by A. J. Macey
“Where’s mine? Or is Kiera the only one who gets special treatment?”
“Hm, all right then,” Chase countered with a sassy smile, placing an uncracked egg and an untoasted piece of bread on a plate and handing it over. “Bon appetit, Boss.”
“Why thank you, Chase, just what I wanted for breakfast.” Chase laughed, his eyes falling shut at Brooks’s joke. As soon as Chase wasn’t looking, Brooks leaned forward and piled a proper breakfast onto his plate.
I wasn’t sure how I felt, seeing the two of them so easily falling into a playful routine. I knew he would have some kind of familiarity with them that I wouldn’t, having spent two weeks with them every month, but it was different actually seeing it first hand. My lips thinned as I watched them, my body wanting to be irritable at my little assassin being so friendly with these assholes, wanting to keep him all to myself, but there was that little sliver. The one I tried to ignore that liked seeing them being so buddy buddy, flashes of Chase’s previous statement from what felt like forever ago filtering into my mind.
Would you like that? Me fucking him like I fuck you?
A loud shout pulled me from the quickly spiraling thoughts, thankfully. Garrett and Stone were fighting over the coffee pot like children, eyes narrowed and... I must admit... adorable pouts on both their faces.
“Knock it off!” I yelled, standing up, my hands curling into tight fists. “It’s too early for this shit so share like the big kids I know you can be before I throw that dreaded thing into the damned garbage.”
They settled, both looking contrite, but before I could sit down and enjoy my meal, there was a loud knock on the door followed quickly by the doorbell. Groaning, I grabbed my phone from my waistband and checked the security camera. A familiar, yet unwelcome, lean woman clothed in a professional black suit stood at the door. Her brunette hair was pulled back in a severe bun, and when she glanced up to look at the security camera, I ground my teeth in irritation.
“See, I didn’t miss this shit over in Italy,” I growled. “Everyone left me the hell alone over there. All right, everyone in the security room.”
“No,” Garrett countered. “I’ve been the one fielding the questions from her the last few months. They’ll hide, and we’ll go answer the door.”
“Ugh, fine.” With that decided, we all moved. Stone, Chase, and Brooks took their plates and cups into the security room as Garrett and I walked to the front.
“Ready?” he questioned, his emerald eyes looking down at me. Rolling my shoulders back, I tilted my chin up and plastered on a bright smile.
“As ready as I’ll ever be without any caffeine in my system,” I muttered through my fake as hell smile. Garrett’s laugh had me struggling to keep my grin from turning genuine, but I forced the niggle of happiness out of my system.
Remember, mad Cat, FIERCE Cat, not purring and cuddling Cat.
“Agent Venry, what can I do for you this morning?” Garrett greeted coolly. Now that I could see the FBI agent up close, I noticed the hard gaze she gave Garrett, disgust within the dark brown depths. Venry was irritated, the emotion blatant from her rigid stance and pursed lips. She was alone, and her eyes widened when she saw me, but they narrowed when she noticed the space between us. Swallowing my internal grumbles, I stepped closer to Garrett, cuddling into his side and leaning my cheek into his tattooed shoulder. He must have understood what I was trying to do, but the asshole decided to take advantage of the situation, curling his arm over my shoulders and pulling me in tight to his muscled chest.
Damn those taut tattooed planes.
“Miss Casterelli, I hadn’t realized you were coming back. May I ask where you have been?” At least the genuine surprise means they hadn’t detected any of my aliases. Still got it if I can hide from both Venry’s lackeys and my father’s.
“Toting around Europe, decided to take a long vacation in between work trips,” I spouted cheerfully. “Wanted to make some connections for my new business. I arrived back early yesterday.”
“Oh, and what business would that be?”
“Goat yoga. Pilates and jazzercise weren’t working out, so I figured I’d try my hand at something a bit more relaxing.” Garrett miraculously kept a straight face despite my ridiculous response, his lips pressing into my temple as he hugged me tighter. My chest ached, the longing of feeling his embrace mixing with the anger at him. Fucking emotions.
“So, what can we do you for, Agent?” he redirected the conversation back on track, the tips of his fingers tracing soft figure eights on my exposed shoulder. My skin pebbled with goosebumps at the sensation.
Well, never going to live that down, I grumbled, trying to rein in my body’s reaction to Garrett.
“Just wanted to see if you or your roommates had learned anything more about Frankie since my last visit, but seeing as how your girlfriend is back, I’ll come back another time.”
Agent Venry dipped her head slightly in farewell and turned to walk back to her idling car on the circular drive. I kept cuddling into Garrett as she left, but my mind was whirling. I wasn’t sure what she had said, if it had been the roommate comment, the Frankie comment, or the fact that she didn’t have her partner, but something didn’t feel right.
“Has she been asking about dirt on Frankie for a while?” I murmured.
“Yeah, for a couple months now. Started a little while after you left. Why?” Garrett answered, his shrug reminding me that I was still curled into him. Stepping back, I avoided his gaze and strode toward the stairs. “Wait, Kiera. What is it?”
“Venry knows something we don’t, and I’m going to find out what it is,” I called over my shoulder, darting down the stairs and into the basement. My movements faltered only slightly when I saw the familiar space, my photo wall greeting me with its hundreds of photos and pieces of paper, its colored string calling to me. Shoving the sentimental moment away, I closed the distance between me and the worktable in long confident strides.
Time to get back to work.
Ciar
“I’m not hungry,” Kiera muttered, her eyes darting around her notes as she scribbled something down. Dove’s jaw was clenched, her body rigid with edginess.
“You need to eat, Kittycat,” Chase urged. “We can get to work after that or talk about it upstairs.”
“No, work now,” she argued. I sighed. One of the things Chase and I loved about Kiera was her resolution; sometimes though, like now, I wanted to fuck her into submission until she did what I wanted.
“Fine. I’ll get your breakfast and bring it to you, but you’re eating,” Chase commanded. His voice was low, but I felt the spark within our shared body as she cocked a brow at us. Of course, he let her win. This canNOT go on forever. Her lips curled in a challenging smile, but she stayed silent as Chase headed back upstairs.
“Was there something we missed?” Garrett asked, his whisper loud in the quiet of the main floor. As soon as they realized we had stepped into the space, three gazes turned to us.
“She all right?” Stone questioned.
Chase nodded, but all I could muster was a snarl. Who is he to worry? He’s the reason she’s had to wait six months to move against Frankie!
“Wants to work, so I’m grabbing her some food. Can one of you grab an energy drink from the fridge?” Chase continued as if he hadn’t felt my anger pulse against the divide that split our shared mind. “Let’s all head down, see what she’s got cooking up in that pretty head of hers.”
“She won’t shoot us?” Garrett murmured, his expression skeptical.
“She won’t, but I certainly as hell will,” I muttered, not stopping the statement before it reached Chase.
“Yeah, I know, you’ve mentioned. Like a hundred fucking times. Can you for once stop being such a broody asshole and let Kiera make her own choices? You can’t come in and force her to do what you want just because you don’t agree. That will get us cut from Kittycat’s life faster than you can say ‘Dove,’” Chase snapped, no longer controll
ing his irritation at my constant meddling. “I’m not losing her because you’re being a fucking toddler.”
“We won’t lose her. Do you really think I would try and force her to do anything? I like our balls attached to our shared body, thank you very much, Chase,” I huffed. It was fun to push him, but I could tell that this time it might be better to let him settle for a few minutes. Sharing a mind and a body stopped being fun when your other half wouldn’t stop sulking.
We filed down the stairs, Kiera’s breakfast piled high on a plate clutched in Chase’s hand. As soon as we rounded the bottom of the stairs, her attention fell on us for a brief moment before shifting back to her notes. Chase, being the cheeky bastard that he was, plopped her food and drink right on top of her papers.
“Ugh, fine, my little assassin, I’ll eat.” Stabbing her eggs with a fork, she shoveled it into her mouth. No one spoke initially, letting Kiera scarf down the majority of her food before starting in on planning. Their gazes were glued to the tabletop as they tried to figure out what Kiera had compiled. “Okay, that’s enough food. Now, can we work?”
“Yes, thank you, Kittycat. So, what’d you find?”
“Nothing as of yet. I was sorting through everything and looking to see if there were any leads Venry knew of that we didn’t, but I’m not finding much. Have you heard of anything coming from the Solace? Everything I heard over the last few months was just rumors, and even then, I couldn’t find anything to back it up. As much as I hate the fucking bastard, Frankie is good at keeping his secrets locked away in his posh casino tower.”
“Well, let’s go over what we know. Who are the major players that she could possibly know about?” Brooks started, glancing around.
“Frankie, obviously, Jace... Bryce Hill or Ron Sacher could be snitching from jail,” Garrett rambled.
“Don’t forget that fucking blonde bimbo bitch, Bambi,” Kiera sneered, her fingers curling into white knuckled fists. “Her partner wasn’t here today. Has Venry been coming around without him a lot recently?”
“Uh, yeah, off and on for the last three months. Why?”
“What do we know about Special Agent Samson?” Kiera turned to Chase. He was speechless with embarrassment at leaving someone out, mouth opening and closing before letting go of his control. Pushing to the forefront, I crossed my arms, my fingers tapping out a quick rhythm as I took over.
“We don’t know anything; we didn’t look into him since he was biding his time until retirement at the end of this year. Why?” I questioned. The guys’ attention snapped toward me when they realized I was no longer Chase.
“I think there may have been more to him than we initially thought. Look him up, yeah?”
“Yes, but what are we going to do until we find out what she knows? You’re a sitting duck, Dove, if Frankie finds out you’re back within the States.”
“We also still have the hit to worry about and making sure the compound’s security is up to Kiera’s standards. Ugh,” Brooks groaned, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
“Why can’t you worry about your own compound’s security?” I snapped. “You should be able to handle that shit on your own.”
“We can, but Kiera’s better at that shit than all three of us combined. It won’t take more than an hour or two. Is that something you’d be willing to do?” Brooks directed his question to Kiera, who was watching the quickly growing tension with a keen gaze.
“So you want to bring her back to the compound where she’s going to be right in the middle of the crosshairs… hm, good plan there.”
“We wouldn’t let Kiera get hurt. Would it really kill you to not be a dick for five seconds? You’re not the only one here who cares about her safety,” Garrett snarled, while Brooks glared at me as a cold chuckle bubbled out.
He has no idea who the fuck he’s talking to or how much of a dick I can be.
“Did you forget who I am?” I asked calmly.
Brooks and Garrett rolled their shoulders back, spines straightening as they drew themselves up as if they could intimidate me. Before any of us could start shouting, the quietest of us all cut in.
“Enough!” Stone barked. “This isn’t about us or our fucked-up relationship. Right now, we need to focus on Frankie and dealing with the shit that’s about to come our way. Our personal crap can’t be a distraction; we’ll handle whatever we are and where we stand afterwards... if we’re even still alive by the end of this.” At his command, I looked at Stone, truly looked at him. I knew he was a Ranger, that he had lost soldiers during a convoy, and had been dishonorably discharged, but I didn’t know Stone. Not really, anyway, but everything he was saying was logical, and I couldn’t stop myself from agreeing, even if reluctantly.
“So, what’s the plan, because I know you have one cooking up there, Baby,” Brooks asked, the tension between us deflating as we turned to Kiera.
“Figure out what’s going on, kill Frankie, Jace, and all his mob minions. That’s about it,” she said coolly, her mask firmly in place.
“You don’t have to do this alone, Kiera.” I was surprised once more by the Aces Enforcer. His statement was soft, and I could see in his eyes, his posture, that he meant what he said despite knowing that Dove would probably try and stab him for it.
“Yeah? Look how well that worked out last time,” she bit out, but no one stepped up to argue with her, letting her decide what to do next without any interference. Sighing, she rubbed her face and chugged the rest of her energy drink. “Fine, we’ll do a little test run and see if I don’t stab you all by the end of this. How’s that? Brooks, write up a list of any security changes over the last six months for the compound or if anything was pushed onto the back burner that I need to address. Garrett, did you ever get the ledger we got from Bryce Hill figured out? Dig up all the information you got from that as well as anything Venry has asked about when it comes to the Casterelli mob. See if you can try and crack the ledger once more. If not, we can work on it in a little while and go over anything you’ve found. Stone, see if you can get any ears into what Venry might know. Ciar, Chase, whoever you decide to be, look into Samson. I’m on the outs of the string of information, and I don’t like it. Let’s get back in the loop.”
“Aye aye, Cat,” Brooks teased with a smart-ass salute, a wink tacked onto the end as he started toward the stairs.
“I’ll go grab the ledger and stuff from the security room and safe, get it all organized, and then I’ll be back down.” Garrett turned, following his president quickly out of the basement. I made my way over to the computer and switched it on.
“Thank you,” Stone murmured. He’d spoken so quietly that it was probably meant to be a private moment, but in the silence of the cavernous space, it was easy to hear him.
“For what?” Dove’s voice was flat, the sound as dry as the rustle of paper that followed.
“Being willing to let us help, even after everything. I really am sorry, Kiera, but I know that’s not what you need or want from me right now.” Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Stone dipping his head and walking away.
Kiera was quiet, which wasn’t odd considering the situation. What was odd though, was that Chase was being suspiciously quiet as well. No strong emotions from where he resided in our head pulsed against the split, and when I mentally nudged that invisible barrier, urging him to take control, I was met with his reluctance. What’s going on now? I grumbled.
“Not that I don’t enjoy your company, Ciar, but why did Chase run off?” Dove turned to face me, her hip propped against the edge of the work table.
“No idea, but maybe you can cheer his moody ass up. If anyone can, it’s you.”
“Chase, moody?” she questioned, trying to play it off, but I could tell by the minute widening of her eyes that she was surprised.
“Kiera wants to talk to you,” I told him, having had enough time surrounded by people. Too many emotions to manage out here. Worse than dealing with just Chase. He resisted initially before finally giving in, but I
didn’t go dark and lock myself away from our shared senses as I normally did. Instead, I stayed focused on Chase.
“What’s wrong, my little assassin? Why did you run off?” She must have realized there was more to Chase’s down-trodden mood than she initially thought because she straightened, coming over to us and cupping his cheeks.
“I missed something,” he whispered, his words broken with emotion. “I didn’t look into her partner, figuring he wasn’t a threat, and I should have. It could have been crucial information, or it could have led us to something else. How can I keep you safe if I can’t even do—”
“Shh, Chase, it’s okay,” Dove reassured us, the calloused tips of her fingers brushing against our lips. My chest squeezed, and the cold darkness that swirled around in my mind slowed, pausing for only a moment at her caring stare and small grin. “We caught it. That’s what matters. He may not even be a threat, but if you’re worried, we can work on our skills, make sure we’re not getting rusty. Especially you, old man.”
“I beg your pardon, Kittycat, but I am not old. That would be Stone. I’m only seven years older than you,” Chase argued playfully, the worry that had been pushing against the division melting at her distraction. As soon as his chuckling settled, he kissed her sweetly and unhurriedly. “But I’d love that. Any kind of skill practicing with you is sure to be blood-pumping fun, if you know what I mean.”
“You bet your sexy ass I do, but we can do that later. It’s work time.”
“Aww, man. Fine,” he whined, stepping away and back toward the desk. Our mind and emotions were settled, neither of our feelings pressing against the edges of one another and we got to work.
One FBI agent dossier, coming right up.
Chapter 5
December 13th
Friday Morning
Stone
My thoughts were racing, my mind refusing to calm as I walked through the house to my room. Kiera had changed in the months she had been away. She would no longer immediately jump to say whatever biting comment she had, and her reserved watchfulness put me on edge. Not because I was worried she was a threat, that side of me had died the moment she walked out of our lives; no, I worried she wouldn’t take us back even when this whole ordeal was over. Against all odds, I loved my fiery brat that had somehow made a man like me, who deserved nothing, feel and want things I never thought possible, and I would do whatever I could to get her back to who she was. Including keeping everything that wanted to come tumbling out contained so I could do what I knew she needed first. Everything that I felt and wanted to tell her could wait.