Page 42 of The Scarab's Game
Once Will and I finished sorting out the details, I texted everything to HQ so they could coordinate with our flight crew. My luck was definitely turning around. Will had the equipment we needed, and his sister’s visit had come at the perfect time. He even had something to help with the Jenn situation.
“Will should be here sometime tomorrow morning. If Jayce finds the scarab tonight, we’ll fly to Cairo and then home as soon as Jenn’s done. Otherwise, we’ll scout the Casino Rocher in the afternoon and discuss our next steps.”
“This was supposed to be an intel-gathering trip”—Rav leaned closer—“not a heist.”
Exactly why the scarab decoy wasn’t ready yet. We’d thought he had a month or more before needing it. This op was evolving quickly.
“Then they decided to auction it off.” I shrugged. “Friday night, it’ll change hands and vanish. We’d have to start this entire job over again from scratch.”
“Contact the police about the auction,” said Rav. “They can recover it.”
“I told you.” I leaned forward, matching him. “As long as the Casino follows certain rules—no violence, no human trafficking, no prostitution, no drugs—they operate with impunity. If we tip the police off, someone tips off the Casino. The auction doesn’t happen, and the scarab’s gone.”
Rav was right to share his concerns. We were moving fast, juggling more risks than evenIliked.
Fenix’s appearance had been our top concern, and they were in Monaco. We’d discounted the possibility of Massimo working with them, since Noah—who also worked for Fenix—gave us the tip. He’d told Scarlett in June that the group was fracturing. I just hadn’t expected it was fracturingso muchthat Noah would sic us on his opposing faction.
But what I wouldn’t announce to the table?
If we had a chance to shove a wedge into their organization—the one who’d destroyed my life—I was prepared to face all those risks.
Jenn laughed at something. From all the way across the restaurant, I recognized the sound. I didn’t look. I didn’t want Rav to know she was a factor in my decision. Fenix was screwing withhernow. It wasn’t only about me and my team. It was about people we cared about.
I didn’t give two shits about our client anymore.
All I wanted was to ruin the men who’d ruined me.
Chapter 16
Jenn
The soundsof roaring engines and chatter filled the air as Dante and I walked past the front of the Casino. He spoke endlessly, telling me about the history of the buildings, the country, and a few tangents about Paris. He was an excellent tour guide, and my nerves had calmed after he’d laid everything bare at the restaurant.
I wasn’t berating myself for not being more attracted to him. I was simply enjoying his company.
The Place du Casino—the area directly in front of the beautiful Monte Carlo Casino—was lit up with old-fashioned street lamps, bulbs entwined around the palm trees, and lights covering the surrounding building facades.
We walked through the crowd who were filming the arrival of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Bugattis. As many people wore shorts and T-shirts, as wore tuxes and evening wear. Women strolled through the area in impossibly high heels and even more impossibly minuscule skirts. Valet drivers took keys, parking the ridiculously expensive vehicles, while the onlookers pointed and stared.
“Have you ever taken part in this spectacle?” I asked.
He’d driven me from Nice in his Velatti convertible, which would have been a rare jewel in any crowd. “When I was younger.”
“When you had more to prove?”
“When I was less certain about myself.” He slipped an arm around my waist as more than one woman eyed him up and down. Who could blame them? Dante De Rosa was a definite catch. “I suppose I also had something to prove, but I’m not sure to whom.”
“Friends?” I paused as the traffic crawled along the Avenue de Monte-Carlo, which separated the Casino from the Hôtel de Paris.
Dante raised a hand, and the cars halted for us to cross. “I’ve never been here with my friends.”
“So, your dad?”
“This sounds likely.”
He and I were worlds away—the rich Italian with homes around the world and the plain girl from Eastern Canada. Yet we both grew up thinking we had something to prove to our fathers.
“What about your mother?”