“Tonight,” I murmur, tracing my hand down, gripping her thigh, up high, close to the place it meets her pussy.
She blinks at me, and a slow smile spreads. “I’ll be counting the hours.”
A loud thump outside in the hallway makes me curse. June’s head is up, her ears twitching toward the door.
“It’s okay, girl. Just the boys getting ready for our meeting.” I turn to Jade, taking her hand in mine. “I’d like for you to come with me.”
“To the meeting?” her voice goes up.
“I want you read in on all the intel. We will be able to use your inside information about Trevor and your father.”
“Oh. Oh.” She leans forward slightly, eager, but looking confused. “I feel honored. I’m a little shocked. I didn’t expect that.”
Her reaction to being included crushes my heart in an iron fist. She’s never been included.
I smooth her hair back and kiss her forehead. “You’re important to me, Jade. I want you with me whenever you can be.”
The way she softens, cinches my throat up too.
“Okay. Thank you for treating me like a human.”
Fuck. I drag her into my arms for a hug that’s probably too tight.
When I let her go she’s grinning. “That’s got to be the most powerful hug in the world.”
“Come on. Before I decide not to share you with the team.”
The conference room goes quiet the moment we walk in.
“Jade’s sitting in.”
Nods. Murmured hellos. No pushback. I pull out a seat for Jade and scoot her in as June sticks by her side.
I don’t sit before I dive in. I put it out there with no cushion, no runway.
“Trevor dropped my brother’s name during the live session. Brandt Stowe is his name.”
I look at each of them. “He may have been stabbing in the dark. But he nailed some important details. He clocked my voice. Said same build. He referenced a neck tattoo. All of that’s accurate.”
Colt taps some notes into his laptop. Everyone else files the facts mentally.
“Brandt’s exactly the kind of person to be associated with something like this dark web gambling ring.”
CHAPTER 29
My heart aches for Ryker as the silence stretches on after his admission about Trevor’s accusation.
June shifts but that’s the only sound.
“I don’t know if this lead is real,” Ryker continues. “Trevor is cornered and he knows how to find the pressure point. Mine is obvious. But we can’t leave it sitting. Which is why every word of it is on this table right now.”
As the team looks at him, he flattens both hands on the oak table. “I’m flagging a conflict of interest. If Brandt surfaces in this investigation as a real threat, I need to be considered for removal from point.”
Three seconds of silence follow. Thane breaks it with a decisive, “No. You identified the conflict. You disclosed itimmediately, to the full team. Thatisthe protocol. You doing that is you doing your job right. That’s not a reason to pull yourself off from lead. That’s the reason you stay on it, your integrity.”
“If his name surfaces again in this investigation—” Ryker starts, but Thane cuts him off.
“Every decision that has his name on it goes through this team.” He motions around the room. “We decide together. That’s how this works.”
