I’d rather die.
Chapter 9
Kip
I know I’m not imagining things. That fucking omega had her hand on my brother. She cornered him like some kind of rabid beast hunting down her prey. We didn’t sign up for this shit. Nik knows what he’s getting into with these things, and he accepts his part in it all, but whatever was going on just now, Kaden didn’t want anything to do with it.
By all rights, I should go straight to Mags and put the kibosh on this grift.
The whole encounter puts me in a foul mood. I’ve got guard duty after dinner, which is such bullshit. All that’s going to happen is Threnody pawing at Nik while he tolerates it for our sakes. Why do they even need a guard? It’s not like the mansion doesn’t have hired alphas and betas patrolling constantly. Even if anyone was crazy enough to want to kidnap the brat, they’d never make it this far in.
I should be guarding Kaden and Mags. Between Dave Donnelly’s creepy attitude and now Threnody’s advances, it’s clear that Clint and Clarice are raising predatory psychopaths.
While Threnody and Nik fool around in her nesting room, I pace the hallway outside, trying to sort everything out in myhead. Mags always finds the best marks; we’ve never had a problem like this with one of our cons. It doesn’t make sense that she’d be so far off about this family.
Something has been up with Mags lately. Her decisions are hastier, not thought through as carefully. If our fearless leader isn’t thinking straight, what are the rest of us supposed to do?
The second my shift is up, I take the long way around to our suite, hoping to find Mags.
She’s in our living room, lounging on the couch, wearing a tank top and shorts and reading a magazine like nothing’s wrong. Her pink hair is piled on top of her head in the cutest messy bun, and for a fraction of a second, I forget why I was worried. I shake off my attraction and steel myself for a potentially difficult discussion.
“Hey, Mags. Have you seen Kaden recently?”
Mags shrugs. “Not since his massage session with Threnody. Why?”
I tap my fingers on my thigh as I debate how much to tell her. I trust Mags with my life; she’ll make things right if Kaden’s in trouble, but she’ll also blow a gasket if the con goes sideways.
Maybe I should try a less direct approach.
“What’s your opinion on our mark? You know, your gut feeling. Do you think things are going well?”
“As well as can be expected.”
“And you don’t think we’ve been made? I mean, they don’t suspect anything, right?” Why is this so hard? I’ve always been able to talk to Mags about anything, but suddenly I’m nervous and tongue tied.
She closes the magazine and fans herself with it. “Is there something wrong, Kip? You’re acting weird.”
So is Mags. With Threnody’s heat fast approaching, Mrs. Donnelly had me turn all the thermostats in this wing of themansion to Arctic mode. I don’t see how Mags can wear what she is and still need to cool off.
Fuck. I can’t do it. I can’t put added stress on Mags when there’s clearly something going on with her.
“Nothing’s wrong. Just … curious, I guess.”
“Hm.” Mags sighs and sets down the magazine. “Hey, could you get me a glass of ice water? It’s burning up in here.”
“Um, sure.”
I pour some water from a carafe in the fridge and toss in a few ice cubes. My hand trembles as I give her the glass.
Mags downs the whole glass in one long gulp, then takes one of the ice cubes and runs it across the back of her neck. That’s when I notice the fine sheen of sweat on her smooth skin, the faint hint of pink in her cheeks, the slight increase in her breathing.
Is she getting sick? We can’t run this scam if Mags is sick!
Squatting next to her, I place the back of my hand on her forehead. She’s burning up, heat practically radiating off her in waves.
“Mags, I think you need a doctor.”
She scoffs and brushes my hand away. “I’m fine. It’s just hot in this damn house. The sooner Nik can knock up the mark, the sooner we can collect our fee and leave. Then I’ll be back to normal.”
