A Player for A Princess: Dirty Players Duet #2 (10 page)

R
eginald Winchester stands
in the green drawing room of the palace facing me. My instinct is still to be furious with him, but after what my mother told me, I’m trying to curb it.

“What do you want from me, MacCallum?” he says in the reproving tone he always uses with me.

“I want you to help me find Wade Paxton.”

Exhaling dramatically, he steps to the small wet bar and lifts a decanter of scotch. “I have distanced myself from Paxton. He’s a thug, and he can’t be reasoned with anymore.”

“It’s not a request, uncle. You will help me find Wade Paxton, and you will do it now.”

Drink poured, he replaces the crystal stopper with a soft clink. “I don’t take orders from you, nephew. I’m in your mother, the queen’s command.”

Anger tightens my jaw. “Then I will have my mother command you to help me find Paxton.”

“Don’t you mean Zelda?” He watches me with those steel blue eyes as he takes a sip. “She’s who you’re really interested in finding, correct?”

“Yes.” I return his gaze with matching intensity. “Do you know where she is?”

The idea that he might know her location almost provokes me to cross the room and grab him by the lapels, but I won’t let him see my level of desperation. The last thing I need is for him to think I’m not in control.

“No.” His answer is clipped, and my shoulders drop.

“Fuck,” I hiss, dropping to the sofa.

“However, I know what they were planning. It’s possible we can compare notes and see if it leads us to the prize.”

My head snaps up. “Tell me what they were planning!” I’m off the sofa and closing the distance between us.

He takes another deep breath. “When you lit out of here on her trail with two of Rowan’s best guards, Wade abandoned his plan to kidnap Ava in favor of her sister.”

“He was going to kidnap Ava?”

“She’s engaged to your brother. She was his first-choice bargaining chip.”

I nod as I listen, thinking of her words. “It makes sense to take Ava.”

“However, at the palace, with the assassination attempt and everyone on red alert, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get within fifty feet of her.”

“Or more,” I mutter.

“Zelda, on the other hand, took off running with the very man he’d hired to be his ears inside the palace.”

Nodding, I look at my palm. “We knew he used Seth to get to Zee and Ava, but we didn’t know why.”

“Wade Paxton is a thug, but he’s smart. He never trusted me. He doesn’t trust anyone as far as I know.”

Touching my uncle’s arm, I motion to the door. “Come with me to the war room. Freddie is there with Logan. They have all the information we’ve gathered so far.”

As we pass through the corridor heading for the grand staircase, I think about what Logan uncovered. “How did you leave it with Paxton?”

“We parted ways in Turkey, when he set out for Tortola. I intended to stay undercover in Antalya until the time we rendezvous in Totrington.”

We’re at the large office, and I tap on the heavy wooden door as I push it open. “He’s here,” I say, and my two guards do a brief nod. “Your grace.”

Reggie steps around to what I assume is his usual chair and pulls it out to sit. I take the seat opposite him.

“We don’t have time to waste. Paxton has connections all over the Mediterranean, the Caribbean… He mentioned several small islands off the coast of Venezuela that are uncharted.”

My eyes widen, and I confess, my heart beats faster. “Do you remember any of the names?”

“He never said names. It’s possible they don’t have names.” My uncle reaches for the file in front of Logan. “Is this the roster of ship captains?”

“We isolated a Russian and a Turk.”

“It’s the Turk,” Reggie says, flipping the pages quickly. “Antilles or Agnan?”

“Adem?” Freddie says.

“Yes—Adem Tanipar captains cargo ships from Brazil to Turkey.” He drops the file and slides it back to Logan. “He’ll know where they are.”

I’m out of my chair, pacing the room. “How fast can we find this Tanipar?”

“We’re searching for him now…” Logan’s tone is solemn. It makes my stomach twist.

“What’s the problem?”

“We’ve been unable to locate him since his ship left Paulista.” He’s standing, and his large arms cross over his broad chest. “We have everyone looking, but nothing.”

“Did he take a different ship? A different route?” I’m out of my element when it comes to cargo ship lines.

“He took his usual ship. He simply disappeared once he entered international waters. A local captain said he seemed to be changing course.”

“Heading for Tortola,” I say, clenching my fists. “We have to find that ship.”

“Have the crown prince request a satellite search,” Reggie says. “He has contacts in the tech industry.”

“Will that work?” I look from Logan to Freddie.

“It’s worth a try,” Freddie says.

The last thing I hear as I’m pushing through the door headed for Occitan is Logan addressing my uncle. “Can you help us locate Seth Hines?”

M
ako likes to play blackjack
. It’s an unexpected stroke of luck I can’t believe dropped right into my lap.

The night he left, after I’d wandered away from the camp, Selena was quiet. Ximena never left her bed, but the girl managed to get her mother to eat a piece of the flat bread she’d prepared with our meal. I felt mild nausea again, which I’d assumed was because Mako had thrown me down on the path and irritated my existing injury.

My little friend had taken out a worn pack of playing cards, and I watched as she played a round of solitaire. When I felt better, we’d played a game of Twenty-One. Now card games are our favorite way to pass the time.

Another week has passed, and no one has come to the island. I don’t know if I’ve been forgotten or if I should be looking over my shoulder every morning, noon, and night. The problem with indefinite imprisonment is the tendency to grow complacent.

“Mako loves to bet,” Selena says holding a handful of cards. Today we’re playing Go Fish. “Give me all your aces.”

I pull a pair of aces from my hand and pass them to her. I’m sitting across from her in a light cotton dress scattered with tiny pink flowers. It’s loose and flowy and keeps me cool in the rising heat.

The denim dress I wore to this place is soiled and tight around my middle, which I know is the result of doing nothing but sitting on my ass in this house all day. I’m going to be so fat by the time this is over Cal won’t even want me anymore.

“Give me all your kings,” I say as I study the hand I’ve been dealt. My hair is piled on top of my head in a bun. “What happens when he wins?”

“He takes away a pass. Go fish.”

A tiny bead of sweat is lingering around my hairline, and I reach up to flick it away before pulling a card from the pool. “What’s a pass?”

“When the boats come, if we have a pass, we don’t have to go.”

My brow lowers, and I look across the table at her. “How many passes does Ximena have?”

“None. Give me all your twos.”

I hand her the deuce I just took from the pool. “How do you earn passes?”

“One week with no violations is a pass.”

“A week?” I think about the time that’s passed. “But I’ve been here at least a week. Ximena never does anything wrong. She should have a pass!”

“She had many passes.”

“What happened to them?”

Selena is quiet, and I lower my hand slowly.

“How did she lose her passes?” My eyes are fixed on the girl.

She only shrugs. “It’s your turn.”

Reaching across the table, I grasp her forearm. “How did she lose them? That first night he took her? What happened?”

Selena shakes her head so that her dark waves bounce around her cheeks. “It’s not your fault. She chose to do it.”

“Do what?” I can’t move. I feel as if all my muscles are frozen while I wait for what she’s about to say.

“The day you came, everyone left, and you were lying on the sand in the yard unconscious and bleeding.” Her green eyes are fixed on her cards. “Ximena wouldn’t leave you that way even when Mako told her not to touch you.”

Folding my hand, I put the cards on the table and stand. We’re in the small room, and her mother is outside. I go through the curtain door and around the cinder block structure to where she’s in the little garden on her hands and knees digging.

“Ximena?” I say, going to where she’s working. I stop and lower to my hands and knees beside her.

Stopping, she pushes a lock of straight dark hair behind her ear and studies me with those black eyes. A knot twists my throat when I see the faded yellow bruise still on her cheek. My stomach twists when I realize she got that beating, and god knows what else, because of me. She was abused and probably raped because she took pity on me. She carried me into her house and gave me water. She gave me her food. She carried me to the bathroom.

The night they took her, her screams and Selena’s cries, fill my mind. I remember how I crawled onto that cot, clutching the blanket over my ears. I remember how I couldn’t help them, my splitting head, and I’m so ashamed.

Reaching for her hand, I blink fast to clear the heat from my eyes. “Danke.”

Her thin black brows pull together, and I know she doesn’t understand why I’m thanking her. Still, I scoot forward and hug her.

“Danke,” I whisper again.

That’s how it started.

Mako doesn’t come to the camp very often—at least he never did before. Selena told me he makes weekly checks to be sure all the women are in their houses. Unlucky for me, I happened to have wandered off to the shore on the day of his weekly check-in.

Today when he appears, I make a point of having Selena play blackjack with me.

“It’s the same as Twenty-One,” I tell her. She’s afraid, but she trusts me. She’s so much like Ava, I know I’ll never be able to leave here without her.

On the table in front of me showing is a king. Selena has an ace.

“Hit me,” I say, and she puts a six on my king.

She stands, and when we turn up the remaining cards, I have a ten. She has a king. Mako explodes with a loud laugh, causing us both to jump in our seats. Selena looks so afraid, I’m worried she peed.

“Abo bust!” he shouts, and bends at the waist laughing because I lost.

It’s exactly what I hoped would happen.

I nod to Selena. “Go again.”

Her small hands tremble as she collects the cards and shuffles them in her clumsy manner. I told her not to let me shuffle. Nothing gives a card shark away faster than an expert shuffle.

I wait as she deals each of us a card facing down and then a six to her, a three to me. “Hit me,” I say fast.

I watch as she deals me a king, and I know what’s coming. It’s all playing out perfectly. She deals herself a five, and it’s time to flip our remaining cards.

Selena has a ten, and I get a nine—and even louder laughter from Mako.

“Un mucha bati abo!” he laughs, pointing at me. “Un mucha!”

His laughter and taunting makes me think of bullies on the playground. I remember when Ava and me were little, and I would kick their asses. I got in so many fights in foster care.

I allow the anger to show on my face as I glare at the little man who holds so much power over us. He sees me glowering and laughs more.

“Abo rabiá!” then he changes his voice, so he sounds like John Wayne. “Abo
pissed
.”

“I’ll play you!” I say loudly to him.

He only looks at me, not understanding. I nudge Selena. “Tell him what I said.”

Her eyes are wide as she looks at me. “No, Selda, we don’t play with Mako.”

“I’ll play you!” I say, infusing my voice with as much fury as possible.

He speaks quickly to my young friend in their language, and she answers equally fast. I sit at the table watching, warm satisfaction filtering through my insides.
Get ready to get hustled
, I think, still holding my expression steady.

Black eyes are on me, and I can see him gloating.

“He wants to know what you’re playing for,” Selena says, nervously.

“If I win, Ximena gets a pass,” I say and Selena translates.

Mako sits back, looking from me to her. I don’t know what he will ask for if he wins. I don’t know if he’s been instructed not to touch me. If I’m a bargaining tool in Wade Paxton’s plot to win Monagasco, I might be off-limits.

He looks at my young friend a moment, and a sick gleam sparks in his eye. It’s so fucking familiar. I’ve seen that lecherous look before, and I know what it means. His words come fast, and Selena’s face goes white. Her head jerks to me.

She jumps up from the table and runs out of the house. Mako explodes with laughter, but I only pause a moment to give him an angry glare before I’m fast on her heels.

I find her in the back garden kneeling in front of the tomato lattice. She’s sniffing and holding her legs, and I see her little body tremble.

I drop beside her in the dirt and put an arm around her shoulders. “What did he say?” My voice is soft.

She doesn’t answer me right away, she only shivers, and I’m right back in that fucking culvert in Florida holding my little sister as she shivers and cries. Only this time, I’m ten years older and about a hundred casino cons smarter.

“He said if he wins, he gets me.” Her voice is so soft, and I know she’s terrified.

I want to tell her not to be afraid. I want to tell her while it sounds scary and she might think it’s a huge risk, it’s not. I know I’ll win. I know it as sure as I’m standing here looking at her. I’ll get that pass and Selena will never be in danger.

“I’ll beat him,” I say. It’s not a wish. It’s not even me being reckless or bragging. I’ve been winning at blackjack against tougher competitors than a jacked-up pimp since I was old enough to sneak into bars. “Come with me and tell him it’s a deal.”

Her green eyes are huge when they flash to me. “You can’t even beat me! How will you beat Mako? I won’t do it!”

She crosses her arms over her stomach and turns away. I hate putting her in this position, but I don’t have a choice. I can’t tell her about a hustle. I can’t tell her anything she might accidentally slip up and repeat.

I touch her gently, turning her back to me. Our eyes meet, and I smile my most reassuring smile. “Trust me. We’re going to get Ximena her pass. We’re going to get her twenty passes.”

Selena doesn’t move. She sits in that garden watching me, turning over my words. “How?”

“Trust me!” I say. “I know what I’m doing.”

“And if he wins?”

I catch her arms and hold her tight. My eyes level with hers, and I make a promise I mean with all my heart. “I will
never
let him touch you.”

She still hesitates, but I take her hand and pull her up with me. “Tell you what,” I say. “If anything goes wrong, I’ll take your place.”

Her face jerks, “Don’t even say that!”

Giving her a little hug, I laugh. “I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t sure I’d win.”

That seems to reassure her.

M
ako is waiting
when we round the corner of the house, and I feel Selena’s body tense. I give her another reassuring squeeze, and she tells him in their language it’s a deal. The three of us return to the table, and I’m determined to win those passes for Ximena. I didn’t say it out loud, but that’s another thing I won’t let happen again. No one suffers for me.

With trembling hands, Selena places two cards face down in front of us, followed by two cards face-up.

Silence falls over us as we examine our hands.

I have a three; Mako, a Jack.

My breath stills. I do my very best to channel all the casino-cool that’s been pounded into me through the years.

“Stay,” he says, leaning back and grinning.

“Hit me,” I say, and Selena turns a ten up next to my three. Mako begins to laugh, and Selena’s eyes flood with tears.

I want to reach over and squeeze her hand, but I can’t. It’s the moment of truth, and I can’t appear to know what’s coming.

Selena takes a shaking breath as she reaches to flip the final two cards, but Mako is eager. His hand shoots forward and he flips up a two for him…

An eight for me.

We’re quiet a moment as the truth sinks in. Selena does some fast math, and then her breath explodes from her mouth with a laugh.

I glance up through my lashes to see Mako’s face turn bright red. “NO!” he points to the table and shakes his head.

“A deal’s a deal!” I say, scooting back in the chair. “A pass for Ximena.”

His eyes cut to me, and for a moment he considers reneging. I can see it in his shifty eyes. He’s a double-crosser. He makes deals and then changes them when they don’t go his way.

Standing, I go to the door and pretend to call into the yard. “I should tell the other women what happened here. How we won fair and square, and you’re taking it back.”

His eyes move from me to the table, to Selena then to Ximena. He doesn’t know what I’m saying, as far as I know, but he gets up and walks fast to where I’m standing at the door. Selena is still at the table, frozen in place as if she’s unsure what might happen next.

Mako leans into me, says something in his language, and then pushes through the door, storming out into the yard and away.

I explode a breath. “Shew!” I say, leaning forward.

I want to laugh, but instead my head spins. My breathing is labored, and while I’m so happy I won, I have to close my eyes against the rising nausea.

“Are you okay?” Selena asks, walking to me and touching my arm.

“Yeah,” I say, trying to nod, but I’m afraid to make any fast movements. “It might not be twenty passes, but it’s a start,” I manage.

“Do you want to do it again?” she asks.

I want to say yes, but my stomach is churning. I don’t know if it’s my head injury. I don’t know what’s the matter, but I dash out the door and around the corner of the house just in time… to lose my lunch all over the ground.

I hold the side of the house, gasping, my eyes damp with tears. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I’m not getting better. In fact, I’m afraid I’m getting worse. What if I have internal bleeding? What if my brain is swelling?

Ximena appears at my side, and she touches my arm. She reaches around my shoulder and helps me move back, away from my vomit, back to the front of the house facing the yard.

“Na estado?” she asks, dark eyes large, face lined with worry. “Beibi?”

My eyes hold hers a moment. I don’t know their language, but some words sound the same in any language.

“What did you…” I can’t finish my sentence as I race through the math, as I race through all of it.

From the time I arrived in Monagasco and met Cal, we’d pretty much had a long, sex-filled holiday until I ran away. Then when he found me, we’d spent the proceeding days making up for lost time.

How long has it been? I don’t remember having a period since… before we left for Monagasco. So many weeks ago… A month ago? Two months? Oh, god, I don’t even know!

How could I be so careless? I’ve
never
been careless about such things… It’s yet another way MacCallum Lockwood Tate came in and turned my carefully controlled life upside down.