Page 70 of Wicked Games

“Keep it, cariño. It’s clear the two of you are getting great joy from it.”

“Hello, Mama,” Carmen said softly.

“Te echo de menos,” Manuela said.

“I miss you too, Mama.” Carmen took a deep breath and said, “Banks has taken the bait.”

“And by bait you mean he’s been in contact with Lucky?” I asked.

“Yes,” Carmen confirmed. “Lucky called Banks using his bugged phone and requested a meeting.”

“I told him I have the evidence to prove who the mole is in his company. The bastard acted intrigued and set the time and place.”

“You’re just going to sit down across from Banks and show him the evidence?” I asked.

“No, love, I’m going to keep my phone on so he’ll know where I am and wait for one of Banks’s men to grab me.”

I gasped sharply. They talked about using Lucky as bait, but I didn’t think they meant for him to get abducted. “There has to be a better way.”

“There isn’t,” Lucky said. “Banks needs to feel like he’s in control until we have everything we need. If we’re going to put the twisted bastard away for life, we need to get him to admit to his crimes on tape.”

“How will that be permissible in a court of law? His attorneys would advise him not to lose sleep over illegally obtained confessions.”

“The court of public opinion matters a great deal to someone like Banks, love,” Lucien said softly.

“Ryder, there will be three of us watching Lucky. When he gets nabbed, we’ll know it, and we will ride to the rescue,” Carmen said confidently. “Even if they manage to slip by us, Lucky is wearing a tiny little tracking device. We’ll know where he is.”

“Three?” Deverish asked.

“My bodyguard Harry and I will be in the field while Quinton tracks Lucky’s transmissions from our command center.”

“I still don’t like it,” I said, “but I have faith in all of you.”

“I’ll keep you posted as best I can, but we’ll go radio silent once we execute the recovery mission for obvious reasons,” Carmen said.

“Yeah, I want your focus to be on getting my man back.”

“Q, are you playing nice with others?” Percy asked. “You’re so used to being the lone wolf.”

“He’s um…fine,” Carmen said, sounding a little breathless. “A bit sure of himself, but I guess we wouldn’t want anything less from someone in this situation.”

“It’s not arrogance if it’s true,” Quinton said. “I’m the best you’ll ever know.”Was that a bold double entendre?

“Is that so?” Carmen asked Q, sounding annoyed.

“Yep.”Hell yes, it was a double entendre.

“Quinton is the perfect man for the job,” Lucien said, steering the conversation back to the purpose of our meeting. “I’m happy knowing he’ll have our backs while we’re in the field.”

I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Lucien had told me about Carmen and Quinton’s reactions to one another. The attraction was obviously mutual, but neither of them was the trusting type, so they circled each other. Sometimes the unresolved sexual tension spilled over into arguments about the silliest things. Lucien laughed so hard when he recounted their spats and hearing their exchange during the conference made me doubly sad I wasn’t there to witness their interactions in person.

“I don’t have anything else to share,” Carmen said, reclaiming control. “Send up prayers and good vibes for us tomorrow. We expect everything to go extremely well, but we’ll take all the help we can get.”

“May God be with you,” Manuela said.

“I’m saying prayers, sending out good vibes, and I’m crossing everything I can,” I said.

“I’ll light a candle and call upon my goddesses,” Percy said.