Sweet Salvation (Ruthless Games 3)

“Luca’s throwing another party,” he says, his gaze flicking from me to Theo to Ryland. “This weekend.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “Another one? Is it common for him to throw two parties back-to-back like this?”

“No.” Marcus doesn’t hesitate with his answer, and the other two men shake their heads, backing him up.

“I wonder what he’s after,” Theo muses.

“Maybe it’s harder for the Viper to keep his dealings under the radar.” Ryland pushes his rolled sleeves higher up his forearms. We trained together this morning, but he’s already showered and put on an expensive button-down and dark pants. “He could hope that a party will keep people distracted. There’ll be a lot of maneuvering and negotiating, everyone focused on each other instead of on him.”

“We can use that though.” Marcus’s eyes gleam, the blue of his right iris as brilliant as a cloudless sky. “He’ll be focused on his guests, and we’ll have a chance to get into his house again. At the last party, I dragged Ayla out of the ballroom and down the hall, and no one gave a fuck. We’ll have to be more cautious than that this time, but if we can get access to Luca’s office or something, we can find out what kind of shit he keeps on his computer. What he doesn’t want leaked.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Do any of you guys know how to hack a computer?”

Marcus grins at me, looking almost boyish. “Fuck, no. But we’ve got a skilled hacker on retainer.”

“The same one who helped us look through security camera footage around the warehouses,” Theo adds, catching my gaze. “He’s good.”

“Okay.” I chew my lip, still not sure I like this plan. I know we’re getting down to the wire, running out of safer options, but it seems risky as hell. “So do we bring him with us?”

Ryland shakes his head. “Nah. Luca’s parties are too exclusive. We brought you because Luca already knew about you—he probably heard all about you after the game ended. But bringing anyone else would be suspicious. We’ll have to see if Zee can do it remotely or talk one of us through it.”

Great.

I like this plan less and less the more the guys talk about it, but I can’t come up with a better alternative. Everything else we’re doing feels like spinning our wheels, hoping against hope that we’ll find something definitive enough to turn the other contestants against Luca before the clock runs out.

But this?

This will mean walking into the Viper’s den.

Literally.

Chapter 7

Standing in front of the full-length mirror, I smooth down the fabric of my dress.

I thought the dress I wore to Luca’s first party was extravagant, but this makes that one look like a wet trash bag.

The fabric is light blue and feels like butter beneath my fingertips. A sweetheart neckline shows just a hint of cleavage, and the dress hugs my waist before flaring out in a full skirt that brushes the floor. But the most stunning part about it is the beading. Delicate crystals are sewn in beautiful patterns over the bodice and partway down the skirt, the patterns growing lighter and fading away as the billowy fabric reaches my knees.

I was in favor of picking something simple and understated. Something that wouldn’t draw attention—maybe a simple black cocktail dress. But the guys all convinced me that among the crowd who’ll be in attendance tonight, the best way to blend in is by trying to stand out. My dress is eye-catching, sure. But I won’t be the only one dressed to the nines tonight. If I went with something too simple, I’d draw attention for the wrong reasons.

And besides, we need the extra folds of fabric in my dress to hide the gun that’ll be strapped to my thigh and the small flash drive that I’ll use to pull information from Luca’s computer—assuming we can get into his office.

Thank all that’s fucking holy, I won’t have to do the hacking myself. I have another small device I’ll plug into the computer that will allow Zee to try to hack it remotely.

Every single one of the men objected strongly to me being the one to sneak into the office, but it was the only way I could get on board with this plan. It’s so fucking dangerous, and I couldn’t just sit back and let the guys be the ones to take on that danger.

Theo will come with me. We’ll put on a show similar to what Marcus and I did last time, leaving the ballroom together and letting the gossip-hungry guests think we’re sneaking off to fuck somewhere. Marcus and Ryland, meanwhile, will keep an eye out in the ballroom and run interference as needed—particularly with Victoria and Dom, who are our biggest concerns at the moment.

“This is so fucking stupid,” I mutter to myself, running my fingers over the expensive fabric again.

“Doesn’t look stupid to me.”

I jump at the voice and turn around to see Theo standing in the doorway. He strides into the room, coming to stand behind me as I turn back to face the mirror. His gaze meets mine as his arms loop around me with comfortable possessiveness.

“You look fucking gorgeous, Rose.” His fingers trail over my ribcage, and even through the fabric of the dress, I can feel the warmth of his skin. He cocks an eyebrow. “You armed?”

“Yup.” I nod. “Good to go.”