They wait for Ryker to get settled, then Thane clears his throat. “Are we ready to talk about this?”
Everyone looks at me.
Ryker squeezes my knee and waits on my verbal response.
“I’m good. Thank you all for jumping in and helping me. Now, do we know how Trevor got here?”
Thane frowns, spreading his fingers on the table. “He escaped during the transfer.”
“What the fuck?” Ranger mutters.
“Right.” Thane replies, clearly unhappy. “He’s been on the run since. No one knew because it was a two man team, and he took them both out. No one reported them missing because they travel all the time for work.”
Ryker’s happy expression is now dark. Thunderstorms and black smoke. The air palpably shifts around him.
“How did he find us?” His hand tightens on my leg and I can see the shadows behind his gaze. The fresh memory of Trevor pointing a gun at me.
“We’re guessing that he either found something when they profiled you before the hunt, or overheard intel he wasn’t supposed to hear during the transfer.”
The guys exchange looks. Guilt and anger flash in their hard gazes.
“Guys. I shouldn’t have gone out by myself.”
Thane says, “You couldn’t know, don’t blame yourself. The up side of this is with your father surely in custody, and all of the men from the hunt now in jail, there’s more room to breathe here in the US while we crack the international piece of this.”
“Except my brother. Anything turn up on Brandt?” Ryker asks, tension tightening in the muscles of his neck.
“Actually we do have fresh intel,” Colt pauses. “But it was a dead end.”
“We keep searching,” Ryker says, that expression not showing a single flicker of emotion. “We need to focus on the digital leads, unraveling the money.”
“Copy,” Thane replies. “We’ve got the access to the best of everything here. Including Agile’s intel department, and training facilities.”
“We still need to stay sharp,” Ranger adds.
“I guess you guys are stuck with me too since Ryker makes me come to work with him every day.”
“Make?” Thane’s brows go up. “I thought you two were inseparable.”
My face chooses this time to flame. “Okay. You’re right. That did make him sound a little bossy.”
“Because I am,” Ryker lifts his gaze to me. “I probably always will be when it comes to your safety. And dog or not, you’re not walking around out back without two armed guards.”
I know it’s a losing argument, so I just wrap my fingers in his and nod.
“You want to increase the night-time security on your house, boss?” Jake asks, breaking his silence. “I’ll take the night shift for the first week.”
Oh my goodness. These men.
“Guys, you’re giving me family vibes,” I sniffle, brushing my tears away with the back of my hand.
“Never had a sister, gotta say, I’m glad it’s you. You’re a badass.” Thane tosses a paperclip at me.
“Ditto.” Colt.
“Double ditto.” Jake.
“I third that.” Ranger counts on his fingers. “Wait, that’s fourth.”
