Page 37 of Kai (Alpha Heroes #13)
“After that, we’ll take care of the rest,” Guzman said, catching the tiny tin Bozeman slid across the table.
I scoffed. “Because that doesn’t sound mysterious.”
“Sorry.” Goof greased his chapped lips to prevent saltwater damage. “The rest is need-to-know only. It’s all staying in Omega’s head for now, in case you get caught. Hell, I don’t even know what the rest is.”
Guzman was a disruptor like Cece, and one of the few people on earth who had the gift to throw me off kilter. “I. Won’t. Get. Fucking caught.”
“Just yanking your chain.” Guzman laughed and returned the tin to Bozeman.
“And you do it so well,” I reminded him, processing the facts in my head.
“What’s your choice?” Bozeman asked, tucking the tin away.
“Option Alpha is a no-go.”
“Why?” Guzman asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
“Not a good fit.” Cece’s secrets were hers to keep. “We’re a go for Bravo.”
Guzman narrowed his eyes at me as if trying to see through to my brain. He soon gave up on my blank expression. “Bravo it is.”
“Very well.” Bozeman pushed back his chair and got up. “Let’s go.”
“Hold on.” Guzman glanced at his Tak. “We’ve got ten more mikes designated for muscle recovery on tonight’s mission schedule.”
With a huff, Granite dragged his chair back into place and sat down again. I winced, hoping the racket hadn’t woken up Cece.
Guzman met my gaze. “Is Cece doing well?”
“Affirmative,” I confirmed. “She’s faced all challenges with remarkable poise.”
“Has she now?” Guzman tipped his chair back and balanced it on two legs. He perched his neoprene booties on my table, and crossing his hands behind his head, studied me closely.
“She’s a remarkable woman.” I don’t know why I felt compelled to elaborate. “She’s sharp, brave, and fierce. If we all do our jobs, she’s gonna come through this, no problem.”
Javier looked at Bozeman. “Did you hear that?”
Bozeman shrugged his enormous shoulders. “Hear what?”
“That twinkle in K-man’s voice?” Guzman taunted me with a smirk. “That intangible je ne sais quoi he just tried to hide from his best friend in the world, namely moi? Why do I sense a little magic in the air?”
“Magic?” Bozeman stared at Goof as if he’d grown horns. “What on earth are you speaking of?”
“The sisters’ ‘hunches?’” Guzman drew quotation marks in the air. “The real reason they sent me to Missy and King to Cece?”
“Are you telling me you believe the team’s decisions are based on something other than actionable intelligence?
” Bozeman shook his head and rolled his eyes yet again, confirming he was Tracker Team’s eye roller in chief.
“You’re a fool if you believe this. We located the women through solid intel work. The rest is gossip.”
“So,” Guzman said, because he never knew when to stop. “If I ask King over here if he’s falling in love with his principal, and if he says yes, will you at least be open to believing me?”
“No!” Bozeman and I said in unison, although for different reasons.
Bozeman recoiled from the idea of acting on anything but duty and logic, and I was stuck in a difficult situation.
My spidey sense had picked up faint movements somewhere inside Serenity .
Given the turn this conversation had taken, I pleaded with the universe that Cece had gotten up for a quick trip to the head and was now back in bed and not up to mischief.
“I think it’s time for you to go.” I grabbed Guzman’s mask and fins and plunked them before him on the table. “I wouldn’t want you to miss rendezvous.”
“K-man, come clean with your best bro,” Javier pressed, jovial as ever. “You’re falling for Cece. Aren’t you?”
I was fucked if I admitted it and fucked if I denied it.
“Remind me.” I stared Guzman down. “Are you always this annoying?”
“Yes, I am,” he admitted heartily. “Missy thinks I’m adorable. Don’t you agree, Bozeman?”
Granite wrinkled his nose and shared a look of aggravation with me. “Guzman is consistently annoying and incorrigible, to boot.”
“Come on, K-man, give me something,” Guzman taunted me, the persistent fool. “What’s the scoop?”
“Cece Astor is the most remarkable person I’ve ever met,” I offered, to get him off my case and hopefully off my boat before it was too late. “That’s all I have to say.”
“Oh, man, this sounds juicy.” Javier dropped his feet from the table and leaned forward, slamming his chair’s front legs on the deck with a racket that made me wince. If Cece had been asleep, surely she was now awake.
“Spill it, brother.” Guzman rubbed his gloved hands together. “Are you or are you not falling for Sorceress?”
I pressed my lips together and refused to say a word.
“He’s taken the fifth.” Goof widened his knowing smirk. “It means he’s guilty.”
“Guzman…” Bozeman rumbled a warning.
“I’m just asking harmless questions.” Guzman peered into the darkened cabin. “Can I at least meet her, talk to her a little, interrogate her about you?”
“No, no, and no,” I stated firmly.
“That’s disappointing.” Javier huffed. “And here I thought you and I were close.”
“We are close,” I countered. “But you need to get your nose out of my business.”
“Aha!” Guzman pounced, pointing a gloved finger at me. “Did you hear that?”
“What?” Granite deepened his frown.
“King has a business,” Javier said. “He didn’t have one of those before.”
“Why am I getting a headache?” I raked my hands through my hair. “Oh, yeah. Because I’m staring at your face. For your own good, go!”
“Look, bro, she’s gonna wanna meet me.” Eyes gleaming with glee, Guzman wiggled his eyebrows. “She’s gonna love her handsome, charming, future brother-in-law.”
“I doubt it,” I said. “She thinks her little sister is putty and you’re out to take advantage of her. The minute she meets you, she’s gonna wipe the floor with you. Or maybe rip out your guts. And if you keep asking questions like this, I very well might help her.”
“I’m wounded by your lack of loyalty.” Guzman settled a hand on his chest before his mouth twitched into a sly grin. “I have another personal question.”
“You two are pathetic,” Granite mumbled. “Fraternizing with your charges. It’s wrong, unprofessional.”
Goof ignored Bozeman and kept at it. “Is Cersi as tough as her profile says she is?”
“Why have you developed such a sudden interest in Cece?”
“Missy adores Cece,” Guzman volunteered. “Thena already loves me, but Missy will be upset if I don’t get along with Cece. I wanna make Missy happy. For her sake, I need to make a good first impression.”
“Good thing Cece is asleep, then,” I shot back, hoping I was right. “’Cause you’re failing miserably.”
“Okay, okay.” Guzman spread his hands in the air. “Another question, because, well, why not? What’s Cece’s quirk? Can she read the stars like Thena? Is she a dreamer like Missy?”
“You need to stop this interrogation,” I warned. “Take a swim. Now.”
“See?” Guzman smiled at Granite. “Even our very own Zen King can fall under their spell.”
“Whose spell?” a baffled Bozeman asked.
“The Astor sisters, of course.”
“Are you calling them witches?” Bozeman’s tone hardened.
“Me? Calling the Astor sisters witches?” Guzman let out a loud cackle. “No, never. My gorgeous red witch would be mad at me if I called her sisters witches. So, King.” He wiggled his playful eyebrows yet again. “What’s your witch’s take on witching?”
“Guzman…” I growled, but it was too late.
The sliders swooshed open, and a feminine voice cracked like a whip in the air. “Did you just call my sister a red witch?”
I turned around in my seat. Cece stood on the deck with her fists perched on her hips. Her tousled hair framed her diamond-shaped face, and yet she was anything but asleep. My jaw dropped, and my ass remained glued to my chair. I couldn’t tear my gaze from her.
She wore next to nothing.
My dick of a dick immediately reacted to her long, bare legs; to the tiny thong that covered the minuscule triangle between her legs; and to the white T-shirt rolled up and tied in a tight knot between her breasts.
Her sparse outfit showed off her toned, bare middle.
The thin jersey stretched taut around her luscious breasts and showcased her dark nipples, peeking through the flimsy fabric like a pair of owl eyes.
Guzman and Bozeman gaped. They couldn’t keep their damn mouths closed.
I had an impulse to pound them to dust, but I had other, more pressing matters, including my rebel of a dick, the outrage twisting Cece’s face, and the deadly daggers she shot at Guzman.
In her eyes, blue fire flared hot enough to burn the catamaran, the island, the world.
Oh, shit .