“It’s Saturday night,” Emma reminded him, rummaging through the pantry and settling on a box of cookies. She pulled one out and began munching on it. “Got any plans?”
“Maybe,” he murmured, plucking a cookie from the box. “Depends on how things go.”
“What things?” Emma stopped chewing and tilted her head.
“I was thinking of inviting Sabrina out to dinner.”
Surprised delight lit Emma’s wide green eyes. “Oh, my gosh, Dad, do it! Go talk to her.”
“Or I could go hang out at Old Glory.”
She waved a dismissive hand through the air. “You can hang out with your friends any time. Ask your gorgeous neighbor out. She’s going to say yes.”
His heart sped up. He’d really like that. It had been a long damn time since he’d had a genuine first date. But he’d make sure to do all the right things—open doors, pull out her chair, help with her coat. He could picture them sitting across from each other at the nicest restaurant in town, an Italian place called Luca’s. Laughing and chatting while sharing the warm, homemade bread before their entrees arrived. Sipping wine as he hoped she’d give him a goodnight kiss later.
But what if she had someone special in her life already? A hint of caution tinged his voice as he asked, “How do you know?”
“Because how could she possibly resist Cielo Springs’ most eligible bachelor?” Emma teased.
He shrugged. “She probably has a significant other.”
“You won’t know until you ask.”
Jayson chuckled. “You really want me to ask her, huh?”
“I want you to be happy.” She put the cookies away and kissed his cheek. “I have to go, but I want all the details.” But then she hesitated and shook her head. “Well, nothing gross.”
He barked out a laugh. The idea of getting lucky with Sabrina sent his testosterone into overdrive. “See you later, honey.”
Emma tossed him a wave as she left. Crossing his arms, Jayson leaned against the counter and wondered how best to charm his neighbor. Smelling like horses probably wouldn’t help, so he decided to take a shower first.
Sabrina lowered her binoculars, feeling like the biggest stalker in the world. Yes, her job was to keep an eye on Jayson Knight and his friends, but watching him interact with his daughter felt so intrusive. Even from a distance, she could see they had a close bond, and it made her heart swell. It reminded her of the relationship she had with her father. The similarities between her and Special Agent in Charge Daniel Ross and Jayson and Emma hit home hard.
Like Emma, Sabrina’s mom had taken off. She’d been two at the time, and despite how amazing of a father she had, growing up without her mother wasn’t always easy.
Letting out a ragged sigh, she tossed the binoculars on the couch, contemplating her shitty situation. Emma had lost her mother. And now, Sabrina might take away her father, too.
Chewing on her lower lip, she considered the FBI might be barking up the wrong tree. They believed Jayson and his crew were connected to Donato Ferrante’s murder. He and his brother Rocco ran the Las Vegas mafia scene with an iron fist and billions of dollars in resources. They were bad news and had been high up on the agency’s radar for years. Out of the blue, Donato wound up dead, and an FBI contact had pointed a finger at a group of former military men living in rural Montana.
Sabrina’s undercover assignment was to set herself up in Cielo Springs and get closer to the crew. No one would mourn the loss of scum like Donato Ferrante, but murder was murder. Andnow his brother was raising hell and trying to track down those responsible. The last thing anyone needed was a battle royale between an angry mobster and some very well-trained vigilante mercenaries. That shit had collateral damage written all over it.
Plus, a group of under-the-radar mercs the Feds didn’t know about wasn’t a good look for the alphabet agency she worked for. Someone needed to track them down and find out what the hell was going on.
Secret intel from an unrevealed source confirmed Brandon Ward, Weston Murphy, Charles Madden, Corydon Emerson, Alexander Battle and Jayson Knight had been on scene at Donato’s lakeside home in Upstate New York when the man fell to his death from a rooftop patio. He’d had a broken neck and a hunting knife sticking out of his gut.
At first, she suspected the group might have had something to do with it. But now she wasn’t so sure. Jayson barely left his house. He was a homebody who would turn fifty in less than a year. Sure, he seemed to be in pretty good shape, but she had a hard time believing he and his silver fox friends were running around the country as some black ops syndicate and had eliminated a top mob dog.
Something didn’t add up.
She needed to get closer to him, but how? He’d run away from her so fast her head had nearly spun. She supposed she could go with option number two. Or, in this case, silver fox number two: Alexander Battle—the only other unattached man in the group.
But she’d chosen to target Jayson because he seemed like an easier way in. The man was single, lived a quiet, unassuming life, and loved his daughter.
Although Battle was still an option, she decided to steer clear of the playboy for now because he seemed…well, exhausting. And, if she were being honest, she’d been drawn to Jayson Knight immediately, from the moment she saw his picture in hisfile. Attractive and competent-looking, the former Ranger made certain parts of her tingle. Parts that had been ignored for far too long.
For years, she’d simply kept her love life casual because she’d been too focused on school then work. Every so often, she’d accept a date and occasionally indulge in some time between the sheets. But she’d never allowed anything serious to develop. Until Ian.
Dropping down on the couch, she sighed. A couple of years ago, the pressure of nearing forty hit her upside the head like someone had whacked her with a tire iron. And Ian Wahl had strolled in at the exact right moment. A fellow agent, he’d helped train her after she left her desk job. They’d ended up falling into bed and then started dating. The moment she thought things were getting serious, he told her not to get attached. Apparently, he had no plans to settle down. Ever.
