Niall laughed, and the genuine happiness on his face warmed me all over. He truly wasn’t the man I’d thought he was when we met. He was brave and kind and wonderful, and I’d totally fallen for him. I was going to have to tell him if we both survived the mission.
22
Niall
When we landed in Christiansted around noon the next day, we made contact with Walsh, letting him know we’d arrived and would message him when we were ready to come ashore on Arlington Island.
Flavio and Falcon met us with the supplies we needed. We were taking three boats. That made it riskier since it would be easier to spot us, but we were landing in different places, and if they did notice one of our boats, they would focus attention there, not on the other landing spots.
Marco and I would take Walsh’s boat and leave it where it had been the night we escaped. That way he and Dalton would have a way off the island they were familiar with. Giorgio, Joe, Flavio, and Falcon would take one of the boats the Marchesis had procured for us. Giorgio and Joe would move in first and do reconnaissance. Flavio and Falcon would get the staff off the island. Devil and Leo would be in the third boat, and they would come in at the cove below the stone steps where Marco had been shot.
Our timing was critical, and we were dependent on Walsh selling his deception. He would tell the others they had a leak because his informant in the Virgin Islands Police Department told him a raid was planned, and that the police had detailed information no one other than the four of them and Swain—not even me and Marco—had. If things went well, this would start the traffickers arguing among themselves, and if we were really lucky, a few of them actually would take each other out. Walsh would say he was getting the hell out and retreat to his room, then head for the boat with Dalton.
It was risky. Any of them could turn on Walsh, but he’d agreed to his role. However it went down, in the end, we would make sure it looked as if they’d all killed each other. So far everything was on track except for one detail. Swain had been due to arrive that morning, but he hadn’t shown. We were going with our plan with or without him there, but I hated the thought that the takedown might not be fully finished today.
The wait to head out was excruciating. We went over our plans and all our contingencies again and again until Marco clapped a hand on my shoulder. “That’s enough. We’ve got this.”
Leo’s eyes widened. He probably expected me to flip out, but I didn’t. I laid my hand over Marco’s and took a slow deep breath.
“Whoa,” Devil said. “That wasn’t what I expected.”
Marco flipped him off.
“See? I told you working together would be good for you,” Leo said.
Devil grinned. “Yeah, Niall just needed—”
I drew my hand across my throat. “That’s enough.”
Joe had a big smile on his face, and Giorgio was laughing so hard I thought he might piss himself. Leo gave me a satisfied smirk.
When he’d recovered enough to speak, Giorgio shoved Leo’s shoulder. “Careful. You know you’ll be next.”
Leo scoffed. “Fuck no. I have no intention of getting tied down.”
Giorgio rolled his eyes. “I assumed you’d be the one doing the tying.”
“What about X?” Joe asked. “He could be next.”
Giorgio snorted. “He’d have to be willing to tell a woman all his secrets.”
“Sandra knows.”
“That’s a special situation.”
“All right,” Marco said. “Enough speculation about shit that isn’t happening now. Let’s make sure our supplies are loaded.”
Leo whistled. “Oooh, a take charge man. See? He is Niall’s type.”
“No,” I said. “He’s really not.”
Marco chuckled. “I am. You were just never willing to admit it before. That’s why you were so unhappy. You’ve been looking for the wrong thing.”
Joe snorted and cracked up. It wasn’t often I saw him laugh like that. He was generally more serious like me. We balanced Leo and Giorgio well.
“Sometimes,” Joe said, “it’s hard to know what you want.”
Devil wrapped an arm around him and pulled Joe to his side. “As soon as you met me, you knew.”
Joe shoved at him, and Devil pretended to stumble away looking shocked.
“Everyone get to work,” I said, snapping my fingers.
“Aye, aye, captain.” Giorgio gave a mocking salute.
“Now.”
We focused on double- and triple-checking our coordinates and our supplies, and finally, it was go time.
“Stay safe,” Giorgio called over his shoulder when Joe, Flavio, and Falcon were aboard their boat. “See you on the other side.” He took off, the boat skimming over the water.
We wished Devil and Leo well, then headed out ourselves.
I looked over my shoulder at Marco. There were so many things I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure I could find the right words. I didn’t dare say the three little words that might change everything. If we survived, maybe I’d be brave enough then.