The King (Gentlemen Rogues 2)

Penny shook her head. "Nope. Might as well get used to me."

When` we arrived at Royal Elite, we all jumped out of the car and followed Ariel into her office, the heels of the women making soft clicking noises on the marble as we walked.

"So what are we going to do about our villa?" I asked.

Ariel was already calling Gabe when we all filed in. Gabe's terse one-word answer let us know he was on the phone. "Webb."

“Gabe, it's Ariel Winston. I've got the queen with me and your agents. We notified you earlier that the villa has been compromised. How do you want your agents to proceed?"

Gabe's voice was tense. “Is my sister there?"

Saff answered, “Yeah, I’m fine. Massimo tried to recruit Lock and I into some kind of poly situation, but Lock shut him down pretty hard."

I could almost hear Gabe choking on the phone. "King, I owe you."

"Trust me, it wasn't hard to decline."

“You're being watched now, so you'll have to be extra careful inside the house. We can't dismantle the bugs they planted without alerting them, so you’ll have to follow strict protocol."

“Yup, we're on it."

“Your devices should still be safe, but let's save any phone calls back to base unless absolutely urgent.”

Penny added, “I'm going to make a big deal about an apology to Graciella and Massimo too. Maybe invite Graciella to lunch as well."

Gabe's voice was terse. “Your assistance is greatly appreciated, Your Majesty."

"Please, it feels good being back in the field." She did look like she was happy, despite being in the presence of a man with potential ties to weapons manufacturing.

“Gabe, can Lock and I speak to you privately for a second?" Saff asked.

Ariel and Penny excused themselves. Saint tried to stick around, but Ariel tugged him along. "Something tells me, she doesn't want you there."

Saint frowned but complied the moment Saff gave him a sheepish smile. When it was just the two of us and Webb, she muttered, "What do you want me to do? They bugged us, so that means that they're going to expect something."

“Yeah, about that. You're not a honey agent, I know."

I frowned. "What's a honey agent?"

She flicked me a glance. "Uh, a honey agent is, you know, a honey trap. Agents trained to use every tool in their arsenal?"

I frowned at that. “You would let your sister be a honey agent?"

Gabe cursed low. "Of course not. And trust me, having this conversation is uncomfortable enough, King. But you two are going to have to put on a convincing enough show."

"Show?" Saff's voice squeaked out. "What do you mean by show?"

“Massimo is listening in, and he just attempted to proposition you. I have confirmation that the bugs are audio and visual, so you will need to play the part. Obviously, King, keep your fucking hands off my sister, but make it look real, yeah? Unless it's a fucking problem."

My gaze locked on Saff's. Her eyes were wide and unblinking. “I'm going to defer to my partner and team lead in this situation, sir."

There was a long pause, and then Gabe exhaled slowly. “Good answer."

Saff cleared her throat. "Right. Um, I guess we'll figure something out."

Gabe's voice was low. "Saff, you don't have to do this."

"What else are we going to do, Gabe? Massimo was never supposed to bug us. If he's in our villa, it means he doesn't believe us. Which means we have a problem. How are we supposed to surveil him and get the intel we need if he suspects us?"