How did Nari look so amazing after just a few minutes of getting ready? She’d put her silky hair in a ponytail and wore dark jeans and a light-yellow silk shirt that somehow didn’t have one wrinkle. Her eyes were a clear, deep, brown today, reminding him of the final moment as the sun disappears behind a mountain and the darkness rushes in.
Jesus. He really had lost his mind.
Nari took a deep breath and reached for her latte, looking up as Jethro and Roscoe entered the apartment after obviously having gone for a morning walk. “Morning.”
“Good morning.” Jethro shrugged out of a leather jacket. “There’s tea in the kitchen if you’d rather have that.”
Wolfe chuckled. “She’d much rather have the latte. I got her favorite. It’s caramel with two extra pumps, whipped cream, and sprinkles.”
Nari sighed quietly.
Angus grinned, letting in a little humor. “So. Let’s get started. Wolfe? How would you like to go on vacation with Dana and Nari?”
Nari stiffened.
Wolfe shook his head. “Can’t leave town. The HDD and Metro were as direct about that point as anything. They want us all near until they nail your ass for murder.”
So much for that plan. Angus took a drink of his latte and braced himself for the jolt of sugar. It was shocking his team didn’t weigh five hundred pounds each after working with Wolfe for over a year. Of course, they got shot at a lot, and that probably burned many calories. “What do you have, Wolfe?”
Wolfe sobered. “I agree with just having one liaison to keep us off the radar for now. Metro was rather, I guess you could sayinsistentthat we don’t work either case. The HDD piped in with the old interference-with-a-federal-case language, which is a felony, as you know. So we have to be careful.” The soldier’s eyes glittered.
Angus nodded. “Agreed. Did the teams meet earlier?”
“We did.” Wolfe eyed the pastry dish. “I brought all the research we compiled, along with dog food for Roscoe and this stuff for you all.”
Nari pulled out a barstool and sat, while Jethro moved toward the kitchen.
Wolfe angled his head to view the Brit. “I didn’t forget you. I have a chai tea for you. It’s the one with green sprinkles.”
Jethro turned around, his eyebrows arched. “There normally aren’t whipped cream and sprinkles on chai tea.”
“I got it specially made for you.” Wolfe tilted his head toward the cup holder, his smile genuine. “You’re one of us now, dude. Especially after you and I bonded blowing up the drug cartel holdings in Mexico. Besides, if we get caught with this current case, you’ll be charged just like we will.”
“Wonderful,” Jethro muttered, stalking toward the sugary treat. He was moving better this morning. In fact, he looked like the M16 agent he’d once been.
Nari cupped her drink. “Please tell me that Brigid has found Millie.”
“Yep. Get this: She’s at a wellness spa resort in Thailand. I talked to her myself and basically told her to stay there for a while. Turns out that was already her plan.” Wolfe reached down to pet Roscoe’s head.
Some of the tightness in Angus’s chest relaxed. Millie was safe. That was one thing off his mind. He scrubbed both hands down his face and moved toward the table, pulling out a barstool and sitting. “Okay. Let’s cross that one off the list and move on to who wants me or us dead.”
Wolfe flipped through a stack of files and handed out purple ones. “Pippa color coded everything. That woman is a master at organization.” He paused. “Not as good as you, Nari, but close.”
Instead of smiling, Nari just took her file folder.
Angus winced. He shouldn’t have said what he had in the bedroom. “Being organized is a good thing.”
Jethro finally took a seat, still eyeing his chai tea. He set it down next to his file folder. “I imagine there are several people who want you dead, my friend.”
Sad but true. Angus flipped open his folder and studied a list of enemies still living after the cases of the past year.
Wolfe leaned forward. “The team started with recent cases and went backward, including your time in the FBI. Brigid had to hack some files, so we need to destroy a lot of this after we’re finished.” He pointed to a picture on the front page. “This is Barry Barnes, one of the cult members we busted. He made several threats about the team before he was put away for a short stint. Got out of jail just three weeks ago, and he has a sketchy past. Brigid is trying to track him down now.”
Angus studied the innocuous-looking man. About forty years old, blue eyes, saggy jaw. The guy had a gut. “I don’t see him as the man who got away the other night, but maybe he got in shape while in prison.” He looked up. “Any ID on the guy I killed?”
Wolfe shook his head. “Nothing that we found, and Brigid doesn’t think the HDD has identified him either. But their system is harder to hack, even though she’s on the inside. She’s working on it.”
Thank God for their talented hacker. They went through the entire file, and by the end of it, even Angus was surprised by how many people might want him in the ground. Huh. He sighed. “All right, let’s move on to the current case.” He opened a file folder on the six recent victims.
