The Cunning Thief (Stolen Hearts #6)(32)

“You don’t have to be,” said Tristan. “If you want to call it quits and head out, now is the time to say it. No one is going to judge you.”

Shae scoffed. “I’ll judge me. Let’s get this over with.” She lifted the glass of wine to her lips and threw her head back as she quickly downed the rest of the contents. Now or never, she told herself as she turned away from the warm protection of Tristan and walked across the grounds until she stood at the edge of the crowd gathered around Manuel. He was currently going on about how he had mastered the Six Sigma management style when he met her eyes and stopped. She had to give him credit. He barely showed any surprise before the smile covered his face and he held his hand out to her. “My darling Shae! It’s so good to see you!”

She was sure her own smile looked far more tense, but she wiggled through the parting crowd and gave him a quick hug. “Hello, Daddy,” she said, using her old endearment for him, not sure whether he’d take it as an insult or a compliment. “I didn’t realize I’d see you here today.”

“If you’ll excuse me, ladies and gentlemen.” He grabbed her upper arm a tad too tightly and started to pull her away. She was sure the motion looked totally natural, and almost comforting, but the sudden pressure on her arm was anything but. Nonetheless, she went along with it until they were out of earshot of the nearby guests. Tristan stood where she’d left him, but he pointed to his ear, reminding her that he was listening to everything that was happening and would be there if she needed him. She averted her gaze from Tristan, not wanting to let her father know they were together. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he demanded in a harsh tone.

There was the father she knew and remembered. “Taking care of some big business. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to announce a new, and very profitable, business deal,” he said through clenched teeth. “And I know you’re not going to fuck anything up for me. I raised you better than that.”

Shae laughed, bemused by the irony of that statement. “That’s odd. You love to tell me exactly how many ways I’ve let you down over the years. I can’t imagine that’s changed recently.” But the both of them knew exactly all the reasons she had to mess things up for him. Neither one had forgotten their sordid past.

“Is there a problem here?”

Shae stiffened at the voice. “Damask.” She turned around to face him. Now that she looked at him, for the first time truly speaking face-to-face, she realized he and her father had a lot in common: a stubborn set to the jaw, frown lines that had etched in wrinkles that no cream would fix, and a hardened glint to their eyes. The kind of glint that told her either one would do anything to get what they wanted.

“I’m on the move,” said Hunter in her ear.

When she had turned to face Damask, she was now looking directly at Tristan over his shoulder. Tristan, for his part, didn’t seem as though his demeanor changed at all. She had to assume his earbud was working, but he gave no indication that he was interested in anything happening between her and the two men. “Hello,” she said with a confident smile. She couldn’t even tell whether she was faking it at this point. Knowing there was so much backup around her listening to every word did give her an odd confidence boost. Yet, this was the man who tried to kill her. He’d thrown her in a closet and shot at her. Maybe not him directly, but as a direct result of his orders. This was the man who wanted her dead, and now she was looking directly in those cold eyes. “I was thinking it was time we talked again.”

“I didn’t realize the two of you had business together.” Manuel’s eyes darted between the two, and his obvious discomfort radiated off him.

Shae wasn’t proud of it, but making her father uncomfortable was oddly thrilling. She didn’t remember the last time he’d shown any vulnerability at all.

“Small potatoes business,” said Damask.

“Well, this sack of small potatoes is on to you.” She was supposed to be getting him to tell her why he wanted Seaside Escape, but this wasn’t exactly her area of expertise. As she struggled to think of what to say, she saw the familiar dirty-blond head in the background. Gage. If he was there, then Hunter must be.... Oh crap, he was right behind Damask. Shae floundered, trying to think of what to say to distract Damask. “I was wondering if you want to tell me what exactly is so important about my property that you sent people there to kill me.”

Just then, Hunter made his move. But he didn’t just pick Damask’s pocket as she was expecting. Instead, he smoothly bumped into a waitress, and she was the one who ran into Damask. He turned around to look accusingly at the woman, and during that distraction was when Hunter swooped in and grabbed the phone. Shae held her breath. She was sure someone was going to see what happened, or point Hunter out and scream for the authorities. But instead, everyone seemed solely focused on Damask and the waitress, as though they were expecting him to blow up in rage.

“Good job, Shae,” said Toni in her ear. “Now keep Damask distracted a little bit longer. We’re going to clone the phone and return it to him so he’ll never know anything happened.”

Shae didn’t think they really needed help keeping him distracted. He looked over the young woman and opened his mouth before abruptly closing it. She had a feeling the real Damask was about to slip out before he remembered he was at a posh party he was throwing. Instead, he bent down to help her pick up the spilled glasses before patting her on the shoulder. “Why don’t you be more careful next time?”