Page 18 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two

From across the room, Wren shoots me a worried look. She’s sitting on the love seat with Rhett while I’m on the couch by myself. Elliot issupposedto be sitting with me, but I understand that he needs to move around.

Eventually, Elliot turns to face the three of us. “We need to maximize this opportunity. We have a chance to get inside Ludo’s temporary home. Inside his operations. We need to make the most of it.”

Rhett freezes with a spoonful of ice cream halfway to his mouth. “Are you saying we should bug Ludo’s condo?”

For a few seconds, they stare at each other. Then Elliot sighs. “I’m not sure we could pull it off. No doubt, he’ll have security cameras positioned all over the place. There’s no way we could plant something without getting caught.”

For the first three days of this trip, Ludo is going to be gone in the mornings and early afternoons. That’s when we’re supposed to be with his fiancée, Aubrey. But during the rest of that time, being able to hear Ludo’s conversations could give us essential knowledge into his life.

I’m pretty sure all of us have thought about bugging the resort condo he’s renting out. None of us have voiced it because it’d never work. But maybe…

“Do you have an idea of how we could pull it off?” I ask.

With a big sigh, Elliot sets his ice cream on a side table and plops onto the couch next to me. He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together tightly—too tightly. “If we break Ludo’s trust, we’ll never get it back again. We can’t afford to make mistakes here.”

I glance between Elliot and Rhett. There’s no way we’re losing everything we’ve spent the past decade working toward. But we have to move forward, and there’s no way to do that without some risk. It’s just a matter of determining what’s too far.

“You can hide a bug in anything these days. Clocks, fire detectors, electrical outlets, sunglasses. But if Ludo finds out we did…” Elliot shakes his head.

“So you don’t think it’s worth the risk?” I ask.

Instead of answering, Elliot presses his lips into a thin line. When his eyes flit to Rhett, I wonder if he’s worried to say it’s too far. We’re already compromising on multiple aspects of our grand plan, and we feel like that’s enough of a disservice to Sammy. But at the same time, we need to be careful. We have Wren to think about now.

“What about me?” she asks. She’s fidgeting in her seat, her eyes bouncing from me to Elliot to Rhett.

“We’ll keep you safe, love. I promise.”

Shaking her head, Wren says, “That’s not what I mean. You guys can’t bug the condo because there’s a chance you’ll get caught on camera. But no one would ever expect me to do something like that, so no one would be watching me. Right?”

Elliot narrows his eyes. “I don’t like where you’re going with this.”

“Just hear me out,” she says. “You can teach me how to plant something discreetly. We’re going over to the condo tomorrow night, right? So Aubrey can meet you guys? What if I do it then?”

“No,” Elliot says. “Not in a million years. You’re a horrible liar, Wren. I have faith that you could pull it off, but not without training and practice. And we don’t have time for that.”

“But—”

“Sweetheart, no.” Rhett covers his hand with hers. “We’re not risking it. You’ve been through enough.”

“I agree with Elliot,” I say, which earns me a halfhearted glare from Wren.“ButI think we could make it work.”

Now Elliot and Rhett give me glares from hell. Wren, however, perks up. I give her the most reassuring smile I can.

“What if,” I start, ignoring the look on Elliot’s face that means he’s going to shut me down no matter what, “Wren doesn’t plant anything?”

“That’s what we’re saying,” Elliot says, gesturing between him and Rhett. “She can’t be a part of this.”

Wren crosses her arms. “I alreadyama part of this.”

Elliot lets out an exasperated sigh, but I cut him off before he can say anything.

“She won’t plant anything. But what if she ‘forgets’ something at the condo? Something that could easily be mistaken as Aubrey’s, like sunglasses?”

“It won’t—” Elliot stops himself, and his expression turns almost surprised. “That could…” His eyes kind of glaze over as he thinks, and I smile when he runs his thumb over his bottom lip. It’s an old habit I’ve always found cute. “That could work. Rhett? What do you think?”

He’s staring at Wren, his features clouded over. I can practically see the battle in his eyes. He wants to keep her safe—we all do. But she committed to this, and we could really use her help.

She’s right. Sheisa part of this.