After this, I’m home free.I’m going to miss Amanda like crazy, but once the dust settles, we’ll meet again.
I close my eyes and imagine crystal clear blue water, white powdery sand, the sun enveloping me in its warmth, and not a single worry to mar my thoughts as I sip sweet drinks with umbrellas in them.
And everyone I love, safe and sound.
**Chapter Two
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Madisyn
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Idon’t know how thisis happening, but the longer I sleep in this bed, the more comfortable it becomes.It must be the lambs’ wool handmade breathable mattress and the fine linens with more threads in them than I made dollars in my entire life.
But I can’t luxuriate my time away.This isn’t a holiday.I still have to pull off the biggest, most dangerous operation of my young life, no matter how confident I feel in my abilities.
I force myself out of bed and trudge to the kitchen for coffee, instant coffee because I don’t want to leave any fresh evidence of being there.Mentally, I go over my plan, introducing additional sets of problems and how I’ll deal with them if they arise.This sharpens my wits, but I can’t shake the layer of agitation that clings to me.
I’m usually very in control.Circumstance, not choice, taught me how to be a thief by the age of thirteen, and I’m damn good at it, executing projects seasoned men in their prime failed to do.But this one...
Had the task involved different men, I would take it in my stride.But I’m a little on edge, to say the least, based solely on who they are and their reputations and...what the thought of them does to me, a little voice squeaks in the background of my mind.
I go over my plan again.It’s still foolproof.I can get away with this if I maintain my composure.But the instant the faces of the three billionaires flash in my mind, a knot forms in my stomach and twists hard.I get all hot and flustered, and I struggle to get my breathing under control again.
After washing out my cup and putting it back in its place, I do a sweep of the kitchen and living room areas to make sure I've left no signs of being there.I’m supposed to enter and leave their cabin like a ghost.
Satisfied, I go back to the bedroom to do a thorough cleanup there.While the wind howls incessantly outside, I make the bed, shake out the cover, then the sheets, and put them all back together again.I’m about to rearrange the pillows exactly as they were when my skin prickles.
I strain to hear.Was that the faint sound of a helicopter or just the wind?I listen intently.When minutes go by, I brush it off as my imagination, which is not a good thing.I can’t start imagining shit—my mission will go straight to hell.
I hear the door opening.
Voices.
Shit.Shit.Shit.
It’s them.
They’re freaking early.Three hours early.
Tristan Dane.Ren Knight.Kaiser Martin.
The men whose faces are etched into my nightmares, waking me soaked in perspiration, my skin on fire.In my nightmares, they’re touching me, their lips traveling all over my body, their cocks thick against me, inside me.I then have to wrench myself awake because what am I doing?
I’m their enemy.They’re not fodder for my erotic dreams.
Now they’re here.Too early.Fuck.
My heart slams against my chest with the force of a wrecking ball while my entire body freezes up.My base instinct takes over, and I stupidly scan the room, landing on the window.One glance out, and I swear it started snowing six inches more in the time I used to blink.A storm?There weren’t any warnings about storms in the area.
Am I really considering escaping out the window?But then what?The cold is bound to kill me now, and wild animals will feast on my corpse.Apprehension burns through my brain cells, leaving me pale and undecided.
Think.Think.Think.
The first thing I tell myself to do is breathe, but the panic clawing at my insides makes it nearly impossible.I’ve never experienced such paralysis before in any situation.But then again, I’ve never come face to face with the men who own and rule my thoughts since the moment I discovered they existed.
I imagined this moment a hundred times over, and this is not it.Caught in plain sight, wearing track bottoms, a hoodie, and socks?No.I should have been clad in my padded black leather suit with a gas mask over my face.
