Page 145 of Convict's Game

Chapter 50

Lovelyn

A daily battle came with the way my mind worked. I was a data girl and a strategist. I saw patterns others missed, and I could produce and assess the best ways to reach a goal.

Such as extracting a criminal from the clutches of the police.

Police that included my father. I knew he was here because his shiny new car was outside the safe house, a fact Arran had apparently already gathered.

And intended to use against me.

On the other hand, my mind rejected logic and belly flopped into emotion. I cried at the smallest thing. At random acts of kindness. At a grandpa walking a child to the park. Send me a good news story about a dog rescue, and I’d be sobbing at the supermarket checkout.

It hurt to see the concern shared by Mila and the crew as they discussed Convict. They all loved him.

I wanted to help. Even if doing so pitted me against my flesh and blood. I was also highly aware of what it would mean if I refused.

Mila might have framed my being here as helpful, sweet girl that she was, but I had no doubt Arran would’ve used me as hostage if we hadn’t come up with another plan.

My father made playing both sides look so easy. For me, it felt the opposite, like I was walking a tightrope in a hurricane.

We were close to agreeing on our course of action when the garage doors rattled open. Kane drove in and parked his car in a mechanic’s bay. He climbed out, and his gaze came to me and stayed there.

A chill shot down my spine.

His sister greeted him. “I wondered if you were going to show up.”

Kane kicked back against a metal pillar. “Is Lovelyn needed for the extraction?”

I nodded. “I can walk straight in there. Nobody else has that access.”

His dark eyes didn’t leave me, something in his vision I couldn’t get a read on. I held very still, a prey animal in the sights of a predator.

Tyler tilted his head at the man. “You could go with her.”

Kane finally blinked that heavy focus off me and regarded the intercept man. “Elaborate.”

“Lovelyn’s going to walk in, and we have a plan for what happens once she’s inside, but it carries risk. She’s unprotected, and there’s a gap in how we handle whoever’s in the way of getting Convict out, if they don’t take her bait.” Tyler’s gaze sharpened. “You can do that handling. My ear to the ground tells me you’re unknown as a skeleton crew associate. Congratulations on your temporary promotion to Lovelyn’s new boyfriend.”

My mouth popped open. “My what now?”

Kane shrugged. “I’m down. Catch me up on who I need to walk through.”

Just like that, I’d been paired off.

In minutes, we were prepped and strolling down the street.

“Put your arm in mine, flower girl,” Kane ordered.

I pressed my lips together then neutralised my expression and slipped my arm through his. Good God. He towered over me, but I’d had no idea how muscular the man was. Thick, hard biceps curled as I rested my hand in the crook of his arm.

That latent power did something strange to my stomach. I had to battle to keep the reaction off my face. He was just another one of the skeleton crew, dangerous, morally grey, and bad to know.

Ahead, the safe house loomed, a brown-brick, ex-office building. Nothing to set it apart from any other on the street.

I scanned the cars. Though the road was a dead end and therefore without through traffic, it was off a high street and most parking spots were filled. “The gold Mercedes is my father’s. At a guess, I’d say the grey Volvo and maybe the dark-blue Polo are police.”

“How do ye know?”