Cody huffed and flapped his hand around. “Easier for who? He’s buck friggin’ naked.”
Jay grinned, feeling better already. “You’re the muscle, ass hat.” He spread his arms wide, the epitome of innocence. “I’m just the tech guy.”
“Tech guy,” Grant scoffed and came around to position himself at the top of their unconscious teammate’s body. “I don’t know any tech guys who can lights out a dude this size with one punch to the face. Nice hook, by the way. Here, grab him.” He pointed Cody toward Jamie’s wrists, and together they hoisted him over Cody’s shoulder while Jay did a quick scan of the room.
Not much to see. No evidence. No electronics. No documentation.
Nothing but Jamie’s pasty white ass at eye level and the look of absolute horror on Cody’s face as Grant snapped a picture of the happy couple. “The fuck you doin’?” he demanded, his Southern accent coming out heavy and thick under the stress of carrying an extra-large dick along with the hundred and ninety pounds attached to it.
“Sending proof of life to Adam.”
“Better not be a group text, or I’m gonna kick your ass.”
The phone in Jay’s pocket vibrated while Cody’s pinged a notification.
“Oops.” Grant grinned, sliding his phone into the cargo pocket of his khakis. “My finger slipped.”
“You’re an idiot, Kincaid.”
“You love me anyway, Babbitt.”
With a noncommittal snort, Cody hauled his load to the door where he paused and pulled his gun. “Meet you at the van, assholes.” A quick check to confirm the all-clear, and he stepped out into the hall.
“Fuck, it’s hot in here. Think there’s any beer?” Grant strode toward the small fridge tucked under a sagging counter while Jay ignored the opening to a dingy bathroom and made straight for a set of bifold doors with more than one broken slat.
He pulled them open and came face-to-one-dimensional-face with Jonas Johnson.
“At least his bags are packed,” Grant said, rolling to a stop next to Jay and popping the top on a Toña beer. “Here. Only found one, but I think you might need this more than I do.” He handed the can over and grabbed Jamie’s go bag, slinging it over his shoulder. “You got the spare?” He hitched his chin at the second duffel, and between chugs of ice-cold beer, Jay nodded and gave a thumbs up.
“Package on board,” Chase said through the communicator. “Wrap it up, and let’s go before the locals start to wonder why there’s a naked man sprawled out on the floor of the van.”
Can empty, Jay crushed it, tossed it, and then smacking his palm against the wall, he ripped down the eight by ten paper copy of Johnson’s smug smile.
Jamie wasn’t wrong. The bastard had to die.
But so long as Jay had any say in the matter…
It would be a team fucking effort.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
With the babyenjoying some cuddle time with Zander in the great room, Summer knocked on Adam’s open office door to get his attention. “Sorry to disturb you,” she said when he looked up from the document he’d been reading. “I was hoping you had a minute?”
She’d been trying to work up the courage to talk to him privately for several days. Not because he still intimidated her. He didn’t. Well, not as much as he had the first time they’d met. No—more like the things she needed to talk to him about—intimidated her.
The money situation. Finding medical care for the baby. What came next after Chase located Jamie and they brought him home. What if he decided he didn’t like her? What if he didn’t want to keep her on as his daughter’s nanny?
What would she do then? Where would she go? Her stomach bottomed out at the thought of leaving. Sure, for the first time in her life, she had some decent money saved, and she wouldn’t have to live on the street. Not immediately, unless there’d been a mistake, and Adam took it all back.
But risk of poverty aside, she’d fallen fast and hard for this place and these people.
God! She’d miss Halia the most. Also, Gray. Eve. Davis. The guys. With four of them gone to find Jamie, the house had been too quiet. Their presence and personalities as big as they were, they filled every room with noisy banter and boundless energy.
Easy to see they were a team. A family. Brothers, not by blood, but by choice.
They’d do anything for each other, and she’d seen the way they bolstered Davis’s confidence daily, the way they watched over the women they loved and respected, and the way they melted for Halia. Heck, even Jeff benefitted from their care and attention, his butt wagging right along with his tail anytime one of them shared the same space.
“If the door’s open, you’re not disturbing.” His smile encouraging, Adam waved her toward the leather chair next to his desk. “And if the door’s closed, and it’s urgent, you knock anyway. Got it?”
