He shot her a lopsided smile. “Good. Some of it.”

The sounds of the cabin and forest came roaring back to life. The hum of the lights and the knock as the wind hammered a loose shutter against the outside wall. The strangeness of the moment hit her. The smell of sex still lingered in the air. Gabe’s strong hands and sweet touches. Both of them basically naked from the waist down.

A rational conversation about a horrific event. It was surreal and healing. The way he pressed his lips to her eyebrow then her cheek cleansed her.

She held on to his shirt. Curled the material into balls in her fists. Stood there and rode out the last of her memories. Their fight fell into the forgotten category. He wrestled his own demons and she would try to help him through that, even if he didn’t want to open up. But until then, she closed her eyes and held on.

Her bodyguard.

TWELVE

This qualified as the shittiest meeting ever. Andy looked around the conference room table. His older boneheaded brother standing by the door was bad enough. The other two guests almost sent Andy’s temper skidding over the edge.

Elijah Sterling, former CIA agent and the guy Andy once pegged as the love of his life. Tall, lean and hot as fuck with a hint of Japanese heritage showing in his black hair and dark eyes. He carried his body with confidence. Then there was Wade Royer, the guy Andy hated on sight—from his muscular build to the short light hair—because he was the one guy Eli could make a commitment to.

Wasn’t this just a fucking fantastic way to spend an already busy afternoon packed with work and intel and meetings.

Rick finished his call and slipped his phone into his pocket. Coming around the side of the table, he took the chair at the head. Of course he did. Only he would see the open seat as an invitation.

He glanced around, glaring, then pointed to Wade and Eli. “Why are you two here?”

To prevent the bloodbath Andy sensed coming, he jumped in. “Eli works for Bast—Sebastian Jameson, Natalie’s lawyer.” That was the easy introduction. “Wade is basically here because he hates me and wants me to stay away from Eli.”

Wade nodded. “That about sums it up.”

Rick being Rick, he skipped right over the personal stuff and started scowling as he focused in on Eli. “You’re a fucking lawyer?”

“Hell, no.” Eli looked appalled by the idea.

Andy couldn’t imagine Eli arguing points in a courtroom. The guy liked the outdoors and guns and shooting things. He made a life out of chasing people the CIA determined needed to be chased. He acted as a human weapon. Point and fire.

But that suit and the blue tie. Goddamn. “You look like one.”

Eli frowned at Wade. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“You look good in the suit.” Wade shrugged. “Sue me.”

Rick sat back in his chair in one of those dramatic movements usually meant to draw attention and put the focus back on him. “I don’t have time for games with the little league.”

“Uh, Rick.” Looked like his big brother missed a few pertinent facts in whatever file he used for Natalie’s case. He’d been out of the country when the Eli relationship imploded, but Andy assumed he’d caught up. Apparently not.

“No, really.” Eli held up a hand without ever breaking eye contact with Rick. “Let him continue.”

Andy saw Wade smile. Heard Eli’s cool tone. For whatever reason Rick goaded as if he wanted to start a fight. Andy wasn’t in the mood for any of it.

“This is a grown man’s game. Go back to your law office and file your briefs and lodge your complaints.” Rick took the phone out of his pocket and started scrolling through messages. “Actually, I don’t care what you do so long as you get out of here.”

As far as exit lines went it was a pretty good one. It also showed that Rick had no understanding of his audience. Andy did, so he sat back and let this play out. Eventually they’d get around to why Eli wanted the meeting and insisted Rick appear.

“Are you done?” Eli asked.

Wade shook his head. “For the record, Rick. That tone, all flat and low, is a very bad sign.”

Yeah, forget waiting it out. Andy didn’t want to wipe up the blood from this massacre. “Rick, Eli is former CIA. Some of his black-ops job make yours look like kindergarten recess time. He used to work for Natalie. Now he works for Bast.”

Rick hesitated. He got that look on his face that said he was performing a few mental calculations and realizing the scales weren’t quite as unbalanced as he had assumed. He turned to Wade. “And you?”

“Consider me the criminal element.”

“He used to be an enforcer for some unsavory types.” Andy knew because he’d investigated the guy right after finding out Eli had moved in with him. Wade had gone legit, but he hadn’t started out that way. His experience with weapons and death likely rivaled Eli’s, and that was saying something.

“That’s a pretty way of putting it.” Eli brushed something off his jacket sleeve, though it didn’t look as if anything was there. “Point is your blowhard asshole act doesn’t impress us. You want to compare gun sizes, I’m in.”

“Don’t let the nice suit fool you,” Wade said. “He will kick your ass.”

Rick slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Why are we all here?”

“My boss is not happy.” When Rick started to talk, Eli spoke right over him. “There’s a deal in place, and you sending people to stalk Natalie and Gabe violates it.”

Rick’s expression went blank as he turned on Andy. “You told them?”

Not a surprise he got dragged into the middle of this. Andy expected that. Rick had been trying to put him in the middle of the private battle with Gabe almost from the beginning, make him choose sides. Why should work be any different? “Gabe reports to Bast. Eli reports to Bast. You can see where those dots connect.”

Rick swore under his breath before looking at Eli and Wade again. “Look, I can’t talk about this. Suffice to say, I’m watching out for them.”

“Now you sound like the lawyer,” Wade said under his breath.

Not one to be quiet, Rick upped the volume. “I have this under control.”

“No, you don’t.” Eli leaned forward, balancing his elbows on the table. “See, if we—Natalie’s side—complain about the surveillance, your cover is blown. That’s not a big deal in this case, other than the twisted part about tracking your own brother, but I’ll let you figure out how to deal with that at the next holiday dinner.”

“But once Eli and Bast report back to the CIA, the people who hire you will know you blew this operation,” Wade said, taking over. “That sort of things tends to make you not be the first guy they call when they need help in the future.”

“Are you two threatening me?” Rick sounded honestly stunned at the idea. No one questioned him. He’d risen to the top in record time. People depended on him for both his skills and his anonymity.

But Wade clearly wasn’t impressed. He just stared back. “Yes.”

“The deal is simple, call off your guys. Report back to whatever piece of shit is paying you that all is fine and Natalie is not a security risk.” Eli laid it out then sat back in his chair. “Then you can go back to playing, what was it you called it? Big boy games.”

“Fuck you.”

Wade winked. “Sorry, he’s taken.”

They made a good team, Eli with the calm delivery and Wade as the backup. Andy hated noticing that.

Rick thumped his fingers against the table. “Gabe is screwing her.”

The news didn’t exactly surprise Andy, but he wasn’t sure it needed to be broadcast. “This might be family stuff.”

Rick’s gaze shot to Andy. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“As enjoyable as this sick peek into your family dynamic is, let me get to the point.” Eli shifted in his chair and all eyes went to him. The move and the deadly cold tone assured that. “Bast negotiated a deal for Natalie. Part of which promised a release of information that makes the NSA digging into the public’s phone records seem like a good government idea if anyone went near her.”