Page 28 of Claiming Liberty
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking fuck.
I mean to only yell it in my mind, but it barrels out of me. I slam my fists down on the seat and tilt my head back as I growl at the sky.
I need to get her off this island. Right the fuck now. Elsie too.
“What were you thinking?” Peter snaps at me.
I don’t respond. Now isn’t the time.
“You could’ve gotten yourselves killed! If anyone had recognized you—”
“They didn’t,” Kingsley interrupts. “No one knew who she was. Liberty just needed to make sure her friend was okay, and she did.” He looks from the water to me. “So we’re good now, right?”
“Good?” Peter scoffs.
“You’re fucking reckless,” he sneers at me. “I should’ve never brought you here.” He faces forward and crosses his arms over his chest, his anger turning from fiery to a slow acidic burn. “You’re bringing attention right to us when we need to fly under the radar now more than ever. We need the element of surprise, otherwise, nothing we have in place will work. They outnumber us by the hundreds.” His angry eyes close. “You have no idea what you could’ve ruined.”
What I could’ve ruined… I snort, turning away and staring out at the ocean, moonlight reflecting off the water.
I don’t know everything his plan entails. He could be a mastermind. He could have a PhD in escapism for all I know.
But he’s been working on this for a year and still hasn’t gotten it done. He agreed to bring me here because he needs me. For what, neither of us are sure. It isn’t what he intended to get from me, but I’m still here, and I’m still valuable, regardless if I truly know how to ‘seduce’ men or not.
Chaffer’s image comes into my mind, and nausea coils in my gut at the way he looked at me. All beauty has ever done for me is get me into trouble. It isn’t as valuable as people might think.
Sawyer enters my mind next, another example.
I sit up straighter and look up at the stars as I consider the two men. From the conversation I heard tonight, it’s safe to say Sawyer isn’t well liked among them. And if Chaffer is the Sawyer of this side of the island, what kind of relationship do those two have?
Probably not pals. With the talk tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were enemies, despite their mutual benefit of the island. Still, Sawyer gets seventy-five percent of dues from peopleChafferbrings in? That’s got to make a man bitter.
Especially if he found out about something like Sawyer cheating him out of his share.
My pulse spikes as I get an idea and turn to Peter.
“What if we pinned Sawyer and Chaffer against each other?”
He shakes his head. “Already done. They don’t need our help to hate each other.”
“Okay, but what if we antagonized them? That could create a nice distraction, couldn’t it?”
His glare softens as he sits up. “How would we do that?”
“Chaffer gets a percentage of the money the residents pay, right?”
Peter nods.
I uncross my arms and rest my palms in my lap as I lean toward him, excitement ramping me up. “What if Sawyer raised the dues without telling Chaffer?”
Peter eyes me skeptically. “He didn’t.”
“Right, and Angel didn’t kill me, yet Chaffer believesthatas fact.”
Peter blinks at me, obviously confused. I forgot he wasn’t there for that.
“All we’d have to do is start a rumor.”
“We can’t start a rumor if the residents know how much they’re paying.”