“Yeah, it’s over. Without Jackson pushing for prosecution, the case will die. No other prosecutor will touch it. Besides, we’ve got a Judge in our pocket now.”
Ransom smiles but tightens the hand he has on my shoulder. “Next time, you mind cluing us the fuck in? I mean, that was epically awesome, but for fucks sake, warn a brother.”
Zach snickers. “When you decide to step up, you do it in a big way. What happened to letting Ransom do the talking?”
Pressing a kiss to Cara’s head, I turn and rest my cheek against her hair. “This was my fight.”
“Well fuck brother,” Nick mutters, “when you get in the game, you do it in a big way. But I gotta know, what did you do with his money?”
“The town we got stranded in. In Colorado. It’s dying. They’re going to get a cash infusion. Maybe they can build the world’s largest spoon or some other tourist trap to bring people off the highway. And the motel owner? She and her husband were incredible people. They deserve a tip. So I’ll pay off their mortgage.”
Cara tips her head back with a laugh. “That’s one hell of a tip!”
Laughing, we wander back into the garage, making our way into the break room to get the coffee going. In the bays, I grab Colt’s shoulder, pulling him to a stop. “Jackson’s going to end up in the Pen. We need to get Joker out before that happens. Jackson’s still fucking pissed, and it’s only going to get worse. He doesn’t have a lot of pull. In fact, he put a lot of those guys behind bars, but having Joker and him in the same place is a bad idea.”
Colt frowns, rubbing his beard. “He doesn’t plan to apply for parole. I think he’s afraid of getting out. He’s been in there nearly half his life.”
“We’ll pull some strings. He’s going to have to adjust. We’ll help him, but it’s time to push it. We’ve got the Judge to write a recommendation. Joker just needs to be convinced that it’s in his best interest to get out.”
He nods grimly, already anticipating Joker’s reaction. He’s changed since he went away, but I don’t think he’s changed that much. He’s going to be royally pissed at us interfering in his life. But it has to happen. It’s time. Eighteen years is long enough.
Cara’s laughing with my brothers in the break room, clutching a cup of coffee like it’s the only thing keeping her together. Her eyes are warm, and a smile curves that lush mouth. I can’t fucking help it. I stride to her, put her coffee mug in Zach’s hand, and draw her into me for a kiss. It’s a kiss full of relief, love, and passion.
“Declan and Cara, kissing in a tr—.” Muffled curses, banging, and a few groans sound behind us. I don’t pay a second of attention. Colton can handle himself, and I have better things to do.
44
CARA
I shouldn’t laugh. It’s not funny, really, but I’ve never seen him like this, and I can’t look away. Zach’s teeth are gritted as he holds up a pair of flat women’s shoes. “Where is she?” I shrug because I honestly have no idea. Maya’s been working here a week, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that the woman is impossible to predict. “How does she do this? Just wander around and lose her shoes? It’s completely unprofessional.”
“You say this every day. You told her there was no dress code, remember? She even cleared it with Janey.”
“Don’t get me started on her wardrobe,” he mutters with an eye roll. He shifts the plain black loafers into one hand, running the fingers of the other through his hair. He’s frazzled, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, his tie hanging loose. It’s a hot look, not that he’s ever not hot. But he’s been way too busy fixating on Maya to obsess over his looks lately. It’s like watching a slow-motion car crash. One day, maybe one day soon, she’s going to knock him on his ass. He doesn’t know what’s coming.
“There’s nothing wrong with her wardrobe.”
“No, not if you’re fine with shopping at Frumps ‘R Us.”
“Zach, you’re a complete snob.” Yes, her style is quirky, but it’s so totally her.
“Cara, I simply have standards. Standards that she is not meeting.”
“Oh, I see. So she’s not performing? She’s actually awful at marketing?”
He scowls at me. “She’s amazing. Everything I hoped she would be, in that aspect at least.”
“Then I don’t see the problem.”
“Cara, we travel all over the country for work. Looks matter. And her looks are...I mean, she’s pleasant to look at, and she’s...” his eyes go hazy, and I hide my smile, turning to tuck my stuff into my bag. “Anyway, I need to do something about her wardrobe.” He stares at the shoes in disgust. “This can’t continue.”
The elevator ding draws our attention across the office. There she is. The now infamous Maya. She’s a bit of a chaos gremlin, leaving a mess wherever she goes. And she’s completely oblivious to it most of the time. She meanders toward us, alternating between taking bites of her muffin, dropping crumbs, I’m sure, and ducking her head into cubicles.
I turn my head, covering my laughter with my hand. It’s adorable and a scene I’ve been treated to multiple times already this week. The woman seems to hate shoes and abandons them sometime during the morning. Then she spends an inordinate amount of time looking for them at the end of the day. I’m considering stocking up on flip-flops and storing them in my desk drawer just so we have something for her if she ever can’t find them.
As she passes Declan and then Jonas’s offices, they emerge, smiling. Jonas chats casually, with Maya, unbothered as she darts away from him and out of sight, then reemerges. Declan follows them, grinning, peeking into the odd cubicle. The woman has two billionaires searching for her twenty-dollar target shoes. And they both seem happy to do it.
I love these men.
