“At worst…” Olly’s handsome face turned stone-cold serious. “They kill us.”
Scarlett felt the blood start to drain from her cheeks, but then she remembered Rose. An innocent woman who’d been forced to endure who knows what for the past three months. A woman who had no one else to count on to save her.
Her sister.
You have me, Rose. Me and Olly. We’re here, and we’re doing everything we can to find you.
“Okay, so what’s the plan?” She searched his incredible, intelligent eyes.
“We go in, find a seat, and we watch.”
“Watch.” A statement, not a question. “Oh, you mean we’re going to surveil the place.”
“Surveil?” Olly shot her an arched brow.
“Yeah, you know…like being undercover.” The first licks of excitement began firing up within her veins. “We’ll look like we’re just here for a night of erotic entertainment, but really, we’ll be scanning the place for any sign of Rose. Oh!” She reached out and grabbed his arm. “We should pretend to be a couple.”
“A couple?”
Was the guy going to repeat everything she said?
“Yes, a couple,” she made herself clear. “I mean, it’s going to look a little odd if we go in all stiff-as-a-board with each other, don’t you think?”
A look of understanding seemed to fall over him. But even as it did, she could tell he wasn’t happy that it had.
“That’s…smart, actually.” His throat worked with a swallow. “You’re right. Going in as a couple probably is the best play we’ve got.”
Her smile grew wider. “I betthatwas hard to admit.”
“You have no idea.”
The man’s deadpan expression left her chuckling. A few seconds later, Scarlett refocused on what they were here to do.
“What happens if we see Rose?”What happens if we don’t?“Are you going to go up to her, or…”
“We’ll cross that bridge if and when we get there.”
She stared back at him, expecting him to say more. When it became obvious he wasn’t, she gave a nod of agreement. “Okay, then. I guess I’ll just…follow your lead.”
“Damn right, you will.” Olly stared back at her, his expression one she couldn’t quite read. “And I don’t say that to be a dick, but to keep you safe.”
Yes, he’d shown his protective streak a few times now. At the hotel the day before with those loud-mouthed jerks. Then again last night, as they’d argued about her coming with him to Durango. Most recently, Olly had revealed his more caring sidewhen he’d done his damnedest to convince her to wait for him back at their hotel while he scoped the place out.
But while she both appreciated and understood his wanting to keep her safe, Scarlett had stood firm in her conviction, refusing to give in. Not because she was trying to be difficult but because he wasn’t the only one who cared about Rose. He also wasn’t the only one willing to take risks if it meant finding her sister and making sure she was okay.
Olly didn’t understand why she had such a deep connection to a woman she’d never met. Truth be told, it didn’t really make a lot of sense to her, either. But as far as she was concerned, it didn’t have to.
Rose was family. For her, that was enough.
Family is everything.
The only thing Scarlett knew was that her sister had supposedly been spotted in this place as recently as two weeks ago. And she’d be damned if she let Olly or anyone else keep her from going inside.
But since he was intent on giving it a few more minutes before that happened…
“So.” She shifted back to her original position, her focus back on the building’s red door. “You and Rose.”
“What about us?” The man’s deep voice rumbled as he, too, kept a watchful eye on those entering and exiting the club.