26

Jason's all about decorum and respect until it comes to the safety and wellbeing of Liv. A flip is switched and he no longer acts like a man, but a fucking maniac. But I get it now, so I just listen to him. Or at least I let him think I'm listening. He's been blabbing for the past forty-five minutes–offering threats and vivid imagery of what he'll do to me if so much as a hair is touched on Olivia's head.

I put on my jacket and glance in the mirror. I'm not meant to look like Niki's date, or her Dom, so I dressed in a classic yet modern all black weave suit trouser. No button-down shirt or collar. I'm meant to appear simple and meek next to her. My reflection stares back at me, I'm making sure I shaved correctly and smooth my hand over my scalp, searching for imperfections. I didn't bother shaving the five o'clock shadow on my face.

"Are you fucking listening to me?"

"Jason, you really think I'd let something happen to my own family?"

He moves his chair inches from my thigh, a warning. "What about Madrid, or Cabo? And how about Cuernavaca?"

He says the last part slowly, drawing it out, and I roll my eyes. "That's hardly my fault. Liv is adventurous, and if anything, she dragged me into all those disasters."

He bumps his chair closer. "No adventures tonight. I need her back."

I look at him, and there's no humor in his eyes. "Done."

Sara pops her head in. "They"re ready."

I give her a single nod and put my hand on Jason's shoulder. "There's no controlling Liv, you know this. But I won't leave without her. She will be safe."

He turns and we exit to meet the girls in the dining room. It's been converted into our tech room. Three computers and five laptops cover most of the table, along with various tiny lens tech that Sara brought for us to wear. I pull a chair back and sit at the far end. In front of me are a few sets of, made to look invisible, earbuds. They're really something. I grab one and inspect it between my fingers. It's a flexible see-through plastic, malleable to the touch. How the fuck will this serve as a communication device, and why don't we already own this shit?

Sara takes a seat at the far end of the table in front of a laptop and clicks a few buttons. Jason joins her. He presses a button on his chair and it reverses toward the wall, where he flips a switch. Above us, the chandelier begins to retreat back into the ceiling and in its place, a projector whirs out. It flickers and lights up, emitting an image on the wall to my left.

"You made a presentation?"

He shoots me a deadly glare. "My woman will be there; we can't leave room for errors."

I roll my eyes and they dance in their sockets while I bob my head. I let out a breath. "Whatever makes you feel better."

"You don't fucking get it," he yells suddenly. "You'll be there, watching everyone, making sure no one touches Justice. And if they do, you'll be right there waiting to cut their fucking hands off. And I'll be here, glued to this fucking chair, while my woman is out there with those fucking sick bastards who make a living out of selling people as if they were objects."

The room is silent except for the loud purr of the projector.

I raise my hands in surrender. "You're right."

Jason stares, unblinking, with a clenched jaw. I know there's no convincing him and he won't settle down until we're back.

Sara clears her throat. "If I may, no one will be out of our sight, gentlemen. Because we have these."

She presses a key on her laptop, and an image appears on the wall the projector faces.

"Starting the show without us?" Olivia questions.

She and Jasmin walk in first, temporarily blocking my view from Niki. I know Liv takes a seat, and that Jasmin is next to join her, but my mind can't register the conversation that begins to unfold. I can't peel my eyes away from my little fox. She looks absolutely ravishing, her milky skin glows against the pearls that make up her top. Instead of her usual look, tonight she appears regal; nothing is out of place.

Niki always looks drop dead gorgeous–she's got a natural sexiness that allures any and every person. Her look demands attention. But it's also very casual and effortless. Tonight, however, she is anything but a breeze. She can easily knock the wind out of anyone with that outfit.

"If looks could render a man speechless, I'd say we have a winner," Niki teases and smiles while she takes a seat next to Jasmin.

I frown; she's too far. And so I stand, gently push her chair back, and take her hand in mine. I ignore her confused gaze and lead her to sit on my lap instead. Beside us, Jasmin chuckles.

She smells of fresh citrus and honey. I move her silky, smooth hair over her shoulder and press my nose to her neck. I lick up from her collarbone to her earlobe and her skin is immediately covered in goosebumps. I smile into her ear and keep quiet, letting her know that she indeed has rendered me speechless.

All thoughts of invading Carlton's party leave my head. Instead, I imagine I'm with Niki somewhere warm. She'd love Rapa Nui. Her soft skin would glow and I would tire her out by teaching her to surf during the day and fucking her all night under the moonlight. We can explore the national park and fish and—

"What do you think, Dylan?"

Niki chuckles, and I groan into her neck. I don't know what the fuck they've been saying. "About what?"

Jason sounds exasperated. "The quality of the picture and clarity of sound."

My face is still deep in Niki's neck, and I lift my eyes to the wall where a detailed image of the room appears. I nod absentmindedly. I'm still in Rapa Nui with my fox.

"The lens is hidden behind a stone that works like tiny mirrors, allowing for a more authentic—"

I nibble on Niki's earlobe. "How is it being captured?"

Sara points to a dainty gold chain with a teardrop shaped ruby around her neck. She reaches back and unclasps it and rises out of her seat. She makes her way to Jasmin and the image on the screen moves with her. She settles it around Jasmin's neck, and we get a clear view of what is directly in front of her in crisp quality.

Someday soon, I'll take Niki, and all of this shit will be a blur in our past. But today, she needs my focus here. My face dips into the hollow of her neck. "What else is there?"

Sara proceeds to equip us with jewelry containing built in surveillance. A diamond bracelet and drop diamond earrings for Olivia. A matching ruby-encrusted hair brooch for Jasmin, along with ruby studs. A silver bangle and hoop earrings for Niki. None of it is real, but they look genuine and exquisite, nonetheless.

She gives Niki an expectant look and slides a black jewelry box to her. It's big enough to house a watch. Niki moves to stand, and I push the chair back slightly.

She turns to me. "Jacket off."

I frown, but I'm intrigued enough that I slide it off and toss it onto the chair next to me. She skims her eyes over me and gives me a mischievous grin. Niki pops the box open and takes out a chrome chain-mail collar with a long leash. She approaches me and reaches up and collocates it around my neck.

"Perfect," she purrs. She connects the long dangling leash to her free wrist and tugs.

The chain around my neck squeezes gently, and I'm forced to comply. My body is shoved forward slightly and my shoulders buck. Liquid lava fills my veins and steam hisses in my ears.

"What the fuck is this?" I tug on the leash.

"You're my pet," Niki offers sheepishly, but I see right through her facade of innocence.

I clear my throat and put two fingers through the collar and push up to release the grip. "Absolutely not."

"If you insist on joining us, this is the only way. Unless you want to finagle your own invite, which I hear is a pretty complicated server to hack into." She turns to Sara, who avoids looking my way.

"I think you look dashing."

"You shut up, Olivia." I point and she lifts her hands up in surrender.

"She's right—"

I interrupt Jason with a glare.

"About the difficult server," he finishes.

"Niki, you can't possibly be serious." I sit down and wrap the long leash in my palm and pull until it forces her to sit on my lap.

"Oh, I'm dead serious, rookie."

Sara continues her presentation, and a different image appears on the wall. "I installed a chip to the collar–it contains its own unique, built-in router which will enable all our devices. I'm sure they'll have something to block anyone sneaking in a phone. This will protect our tech and keep it up and running. It's also undetectable and shields us in case their system does catch on to the proximity of our devices."

I rest my chin on my hand and pull Niki closer. "So it won't allow their server to knock the power out of our devices and it will serve as our own personal Wi-Fi system?"

She nods. "Exactly."

I grip all of Niki's hair in my hand and tug slowly until her ear connects with my lips. "You'll owe me for this one, little fox."

She swallows, and I laugh before releasing her.

"Now for the mics," Sara continues. She walks around the table and provides each of us one earbud. "They're virtually invisible. These will allow the entire team to communicate back and forth."

"Seriously?" Niki questions while she twirls the plastic bud in her hands.

"On my life." Sara smiles proudly.

Jason points a finger in her direction. "I'll take you up on that."

There's a particular hostility in the room and it"s aimed at her. It mixes with the anger Jasmin emits in her direction—it's fucking palpable. The only person who offers an unquestionable and authentic conviction in her abilities and intentions is Olivia. Even Jason is filled with doubt, and he normally agrees with everything Olivia delivers.

"When it comes to a third party, someone not here nor there, that's another matter." Sara looks at Niki and then Jasmin. "We'll need them on a conference call when the time comes. I can patch them through."

Niki stiffens in my hold. "Meaning…"

"Meaning they will need to contact Jason on a specific line, then I can combine the calls to one server."

Jasmin releases a breath and looks at Niki. They exchange a look no one but they can decipher, and my woman reaches in front of her for her phone.