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“We can’t be talkin’ about this anymore, Aaron. Don’t even mention Vic’s name around here again.”
I pause just before I reach the entrance to the main house. I was going up to see if we could get a night off and get taken into town for some fun, but pause when I hear voices trailing out. The mention of Vic has me taking a small step back and waiting. I want to hear what they’re talking about. Mostly I want to know why Aaron is part of it.
It sounds like Rhett’s voice I hear, and I’m curious to know more.
“Just need to know we’re covered when it comes to Vic. What happened could have blown up in all our faces.”
“What happened—” it’s definitely Rhett “—was something I didn’t want to have to clean up. Vic was causin’ problems, but you took it on yourself to make this go in a direction I didn’t need it goin’.”
“I had no choice. His family are sure something went down here, and I don’t see them letting that go anytime soon. How do you hope to deal with them?”
“I’ll deal with them. There is no proof that anything out of the ordinary went on that day. As far as anyone knows, he slipped. There is no proof otherwise, and no matter what they do, they won’t find anything else out.”
“If they did enough digging, they could link him back to me.”
“You’ve been a good asset to us, Aaron, but we can’t have this shit floating around the ranch any longer. I’m steppin’ away from this world, and you know it. It’ll ruin everything I’ve built here. You need to make sure nobody talks.”
Wait? They know Aaron? Since when? For how long? How is that possible?
“I’ll do what I can, but I think you need to be careful. If anyone finds out he didn’t slip, we’re all goin’ down.”
“Nobody will find out shit because nobody knows shit. I can’t have any more of this hangin’ around. This retreat is everything to me, you hear me? I helped you out, but it ends here.”
A rat?
What the hell sort of operation are they running here?
How does Rhett know Aaron?
God, so many questions.
“I’ll make sure it doesn’t come back on you, you have my word,” Aaron says.
“Appreciate that.”
I do a quick backward step, hitting the top of the steps again just as they walk outside. I casually make it look like I’m just walking in now. My heart is racing, and I’m just grateful they can’t see it pounding against my ribcage.
“Morning, gents,” I say, giving them a chipper wave.
“What can we do for you, Willa?” Rhett asks.
“I was actually wondering if there was a chance of us being able to go into town for a night? Supervised, of course. I don’t know if it’s against the rules or anything, but we’ve been locked up for so long it would be like a dream come true to have a night out.”
I press my hands together in a pleading motion, thankful he doesn’t know we’ve already snuck out and gone into town.
“I’ll chat with Waylen, see what the rules are, but I can’t see why not,” Rhett agrees.
I grin. “Thank you so much.”
“Where is Waylen, you shouldn’t be walkin’ around alone?” Aaron says, stepping up next to me.
“Calm down, GI Joe, I’m not out here plotting my escape. You don’t need to worry, we actually like being here and we’re not going to risk going back to prison.”
He stares at me, then gives Rhett a sharp nod before leaving.
I turn and smile at Rhett, acting like I didn’t hear a single thing. Then, I skip off and head back to the cabins.
We’re meant to be doing some sailing today before enjoying an afternoon by the campfire. I’m excited for that, because we were promised a few drinks, and I’m more than a little pumped to get to that part of the day.
“How did you go?” Fallon asks as I approach the cabin.
She’s already dressed in her bikini and tiny shorts, a big sunhat on her head. I love how she rocks her body, without a care in the world. That’s exactly how all women should be. Bodies are beautiful, no matter their shape or size, and people should have never been made to think anything less.
“Rhett said he’d think about it. Also, I got some juicy information when I was up there. I heard Rhett talking to Aaron of all people, he was telling Aaron how he doesn’t want what happened to come back on them and that he needed to make sure it was over. Whatever Vic did, it somehow involves Aaron too, which means that they knew him before we came here.”
Fallon narrows her eyes. “That’s really strange, I thought we got sent here for a reason but maybe Aaron was the reason we came here. Maybe he had business to deal with and swayed the judge.”
She has a point.
It makes a lot of sense that Aaron had something to do with all of this. It was strange that we were able to be released early to come on this retreat, was there a reason for that? I’m starting to think we missed a lot here and I have an idea.
“We should sneak into Aaron and Waylen’s room and see if we can find anything,” I say softly.
Fallon’s eyes widen. “That’s not a bad idea, but we do have to ask ourselves, what is it we’re hoping to find and what are we going to do with it if we do? We don’t want to risk anything going wrong.”
“I just want to know, call it curiosity. I want to know what it is they’re hiding. We at least have the right to know considering we had to stare down at Vic’s lifeless body.”
Fallon nods. “Good point. Okay, we’ll do it later when everyone is around the fire.”
I nod and then rush inside and get ready for our sailing adventures.
I dress in a bright yellow bikini and nothing else but a large sunhat, too. I slather my body in sunscreen and then join Fallon as we make our way down to the lake where everyone is getting ready for the day.
The moment we arrive, I can feel more than one set of eyes on me. It’s Lake’s eyes I see first, dragging over my body, his expression hungry as he stands, arms crossed, bare chest on display. God he’s gorgeous. I wish he wasn’t so damned good looking. My eyes move to Waylen next, who is leaning against a tree, but I can’t see his expression beneath his sunglasses. I do know he’s looking right at me, though.
“God, you’ve got some attention,” Fallon says, nudging me.
“There you two are!” Ember says, rushing over. “I’m so excited, this is going to be amazing.”
I glance at the two sailboats that are waiting at the shore. It’s going to be fun, all right. I haven’t been on a sailboat, but I do love boats, and I love being on the water so it’s the very best of both worlds.
“Okay, ladies,” Dante calls, raising his hands so we all turn toward him. “We’ll divide up into two groups. One guard with each group of ladies, and one of us will come onto the sailboat and show you all how it works and how to sail it.”
We divide into the obvious groups, Marg and Betty go with Aaron and the rest of us go with Waylen. It’s when Lake comes up to our group and is the instructor that I know we’ve probably made the wrong choice. Fallon gives me a look and Ember giggles as we all go over and get some life jackets on. I stay at the end of the line, trying very hard to avoid the two gorgeous men I’m currently infatuated with.
Being stuck on a sailboat with the both of them is probably not an ideal situation.
“If you all get on,” Lake instructs, “I’ll sail it out and then we’ll go from there.”
We all climb onto the large sailboats, and I go over to the railing, away from Waylen and Lake, and stare out at the beautiful water. Fallon and Ember join me, and we enjoy every second as we cast off. Lake sails us out into the middle of the water where there is nothing else around and then slows it down.
“Okay, who is up first?”
I throw my hand up with such force everyone laughs.
“Step on up then, beautiful,” Lake murmurs.
Fallon rolls her eyes with a big grin, and I can’t help but notice Waylen’s tight-lipped glare. I walk over and Lake goes over everything, showing me exactly what to do and how to sail the boat. I give it my best shot, but my god I suck at it, and I become frustrated rather quickly, even with his gentle guidance.
“I can’t do this,” I bark, stomping my foot in frustration.
“Take a breath, you’re overthinking it,” Lake says, stepping up behind me and guiding my hand in the right direction.
“You’re showing her wrong, that’s what the damned problem is,” Waylen mutters, walking over and practically shoving Lake out of the way.
Bad move.
“Waylen, you need to back off, right now,” Lake grinds out, stepping back up.
“If you showed her how to correctly do it, she wouldn’t be struggling,” Waylen says, unbothered by Lake’s anger. “Move and I’ll show her.”
“I’m teaching here, get out of the way,” Lake shoots back. “Fuckin’ now.”
Oh boy.
“Can you two stop, please?” I say, turning and taking a step back to get out of their way.
They don’t hear me, at least, they don’t show that they do.
“Back off,” Waylen grunts when Lake steps closer in warning.
Lake steps right up to Waylen’s face. “You’re walking a fine line, back down.
“Fuckin’ touch me, Lake, and see what happens.”
Waylen steps closer, Lake steps closer, and then Waylen shoves him, just a little. That’s all it takes. Lake shoves him back, even harder, and the two go to lunge for each other.
“Can you two stop!” I cry, throwing my hands up.
I try to avoid their argument and take a big step back and don’t realize there are ropes and items in the way. I stumble and, before I know what’s happening, I go right over the railing. I fall, screaming as I go down. I hit the water hard, so hard it knocks the breath out of me. I can’t breathe as I struggle to surface from the cold water. My entire body hurts, and I’ve taken a mouth full of liquid that I can’t expel.
Freaking out, I scramble, choking, trying to get to the surface as my heart rate increases.
Hands go around my waist and I’m being hauled out of the water. I surface and immediately cough and gasp as the water tries desperately to escape my lungs. Lake is the one who dove in, and he’s hanging onto me, slamming his hand over my back and telling me to breathe, but I’m freaking out.
I can’t breathe.
I just keep coughing.
Throwing my hands in the air and waving them around, I can’t seem to stop the coughing long enough to get air into my lungs and the more that happens, the more I panic.
“Willa, you need to calm down. You’re freaking out. Calm down.”
He rubs my back, over and over, and, eventually, I begin to breathe. It burns, but with every breath, my rapid heart slows and I’m able to understand what’s going on around me. That’s when the anger comes into play, wild, wild anger. I don’t appreciate two grown ass men fighting the way those two just did. It’s pathetic, and it’s nothing but a show of dicks.
“Let me go,” I snap, shoving Lake away.
“Willa, here,” Waylen calls, lowering the side ladder so I can get back into the boat.
Fallon and Ember are both at the railing, their faces worried. The second I start swimming over, they practically shove Waylen out of the way and come to help me up. Once I’m back on board, Ember wraps a towel around me and Fallon steps up. She’s not afraid to say what she thinks and oh, does she unleash on the two men. Lake is back on board now, dripping, his hair wet, and Waylen is standing a few meters away from him, a glare on his face.
“You two need to tuck your swinging dicks away. What you just did then could have fucking killed her. We’re not in high school anymore, yet you two are acting like love-struck teenagers who are about to get their dicks wet for the first time. Not with my girl. Not here. You owe her one hell of an apology and you’ll be lucky if I don’t report both of you. Now get over there and kiss her god damned toes because she deserves better than both of you scumbags.”
God damn.
Both men look to me.
“Forgive me,” Lake says, his voice gruff. “That was fuckin’ unprofessional. I’m sorry, Willa.”
“You should be reported,” Waylen mutters.
Lake glances at him, but doesn’t say another word, and in that moment, I respect the hell out of him.
“Waylen,” I grind out, “that’s enough. He at least has the balls to do the right thing, you’re still carrying on. You could be reported too, or have you forgotten that?”
Waylen’s face tightens. “Sorry.”
That’s it. That’s the best I’m getting.
“Well,” Fallon says, glaring at Waylen, “I know who won the competition by a swinging dick mile, and it ain’t you, guard boy.”
Waylen gives her a withering expression and she flips him the bird before turning to me. “Come on, let’s sit you down so your poor lungs can get some fresh air back into them.”
We sit down at the front of the sailboat and Lake goes back to sailing it around, not saying another word. He knows what he did was wrong, and he isn’t going to argue it. Waylen looks guilty as fuck as he sits at the back of the boat, brooding.
Their reactions told me everything I needed to know about them.
And one thing is for sure, Waylen isn’t the man for me.
Not even close.
I was wrong.
~*~*~*~
“YOU GOOD?”
The voice comes from Lake as I’m dressing at the restaurant later that afternoon before we make our way to the fire that Elias and Madden are currently building near the water. Once we finished up with our sail, we came back and had some food before showering and getting changed. The restaurant slash café has all kinds of amenities, and you can see they’ve put a lot of money into it.
There are showers, toilets, the big dining area, a deck, and underneath has all their watersports equipment. It’s like your very own lakeside vacation and you could easily spend your days here. It’s just a shame my first day truly enjoying it was ruined by what went down on the boat, but I’m not one to carry on, and I’m certainly not going to punish Lake over it.
No.
He showed a side to him that I respect today.
I face him and study his perfect face, with that damp hair falling around his shoulders and eyes that make all the hairs on my body prickle.
“Willa?”
Fuck it.
I step forward and reach up, taking his face in my hands and pulling him close until our lips meet. He’s shocked for a moment and then he melts into the kiss, returning it with the same passion as I’m giving it.
I kiss him long and deep, gently flickering my tongue against his as I press into him. His hands find my hips and he hauls me closer, mouths dancing until we’re forced apart by the sound of voices entering the restaurant. I hesitantly let him go, looking up at him with an expression I hope tells him exactly what I want to do to him when we’re alone.
“Why the sudden change of heart?” he asks me, eyes locking onto mine.
“Because you showed me who you truly were out there, and I respect the hell out of people who can admit their wrong doings and apologize.”
He strokes a thumb over my bottom lip. “This mean you’re done with him?”
“There wasn’t anything to be done with,” I answer honestly.
He grins, just slightly. “Good, because I don’t like sharing.”
“That’s not what you said earlier, you seemed happy with me exploring my options.”
He leans in, brushing his lips over mine once more. “I lied. Kind of.”
“Kind of?” I ask, raising my brows.
He winks and turns. “You’ll see.”
Then he’s gone, leaving me wondering.
“What was he doing in here?” Fallon asks, entering and throwing her stuff down.
“Making up for things.” I wink at her.
She laughs. “Well, he deserves the gold medal that’s for sure. Waylen is out there still looking like he’s sore. You should probably talk to him, put him out of his misery.”
I laugh as I walk past her, nudging her with my shoulder. “You’re horrible.”
“Seriously, though,” she calls as I close the door.
I join everyone else in the dining hall where we’re making some cocktails before going down to the fire. I am so excited for this I practically dive into the group and take a glass. Rhett has had the chefs bring out all kinds of mixes and the joy I get picking alcohol and additives is concerning, but my god I have waited too long to do this without it being against the rules.
“About earlier ...”
Waylen falls in step beside me, and I don’t glance at him as I squeeze a hint of lime into my vodka drink.
“You had a chance to apologize, big guy. You chose wrong.”
He exhales. “I was angry.”
“So was Lake.”
“I’m sorry, Willa. That’s the truth. I should have said it earlier.”
I pause and glance at him. “I appreciate that.”
“But you’re still choosing him.”
God.
I take a calming breath and meet his gaze. “It’s not about choosing anyone, we’re having fun here. But, if it’s him I’m choosing to have fun with, then yes, I have chosen. It’s not on you, Waylen, you just showed me the direction I was leaning in. Please don’t take it personally, there are a million other women out there who will give you a hundred percent. I’m not looking to give that.”
“Figured,” he mutters, shoving a whole piece of lime into his glass instead of squeezing it. “But I get it. I’ve got enough going on anyway, I should have known better than to even consider anything with you.”
I give him the warmest smile I can muster up. “Don’t take it to heart.”
I’m terrible at this comfort thing.
He gives me a sideways look. “I’m not even going to ask if that’s your attempt at makin’ me feel better.”
I laugh. “Sorry, I suck.”
He smiles, just a little. “Sorry again, Willa.”
“Don’t sweat it,” I say, bumping my shoulder into him. “We’re cool.”
Without another word, he turns and walks away.
Well then, that’s one drama down.
I glance at Aaron who is talking to Rhett.
I’m ready to go and find out what he’s hiding. If we can take a chance to sneak off while we’re at the fire, I’m going to use it. I can fake a period or something, no man is going to argue with that.
“Madden wants to take me for a walk later,” Ember whispers, making me jump in surprise.
I didn’t even hear her come up beside me.
“Madden?” I say, eyes wide.
“Yeah. Should I go?”
“Do you want to go?”
She goes pink.
That would be a yes.
“Girl, go and get it.”
She giggles. She’s adorable, and she certainly grows on you. You could never picture her surviving in a prison, yet she has managed. Somewhere deep inside I’m certain she has a tough angle that she’s had to use before, but I’m guessing she chooses to let it be the smallest part of her. I respect that.
“He’s so ... gorgeous. I don’t want to get hurt if he decides he doesn’t like me or ...”
“Firstly, have you seen yourself? You’re fucking adorable. Secondly, I don’t see Madden as the type to just lead a girl on. I think you should go for it.”
“You really think?”
Sometimes you want to both hug her and shake her.
“Yes, I really think. Take that walk, and whatever happens ... let it happen. That man looks like he could rock your world.”
She flushes. “He does, doesn’t he?”
We both glance at Madden, and the look he’s giving her makes even me weak at the knees. Oh yeah, he wants her alright, but there is also a softness in his eyes when he stares at her. He’s fond of her.
“Girl, that man is into you in a big way,” I say, glancing back at her.
She beams. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Atta girl.”
We take our drinks and wait by the balcony for everyone to finish. Fallon finds me once she’s got hers and leans in close once we’re alone. “You ready for operation find out what happened to Vic?”
I laugh. “Ready.”
“Good, when I say the word, we move.”
I grin.
These people are growing on me, which is something I was certain wouldn’t happen.
Because the very idea terrifies me.
The last time someone grew on me, I ended up in prison.
Yet I find myself unable to stop it.
I’m a walking disaster.
I can just feel it.