I will my eyes to laser a hole into the side of Dagger’s head, through his perfect hair. “Dagger,” I prompt.
He looks around, a stealthy gesture, before he asks Luke, “When did you decide?”
Hart starts bouncing one knee. “Decide what?”
Dagger notices his agitation and his lips curl up to one side. “When did you decide that you wanted Dempsey for yourself?”
I lose my breath. This was not a direction I anticipated. My face flushes even more than it already was. My cheeks get red when I drink. A botched attempt to stand up is ruined and I sit back down. “This cannot be happening,” I mutter to myself.
Luke finally answers after watching my poor excuse to exit this conversation. “Fuck off, Dag.”
Dagger’s jovial smile moves into rough laughter. “No, fuckher.” His voice is low as he speaks to his friend, pointing at me. “Get it out of your system. Then let’s move the hell on. You can’t be a broody asshole for much longer or other people are going to see through you. At least I’m calling it like I see it and I’m not going to tell anyone.”
I cover my ears. “Hello, I’m sitting right here.”
“I know,” Dagger says, turning his smile on me. “I’m talking to you too. This is obviously mutual.” He gestures between us. “The skydiving alone. These glares and games. Hart would blow an artery if you had a dude meet you here tonight. You want a dude to come over because you can’t have Hart. See? Fuck it out of your system and then let’s proceed.”
Luke shakes his head vehemently. “Because she’s piss drunk. Someone might take advantage. That’s the only reason I’d be upset.”
Why? Would he take advantage if given the chance?
I cringe as I mentally transpose Henry’s face on top of Luke’s. “That’s offensive. I can take care of myself anytime. Even drunk.”
Dagger bangs one hand on his thigh and stands. “A someone who isn’t you, Hart. That’s all this comes down to. You can’t have her so you don’t want anyone else to, either.”
Luke rises from the chair, a tall, masculine drink of water. He runs his hands through his hair and stalks off to the other side of the suite where the brunette woman is dumping wine and vodka into the same cup. Dagger holds his liquor better than I do, too.
“Listen, I could be wrong, but I’m rarely wrong, let’s be honest here. There’s something going on with him. He’s mean and gloomy.” Dagger looks at Luke. “More than the bastard usually is.” His gaze finds mine. I see two of him until I blink him into one person. “Ask him to leave. To go back to your room.”
“What?” I throw a hand over my mouth when I realize how loud my exclamation is.
Dagger rolls his eyes and steps away from me when Sanders rounds the corner, checking up on me. I smile, mostly with my eyes because my face is numb. “We’re going to play a little prank and test him at the same time,” Dagger explains, voice low. He leans closer to my ear when he says, “If he leaves with you and goes back to your room. I’m right.”
Seems simple, but there’s one problem with this plan. “I’m not some bait, man.”
“Aren’t you the least bit curious to know if he feels the same way about you as you do about him?”
I cross my arms across my chest. “Bold assumption.”
“But true, nonetheless.”
I stay quiet and roll my eyes. “I didn’t claw my way to get here to get kicked out for a dude.”
“No one will know. Be covert. You are an operator. Are you not?”
Do I smell a challenge? Gosh. Drunk Aara is angry, and she never turns away a challenge. It’s like he knows me.
“You don’t have to fuck him. I mean you can if you want, I won’t tell anyone, promise. All I need is to see if he leaves with you.” Dagger snaps his finger and shakes it in the air a couple times. “Or tell him you have to go back to your room because you met a guy on Tinder and he’s coming over. I’ll be able to get a prime gauge on the motherfucker that way, too.”
“You are devious,” I say, moving back. Liquid courage. “Is it true then? What everyone says about you? How you got your nickname?”
The shark smile pops out. “I don’t entertain gossip, Little Dempsey. Go abate my curiosity with Hart and maybe we can talk.”
I shrug. “Fine. Which plan do you want to execute?”
Dagger looks positively evil, nostrils flared, rectangular jaw clenched, as he stares at his friend. “Go tell him you have a Tinder date. We’ll go from there.”
Playing on the alpha male jealousy card. I like his style. I also feel kind of shitty because it is a lie. It doesn’t have to be a lie, though. I pull out my phone and haphazardly set everything up with the bare minimum and post a shot of myself in my camera roll. I’m leaning against a telephone booth in London. I’m wearing a tight-fitting dress and my hair is in a low ponytail. I’m smiling wide because Henry told me I looked like a snack and called melove, a nickname I was secretly obsessed with. Dagger sees what I’m doing and tries to talk me out of it.
