”We’re not talking about her, Zach.”
He blows out a breath in frustration. “Fine. Well, I came in here to let you know that I’m taking some time off. I’m going to work from home, so you and”—he points toward the door—“she are going to hold the fort down.”
I lift my chin. I want to argue, but I pretty much deserted him these last three months, and I don’t blame him for taking some time off. He deserves it. “Fine. What about the party or whatever the hell you have planned?”
He laughs. “You mean the sponsorship we did for the community center? It’s next Friday night, and we bought three tables.”
I look at him blankly until he continues. “We’re all going. That was a big job for us, and King is a good connection to have. We all need to show up.”
I scowl at him. “Black tie?”
He nods and is smiling even though I know he feels the same way. He doesn’t like to dress up either. “Yes, black tie. I can’t wait to twirl Skyler around the dance floor.”
I scrunch my nose at him. “Who the hell are you and what did you do to my best friend?”
Before he can answer, I ask him another question. “What about Bree? She going?”
Zach gives me an exasperated look. “Yes, she’s part of Stronghold. She’s going.”
We stare at each other. There’s so much I want to say to him, but I don’t dare open my mouth. There’s something going on here, and I don’t know what it is. If Zach knows that Bree cheated on me, he wouldn’t have kept her around. Hell, contract or not, he would have gotten rid of her. Something is not adding up.
Without another word, Zach gets up, but before he gets to the door, I say his name. “Zach.”
He turns with a smile on his face.
“Thank you.”
He raises his eyebrows in surprise. “What are you thanking me for?”
I stand up and walk around my desk. I should have done this last night, but there was so much happening that I didn’t. Now I can’t let another second go by without saying it. If anything, with my history in the military and working for the Ghost Team, I know you don’t leave things unsaid. “Thank you for loving my sister. I know you willalways protect her, and she couldn’t ask for a better man than you.”
He opens his mouth but then closes it as I continue. “You’ve always been like a brother to me. Now it’s going to be official. Welcome to the family, brother.”
He pulls me into a hug, and I chuckle, knowing that years of sleeping in deserts, jungles, or on the ground in makeshift beds has brought us to this moment. Zach and I have been through a lot together, and sometimes I question how we made it through some of the things we did. But here we are.
Zach tightens his arms around me as if he knows what he’s about to say is going to set me off. “Listen to her, brother. Really, listen to her. You deserve happiness too.”
He releases me and slaps me on the back. “I’ll see you. I’m going to grab my laptop and some files. Sky and I are going to some beach for a few days, and then we’ll be back.”
I nod and grimace, not wanting any details of what he’s going to be doing with my sister. “Have fun and take care. I’ll deal with this,” I tell him, waving my hand around.
He nods, opens his mouth, and then closes it. He seems to think about it and then shrugs as if he’s saying fuck it. “Look, I’m not saying you have to be nice, but Bree’s been beat down and well… all I’m saying is I don’t know how much more she can take.”
My eyebrows lift in surprise. What the hell does he mean she’s been beat down? I forget my rule of not talking about her. “What do you mean?—”
He cuts me off by holding his hands up. “It’s not my story to tell, Logan, but maybe you should ask her.”
I want to argue with him, but I simply cross my arms over my chest and nod. “Okay. See you. Call if you need anything.”
He nods. “You too.”
As soon as he walks out of my office and closes the door behind him, I want to jerk it open and demand answers. But instead of going off half-cocked, I stalk over to my chair and sit down. It doesn’t take long before I figure it out. Whatever Bree told Zach was a lie. That’s the only thing I can think of. There’s no way if she told him the truth that Zach would just accept it. Yeah, that was it. She lied to him. And now Zach thinks I overreactedor something. Hell, it’s impossible to guess what she told him.
I turn my chair to look out the window. The sun is up, and the streets of downtown Whiskey Run are busy with people going to Red’s Diner or Sugar Glaze Bakery for their breakfast. People are off to meetings, or taking their kids to school, or whatever. As I stare at the passersby, I get lost in the memory of the third date I had with Bree.
By that point, I knew I was going to marry her. I had already told my brothers and my sister that I’d found the woman I was going to marry. I knew it was too soon, and I was biting the bullet, holding back until a decent amount of time had passed before I asked her. But by that third date, I knew.
My mission was over. I should have been back at headquarters, but I had requested some time off. Walker gave it to me. Hell, I’d never had a vacation, so I was due.
