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Mako shakes his head. “He’ll never buy it. I’ve already said I have the male. I’ve sent the photos.”
Simona and Mako start shouting at each other.
I slam my hand down on the desk. “I’m going in with Mako. Not you, Simona. End of discussion. I’ll stand in for Wolf. We’re close enough in size.”
A tsunami of silence crashes over the room. Simona and Mako just stare at me.
Her in horror. Him in satisfaction.
Wolf clasps my shoulder with a hard grip. “I’m sorry as fuck about this. But I have to move out. If anything changes before the time you meet that fucker, I’ll be back.”
I shake his hand. “I’ve got it. Just keep your hide safe so she doesn’t haunt you in your grave.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
“Don’t. No. Don’t go. We’ll figure something else out.” I can barely breathe. My lungs are locked up tight as a new kind of fear takes hold of me.
“I’m going. We can have this done with once and for all.” The hard light in Scotch’s eyes tells me this is already off of the table. It’s done. And I have no control over this careening freight train.
Mako and Scotch go over every minute detail as I pace and fume and fidget. By the time they are done, I’m literally shaking so hard I could vibrate the building. What if Scotch can’t remember all the fake background info that Mako cooked up about the man he’s bringing in.
As he starts to put on his jacket, I grab the thick wool lapels. “Are you sure you remember all of the details?”
His eyes soften as he rests a hand on my cheek. The man’s infuriatingly calm. “Yes, babe. Ask me something.”
“What is your birth sign?”
“Gemini.”
“What college did you go to?”
Mako interrupts. “Time to roll everyone. Simona, you know where to park and wait.”
“Yes,” I say with my teeth practically chattering.
With a soft kiss, Scotch says, “Babe. Your idea to lure them out of the compound was perfect. This is going to go seamlessly. We’ll fake our car breaking down on the way, and they have to come meet us in an open space. Then we’ll have the advantage.”
My voice is reedy and my knees are weak when I say, “I hope so.” I suck at this. Send me in any day. Watching someone I care about going into a potential nightmare turns me into a raving lunatic.
Scotch hugs me hard. “You’ve got my back. I’m in great hands.”
“I remember you telling me once not to shoot you.”
He grins wickedly. “I remember that. Same applies this time. Now go. I’ll see you soon. I love you, little vixen.”
The L word rattles my brain for half a second. He grins. Smacks me with another kiss to the cheek.
I hug him once more before I run out the door because if I stay, I’ll chain him to me, just like he threatened to do to me. “I love you too. Now hurry back. We’ve got a baby to raise together.”
He watches me back away with his expression filled with something so big, that I have to look away.
As I fly down the stairs, my throat is so tight with tears I almost can’t breathe.
I dial my phone the instant I hit the outdoors. “Marshall. Where the hell are you?”
“Weather delay.”
“Please tell me you’re going to be here on time.”