was at my side. Now, it was just a revolving door of Emmett, Rav, Declan, Zac, and random contractors, all slipping into Noah’s shoes for a mission and then out of them again.

They were all capable, but Noah had been my rock. And I hadn’t even gone back for him.

I curled my toes, pushing it all down. “I know.”

“Scar,” came Rav’s voice, surprisingly gentle for such a big man. At least, it would surprised anyone who didn’t have a past with him like I did. “I made up the bed in back for you.”

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