Page 78 of Jude

Her damp hair slicked back to expose the elegant slope of her neck, her lithe body stretching out on the towel.

The emerald bikini she wore highlighted every curve, her golden complexion so smooth and wet that it made my pulse spike.

I forced my eyes down to my phone screen, my thumb hovering over the accept button while I throbbed with need for her.

‘Hey son, we’ve got a problem,’ Kian kicked off, his tone setting off alarms in my mind.

‘Hit me,’ I rasped.

‘One of our techs, Paul Strickland, in the sheriff’s office came into work today scared out of his wits,’ Kian explained. ‘Last night, mob gangsters confronted him at his home.’

I rose off my sunbed to track across the grass toward the house so Sofia wouldn’t overhear the conversation.

‘A guy named Dario forced him to log into our servers,’ Kian continued. ‘They pulled Sofia’s location with you in Nashville.’

‘Damn,’ I muttered, my throat tightening.

‘According to Paul, Dario claims she’s a liability because she saw his face in a recruitment video,’ Rick said. ‘She can identify him, and the Compagni famiglia wants her gone.’

‘Did they hurt the tech?’ I demanded, keeping my voice down to avoid alerting Sofia.

‘They were about to shoot Paul dead,’ Kian replied. ‘A neighbor, disturbed by the racket, interrupted with a shotgun and scared the bastards off before they pulled the trigger.’

‘Hell,’ I growled.

‘You need to be on high alert, son, hear?’ Kian ordered. ‘He’s probably heading to Tennessee as we speak.’

‘Is it that bad?’

‘It could worsen,’ Kian warned. ‘I alerted my counterpart in Nashville, Damien Patinski, and the FBI is on it too. Just keep safe.’

‘I plan to,’ I rasped, ending the call with a heavy heart.

Worry crept into my thoughts as I turned to study Sofia, oblivious to my conversation, eyes hidden under her sunglasses, face tilted to the sun.

With a sigh, I strode into my home office and spun the dial on the steel safe.

The door swung open.

I reached inside and withdrew my Beretta Cheetah, a compact, reliable firearm respected by professional snipers.

I inspected the chamber, slapped a loaded magazine into the grip, and engaged the safety lock with a solid click.

I placed the weapon back in the vault, where I planned to retrieve it the next time we left the house.

I also made a mental note to ask my brothers to carry their pieces over the next few weeks.

It always helped to be prepared.

Chapter 17

SOFIA

Sunday morning’s rays were warm, and I decided to have my breakfast outside by the pool.

I was about to spoon buttery, fluffy eggs into my mouth when I caught the sound of the sliding door opening.

I smiled and twisted around, glancing over my shoulder.