“Does this mean we’re not going to that guy’s boat tomorrow?”
“It’s a yacht, and no, it does mean we’re going.”
He saw her lips pout. “I hate boats.”
“You know that can be kind of insulting.”
“What?”
“It’s not a damn boat.”
She rolled her eyes. “Can we get off the boat thing? I don’t like it. I don’t want any part in this. I didn’t even want to be your date for this thing tonight, and you didn’t even feed me good food.”
“I fed you.”
“Yeah, and you’re going to feed me to the wolves,” she said.
It was the last thing he wanted to do.
If he’d not royally fucked up and Boss wasn’t breathing down his neck, he wouldn’t even opt for this as a suggestion.
“The last thing I want to do is put you in danger.”
“But you’re going to. It’s fine. I mean, I want to help. I do.” He watched as she released a sigh. “I’m just a cleaner. A housemaid. I don’t know what you want or need from me.”
“First, you’re going to need to look the part.”
“More clothes?”
“You could sound excited about it. It’s clothes. Don’t all women love that kind of stuff?”
“I’m not like all women.” She wrinkled her nose. “So, what’s the play?”
“The play?”
“You know. The mission. What do we do? How do we do it? Who are we playing?” she asked, looking excited.
“This isn’t a game.”
Another eyeroll. “I get that it’s not a game, but I’ve got to figure this out. I can’t be like other people and just let things roll and what not. I’m not designed that way.”
“You don’t need to worry about a thing. The less you know, the better.”
“This guy though, you want to use me as bait, and I don’t want to mess this up for you.”
Xavier saw the real concern and care in her eyes. Why couldn’t she be different? Why did she have to make him feel like this? He didn’t want to take her on that damn boat—no, yacht. He wanted to keep her safe, and the only way to do that was to keep her far away from the monsters that surrounded them.
He knew the real world, and no one in it, not even him, deserved someone like Alesha.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Xavier, I’m not a fool. I know how this works. You’re going to need me to distract him while you go and search all around his … place. I don’t mind. Whatever I can do to help. I’m involved now, so there’s no going back for me. I accept that, but I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She pressed her lips together.
Taking her hand, he turned it over so that he could look at her palm. So pale. Running his thumb across her pulse, he felt it beating rapidly. “You’ll be a distraction, and for that reason I can’t give you any more details. We’re together. You’re my fiancée, and we’re hitting a hard patch.”
She laughed. “Wow, our engagement isn’t going to last, is it?”
“Everyone hits a few snags. You’ve just got to be your charming self. Seems Dixon already has a hard-on for you.”