Page 55 of Double the Redemption

“If you think I should, then okay,” Naomi told Karissa and Glitch. “I’m probably going to be a quick learner in some areas, but I don’t know how I’m going to do in the combat part. My brain can remember the moves but executing them is going to be another matter entirely.”

“Don’t count yourself out before you’ve tried it. Taz can work with you too, when you’re comfortable. I heard from Simba that they can’t sub him out for another week, maybe two, so we’ll have him here for a bit.”

“Lucky us!” Karissa shouted, rolling her eyes. A sharp laugh came from outside.

“And I think we should plan on you getting out of his apartment more,” Esme added. She held up her hand when Naomi looked at her. “You may not trust the men, but you can trust us. And that means you need to come and spend time with us. God knows I need the company, because Fury and Gabe are driving me insane at home, always wanting to help. I need female company; all the testosterone in my house is suffocating.”

“And Ronin has been hoping to play with Asher again. He’s a bit bored playing with his sisters,” Royal agreed.

“I … I don’t know if I’m ready for that.” It was hard to admit that, but she felt safe in this apartment. She was guarded. Asher was guarded. Anyone after them wouldn’t be able to get in easily.

“Naomi,” Scarlett murmured, gaining her attention. “I know what you’re thinking, and I have a good sense of how you’re feeling too. After the girls and I escaped, I refused to leave the house or let them go out. I was too scared the people who took them would be after all of us and find us if we dared to show our faces. But it also made me go stir-crazy.”

“She was a total bi—horror.” Wren corrected, glancing at Asher, who was studying her. Win nodded.

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Fine, yes, I was. But the men we were staying with kept assuring me we were safe and that I needed to get out of the house. We all did. If we didn’t, we were letting them win. Staying and hiding meant letting the person we escaped from have control over our lives.”

The words were a heavy hit to the gut. Naomi stared at her, dumbfounded. She was right. She was completely right.

“But how do you get over that feeling? I … A part of me knows we’re safe here, but the what-ifs are a lot to get over, especially knowing what I do. They can find anyone they want. And all it takes is one drone flying overhead, capturing a picture of Asher or me, and …” The possibilities were too severe.

“The cartel is still searching for you,” Glitch muttered. “But they think you headed for Canada, far from their influence. They have men stationed along the border. The Feds do have agreements with the Canadian government to hide out valuable people before trials, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility.”

“And you’re helping that along?” Esme asked.

Glitch smirked. “Of course, I am. A few potential sightings mentioned here and there in official channels have them racing around, chasing their tails. I’ve also asked a few contacts to plant little decoys in videos to really add credibility.”

Naomi stared at her, wide-eyed. “You can do that?”

“Babe, she’s the best hacker out there, so damn straight she can.” Karissa laughed. “You’re in good hands. Besides, if they tried to fly drones within a mile of here in any direction, we’d know about it and make sure there’s nothing for them to catch.”

Naomi didn’t realize how big an operation they were running. “Wow. And all that’s because of what happened with the club girl?”

“It was already happening before all that, but this is the first time we’re really mentioning it and monitoring it more closely. I had Code put in some fail-safes so his system picks things up too, in case they get past mine. We also installed new cameras, sensors, and trip wires all around the property. Vulture and Warg helped me test them before they left.”

“They were here for less than a day. How is that possible?”

“Mercenaries have to work fast and smart, so you pick up tricks and things along the way.”

“Good, then that’s settled. Naomi, you’ll be more protected than the president at this rate,” Esme declared, with a grin. “Which means, we can now get to the good stuff.”

“Good stuff?” An uneasy feeling settled over her.

They all smiled at her. “We want to know what the deal is between you and Ink.”

Shit. That was what she was afraid of.

22

NAOMI

“There’s nothing going on between Ink and me.” She handed Jett back to Esme, but he was snatched away by Scarlett, who cooed at him.

A collective snort echoed through the room. “Babe, if you’re going to lie, you really need to get better at it,” Karissa admonished. “Do we need to add that to your lessons too?”

“There isn’t,” she insisted. “Maybe at one point there might have been potential, but that’s done now.”

“Because of all this club girl business? Honey, those girls mean nothing to any of the guys, especially Kayla. She’s been trying to get with one of them for a long time, but that’s more about rubbing it in our faces that a club girl can become an Old Lady, like Harlow did with Steel,” Esme explained. “And even that wasn’t a typical situation.”