I push forward, my eyes locked with Becky's. "Now, if any of you sons of bitches got anything else to say, now's the fucking time!" I raise my voice just enough...loud, sharp and decisive.
Another pause. My heart beats once, loud in my chest.
I soften.
"I didn't think so."
39
MATEO
I slam the door to Ethan's office hard enough to make the glass wall shudder. Both men look up, startled from whatever deep conversation they were having. The sight of them, relaxed, drinking, talking like nothing's wrong, snaps something in me.
"Nice to see you two enjoying yourselves," I say, not bothering to mask the bitterness in my voice. "Having a good time while I've been busting my ass for three days straight?"
Declan's expression darkens. Ethan just watches me, those blue eyes giving nothing away.
"Kid..." Ethan starts, but I cut him off.
"Don't 'Kid' me," I snap, pacing the length of his office. "I've barely slept. Haven't eaten anything that didn't come from a vending machine. Been going through security footage frame by goddamn frame trying to figure outhow someone put a camera in Jade's living room without tripping a single alarm."
I stop to glare at them. "And what have you two been doing? Drinking whiskey and reminiscing about the good old days?"
Declan stands, his massive frame unfolding from the chair. Anyone else would be intimidated, but I'm too angry to care.
"Watch yourself," he growls.
"Or what?" I challenge, stepping closer. "You'll put me in my place? Like you did with that guy who..."
"Enough!" Ethan's voice cracks like a whip. He rises from his chair, authority radiating from him in waves that even my rage can't ignore. "Both of you, stand down. Now."
The command in his voice, honed through years of military service and leadership, cuts through the tension. Declan and I both take a step back, though neither of us looks away.
"Mateo," Ethan says, his voice calmer but no less firm. "Sit. Before I knock you on your ass myself."
I hesitate, then drop into one of the chairs facing his desk. Declan remains standing, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching me like I might explode again at anymoment.
"If you'd bothered to check in," Ethan says, returning to his seat, "you'd know we weren't just sitting here drinking. We were making a plan."
"A plan," I repeat flatly. "For what?"
"To find out what's really going on with Jade," Declan says.
This pulls me up short. "What?"
Ethan sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. "We don't buy it either, Mateo. Her sudden turnaround."
Declan's voice is rough with emotion he rarely displays. "Something's not adding up."
"I've been saying that for days!" I burst out.
"We needed time," Ethan says. "Time to think. To get past the anger. To make sure we weren't just seeing what we wanted to see."
I fall back in my chair, the fight draining out of me. "And?"
"And we agree with you," Ethan admits. "The timing's too convenient. Her behavior too erratic. The woman who let us in, all of us, wouldn't have turned so cold overnight without a reason."
Hope surges in my chest, but I try to keep my expression neutral. "So what's the plan?"
