The King (Gentlemen Rogues 2)

SAFFRON

Lachlan was right.Driving on the wrong side of the road was nerve racking to say the least. By the time I reached the villa, I was exhausted.

We'd both agreed to head off to freshen up, get some rest, unpack, and spend a little more time with our new IDs. Lachlan got to be himself. Which was hardly fair. But he had to remember things like calling me Saffron and not Saff. And remember things that Saffron loved. And while he was fine, a little practice never hurt anyone. Besides, I needed a moment to myself. Watching all the loved-up couples today hadn’t necessarily been a revelation, but it had made me hyper-aware of just how alone I was.

For the most part, I didn't feel my loneliness. But watching everybody else together, hearing Jax and Neela's daughter, Mayzie, laughing, I realized I wanted that too. The life that I’d started to craft for myself, or the one I was thrust into if I was being honest, I didn't want that. I wanted real friends. As much as I loved Tabs, I wanted more friends than just her. I wanted a family.

I had to figure out how the hell I was going to get that. Or if that was even possible for someone like me. My whole life, the Rogues had been everything. But maybe there was more to life than that. It hardly seemed fair that I couldn't have both. That I couldn't be both.

I should have the opportunity to be more than one thing, shouldn't I? Wasn't that a possibility, a thing that people wanted? Those were the kind of things I wished my mum was around to talk about.

But she's not, is she?

And Gabe didn't let anyone in. Not even me. The only other person on earth who knew what he could be going through, and he didn't even let me see him. My brother angered me, suffocated me, and sometimes pushed me to the point that I honestly considered shooting him. Not a fatal shot, but like a shoulder or a kneecap. But even worse, he pushed me away, refusing to accept even the slightest bit of love. Or giving it to me. And I needed it.

I dragged myself out of the melancholy and started to unpack. I knew the guys were bringing in our bulletproof vests and additional specialized items. I had a couple ball gowns coming that had cameras built into the fabric. We were also getting more audio equipment. But for now, I could unpack the rest of my things. Tabs had helped me put together the things that I would need for the mission.

Because, hell, I didn't know what I needed. But she had been on dozens of missions.

When I opened my suitcase, I immediately started to hang up the usual things. Dark jeans, sundresses. But when I got to the toiletries, what I found made me frown.

Yes, she had put knickers in. It's not like she'd left them out. But it was the kind of knickers she'd slipped in.

I picked up my phone, quickly dialed the routing number for the secure line. And waited.

When it chimed, I gave them my code. "Alpha-Tango-Whiskey-Sierra-five-seven."

That was a code line for Tabatha.

It rang once and she answered. "Oh my God, you're there. How is paradise?"

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

“You sound unhappy. Is Lock irritating you already? Or is it just the foreplay?"

“Can you explain to me why you packed me sheer knickers and thongs? So many thongs."

"Oh, yes. That's to help, you know, get in the vibe of your character."

“You're joking."

"Why would I kid about something like your character? You are Mrs. Saffron King. Your undergarments should reflect that."

“You do know we're not actually married, right?"

"But you're playing a married couple. You have to believe it. As a newlywed, you would have very sexy things. What if this Massimo character breaks into the villa and snoops around? He's going to wonder why you have granny panties. Also, why the fuck do you have granny panties? You're young and hot."

“I do not have granny panties. I have seamless panties. They're perfectly respectable. They're even low-rise." I sniffed indignantly.

“Yes, they're serviceable, and they don't leave panty lines. But you need thongs and lace. Lace is sexy."

“I cannot believe you switched out my underwear," I grumbled. "Where did these even come from?"

"La Perla."

I dropped the offending pairs in a drawer. "Are these yours?"

"No. I ordered them as soon as I knew you were going on a mission. What's the problem?"