Chapter Eleven

The next night, after another day of fake wedding preparation madness and frustrated attempts to steal some alone time with Lucas to search for any information about the arms exchange, Ruby cut into her lamb chop and tried to focus on her mother’s question about the wedding bouquet.

“She doesn’t give a damn, Ingrid,” Rolf slurred from behind a full plate and a nearly empty glass at the head of the dinner table. “Just do what you want.”

It might be true, but it didn’t change the fact that her stepfather was drunk and an asshole. Since he was a total prick when he was sober, Ruby had a lifetime of practice dealing with that aspect of his personality. The slurred words and bitter snarl right on the surface instead of under a thin veneer of smarm was new, though.

There hadn’t been a lot of non-Ingrid-wedding chatter at the dinner table up to that point, but the room went silent at his comment. Across the table from her and Lucas, Jasper and Talia went still, their forced cheer and false flirting quashed by the tension. Lucas tucked her hand into his under the table, and her shoulders ratcheted down from her earlobes at his warm, comforting touch.

“Are you feeling all right, dear?” Ingrid asked in a small voice from her spot at the opposite end of the table from her husband.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m sitting here surrounded by those who love me most.” He shot back the rest of the akvavit in his glass. “I’m a man who has it all, aren’t I, darling?”

He added enough derision into what should have been an endearment to force an angry heat up from Ruby’s toes fast enough she was surprised her hair didn’t catch fire. Lucas’s cool grip on her hand was the only thing keeping her grounded in the moment rather than flying across the table and letting the bastard have it, once and for all.

Her mom smiled, but it was a small one that didn’t even come close to reaching her eyes. “Of course.”

“Excellent answer.” He reached for the decanter next to his glass. “Shall we have a toast to the happy couple?”

Ruby stiffened at the words that came out of her stepfather’s mouth that sounded six shades of ugly. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

The engagement may be a cover, but her stepfather didn’t know that. She glanced down at her fingers intertwined with Lucas’s. His words stung all the more because she was beginning to wish it wasn’t all a lie, that she really was about to have life beyond the borders of Fare Island and outside of her stepfather’s criminal organization.

“You’ve never been as agreeable as your mother, have you?” Rolf asked, pouring a double’s worth of liquor into his glass. “Why is that? Have I not given you everything you could want?” He toyed with his glass so that the ice cubes swirled around inside, just one more thing he sent this way or that, depending on his mood. “If it wasn’t for me, God knows what would have happened to the little trio. No doubt your mother would be in ja—”

“Rolf. That’s enough.” Ingrid’s voice was as sharp and as mean as one of the Sparrow’s deadly blades. “May I speak with you outside?”

She pushed her chair away from the table with a loud screech and stood, her white-knuckled hands in fists at her side.

“Anything for you, darling. You know that.” Rolf’s chair stuttered as it went back, little jerks that made the ice in his glass clink hard against each other, then stood and walked with deliberate intention to the door and swung it open with more force than necessary. “Shall we?”

Heels clicking on the hardwood floor, Ingrid crossed the room with an extra bit of iron in her spine that Ruby couldn’t recall ever seeing before. First, Jasper and his secret life working with the Americans, and now her mom standing up to Rolf. Maybe Jasper was right. Maybe they didn’t need her to always be watching out for them, running interference, and cleaning up their—mostly Jasper’s—messes. If that was the case, she had no idea what to do next. Keeping them safe had been the only thing she’d ever really worried about.

“After you, my lady.” Rolf executed a mocking bow.

Ignoring him, Ingrid looked back at the rest of them. “Please don’t wait on us to continue with your dessert.”

After that she swept through the door. Rolf closed it behind both of them.

Lucas let go of her hand. “Thank God. I didn’t think Osborne’s latest invention was going to work.”

“Was it the alcohol volume doubler?” Talia asked, pulling a gold tube of lipstick and a small gold compact out of her bra.

“Yes. The man is a giant pain in my ass, but he’s a genius.” Lucas vaulted up from his seat and made a beeline toward Rolf’s vacant seat.

Lucas, Jasper, and Talia moved in concert to her stepfather’s empty spot at the head of the table while Ruby sat frozen in her seat trying to process what in the hell was going on. While she’d been stuck looking at menus and seating charts, her brother, his fake girlfriend, and Lucas had been up to something much more interesting. This was bullshit. Her ass was on the line as much as theirs, if not more, and yet they left her in the dark.

“Watch the door,” Lucas said as he picked up Rolf’s phone.

Jasper snorted. “You watch the fucking door.”

“I’m point,” Lucas shot back. “You’re just the interfering brother.”

“Who is working with the Americans,” Jasper grumbled as he stalked to the door.

Talia uncapped the lipstick, revealing a USB drive instead of the pale-pink shade she wore on her lips. She handed it to Lucas along with her matching compact mirror.

“How long?” He slipped off the back of Rolf’s phone and then pushed the compact’s decorative hinge to reveal a plug that he fit into the phone’s exposed inner-workings.

“Forty-five seconds,” Talia said.

After a quick beep, he flipped the clasp that held the compact closed and slipped the lipstick USB into it. “In the lab or real world?”

“This device has never been used on the job before,” she said.

“And you thought this was the ideal time to field test a new toy?” He cut a glare at the other Silver Knight.

Talia didn’t flinch. The woman had to be made of solid ice. “Osborne guaranteed it would download the virus that would let us monitor the phone remotely, no matter what encryption is on it.”

“It won’t be his dead ass getting dumped in the North Sea if he’s wrong.” Lucas dropped his gaze back to the compact, the mirror showing a countdown clock instead of a reflection.

“He never is.”

The whole thing was like having a front row seat to a spy movie, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted—needed—to be a part of it.

“Twenty seconds.” Lucas glanced up at the door. “Can you hear them?”

“Voices are low, but they’re going at it.” Jasper’s jaw was clenched hard enough to break a tooth.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t heard Rolf in all his nasty glory before, but their mother wasn’t usually the target. No. It was his stepchildren who had grown up dealing with the verbal shanks. Both of them had learned how to zone out as he sliced and diced them. Their mother hadn’t. Despite her unusual show of spirit tonight, Rolf’s barbs had to be hitting their mark if Jasper’s reaction was anything to go by.

“Ten seconds,” Lucas announced in a hushed voice.

Jasper stiffened. “They stopped.”

The doorknob turned.

“We need five more seconds,” Lucas said.

Jasper grabbed the knob and held it still before shoving his shoulder against the door.

“Three seconds.” The vein in Lucas’s temple throbbed.

Ruby’s heart clogged her throat.

“What is going on with this door?” Jasper mumbled loudly, sounding almost as drunk as Rolf. “It won’t open.”

“Done.” Lucas unplugged Rolf’s phone from the compact converter and tossed it to Talia before setting the phone back down where it had been next to the decanter.

He hustled back over to his chair and sat down a moment before Jasper released the door.

Ingrid stood by herself on the other side, hands on her hips and a weary downturn to her mouth. Ruby tried to hyperventilate as quietly as possible while Lucas took a bite of the creamy Skyr panna cotta with raspberries and licorice shavings as if it was just another boring family dinner.

“Did you forget how a door worked, Jasper?” Ingrid asked, her tone softer than her words, before strolling into the room and heading straight to Rolf’s seat. “Ah, there it is. Your father refused to retire to his room until he had this damn thing. I’m going to deliver it.” She picked up the phone in one hand and rubbed her temple with the other. “After that we really need to finalize the dinner menu, Ruby. Do you mind coming up to my rooms so we can do that? I’m afraid my head is really beginning to ache.”

“Of course.” She stood up, playing the ever dutiful daughter while mentally plotting how to get Lucas alone and make it known she wasn’t sitting on the sidelines again. “Good night everyone.”

She brushed a kiss against Lucas’s cheek to cover what she had to do next. “Tomorrow. Noon. The library.”

How she’d sneak away from all of the fake wedding plans she was sure her mom had, she didn’t know, but she would. No matter how hot he was, her Silver Knight wasn’t going to keep her clueless again.

…

The next afternoon, Lucas had to pass by Rolf’s office on his way to the library. Taking a quick peek in, the first thing he spotted was Joey glowering in a corner; the second was a green-faced Rolf hurtling straight at him. The older man’s shoulder slammed into Lucas’s, sending both men backpedaling to regain their balance. Lucas came back, hands loose at his sides but primed to strike. One close look at Rolf, though, and he changed his mind. Landing a solid hit would probably result in his shoes swimming in puke.

Rolf steadied himself with a hand on the doorframe. “Luc.”

“Are you okay?” he asked, taking a safety step back.

The older man shook his head then groaned, obviously regretting the movement. “Not feeling well.”

Lucas gave him a once over. Bloodshot eyes. Green pallor. Dry, cracked lips. Rolf was hungover hard. Osborne would be eager to hear about the alcohol doubler’s after effects, but Lucas had no interest in being on the receiving end of them.

He pivoted out of Rolf’s way. “I won’t hold you up then.”

The other man narrowed his eyes, distrust written all over his face underneath the obvious signs of the mother of all hangovers. “What are you doing down here?”

“Ruby asked me to meet her in the library.” Lies of omission were always better than straight-up falsehoods, especially when dealing with a dangerous man like Rolf who would only be more suspicious and on edge when injured. “I think she needed a break from wedding planning.”

And to chew his ass up one side and down the other for last night. He hadn’t missed the annoyance in her voice when she’d issued her edict before she’d strutted out of the dining room last night. Someone didn’t like being left out of things. After growing up in a place like Fare Island, he could understand how not being in the know led to bad things—like one of the Sparrow’s blades in your back.

Rolf looked like he was about to say something else, but clamped his mouth shut tight, shuddered, turned another shade of green, and then took off at a fast clip for the stairs.

Now that was a man he didn’t envy.

Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the office. Joey stood inside the doorway, his beefy arms crossed over his chest and a scowl curling up one lip. Obviously, the Macintosh crime syndicate’s number two man thought he was a badass. He was wrong.

Lucas cocked his head and grinned at the muscle-bound idiot. “It’s really too bad your mother never warned you that your face would freeze like that.”

Not waiting for the oaf’s reaction when he finally managed to untangle the insult, Lucas continued down the hallway to the library two doors farther down.

The double doors were open. Ruby stood with her back to him on the opposite side of the room in front of a pair of French doors that looked out onto the gardens. It reminded him of the first day he’d met her at Moad Manor when she’d taken one look at the flowers behind the house and noticed more about them than he had in three months of living there. He’d been ready for the woman he’d thought Ruby was, he hadn’t been prepared for the woman she’d turned out to be.

He closed the door behind him. She turned at the quiet click of the door shutting, her pale-pink skirt fluttering around her knees and giving him the perfect view of her long legs that had felt so damn good wrapped around him. Ruby cleared her throat, dragging his attention to her face, framed by her wild rainbow hair, and didn’t hide her amusement at his distraction.

“This is all very cloak-and-dagger,” he said, walking toward her, as if he could even pretend to stay away.

“It should be right up your alley, then.” She played with the long gold chain around her neck, the length of which disappeared beneath the low V of her white shirt. “You should have let me know about what was going on last night.”

Her technique was basic spy tradecraft. A quick diversion followed by a direct strike with the intention of getting your target to share crucial information before they’d realized what he or she was saying. No doubt the intel game came easy to her, but he wasn’t the kind of mark she was used to when sent out on errands by her stepfather.

Letting his gaze wander over her every curve, his fingers twitching to touch even the smallest sliver of exposed skin, he crossed to her. “Was it that easy for you with the men Rolf targeted to rob of their prize jewels? A little push. A little peek. Then he’d hand over his passwords?”

She didn’t back away. Instead, she took a step closer so their bodies were only a few inches apart, electricity sparking between them like a transformer on overload. “Pretty close.”

“Did you like it?” Again, his focus dropped to her perfect mouth as he imagined all the things he wanted her to do with it.

As if she knew exactly what he was thinking because she was too, the tip of her pink tongue darted out and wet her lush lips. “The thrill of the adrenaline rush? Yes. The knowing that any man who met me was destined to be either much poorer or dead afterward? Not so much.” Her chin trembled and she closed her eyes for a split second before opening them again and staring up at him with renewed intensity. “Now answer my question. Why not bring me into your little circle of trust with Jasper and Talia?”

A sense that he’d used her too much already? A worry that he wouldn’t be able to keep her safe once he was gone? A fear that the more time he spent with her, the more likely he was to forget the real reason he was on Fare Island? All true, and none of which he could say.

A lie of omission is always better than a straight-up falsehood.

“You’re not an agent,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “No, but my dead body will be sinking to the bottom of the North Atlantic right along with yours if something goes wrong.”

“Nothing will go wrong.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“Never doubt my word.” He’d do what it took. He’d find a way. He wouldn’t leave her swinging between life and death because he’d blackmailed her in to helping him.

“I’m not going to sit back and be only an observer. I’m in this as deep as you are.”

If she were anyone else, he’d be recruiting her to be part of the Silver Knights and sweet-talking her back into his bed as soon as they got to Elskov. She was as brave as she was ferociously determined, and he already knew how deep her loyalties were for those she cared about. But the fact was, she wasn’t anyone else. She was Ruby Macintosh, daughter of one of North Europe’s most powerful crime bosses. There was no future for them, in or out of his bed. He couldn’t give her the freedom she deserved or the job she’d be fucking fantastic at, but he could make her a part of this operation.

“Fair enough, not that we’ve gotten anything out of last night’s work.” A fact that made his head pound almost as hard as Rolf’s must be. “Your stepfather isn’t using his phone.”

Ruby laughed. “Yeah, I saw him going into his office earlier. I almost felt bad for him.”

“He’s probably throwing up his guts in his room now.” Next time he’d half the dosage. “Only Joey’s left in the office.”

“Not for long.” She gave him an ornery grin that promised trouble ahead.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you forget that I know this place better than you do. There’s more to me than colorful hair and an invitation to Fare Island.”

“Okay, so what do you know?”

“That Joey has never missed a meal in his life. Ever.” She strutted to the door and dropped her hand to the knob. “And that’s not going to change today when its Thursday, and that means his favorite meatballs, rye bread, and pickled gherkins.”

Because of the general pre-wedding chaos, the cook had made a full lunch that a couple of servants had set out on a side table. It was up to each house resident to serve themselves. No one would be bringing a tray to Joey, forcing him to abandon Rolf’s office for the dining room.

“How did you know Rolf wouldn’t be up for an evening in the office?” he asked as he walked over to stand beside her.

“He’s not a big drinker. Chances were slim to none that he’d be as happy as spring sheep today.”

She held her finger up to her lip and peeked around the library’s open door. Lucas had to shift so he stood behind her in order to see. That brought his body in line with hers in a way that made his cock wake up and say hello. With the perfect timing of an executioner, Joey strolled out of Rolf’s office and down the hall toward the dining room. As tempting as it was to stay pressed against her, they couldn’t miss this opportunity. They were out the door as soon as Joey turned the corner.

The office was empty. Shutting the door after Ruby ducked inside, Lucas made a beeline for Rolf’s desk. There were papers everywhere but no calendar. Working in unison without uttering a word, they searched through the stacks for any tidbit about Henriksen, a shipment of guns, or the exchange location, coming up empty on all counts.

Ten minutes later, they stood side by side staring at the desk making sure everything was in the same order as it had been before. Frustration was turning his gut into a seething pool of destructive acid, but he turned the business card for a shady art dealer a fraction of an inch to the left to its original position. This whole operation was turning into a bust and time was running out. They had days, not weeks, before Henriksen got ahold of the weapons and launched his guerrilla campaign on Elskov.

“Maybe the books?” Ruby asked, surveying the bookshelf behind the desk. “He’s not much of a reader, and I always wondered if he kept the books for another reason.”

Thick, leather-bound hardcover volumes with titles like An Academic Deconstruction of Viking Lore and The Great Fjord Battles of 835 ran the length of the bookshelf. None looked like anything that Rolf would sit down with next to a crackling blaze in the fireplace.

He was reaching for the closest book when he heard footsteps. Reaching for Ruby, he looked over his shoulder at the closed office door. The knob turned. Grabbing her wrists in one hand, he lifted her arms above her head as he maneuvered her so her back was up against the bookshelves, her legs parted enough that he could step between them.

The door squeaked open.

“Luc—”

He cut off her question with a kiss. She parted her mouth in surprise. Taking advantage of the moment to delve deeper wasn’t something that should happen. It did anyway. When it came to Ruby, things had a way of working out that way.

Dropping his free hand to her hip and sneaking his thumb under the hem of her shirt to stroke her bare skin underneath at the same time as he slid his tongue inside her sweet mouth, he reveled in the feel of her smooth skin and the taste of her delicious kiss. The truth of it was, Ruby wasn’t an asset, she wasn’t a pawn in this operation. She was the woman he never thought he’d find—the one he didn’t want to be without.

“What in the hell are you two doing in here?” Joey yelled.

Lucas tore his mouth away from Ruby’s and lowered her arms to her sides but couldn’t seem to let go of her. Holding onto her hand, he turned to face Rolf’s snarling second-in-command.

The other man stood in the doorway, his right hand on the gun butt sticking out of his shoulder holster and his left held a plate heaped high with meatballs and bread.

“What’s it look like?” Ruby asked, her voice convincingly breathy. “Hiding from mom.”

Looking from one of them to the other, Joey slowly moved his hand away from his gun to get a better grip on his overfilled plate. “This room is off-limits. Get out.”

“Fine.” Ruby tossed her head, the sun steaming in from one of the windows making the brightly colored hues sparkle like a real rainbow. “No one wants to be here now that you’re here anyway.”

With that she flounced to the door, all attitude and snobbery. Damn. His girl was cool under pressure, even if her strut seemed a little on the shaky side as she passed by Joey and went out into the hall.

Lucas took a slower route, taking his time as he crossed the room like he owned it. Sure, it was an asshole move, but he was okay with that. Sometimes being a dick was the only way to get the message across, and he did have one for Joey: Ruby was off-limits. Now. Tomorrow. When Lucas was no more than a memory. Joey might see her as a way to ensure he’d eventually be number one in the Macintosh organization, but that wasn’t going to happen.

Accidentally knocking into the other man’s shoulder as he passed, Lucas kept his gaze straight ahead and didn’t slow down as he walked out of the office.

“My mom went into the dining room.” Ruby grabbed his hand and pulled him in the opposite direction. “We’re going to the kitchen.”

The kitchen was behind the wide staircase leading to the second floor. Open and airy, it was the domain of the single cook and her handful of minions—all of whom were on the staff patio enjoying their lunch in the sunshine.

“That was close.” A pink flush brightened Ruby’s cheeks as she opened the cabinet next to the sink that held the water glasses.

“And still no answers.” That was the nut of it. He couldn’t keep playing fake fiancé, no matter how much he and his cock liked it. “Time is running out and we’re like a cow on ice trying to stay upright.”

Ruby let out a surprised gasp and peeked around the open cabinet door at him, her eyes wide with glee. “Time to get back to dry land then.” She pushed the cabinet door open wide so he could see what was hanging on the inside. “My mom’s calendar.”

A peel and stick dry erase calendar took up the bottom half of the door. The notes on the calendar had a feminine turn to them and listed things such as florist numbers, a few wedding details, and a listing underneath the Sunday heading that read:

R. FLIGHT ARRIVES 10 A.M. SUNDAY, LE GRAND DUCAL HOTEL, LUXEMBOURG

“That’s it,” Lucas said, shaking his head in disbelief. “It’s been out in the open all along.”

Adrenaline rushed through his veins as a plan started to form. He’d let the team know. They’d alert Interpol. Agents would be routed to Luxembourg.

“So what happens now?” Ruby asked as she softly closed the cabinet, keeping her face averted from him.

“My room’s bugged.” It wasn’t, but something wouldn’t let him leave her yet, not when he could hear the clock ticking down in his head. “Let’s go to yours. I need to make a call and then we need to call off the wedding.”

The words tasted foul on his tongue, but he couldn’t think about that now. He had a country to save, and whether he lost part of himself in the process shouldn’t matter.