“Theo, Justin, what are you doing? She’s my niece.”
The twins instantly let Rebecca go, who scowls up at them. Flicking her long curly hair over her shoulder, she stomps past them and throws herself into her aunt’s arms. “I missed you,” she says quietly, Susannah rubbing her back.
“I missed you too.” Susannah looks her over. She hasn’t seen Rebecca since Nate kidnapped her from the psychiatric care facility, and her joy at seeing her again is evident on her face.
Tessa watches for a moment, the corner of her mouth tipped up. “Hello again, Agent Gerhardt.”
Susannah casts her gaze in her direction, her jaw dropping. “Tessa?”
Tessa gives her a wave. Chuckling, I tell her, “I told you we were okay and that I had help. Meet some of my help.”
Theo and Justin begin to introduce themselves to Tessa and Rebecca just as there’s a scuffle at the door. Nate, Eric, and Trey come bounding in, growling low in their throats when they see the twins. I swear the three of them are like rabid dogs sometimes.
“Hey, fuckwads! Simmer down. They’re with Susannah.” Nate glares at me while Trey comes to a stop, seeing his wife with her aunt. Eric looks sheepish but is the first to step forward, shaking hands with the twins.
My apartment quickly becomes Grand Central Station. We just need the Three Stooges—and here they are now.
Jase, Ryan, and Kian saunter into my apartment, and after a round of introductions, everyone settles down to chat and catch up. Ryan offers the last apartment on this floor to Susannah and the twins. Luckily for her, it has three bedrooms, so each can have their own space.
Then I huff a laugh—I saw the way they were looking at her. They might not need three bedrooms after all. Good for her. At least one of us will be getting laid.
Later that night, I catch sight of Trey heading out to one of the various outdoor smoking areas the Charon Group provides for employees. Slipping through the door, I find him standing on a small terrace overlooking the alley behind the building. Not the best view, but outside space is limited in the city, so I guess you take what you can get.
Trey is leaning against the railing, just lighting up his cigarette when he catches sight of me. He raises a brow, probably curious what I want. While I spend time with the girls, I rarely seek out his company, and I inwardly reprimand myself for it.
“Hey,” I offer with a small smile. “Can I bum one off you?”
Trey taps the carton against his palm and one slides out. Taking it and the offered lighter, I light it up, inhaling deeply of the pungent smoke.
“Didn’t know you smoke,” Trey says, leaning back against the brick wall.
“I don’t,” I reply, the corner of my mouth lifting. “Only now and again.”
He nods in commiseration.
We stand in silence for a minute, letting the nicotine do its job, calming the swirling thoughts in my mind.
“So, did you and Eric do a search on the twins?” Trey scoffs at my question and I laugh softly. “Of course, you did. Anything interesting?”
“Theodore and Justin Booth, aged twenty-nine. Parents were Walter and Emily Booth. Walter was former military, and later an FBI agent tasked to help take down a terrorist cell. He had the twins trained in combat and martial arts from a young age, and they are proficient with guns, knives, and swords. Graduated top of their class in both high school and college. Walter and Emily perished when their car exploded six years ago, believed to have been orchestrated by the terrorists when Walter got too close to their organization.”
I gawk at him and he raises a brow back. “Do you know what color their boxers are, too?”
“Theodore wears black, while Justin seems to prefer unique designs.”
“You’re making that up.”
Trey shakes his head as he blows out the last puff of smoke, then crushes the butt under his shoe. “You wouldn’t believe what Eric and I can find when we want. They just made underwear purchases at Macy’s before they came here. Justin chose polka-dots and stripes, while Theodore chose black.”
“Huh,” I reply stupidly, hoping he hadn’t looked into any of my credit card purchases lately. He doesn’t need to know about the newest toy I bought recently. It’s cliterally mind-blowing. Taking another drag, I blow out the smoke, then ask, “So how do they know my uncle?”
Trey shrugs. “We can find out a lot online, but not everything. There does seem to be evidence indicating Harris knew Walter, it’s possible they were friends. I can’t say for certain, but I’m guessing he maybe took them under his wing or mentored them somehow. They check out, so neither Eric nor I have any concerns about them. Not that I’ll trust anyone until I get to know them better, but I’m not overly worried.”
At my nod, he turns and heads back inside, and after stubbing out my cigarette, I follow after him. Most everyone has gone off to do their own thing, and I’m feeling antsy. I don’t like sitting around doing fuck all. And until the intel comes back on where Vincenzo is, there’s not a lot most of us can do.
He knows we’re after him now, and he won’t make it easy on us. He’s not exactly going to set up camp across the street, with neon signs pointing to him, proclaiming, “Here I am!” I snort at the visual, then cover it with a cough.Smooth, Dutch.
As I walk through the private dining room, I spy Ryan sitting on one of the sofas in front of the fire, the dancing flames weaving interesting shadows across his face.
