Page 29 of Jake

“I gather the cock is performing exactly as it should.” Connor, the smartarse, sauntered further into the room.

Natalie started helping me on with my pants, but it didn’t matter to me if I was bare arsed or not. It was nothing my brothers hadn’t seen before, although I hadn’t been as scarred in the past.

“Is this where I say I told you so?”

“Fuck off, Connor.”

He laughed and slapped a hand on my shoulder. “Honestly, Jake, I’m happy for you.”

I muttered my thanks, lifted my arse so Natalie could pull my briefs and pants into place, and asked, “Why are you here, it’s the middle of the day?”

“I’ve been speaking with Nobilumo over the past ten days or so, and I wanted to fill you in on what was happening.”

“Go on.”

“After you said you remembered recognising the voice of one of the men in Russo’s house—someone you thought had betrayed you—I spoke with Herias. He was pretty sure it would have been Martello but didn’t know where he was hiding. I asked him to see what he could find out. I also called Voronin and asked him to investigate Martello’s whereabouts.”

Voronin was the local mayor whose tentacles spread everywhere. He’d been on our payroll for years and was one of the first people Quinn questioned while I was still in hospital in Rabaul.

Russo had kidnapped Voronin’s wife—twice! It was to prove how easily he could get to the man’s family if he stepped out of line. He’d threatened rape if he breathed a word about him to anyone in the Kumul Cartel.

The stories were identical when Quinn questioned most of our other contacts, but there were still one or two he hadn’t been able to locate.

I still couldn’t come to terms with why they hadn’t trusted the Kumuls to put a stop to Russo when he’d first arrived on the island? Natalie was adamant it was fear that kept them from taking a chance and trusting in our ability to keep them safe. It kind of made sense, especially when Nobilumo explained just how many men, women, and children had been killed when they attempted to go against Russo’s demands.

“And?”

“Phinneus Martello ring a bell?”

Connor speaking the bastard’s name, suggesting he was a traitor, didn’t surprise me. “He disappeared into thin air after his last shipment. It would have been about two months before Russo had me kidnapped. I’d been dealing with him for almost two years at the time.”

“You started dealing with him shortly after Russo landed in Rabaul?”

I nodded. “The timeline certainly fits. He vanished with the last shipment of fifty guns and ten kilos of heroin we’d supplied. Without paying! I had local men searching for him for weeks, but they found nothing. I paid for those guns and heroin out of my own pocket because I didn’t want you and Quinn to know I’d stuffed up by trusting a client.”

Connor shook his head. “We all make mistakes… even Father. You should have said something and I could have put more men out there.”

“That’s why I didn’t, the men were needed here, not gallivanting around Rabaul trying to fix my fuck up.”

“It’s done now.” Connor sat on the end of the bed and eyed Natalie before turning back to me. I knew what that look meant.

“Nat, sweetheart, can we have a minute?”

Natalie glanced back and forth before standing from where she’d been seated on the bed. “Of course.” She asked Connor, “Is Tania up here?”

“At the house, darlin’. You’re welcome to go down and see her.”

“Thanks.” She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “See you soon.”

I brushed a hand over her arse as she turned. She looked over her shoulder and winked, a cheeky expression on her face as she crossed to the door.

Connor took Natalie’s place on the bed. “She’s in love with you.”

“Bullshit. It’s too soon.”

“Trust me… she loves you, and I’m pretty sure you’re in love with her.”

I stayed quiet; it wasn’t something I could deny because I suspected he was right. I was in love with Natalie, but fuck knew how it had happened.