Red Handed by Jessa Wilder

“Yes, Raegan?” My dad’s voice was abrupt, like just answering my call was a huge inconvenience.

I paced back and forth along the pool deck, ignoring the sound of Beck and Rush talking quietly somewhere to my left. “I need to know what’s going on. Why is Sophie being targeted?”

It had taken me literally days to get my dad on the phone. I kept getting rerouted to Brian, who told me he was busy. Finally, by the end of our second week in the hotel—ten days after the shooting—I called my mom, and demanded she pass the phone along.

“You’re on a need-to-know basis.”There was an annoyed edge to his words, but I pushed further.

“Come on, Dad. I do need to know. Shit’s been going down. We’ve been attacked, and now they’re not letting us leave.”

“Are you questioning me? You don’t need to know. Am I clear?”His tone left no room for argument.

“Yes, sir.”

I could hear the smile in his voice. “Good. How’s your sister?”

I rolled my eyes. “She’s fine.”

“Safe?”

“Yeah, the guys are with us 24/7 since the incident.”

“Good. Call me if there’s any progress on the laptop.”The phone clicked. That was it. No “stay safe,” no “see you later,” or even a, “goodbye.”

I put my phone down on the pool deck bar counter a little too hard and ran my fingers through my hair. I was going to need a drink. More annoying than the actual failure of that conversation would be when Nico realized I had gotten nowhere with my dad, and rubbed it in my face. I mean, I could just leave. Sneak out of the hotel and catch a bus to New Forge maybe, but then what? I didn’t have any money outside of my family since I worked for Mount Summer, and I couldn’t just leave Sophie. Plus, I would probably be hunted down and killed for deserting the family. Fuck!

The scent of cedar and wood-smoke surrounded me as Rush stepped close enough that his fingers nearly grazed mine. The hair on my arm raised as the ever-present current snapped between us. I looked up at him, but his gaze lingered on my body. I was dressed in my skimpy bikini with my sheer cover-up on top. He was shirtless and practically radiating heat. It took willpower not to lean into him.

“Sharing secrets with the enemy?” His words were sharp, but his tone lacked conviction. As if he was trying to convince himself.

“It’s been almost two weeks since the incident at the cafe. Your boss doesn’t seem to care at all about actually using me for anything. I barely see my sister. I want to know why I’m being locked up here.” Frustration seeped through my words. I took a deep breath in and blew it out, meeting Rush’s eyes. “I’m frustrated that I still don’t know what’s happening.”

His hands clenched white at his sides, and he looked away. Unable or unwilling to fill me in. “I’d tell you if I could.”

It would’ve made absolutely no sense for Rush to give me information, but he looked serious. He was fucking stunning standing here in nothing but his swim shorts, every inch of his tattooed on full display, but it didn’t matter. “Yeah, why should I believe that?”

He took a deep breath and his eyebrows drew together. “You shouldn’t.”

“Exactly,” I scoffed.

Spending time with the guys, at least, wasn’t a hardship. Well, Beck anyway. Rush and I had a tentative truce. There was a constant push/pull that I couldn’t seem to fight. He looked after the Gentlemen. Should’ve been the easiest thing in the world to hate him. The truth was, I didn’t. On top of that, I didn’t think he hated me as much as he’d like me to believe.

Nico was a whole other thing. He seemed to be making himself scarce on purpose. He’d been in and out over the last couple of weeks to oversee the progress on rebuilding the downtown Hotel Esposito, leaving both Rush and Beck here to watch me and Sophie. Every time he came back for a day or so, he would promptly disappear again without warning. Sophie was also frequently absent. She had taken to hiding in her room basically 24/7, and I had no idea why. She and Nico could teach a class on sketchy behavior.

I grabbed a spiked seltzer from the bar fridge and slipped off my cover up and shoes. I covertly looked over at Beck in the pool. He was in the shallow end, his torso above the water, and what a fucking sight it was. Water rippled down his chest. Images of bloody colored demons and severed heads inked over his skin. Every inch painted in detail. Ever since our kiss Sunday, all I could think about was running my tongue all over his. I needed to get my shit together.

Distracted, I didn’t notice Rush until he’d already lifted me into the air. “I think you need to cool down, Firecracker. You’re looking a bit flushed.”

“Put me down.” I swatted at him. What the fuck was happening? He hadn’t voluntarily touched me since the night we first met. “Rush, don’t you fucking dare throw me in that water.”

I could hear the laugh in his voice and didn’t trust him for a second. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Beck looked up at us, his expression that of wicked amusement. The next thing I knew, Rush and I were submerged in the water. I came up sputtering.

“You are fucking dead,” I choked, unable to keep the laugh out of my voice.

Beck’s strong arms wrapped around me, holding me up in the water that was above my head. “Come swim with me.”

His hands loosened, and I spun in his arms, not prepared for how it would feel against my wet skin. A seriousness overtook him, and his eyes hooded as his gaze roamed over me just like the other day at the stadium. Then he smirked and tossed me a good three feet into the air to land directly in front of Rush. “I can’t keep you all to myself, Little Thief. Sharing is caring, right?”

Rush’s face dripped from the splash of my landing. My laughter caught in my throat when my gaze met his. He looked at me with the same intensity he had the night of the ball. His lids hooded over two-toned eyes, tracing over my face as if taking me in for the first time.

Distracted, I started to dip lower in the water, and his hands grasped my hips, fingers digging into my skin. He pulled me close against him. Fuck.

My heart hammered in my chest as I tried to catch the breath I’d been holding. Rush’s breathing matched mine, chest rising and falling in quick pants. Every nerve ending in my body prickled with the force of this moment. No longer able to make coherent thoughts, I leaned in closer to Rush, feeling Beck’s eyes burning into my back.

“Where the hell are you guys?” Nico yelled from the entrance to the pool deck.

I scrambled to get away from Rush. He frowned at me like he’d finally come to his senses and was disappointed with himself. It fucking stung. We all turned to Nico, who looked deeply out of place on the pool deck in a black suit. He scowled as he met my eyes. His appearance shocked me back to reality. These were Gentlemen. Right. And I was…a fucking idiot.

“You’re back,” Rush said, shortly.

“Glad to see you’ve both been taking good care of Raegan,” Nico said acidly. “If I’d realized all she needed was incentive not to leave the hotel, I could’ve saved myself so much trouble.”

I flushed. It was obvious what he meant by that, and he wasn’t wrong. God, I needed a therapist. Or a lobotomy.

“Shut up, bro.” Beck hauled himself out of the pool and followed Nico into the hallway of the hotel, only glancing back long enough to roll his eyes at us as if to say “I’ll deal with him.”

“Get dressed. We have shit to do tonight,” Nico yelled over his shoulder.

“What does that mean?” I asked, turning my gaze back to Rush.

He’d put his walls back up. Face blank. “Ask Nico. You heard him, get dressed. I have actual work to do.”

He stalked away and I swore under my breath. Wherever we were going with all the tension, it wasn’t likely to be fun.