Page 94 of Sweet Deception

“Rory’s discovered something about the summit.” I keep my gaze averted. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll tackle her all over again. Such terriblefucking timing.

“What?” Nika hops out of bed.

I toss her clothes at her, and we both dress in haste.

“Come on.” She accepts my extended hand, which feels more right than I care to admit.

We hurry to my door, but when I open it again, I’m mortifiedto find my father still standing there, waiting to escort us to Rory’s office.

What the fuck…

Silence encompasses our grim procession as we walk down this hallway. My father’s eyes remain glued on me, concern deepening the lines on his face. And even though I know that, I can’t stop watching Nika, some strange protective intensity gathering strength inside me with every step we take.

I thought we were headed to Rory’s office, but instead, he leads us to the war room, where Rory’s already begun outlining his plan for infiltrating the summit Red Hill is hosting.

When we step inside, heads briefly swivel in our direction before refocusing on the front of the room.

Rory pauses mid-sentence to address us. “Just the two I wanted to see.”

Well, I don’t like the sound of that.

“What is it?” Instinctively, I step in front of Nika, but she just scoots around me and settles into a seat at the table, eyes intent on Rory’s presentation. Jesus, this woman doesn’t know when to be afraid.

“I found the Red Hill operations base that seems to be communicating about the summit. If we can sneak into the facility and bug their server, we’ll have all the information we need on Troy and the event itself.”

Rory launches into the plan, and the next thing he says causes my stomach to sink. “For this to work, we’re going to need a team of two.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Infiltrating the Red Hill operations base! It’s perfect.

Except…as I listen to Rory, I again realize that no one’s mentioning the missing women. These men only care about one-upping their Red Hell rivals.

I keep hoping that someone will change their tune to include a discussion about the women, because if that happens, then I won’t have to betray Darren’s trust.

The idea of doing that stings more than I’d like to admit, but in the end, the Kings may leave me no choice.

Still, it’s wild to be sitting here in their command central, observing a presentation on the very topic that’s occupied my thoughts for the past few weeks. Anticipation, angst, and greed all collide inside me, my eyes eagerly scanning the information on each of Rory’s slides.

He’s got blueprints of the base, technological specs of the place, everything.

The info he found…amazingly, incredibly…is exactly what will help me triangulate Lucy’s whereabouts and get her to safety.

So as soon as Rory says he needs someone on the inside, my hand shoots up.

“Let me do it.” All the eyes in the room settle on me. Shane, Donal, Finn, Cian, Rory, and Darren are all giving me the she’s nuts look. I blink back at them. “What?”

“Absolutely not.” Darren’s fingers thread around my palm as he pulls my hand out of the air. “Rory, please, continue.”

Irritation rushes through me. I snatch my hand out of Darren’s grip. “I’m completely serious.” I shift back to Rory. “Shane decided to keep me here so I could be of use to the family. So, let me help. I want to. Please.”

If I’m the one who sneaks into the Red Hill base, I’ll be able to bug their server for the Kings…and for myself. That way, I’ll have direct access to all Red Hill communications in or out, and I won’t have to rely on Rory or wait for secondhand information to reach me.

My mind races through all the steps it would take.

It’s dangerous, but if Darren’s there, he won’t let anything happen to me. I’m certain.He’s proven himself.

“Darren and I will do it together.” I stand, ignoring Darren’s incredulous face to address the room. “You already know I’m skilled at infiltrating, and what’s more, I know exactly what we’re searching for and how to set up.”