The women huddled and whispered. “Okay,” Olivia said. “We’d like you to put it on his…”

The artist grinned. “It’s gonna hurt. Do you think the dough boy can handle it?”

“You must have us confused with someone who cares if it hurts or not. Just do it,” Sam snapped.

“I just love this mercenary stuff,” Kayla enthused. “Do we get to watch?”

“Absolutely,” Sam said.

Chapter Three

The five women piled through the front door of Sam’s condo and huddled on the front steps, all of them talking at the same time. “Do we change our minds?” “Are we really going to let Barry…” “What are we doing here?” “We signed the contracts…” and on and on they went until Sam held her hand up for a time-out.

“Hold it, hold it. Look, we won this little bout, but”—she looked at Slick—“I’m thinking it was just a little too easy. It could all be a setup to see how we’d react as a team. Think about it. For the moment, we’re in control. I think it’s safe to say both those guys are a little nervous. The blazing question at the moment is what are we going to do now? We have the little guy’s briefcase and our signed contracts. We can tear them up or let them stand and honor them. For what it’s worth, I think we should honor the contracts and go through with it. No one forced us to sign on. I gave my word. But. I want more answers. What about the rest of you?”

Kayla slapped Donovan’s Blackberry from the palm of one hand to the other. “I don’t like the idea that no one knows where we’re going. It’s not that I have a husband or a lover, but I do have a half brother and some really close friends and distant relatives. What if I die in some godforsaken place, and no one ever knows? I don’t have a fortune in money or anything, but I don’t like the idea that I have to give up what I do have. I also want to be able to access my funds. I want to know that if I come back, I have something to come back to. Giving up a year is okay, I can handle that. I don’t think I can give up my cell phone, though. Call me selfish, but it’s my lifeline to the outside world. I also want to know exactly where the hell we’re going.”

Zoe and Olivia concurred. Slick nodded in agreement.

Sam tugged at the waistband of her jeans, settling it more comfortably over her hips. “Okay, let’s put the squeeze on Mr. Donovan and see what he’s made of.”