Nothing came to mind.
The door opened and he gestured her inside after the dog.
Brigid, her red hair wild around her head, immediately emerged from case room two and rushed over to the dog, dropping to her knees for a full hug around the German shepherd’s thick neck. “I’ve missed you.” Her voice was muffled in the fur. Then she stood and made a beeline for Wolfe. “I’ve missed you, too.”
He took the full impact hug, lifting the latte tray out of the way, and patted her small back, smiling at how her dark red hair seemed to brighten the dismal room. Or maybe it was her Irish brogue. “You make this place a home, Bridge.” His feelings toward her were as brotherly as they were toward Nari, and no way was he letting his disastrous life touch her.
Her face softened. “Oh, Wolfe. You’re a sweetie.” Then she turned to Dana for a quick hug. “Let’s grab lunch tomorrow if we get the chance. I want to hear all about the wedding and Roscoe’s adventures.”
Dana’s face lost its pinched look for the first time that day. “That sounds lovely.”
“She won’t be here,” Wolfe said bluntly.
Dana’s brows narrowed into a V and her jaw jutted out.
Wolfe looked around the vacant room. “Where is everybody? The cars are all here.”
Brigid took his arm. “We’re all in case room two, and we’ve been waiting for you.”
He didn’t have time for another case, but he let Brigid lead them past the hub of desks, carefully balancing the large latte tray. Everyone was in the room. His entire team with case file folders, filled yellow legal pads, and pens all over the table.
Raider stood and held out a hand. “It’s good to see you, brother.”
“Welcome back.” Wolfe set the tray on the table, needing to get this done with so he could move on to killing Gary. “I brought some for everyone.”
Angus Force sat at the head of the battered conference table, next to Malcolm West. Pippa, his girlfriend, sat next to him, with a tray of goodies in front of her. Wolfe’s mouth watered at seeing the chocolate chip cookies. Raider and Brigid reclaimed seats on the other side of the table, next to Nari, Jethro Hanson, and Serena Johnson. Even Agent Millicent Frost, her bobbed hair streaked with blue this time, sat over in the corner petting Kat. Frost consulted sometimes with the team and had all sorts of interesting gadgets to play with.
Wolfe eyed the two remaining chairs and pulled one out for Dana. “It looks like we’re gearing up for an op.” His blood started to hum, and he sat, reaching over to dispense lattes. Good thing he’d bought extra so Frost could have one.
“We are on op,” Force confirmed, not touching his latte. He leaned to the side and kicked the door shut.
Wolfe looked up at the screen covering the whiteboard that extended across the entire northern wall. “Did we miss a presentation?”
“Yes, but that’s okay.” Wolfe nodded to Malcolm, who stretched over and released the screen so it rolled up to the ceiling.
Wolfe caught his breath. The entire board from his home office had been moved and mounted to the wall in place of the other board. The picture of Gary Rockcliff stared right at him. His blood chilled. “What the hell?” he breathed.
* * *
“Oh,” Dana murmured, noting her additions to the board. Wolfe turned toward her, and she held up a hand. “I’m sorry, but I’d do it again to keep you safe,” she said quickly. She fidgeted as the tension cascaded off Wolfe as if he were a countdown timer about to explode.
“You directed them to my office?” he gritted out.
She nodded, unable to swallow over the lump in her throat.
Several of the people in the room watched him warily, but Angus Force looked downright pissed off.
“You broke into my house,” Wolfe said slowly, his chin lowering.
“You gave us all keys,” Angus shot back, the muscles in his arms bunching. For the showdown, he’d worn a black T-shirt with dark cargo pants and had a knife sheath strapped to his thigh.
“I didn’t think you’d go through my office.” Wolfe’s chest widened.
Nari leaned forward. “You two look like a couple of silverback gorillas about to fight for dominance. Stop metaphorically beating your chests.”
Wolfe’s nostrils flared. “I don’t want dominance. I just want to be left alone to do what needs to be done.”
Brigid sipped her latte. “This is an intervention, Wolfe.”
