Page 5 of Keeping Her Secrets

“Sorry, I saw Mustique in the restaurant, and she was a little worse for wear.”

“Mustique? As in my Mustique?” Ash knew the words weren’t meant as a claim. Daniel adored Megan—they were vomit-inducing in their love—but, nonetheless, the term pissed him off.

“Not your anything, but, yes, the same Mustique.” There was a pause on the line, and he knew he’d given away more than he wanted with that one statement.

“Am I missing something?” Daniel asked slowly.

Ash paced and stroked a hand down his beard in frustration. “No, I just saw her, and she was drunk and acting out of character, so I brought her to her room. I couldn’t leave until she was asleep. Who knows what she would get into in that state.”

“You have no idea.”

Daniel’s short sentence piqued Ash’s interest. “No, I don’t. Wanna fill me in?”

A sigh reached his ear. “Fine, but not over the phone. Meet me in the bar in ten.”

There was a click on the line, and Ash glanced at the phone’s screen to find the call had been disconnected. “What the fuck is going on?” he asked the universe and got the answer he expected—silence.

Ten minutes later, he prowled into the bar and saw Daniel break free from the rest of the group, who were now drinking shots, with the younger men looking slightly worse for wear. His cousin headed in his direction.

Daniel motioned for him to follow him outside. Once there, he walked until they were on the fringes of the hotel premises and stopped before making sure nobody was around.

“What’s with all the cloak and dagger shit?” Ash demanded, losing patience.

“Roz would cut my balls off for this, and I’m only telling you because I know you would never betray me.”

“Just fucking spit it out.”

“Mustique is part of a group known as Zenobi. They’re an all-female assassin team that work solely for themselves. They operate in the shadows and don’t exist on paper.”

“I’ve heard of them, at least rumors. Are you telling me they’re real, and that all the kills, all the Robin Hood bullshit, all the vigilante crap, is true?”

Daniel planted his hands on his hips, and Ash mirrored him. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“So, wait. You mean Mustique is one of them?”

“She’s not only a member, but she runs the operation in France. Roz is the overall leader.”

“Roz, as in scary, psycho, PTA mom Roz? From the gallery Roz?”

“I wouldn’t call her that to her face. Roz is not just a mom, she’s the deadliest assassin I’ve ever come across. She has single-handedly built Zenobi into what it is today and even finding the love of her life and having a family has barely taken the rough edges from her.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, why didn’t you tell me before? Like when you found me with my tongue down Mustique’s throat?”

Daniel grinned and patted his arm. “You’re a big, scary SEAL—Tier One, no less. Surely a little assassin doesn’t scare you?”

“Fuck you,” Ash bit out. But the truth was he didn’t know if the information made Mari more attractive or less. He suspected more—he’d always loved strong women.

“So, you can see why her drunk off her tits wouldn’t be good for all the cheating assholes she might encounter in a place like this.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Cheers, mate,” Daniel said and spun around to leave.

“Wait. Where the hell are you going? She’s your friend.”

Daniel moved back to him with a frown. “She is, but as the oldest cousin, I’m saying it’s your job tonight to make sure this doesn’t turn into a shit show. Plus, I have Crockett to take care of, and Mustique is asleep at least, right?”

Ash couldn’t believe he was pulling the same ‘I’m the oldest’ shit he had when they were kids. The truth was though, he wanted to be the one to look after Mari. “Fine, but you owe me,” Ash said as they headed back inside, wanting to seem less than keen on the idea.

He made his way over to his friends and explained a female friend was beyond drunk, and he didn’t want to leave her alone in that condition.

Ian chuckled. “Not a fucking Dom, my ass.”

As he ambled away, Ash wondered at that but then dismissed it as his brain focused on the information it’d been given tonight. One thing was clear, he would be having a talk with Marisol Whatever-her-fucking-surname-was when she woke up.