I laid out everything we had—clear but concise, leaving nothing vague or uncertain, except my relationship with Poppy. I’d get into that later.
“The micro-probes, the repeating clearance flags, the pattern—it’s all been coming from one validation window. One ID that belongs to a junior compliance analyst—Poppy Fairbanks.”
His eyebrow rose just slightly, his stare sharpening further. “The junior analyst you met with?”
“Yes.” I met his gaze without flinching. “And before you ask, she’s got nothing to do with this. Poppy is completely unaware. Someone is using her access without her knowledge.”
I held King’s gaze as tension stretched between us.
After a minute, I cut through the silence. “She has no idea she’s being used. I know that without a doubt.”
King leaned back in his chair, his gaze astute and penetrating. “How do you know?”
I shrugged. “She’s mine.”
The words were firm, leaving no room for doubt.
King held my stare a moment longer, then finally nodded, the last traces of tension easing from his expression. He didn’t question me any further about her involvement. He didn’t need to. King trusted his brothers implicitly, something I knew better than most. Still, I was grateful for his faith in me and relieved that he trusted my judgment without hesitation.
Something close to amusement flickered in his usually hard expression. “I wondered why you were so vague about what happened at the compliance office. Wouldn’t have guessed it was because of a woman.” Then he shrugged. “Hell, maybe I should’ve.”
I neither confirmed nor denied his suspicion.
“Only a woman would distract you from your reason for being there.” A faint smirk touched his lips, rare and oddly knowing. “The right woman.”
This time, I couldn’t hold back the slight smirk that spread across my lips.
“You’re not wrong,” I finally admitted.
His head tilted slightly, and one corner of his mouth twitched. “Does she know that yet?”
I shook my head. “Working on it. She’ll definitely figure it out when she sees two pink lines.”
The unexpected laughter from King was a deep rumble, utterly shocking and so damn rare unless he was with his wife or son. It felt like stumbling upon a fucking unicorn.
When his mirth abated, King shook his head in mock exasperation. “Guess I’d better let Flint and Razor know to keep the pregnancy tests stocked up. You boys are certainly doing your best to go through them.”
A chuckle escaped me. “You’d know all about that.”
King grunted, his eyes still amused. “Yup. Knocked up Stella right after we met.” I just grinned, and he squinted at me. “You planning on ruining my record?”
His mouth curved slightly when I nodded arrogantly. I hadn’t waited even a day to start working on getting Poppy pregnant. Hopefully, she already was.
King inclined his head toward a closet where I knew he kept a stash of extra cuts in a smaller size. “I’ll send a vest out to be embroidered today. It’ll be done early next week. Just let me know when you’re ready for it.”
10
POPPY
Colter was exactly where I’d gotten used to finding him after work, at the curb waiting for me. He’d been there every day this week, something that helped my work go by more quickly.
With him also dropping me off, it was so hard to walk through those doors each morning when all I wanted to do was turn around and throw myself into his arms. But I also looked forward to the drive each morning because it meant I got an extra ten minutes with him before my workday started.
He’d come in his SUV this time, and I puffed out my bottom lip in an exaggerated pout as I neared him. “No motorcycle today?”
He captured my mouth in a deep kiss before answering. “Sorry, baby.”
I grinned up at him. “I suppose I can forgive you if you promise to take me for a ride this weekend.”
