Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 45996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
“Bummer,” I mutter. “I keep thinking if I push harder on Liotta out here I’ll shake something loose. The Lobster Shack visit tonight didn’t give us much, but the guy at the bar looked too interested. I’m going back tomorrow to poke around more carefully.”
“Good. Stay on it. But don’t let whatever’s happening with Sadie cloud your judgment. You asked how to keep personal feelings out of a job. I’ll tell you what worked for me when I was guarding Indigo.”
I lean back, interested. Mack guarded the supermodel Indigo Lyric during that Cupid City operation. He came back different afterward. “Yeah? How did you manage it?”
“I tried my hardest not to let the attraction fog my focus,” Mack says. His tone turns serious. “Every time I felt myself slipping, I reminded myself why I was there. Her safety came first. Always. I ran scenarios in my head. What if the threat escalated right then? What if I was too busy thinking about how she smelled or how her laugh hit me to react fast enough? It kept me sharp. You need to do the same. Think about Sadie’s safety first and foremost. Not with your dick. Not with your heart. With your training. With the mission.”
I laugh despite the tension. “Easy for you to say now. You ended up with the girl anyway.”
“Different circumstances,” Mack replies, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “But the principle stands. You’re on protection detail in a town where Liotta has reach. One wrong move and it’s not just your heart on the line. It’s her life. And it’s our brothers’ lives if this ties back to Dad.”
I nod even though he can’t see it. “You’re right. I know you’re right. Maybe I should call Colt instead. He’s the only one who has never fallen for a client. The man’s a machine when it comes to keeping things professional. I don’t think he’ll ever fall in love.”
Mack laughs outright this time. “Colt would tell you to do a hundred push-ups and then run ten miles until the feeling goes away. Or he’d grunt and say ‘focus.’ Not much help on the emotional side.”
“True,” I say. “Thanks for the talk, Mack. I needed it. Keep me in the loop if anything breaks on Nash or Sin.”
“Will do. Stay sharp out there, little brother. And watch your six with the pretty teacher.”
We hang up. The quiet of the house rushes back in. I set the phone on the coffee table and stand again, the nervous energy still thrumming through my veins. Mack’s words loop in my head. Safety first. Don’t think with your dick. I know he’s right. I’ve known it since the moment I picked Sadie up in Halo City. But knowing it and living it are two different things when she looks at me the way she did tonight on the boardwalk.
I walk to the hallway and pause outside her closed door. No light shows underneath. She must already be asleep. I picture her curled on her side in that big bed, hair spread across the pillow, that stubborn expression finally relaxed. The insane need to protect her flares again, stronger than before. I’d burn the whole coastline down before I let anyone touch her. The thought should scare me. Instead it settles something deep in my chest.
I return to the living room and pick up the phone again. This time I dial Sloane Archer. He runs SBS, the firm that keeps most of us employed when we’re not chasing family ghosts. Sloane answers on the third ring, voice crisp even at this hour.
“Jace. I assume this isn’t a social call.”
“Never is with me,” I reply, settling back on the couch. “I’m out at the Sunbreak Harbor safe house with Sadie Wells. We made contact at the Lobster Shack tonight. Blended in as a couple. No direct hits on Liotta yet, but there was a guy at the bar who watched us a little too closely. I’m going back tomorrow to dig.”
Sloane’s quiet for a moment. I hear papers shuffling in the background. “Liotta’s name’s been circling in connection with some of the same players who took your brothers. Nothing concrete yet. Banks is running deeper traces on financials tied to the properties we flagged. Crewe has eyes on a warehouse outside the city that might be one of Liotta’s distribution points. We’re moving slow and quiet. We don’t want to spook anyone until we’ve got Nash and Sin’s location locked.”
“Anything I should know on my end?” I ask. “Any new intel on Victor himself? Patterns? Weak spots?”
“He likes to operate through cutouts,” Sloane says. “Restaurants, marinas, charter companies. The Lobster Shack fits the pattern. He owns it through a shell. The manager is loyal but not high enough to know the full picture. If you can get close to the staff without blowing cover, you might hear something. Maybe check out the country club. He’s a member. But don’t push too hard. We need you and the girl alive more than we need one lead.”