The King (Gentlemen Rogues 2)

LACHLAN

She’d askedme if I could handle this. And the truth was, I didn’t know. The atmosphere on the plane was tense. I could feel her practically vibrating as the flight circled over the Winston Isles. I glanced out of the window, marveling at the striking azure blue water. Sure, I’d been to the Caribbean before. I had been on a million private jets all over the world. But there was still a part of me that was like a kid. I used to love traveling private with mum and dad. We would swear we could see specific people on the land below. It was hard not to continue the game in my head even as I looked down now, determined to try and see the king and queen on their balcony of the palace in the distance. I knew, of course, it wasn't real. But still, I looked. The pain of missing my brother was extra tight today. Would he be proud? Would he have so many questions about what I was doing and where I was going and how I had ended up like this? Probably. Would he have thought I was fucking cool that I got to be James Bond even for a few days? Hell, yes.

Saffron looked less than thrilled. Her face had been buried in our dossier from the moment we took off from London. Hours and hours of pouring over our backstory, hours and hours of studying. Oh, I had studied too because I knew this mission stood between me and going home, going back to my life. Sure, I learned some cool things. And my grandfather was right; I had been lacking purpose. I thought sending me to the Rogues was bullshit, of course, but still, I could see why he'd done it. I felt more settled, but I was no spy.

So, I just had to do this mission well, and I could go home. It was easy surveillance. We’d get in, watch the couple, and report back.

I glanced at Saffron. “You know that dossier inside and out by now."

Her shoulders stiffened, and I knew I should have just left her to it. Maybe this was how she calmed herself on a flight. I didn't know.

“Do you know who Massimo Igno is? Do you have any idea how many people he’s killed?"

“It's in the dossier. I read it. I studied it. I reviewed it. I know it."

“Do you know what he will do if he so much as suspects who we are?"

I swallowed. “I know. This is serious. I get it. But isn't there such a thing as being overprepared?"

She clenched her jaws together. I could see the delicate muscles ticking back and forth. She shouldn't do that. She would likely give herself a headache from all the teeth grinding.

“From the moment we get off this plane, we have to be who we say we are."

I nodded. “Yeah, right. Hold hands, smile, watch them. Do you have a problem with that?"

She sighed and leaned forward, placing her forearms on her knees as she did so. She'd worn a cream-colored India Rolan suit. It was exquisite on her dark skin. She’d changed her hair too. Her braids were different. One side had more of a wave or curl to them. I knew better than to touch her hair without her permission, so all I could do was stare at it, trying to identify how she'd done it.

Maybe she'd had someone do it for her. Hell, what did I know?

“From the moment we arrive at that villa, we will be watched. And you better get ready soon, or at some point he is going to get fiber optics in that house and spy right back on us. I know that you think you know how to do this, and you think you're going to just wrap your arm around my waist and call me sweetheart or love from time to time, but you shouldn't forget; we are faking this until we make it. There is no reprieve unless we are somewhere like the palace or the Royal Elite offices. Everywhere else we have to assume, as public space, we can be viewed without our permission. You can't ever call me Saff. I can't ever call you Lock. From the moment this door opens, we are on. And when I tell you it’s tiring, I mean it."

"Won't we be safe in the villa?"

“I don't know for how long. We're better off having any conversations we need to have privately in the shower."

I swallowed convulsively. "I hear you. I hadn't realized we would be that together."

“I know you think it's a game, but this is life and death. Massimo Igno could be our ticket to Drake Webster. If we can get to Webster, that's a jackpot."

I frowned then, watching her closely. I could see it in her eyes. This Webster guy was the one she wanted. “Is he part of this? Drake Webster?"

She shook her head. "He is Antonio Igno’s right-hand man and the person responsible for the death of my parents."

I winced. "Shit. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

She shook her head. “You weren't here then. It's not your fault."

"Are we going to have any moments of privacy?"

She shook her head. "Not safely. Like I said, Royal Elite offices but nowhere else. This needs to be the best acting job of your life. No mistakes."

“I hear you. We are a team, right?"

Her gaze lifted to mine. “Yes, we're a team."

"So you trust me?"

“In terms of this mission? Yes. You want something out of it, and so do I. Because of that, I think we make a great team."