“The break-in wasn’t about taking something; it was about leaving something.Namely, some of the files Marshall kept on the side about some of the things he was actually doing under Black Fox’s banner.”Lincoln’s expression hardened, and Ashley leaned into him, offering support and solace for the betrayal of his one-time friend and business partner.“They’d been slightly altered to remove any mention of him and to put the blame solely on us.”
“So, they aren’t going to find anything?”Drew asked, appearing more worried than ever but also hopeful.Relieved.He kept shooting little glances over at Zeus, who remained utterly nonchalant.Audrey glanced up at Mason, but he wasn’t looking at her; he was watching Drew closely.
“No,” Lincoln confirmed.“Zeus found it and reported it to me, and we removed it with Jaxon’s help.We didn’t say anything to anyone else except Harris because we weren’t sure what was going to happen or why it had been planted.”
Audrey glanced over at her other customers, who were watching everything warily, but Lincoln didn’t seem to care if they could overhear.Thankfully, none of them had their cameras out as far as she could tell.Not that she wasn’t grateful for the business the viral videos had brought in, but she had that business, and she didn’t want Black Fox to be affected by the social media attention unless she was sure they’d be okay with it.
“Where is Harris?”Ashley asked, looking around.
“He stayed to represent us until Jordana could get there.”
“Who’s Jordana?”Audrey whispered to Mason, as everyone else nodded as if that made sense.
“Harris and Lincoln’s lawyer and Harris’ nemesis,” Mason murmured, the corner of his mouth lifting.He was watching Zeus now, and Zeus was staring at the ceiling with a bored expression, not doing anything.Audrey couldn’t figure out what Mason found so interesting about him.She knew that the team didn’t trust him, but he’d just saved the day… right?
“Why is Harris meeting her instead of Lincoln if she’s Harris’ nemesis?”she whispered back, not sure she could ask about Zeus right now.
“That’s why.”
She didn’t understand, but okay.
“Thanks for saving our asses, Pepper,” Jensen said, stepping close enough to Zeus to be able to clap him on the shoulder.“Appreciate it.”
Zeus considered him for a moment before giving a slow nod.His mouth may have softened slightly.Not a smile, but not totally emotionless anymore, either.
“You’re welcome.”
“So, what do we do now?”Darcy, from Harris’ team, asked.
“We wait.”Lincoln looked at Audrey.“We were hoping you wouldn’t mind us waiting here since you’re so close by.”
“Of course,” she replied immediately, as if she would have kicked them out now.Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the men in the corner lift his phone up slightly, as if he was taking a picture.Inwardly, she sighed, but at least he lowered it immediately, so it wasn’t a video.
And it wasn’t like Black Fox didn’t know that they were considered desirable sightings to the bakery’s customers.
“Great.”Claudia was hanging out by the display of baked goods with an anxious-looking Jennifer.Jensen slid over to where they were, putting his arm around Jennifer, and she leaned into him.She’d probably been pretty freaked out when the FBI came in.“Who wants a cupcake while we wait?”
ChapterForty
Audrey
The bakery was flooded with people not long after the Black Fox team sat down to enjoy their food.Word spread quickly that the hot, muscular guys were there.Not just that, but several men had shown up for the gorgeous women as well.Even through the rush, Audrey could see Grant glaring at the two men who were sitting with Darcie, Claudia, and Jennifer.Unlike the other men who had dared to attempt a conversation, these two seemed to know Claudia—one of them looked enough like her that Audrey guessed they were related—and weren’t chased off so easily.
At some point, the team started trickling out, either bored and accepting that the FBI search was going to take longer than expected or because they had things they could do elsewhere.Eventually, it was just Claudia and Mason left, and the press of customers had slowed down to a trickle again.
The other two men were still sitting there, and Audrey was curious enough to go say hello.
“Well, hello there,” the handsome man who didn’t resemble Claudia said, twisting in his seat to give her a flirtatious look up and down.He had blond hair and warm hazel eyes that sparked with intelligence and mischief.His clean-shaven chin showed off his square-cut jaw, and she was pretty sure the way his shoulders filled out his suit jacket needed no padding.
If she wasn’t already enamored of Mason, she would have been blushing.She wasn’t sure she wasn’t.
“I hear you’re the owner of this fine establishment.”
“I am.”Audrey wiped her hands on her apron, bemused, and very aware of the way Mason’s eyes were now narrowing at the other man.
“Yes, this is Audrey,” Claudia said.“Audrey, this pain in the ass is my brother’s best friend, Ian, and this is my brother Miguel.”Confirmed.The man who looked so much like Claudia was her brother.He was just as handsome as Ian, though with a browner skin tone and dark hair and eyes, and his smile as he said hello wasn’t full of flirtation.
“Hello,” Audrey said again with a little wave, starting to sidle closer to where Mason was seated.He was on the other side of the table—he’d been watching her while she was working, and she’d been very aware of his gaze the whole time—but it meant that he was across from her now.
