Page 97 of Collateral Claim

“What did we just agree on?”

“That I’ll stay in the suite while you nap.”

He shakes his head. “In the room. We agreed you would stay in the room.”

“I’ll leave the bedroom door open and sit on the sofa out there. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I can’t relax if you’re that far.”

The living room is right outside our bedroom and not far at all, but if time spent with this man has taught me anything, it’s knowing when I can negotiate with him and when I can’t. This isn’t negotiable.

“Okay.” I clear my throat. “Are we meeting with my dad?” I bite my lip, nervous about Endo’s answer. Massio thwarted Endo’s plans, and Endo’s not predictable enough for me to know what he’ll do now that his plans have been hijacked.

When he remains silent, I walk to the door and open it slightly to see Connor and Slada hunched over the computer. Connor looks up and gives me a thumbs-up.

My expression must signal confusion because he adds, “All set.”

“All set?”

“The cameras are fried,” he elaborates.

“Thank you.” I close the door.

Since I must remain in the room while Endo naps, I’ll use the tub. Bathing is better than biting my fingernails and pacing the room while anxiety over possibly not going home today rides me.

The bamboo and wooden finishes, along with the pale matcha-green towels and cloths, create a relaxing atmosphere. The low lights perfectly match the space. The contrast between this and the armed men guarding us outside is ironic.

Given my accommodations, I’m pretty sure I cracked the mystery of Massio’s place. Unlike Widow’s Keep, a fortress designed to withstand a siege and keep people out, Massio’s house keeps people within its walls. As far as prison accommodations are concerned, I’d say it’s top shelf.

I’m sure Endo doesn’t appreciate the space, but it could’ve been worse. I imagine Massio also has dungeons he could’ve forced us into.

I light all three candles near the bath and burn the incense provided. The light adjustment allows for a perfectly dim room, and I turn on the spa jets, which fill the tub with salt water.

When I used to get home from a long day at work, I would soak in a nice-smelling bubble bath and treat my skin with the finest lotions and salts. There’s something soothing andregenerating about using great-smelling products on your body after working twelve-, sometimes sixteen-, hour shifts.

The pressure to deliver quality care while also genuinely caring for people has always been a motivator for me. Nonetheless, the work is tiring and stressful, like pretty much any other job. Even the jobs people love to do require an energy output. It’s just so much easier and more fulfilling when one gets paid for what one loves to do.

I squirt in walnut-and-lavender bubble bath. Once the tub fills with water and high-rising bubbles, I sit, lie back, and close my eyes. My body is getting divine treatment. I only wish my brain would rest.

But there’s no rest for the wicked. Endo is the wickedest of them all. Although for his sake and mine, I hope he’s out there napping like a lion in a meadow. I stayed in the room with him so he could sleep. He’s well aware that without me, he loses any negotiating power.

Without me, he will never recover his brother.

Without you, he’ll go for Charlotte.

Charlotte said he wouldn’t touch her because she’s complicated, with a husband and a child, but she doesn’t know Endo like I do. Endo will do anything to find his brother. He’s like a locked and loaded missile. Once deployed, the only way to take it down is by destroying it.

If I know this, his half brother must know it too. Massio will kill Endo. This is why Massio brought Endo here. I hope I’m wrong. I really do, because I don’t wish Endo dead. I think I might have feelings for him.

He’s so wrong for me.

So very wrong.

I slide my hand between my thighs and think about just how wrong it is to get turned on by your captor and all the wrongthings he’d do to me if his mouth was where my fingers are right now.

Chapter 40

More wrong