Dead Drop (The Guild #2)(30)
“Yes,” Kai said.
At the same time, I scoffed. “Hell fucking no.” He glared at me, and I just glared right back. “You think I’m going to willingly return to your fucking prison, Malachi? You must be dumber than you look. I’ll be heading back to my secure location, and we can meet in neutral territory or communicate by dark web.”
“How’s that going to work when the Guild is sending assassins after you?” he argued, folding his impressive arms. He wore a black, long-sleeve top, but it was skintight and did nothing to hide his bulging muscles.
I gave a frustrated sigh. “I can handle it. I’ve survived two Guild executioners in the last three weeks and the notorious Ares himself. I think I’ll be fine.”
Kai’s glare darkened and he reached out to tug my collar down. “You call this surviving?”
“Yeah, dickhead,” I snapped, smacking his hand away, “that’s exactly what I call it. Because I’m alive and he’s dead. Pretty much the definition of surviving.”
Mo gave a worried shake of her head. “Sorry, Danny, I’m with the idiot on this one. You need physical backup.”
I gritted my teeth in anger, hating that they were teaming up against me. “I only need your connections in tracking down the man pulling the strings on this. That’s it. Once I deal with him, my name will be cleared and everything can go back to normal.”
Mo didn’t look convinced, and Kai… fucking hell, I already knew I wasn’t escaping that easily. Not tonight, and probably not ever.
“Well… consider it a two for one,” Mo said with forced brightness. “You can access our contacts and get a big, dumb hunk to watch your back twenty-four seven. What a bargain!” She punched her brother in the shoulder, and he barely even twitched.
I shook my head, searching for another great reason to decline. But really, all I had to offer was no, I can’t be trusted alone with Kai because I’m pretty sure I’m still a little infatuated and am scared of that getting worse if we fuck. Which we will. And then Leon will cut Kai’s fingers off, and he has such pretty, talented fingers; it’d be a shame to waste them like that.
Out loud, all I managed was, “No thanks.”
Kai smirked like he could read my mind. “You scared to be alone with me, Siren?”
“Um?” Mo gave a small wave. “What am I? A side table?”
“You need to go back to the team,” Kai told her with a small shrug. “Debrief and let them know that delicious Danny DeLuna will be helping on our vendetta.”
Curiosity sparked. What was their vendetta? And how could I help?
“So… should I bring them out here?” Mo asked, frowning around at the abandoned town.
“No,” Kai barked at the same time as I shook my head. “No, I don’t want them anywhere near Danny just yet.”
I scoffed. “The feeling is mutual, though I’d love a rematch with Sam now that I’m not pretending to be a weak, helpless victim.” I flexed my fist, the leather of my fingerless gloves creaking while I pictured beating the snot out of Sam. Regardless of how heartbroken he was at losing Mauricio, he still tried to kill a woman who wasn’t fighting back. That spoke volumes for his character, and I was more than happy to dish out some karma.
“Okay…” Mo gave me a narrow-eyed look. “On the one hand, that sounds like a mess we don’t need to deal with right now, but on the other…”
I grinned. I knew I liked her for a reason.
“The answer is no,” Kai snarled, pissed off as hell.
Moana rolled her eyes. “Okay, I got the message. You’re insecure and worried Danny will flirt with Jae again. Got it. What about you two?”
Kai glowered so hard I imagined I could see a little steam coming from his ears. His extreme jealousy issues were not exactly news, though.
“I’m going wherever my siren goes,” he told me with utter conviction. “She’s never getting out of my sight again.”
Mo and I exchanged a look, and she barked a sharp laugh. “Good luck with that one, champ.” She clapped her brother on the back, then headed for the driver’s side door of her car. “Call me if you need a break from his moody bullshit, Danny-girl.”
I already needed a break. “Hold up,” I snapped before she closed her car door. “You still owe me, Mo. This does not even the score between us.”
She wrinkled her nose, then gave a nod. “Understood.” Without any further discussion, she pulled her door closed and took off into the night, leaving me alone in the middle of fucking nowhere with the first man to truly get under my skin. Like a splinter. A splinter with a body straight off Mount Olympus and a dick that could make Aphrodite gasp.
“So,” he said, breaking the tense silence. “Where to?”
“Hell, apparently,” I muttered, throwing my hands up and stalking away from him. I’d left my rental car just two blocks away, and Kai followed me like a huge shadow the whole way. Neither one of us attempted conversation, and I was glad for it. We weren’t friends, and it was about damn time he worked out that this was business and nothing more.
We only drove five minutes before the silence evidently got the better of Kai, though.
“So, how’s Stanley doing?” he asked, his gaze heavy on me as I drove. “I hope you’ve been taking better care of him than the state I found him in. Poor guy was dehydrated as hell.”