Page 13 of These Reckless Hearts

Lance stays where he’s at, safely concealed. “Reconsider your position.”

I grab onto the back of Stone’s suit, bunching it in my fists. He works his hand back to tangle with mine in reassurance. Heart beating rapidly, I peer around his body as Cummings wipes at the sweat dripping down the sides of his face. He flicks his gaze toward Lance, then back at us. Mumbling, he squeezes his eyes tightly before turning the gun on Lance. He darts his eyes toward us. “Leave,” he demands. “Go!”

He doesn’t have to tell us twice. We turn, and now there’s only the two guards at the door to get through. We rush forward, but Ninja and the other Dragon race into view, completely incapacitating the two suited men. Stone shoves me forward. Lance curses behind us, his words blistering the air as he tells Cummings what a piece of shit he is. I push open the door, and Ninja guides me quickly toward the elevator, his huge boa-constrictor arms wrapped around me and restricting my view. When we get in the elevator, I’m relieved to find Stone and the other bodyguard right behind us.

The doors close, leaving us safely inside, and Ninja presses a finger to his ear. “We got her, Boss.” He pauses. “Yes, sir.”

Stone walks toward me, forehead dropping to mine. “I had no idea,” he breathes.

“I know.” I’m surprised to find my voice shaky. Stone entwines my fingers in his, calming the tremors.

“Was Jacobs in the room?” Ninja questions.

I nod, and if I thought Lance’s litany before we left the conference room was bad, Ninja’s is on a whole other level. When he calms, he explains, “We’ll take you to the car. We won’t be getting the fucker today. By the time we get you two to safety and head back up, he’ll be gone.”

“I got an ID off one of his guys,” Cole’s other guard says

I rub my forehead, trying to relieve the pounding in my temples. “Thank you for helping,” I tell them both, adrenaline still coursing through my veins. I don’t think anyone believes they’re ever going to have a gun aimed at them, and this is more than once now. It doesn’t become old hat, at least not in my case.

“You did good,” Ninja praises. “Calling Cole was smart.”

“You called Cole?” Stone asks, his blue-gray eyes flecked with worry but also admiration. “Jesus, Dakota.” He wraps his arm around me, tugging me close. “That was perfect.”

His hard, warm body soothes my tremors. The elevator beeps, and Ninja and his friend flank Stone and me. They don’t pull weapons though I have no doubt they’re armed to the teeth. We walk through the lobby and head straight for the Audi parked at the curb a few spaces down. Ninja stays with us while the other walks the perimeter of the car, taking out a device and staring at the screen as he makes his rounds. “What’s he doing?”

“Checking for explosives and cameras,” Ninja explains.

I should’ve known.I’m relieved when he returns with the all clear. Stone slams his fist against the hood. “Fuck!” he roars, garnering the attention of a few oblivious passersby. I rest my hand on his back, and he tenses. He stays this way for a while before turning toward me, determination brimming in his irises. “What would you say about still going to the rest of the meetings? I can’t let him win, Dakota. I’ve been under his thumb my entire life, and there’s no way he’ll show up at every single one of the meetings. That was his shot, and he didn’t get what he wanted.”

Stone’s eyes are complete fire, desperately calling to me. “You didn’t tell me about your accounts.”

He shakes his head. “He hasn’t taken everything. I’m a lot smarter than he thinks.”

“But?”

“But he’s taken a lot.” Stone worries his lip. “I need some of these investors to choose us, Dakota. It’s imperative.”

I already knew my answer, but I turn to Ninja for a safety confirmation. “If we go….”

“We’ll be in the conference room with you. Boss is already going to have our asses, so maybe this will be a bit of redemption.” He mashes his fists together, and I quake at the idea of being on the receiving end of those knuckles.

I flick my gaze to Stone and squeeze his hand. “Let’s do it. I have faith in us.”

7

Two of the four meetings ended in contracts with Wilder-Jacobs Treasure Hunting. Yep, Stone did that. In his briefcase were legally binding contracts with our conjoined name, and I didn’t know that fucking someone in a boardroom was on my sex to-do list, but it became a goal of mine today.

He put me first.

He putmefirst.

He explained to the apprehensive businessmen that Lance had already effectively voided their previous contracts for a violation of one provision: the gentleman’s clause. Turns out, shady motherfuckers shouldn’t put a provision in a contract that says all treasure hunting attempts will be honest, true attempts with absolutely no illegal activity.

At the end of the day, we got the bastard where it hurt him most—his bank account.

Word must have gotten out that we were splitting from Lance because two of his other investors called Stone on our way home to negotiate a deal with us. The extra contracts were more than we’d hoped for. Well, it was more than I’d hoped for. I didn’t think any of the businessmen would take us seriously. I thought they would take one look at me and decide there was nothing I could do that Lance Jacobs couldn’t. However, it turns out Stone is an excellent negotiator. He even had me convinced that by search-end we would have the treasure in hand and the only reason we were going to do that was because of me. I am the cornerstone in this venture.

“Did you really mean all that?” I ask as Stone drives us home.

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