Unshackle (Deliver 7)

Access to that room would reveal the location of the compound.

Tomas strode toward him, and he stepped out of the fall of water so his friend wouldn’t get wet.

“Twelve cameras with microphones in the other rooms.” Tomas gripped Luke’s neck, pulling him close to speak at his ear. “They shouldn’t hear us over the water.”

“Any revelations so far?”

“She’s nice to look at. Grade A tit-to-ass ratio. Don’t deny it. You want to fuck her.”

“Who wouldn’t?”

“Rein that shit in. You can’t trust her.”

“Sex and trust. Two things I’ve always kept separate.”

“So what’s your plan?” Tomas leaned back just enough to lob a surly scowl. “Make her jealous? Then what?”

It was a gamble. Women were smart, resourceful, and underestimated only by fools. But they shared a common weakness. He’d seen it time and again, the way they rallied together in support of one another. Until they didn’t.

Too often, they let men come between them. Especially the narcissistic assholes who slept around and committed to no one.

“Put a good-looking bachelor in a house full of women, and what happens?” Luke asked.

“Reality TV?” Tomas twitched his lips. “They turn on one another, plotting and competing to be the one who ensnares him.”

“Exactly.”

He couldn’t blame them. It was animal instinct. Find the mightiest male in the herd, mate with him, and breed the strongest offspring. Vera might not consider herself part of the female selection here, but her biology said otherwise.

Men were simpler, like trees in a field, with the urge to spread their seeds far and wide to ensure they take root in as many diverse and distant places as possible.

Survival, stripped down to its crudest, most basic denomination.

“Okay…” Tomas squinted, giving Luke’s nude body a once-over before meeting his eyes. “From what I’ve seen of the guests, you’re the only attractive dickhead here.”

Not exactly true. Tomas turned heads without trying. Beauty had been the primary requirement in Van’s selection process. Their entire vigilante team looked like they’d walked off the set of Baywatch.

But Tomas’ sex appeal suffocated beneath the cloud of fuck-off vibes he wore like a pressed suit. Luke trusted his friend without hesitation, but there were moments when he detected something sinister—in Tomas’ glare, in his voice—that sent a chill through the bones. For that reason, as well as Tomas’ shadowed role as a bodyguard, it was unlikely that Vera would take an interest in him.

“You make her nervous.” Tomas glanced at his watch. “She’s clearly attracted to you. Maybe that scares her.”

“Maybe.”

But Luke meant what he’d told her. She wasn’t meek. Once she saw him with another woman, her primal nature would claw to get out.

If she made the mistake of falling into his bed, it was game over. He was trained in the art of sexual pleasure. Add to that his insidious brand of dominance, and she was as good as his. Her heart. Her trust. Whatever he wanted.

In theory.

A knock sounded on the exterior door, and the hinges creaked, opening without waiting for an answer.

“Four-minute response time.” Tomas raised his eyes from his watch and moved to the far wall.

Luke returned to the warm spray, giving his visitors a full-frontal view as they stormed in. Two armed guards led the intrusion, their eyes instantly locating and assessing the broken camera.

Vera swept in behind them and anchored her hands on her hips. “Damaging property is not—”

“My boss,” Tomas said, crossing his arms, “doesn’t need an audience while taking a shit.”

“But you’re welcome to stay while I finish my shower.” He arched a brow. “Or join me.”

Her gaze dropped to his half-hard cock and skittered away. “No, I…” She coughed. “I don’t play with the guests.”

He shouldn’t derive this much pleasure from her discomfort. He wanted to like her. Pity her, even. She was Tula’s half-sister, for fuck’s sake. But beyond his appreciation of her physical attributes, he felt nothing for her. No chemistry. No interest in learning why she was a human trafficking bitch.

The sooner he rid the world of her and this operation, the better.

“Then stop wasting my time.” He turned off the shower, giving her his back.

“If you break another camera—”

“My being here doesn’t mean my business stops running out there. I require a secure space to discuss confidential details with my right-hand man.” He nodded at Tomas. “This room will serve as my private meeting space. If I learn that your organization is eavesdropping on the business dealings of my organization while I’m in this room, I will take you down with every connection I have.”

“La Rocha doesn’t tolerate threats or damage to their property.”

“Put it on my tab and go fuck yourself on the way out.”

Her gasp filled him with sick satisfaction. As she vanished out the door, he squeezed his fist, imagining it crushing the bones in her neck. It wasn’t rage that pumped through his veins. It was focus, clarity, all thoughts aligning on the path ahead.