“Dinnae he start doing Uncle Lachlan and Aunt Aria’s taxes when he was twelve?” Kai settles into the seat next to me, offering me a glass of scotch. “Ye look like ye need this.”
“Thanks.”
Arabella shows no sign of slowing down. “When was I diagnosed with kidney failure?”
“Six months ago,” Mason says instantly. “You started dialysis the next week.”
Most of Mason’s side of the family is still based in Canada, we’ve all spent time at the King Syndicate headquarters in Nova Scotia. They sell access to some of the most valuable shipping lanes in the world, but their real power is information. They know all the dirty details about every criminal organization on the planet.
Aunt Aria runs the corporation with an iron fist, and with Uncle Lachlan standing behind her with an unhinged grin and toying with his guns, no one is stupid enough to try to bargain with her. Maybe it’s Mason’s Canadian half that makes him such a stuffed suit.
“Your hearing challenges won’t be an issue.” Mason’s marking something off on his iPad. “We’ll be joined at the hip. I’d like to work on a few signals we can use for situational context if needed. Tell me what you’d use for…”
Bella brightens, launching into an explanation of a few simple signs and I growl, low in my throat, trying to change it into a cough as Kai grins at me.
“The Zephyr’snext stop is Kyllini, it’s a little port town in Southern Greece. That’s where the first team will infiltrate.” Kai pulls up the layout of the ship. “Here’s the service entrance. Logan, Ethan, Jack, Hamish, and Theo will enter there. Three of your targets have shore leave, they’ll be easy to take down. The other two you’ll have to overpower on the ship. Catriona, you’re coming in as a replacement for the wellness coach-” She snorts inelegantly. “-so, your cover won’t be as hard to establish,” Kai continues.
Catriona’s the oldest daughter of our Chieftain and her area of expertise is poisons. I’d never eat dinner with her if I had annoyed her in any way. I’ve seen what she can do. It’s not pretty.
“Ian and Xenia will be with ye as your assistants,” Kai continues. “Ye have a shite tonne of yoga mats to carry onboard with ye.”
“I picked ye because you’re pretty Ian, no offense. Your job is going to be distracting passengers and crew while Xenia gets into the system.” Catriona smiles sweetly at Ian. The poor lad’s endured years of the family giving him shite for his cover model looks.
“So, if someone wants a go at my tadger, should I do it?” He’s glaring at Catriona and she laughs evilly.
“Only if it’s one of the feckers in charge of this.”
“Unfortunately, we only know one of them,” Xenia says regretfully. “Dr. Asshole - the one who examined you, Arabella - is a surgeon, Dr. Martin Langell. He seems to be in charge on the medical side and there’s five other surgeons on the boat with an excessive amount of staff, but there’s someone from the old group who’s still running the show. We just don’t know who it is yet.”
“I vote for throwing Dr. Arsehole over the side when we’re back out on the open sea,” I say. “Let’s see how long he can breaststroke before the sharks get hungry.”
“I’m not proud to admit this,” Bella says, “but I’m a hundred percent behind that plan.”
“If we get the chance, I’ll make sure you’re the one who shoves him over, baby.”
She blows me a kiss. “Thank ye husband, I know ye will.”
“Bella, you and Mason will be boarding as the Bianchis. We’re putting a significant amount of weaponry in your luggage, because it won’t be scanned.”
“Just make sure I know which bag is mine,” she smiles nervously. “I dinnae want to be the one to blow a hole in the side of the ship because I picked up a grenade thinking it was my body wash.”
I’m reminded again how new my bride is to this life. I took a schoolteacher, ripped her out of her world and into mine. But she stepped into place like it was always meant for her.
Six hours later…
Our jet has landed, everyone’s appearances altered and Kai has insisted on going over the plan twice more. For the first time I can remember, I’m glad for it. Nothing can go wrong, not with Bella at risk.
Again.
“What’s that expression, husband?” Bella finds me in the back of the jet, settling on my lap. “Is this your grim and brooding look, then?”
“It’s not too late to pull ye from this mission.”
“I’m going in.” She flutters her eyelashes. “Look what a good job they did on me! I’m the spitting image of Giulia. I hate her for what she’s willing to do to get new kidneys, but… I know she must be telling herself something that makes it right. Maybe Mattia convinced her that he canna live without her?”
“Dinnae make excuses for them, love. It will make it harder to do what ye must. It will make ye soft, prone to mistakes.” I kiss her hands, holding them in mine. “I fecking hate that you’re here.” Her smile slips. “I hate that you’re at risk. But I know ye can do this.”
We get three minutes before Kai starts barking orders. One hundred and eighty seconds to hold my wife in my arms before I send her into danger.
