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“Good.”

She snorted. “You could say ‘thank you’, you know.”

“I know,” I said before hanging up.

Aleksey huffed a laugh and held his hand out to help me up from the ground. “This is starting to become one hell of a mess. How are we supposed to trust our own men now?”

It was a valid question and one I didn’t have a satisfactory answer for. I couldn’t just get rid of everyone, that would be ridiculous. And if my understanding of Ronin was right, the guy probably didn’t do the same thing twice. He was right, though. I was going to be looking over my shoulder until I’d ripped his fucking throat out.

Chapter Twenty-One

Benji

“Benji! Baby!” Maya screamed down the phone. “What the fuck are you doing talking to me, when you should be getting waited on by those sexy sailors?”

I laughed at her. God, it was so good to hear her voice. She was clearly having a good time somewhere. Her voice had that high-pitched, alcohol laced brightness to it and there was some thumping bass coming from whatever building she was in.

“I miss you!”

“Whyyyy?” she whined and I could just imagine her face scrunching up in disapproval. “You should be too busy to be missing me! I’ve seen those pics, you look happy.”

“I am,” I replied, and it surprised me that it wasn’t a lie.

“Ooh, you’ve met someone, haven’t you?” She sounded giddy as she moved somewhere with less music coming down the line. “Tell me!”

Where did I even start? I couldn’t exactly tell her that he was the head of a notorious crime family, that he’d kidnapped me and I was unfortunately involved in some plot to ruin his life. “He’s… nice.”

“Benjamin Barrett,” she huffed. “You did not just use the word ‘nice’. What does he look like?”

“Fine, he’s gorgeous.”

“Iknewit! Tell me more.”

“He’s a bit taller than me, black hair and just about the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen.Lotsof tattoos.”

“Oooh, sounds like he’s a bit of a bad boy.”

Pfft, and didn’t I know it. “He was a bit standoffish at first, but he warmed up eventually.”

“Good. Just let loose and enjoy yourself. I’ll be here when you’re ready to come back.”

“Thanks,” I said softly as Maurice clambered up onto my lap, stretching his back as I stroked through his fur. I hadn’t seen him for a little while and I wondered where he’d been disappearing off to.

“Where’s he from?”

I didn’t think there was anything untoward answering that. “Misthaven.”

“Get the fuck out of here! What are the odds of meeting someone from the same city on a cruise around Aruba?”

Aruba? Was that where I was supposed to be? Fucking hell, Acheron. Could have picked somewhere a little more believable. How was I supposed to afford that on a medical resident’s wage? “I know, right? What are the odds?”

“Slim to none, babe,” she said with a laugh. It was probably a good thing that she was a little bit buzzed from the alcohol. Sober Maya was as sharp as one of Byron’s knives. “Ooh, wanna know a secret?”

“Always.”

“Dr Kingsly is gonna be fired,” she stage whispered.

“Really?” I couldn’t keep the surprise from my voice. I thought Dr Kingsly would have to be wheeled off the premises in a coffin before leaving on his own two feet.