I walked the guys to the back door of the basement. “You have Eli’s number. Your phone should work outside the grounds.” Remi had continued to refuse releasing the jammers—it would make the compound and its tech too vulnerable. They had given us complete access to their computers, though by “complete” they meant anything Eli hadn’t firewalled and only under supervision. I was good with that—for now—but access to my team during a mission, however minor, was a sticking point. “I’ll be with Eli every second; getting in touch with him is getting in touch with me.”
Titus rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mommy. I mean, ma’am.”
“What if he has to take a piss?” Monty deadpanned. “Awk-ward!”
God save me from the teenage mentality of grown men. “Get going, for fuck’s sake.”
Only when they walked out the door did I let my grin escape.
Titus popped his head back inside, and I wiped the amusement from my face. The twinkle in his eyes said he caught it anyway. “If you are going to trail him into the john, now is the time. Tomorrow he’ll smell too much like a dead bod—”
I palmed his face and shoved him out the door. “Shut the fuck up.”
His laughter trailed behind him as he crossed to the van. I close the door after they left.
Eli was crouched behind the couch, his big hands rubbing along Diesel’s neck as I approached. “For the record, the john’s off-limits.”
I chuckled. Figures he’d heard that. “And we all say thank you.”
Eli winked up at me, giving Diesel a final pat. The dog stared at him like he was the Messiah. I couldn’t help wondering how long they had been together.
Standing, Eli jerked his chin toward the elevator. “Let’s head up to the kitchen.”
I wasn’t blind to the trust the brothers were showing in allowing us upstairs. Maris joined us as we entered the steel box, and raised her eyebrow at me when Eli stood between us and the keypad as he entered the code that I presumed allowed access to the upper floors. So far and no farther. I totally got it.
The first floor of the mansion was just as big as I thought it would be. The foyer we entered was split by a staircase leading up, a dazzling chandelier above reflecting off the gleaming dark wood floors, exponentially opening the space up. To one side was a living area lined with floor-to-ceiling windows, specially glazed to block views inside at night—we knew, because we’d tried to see in.
Behind the living area were other rooms, presumably, circling to the back of the house and behind the staircase, but we turned in the opposite direction to enter the biggest kitchen I’d ever had the privilege to set eyes on.
“Wow,” Maris breathed, stars appearing in her eyes. “I am in heaven.”
Eli grinned. “My mother loved to cook.”
“So does Abby,” a blonde woman said. She stood next to a little girl seated at the countertop bar. “Hi. I’m Leah.”
The child didn’t speak, just watched us warily. Brooke Marrone. She was six, if I remembered correctly. Watchful. Intelligent, her eyes told me. But when they came to rest on Eli and Diesel, they lit up. “Diesel!”
Leah laughed as her daughter scrambled down from her chair and around the island. “Brooke, take it slow.”
“I know, Mommy.” She slid to her knees a few feet from the dog, fairly quivering with excitement. “Hi, Diesel.” She held out her hand for the dog to sniff.
“I’ve been replaced as the favorite by the dog, as you can see,” Eli said, the twist of his mouth wry. “Leah, this is Mikaela and Maris.”
I offered my hand to the woman I knew was not only Brooke’s mother, but also a nurse and Remi’s fiancée. “Nix, please.”
Speaking of... Remi came through the door just as Leah opened her mouth, probably to question my statement. “Eli has problems remembering her name,” Remi explained.
Speculative amusement crossed Leah’s face. “Is that so?”
“No,” Eli called from the depths of the biggest refrigerator I’d ever seen.
Remi rolled his eyes and gave Leah a smack of a kiss.
I joined her on one of the bar chairs and wasn’t surprised when Maris jumped in to help with the cooking. It wasn’t that I couldn’t cook, just that my results were usually okay, where Maris’s were spectacular. She’d definitely inherited the domestic talent in our family. And the biggest heart. And yet as I watched her interact with the Agozi brothers, I noticed Eli treated her much like he did his soon-to-be sister-in-law. There was none of the flirty, prickly quips I was so often peppered with, none of the long looks and flashes of heat I’d seen when Eli looked at me today. It made no sense; Maris was beautiful and young, and yet Eli’s attitude toward her was nothing like his to me.
When the steaks were seared to perfection on the inside grill and the homemade french fries were finished, Remi loaded a tray with two full plates and bowls of salad. Leah slid from her chair. “I can take that.”
Remi growled, actually baring his teeth at her. “Sit back down, lev sheli. You are not carrying a heavy tray upstairs.”
She pouted prettily at him, looking not the least bit cowed. “I’m pregnant, not helpless.”
I felt my eyes widen. Not just a child, but a baby on the way.
Remi picked up the tray and balanced it on one hand, then rounded the island. He stopped in front of Leah, and the kiss he gave her made me blush and turn away. “You’re pregnant with my baby,” he rumbled, the tone dripping with sex and dominance and satisfaction. “I’ll carry it.”
Leah had to clear her throat before she responded. I hid a smile behind my hand. “I’ll get the drinks,” she said.
When the two of them departed, taking the food to Abby and Levi, I guessed, Eli fixed a plate for Brooke while the little girl scooped dog food into a bowl for Diesel. “He needs his dinner too,” she stated matter-of-factly.
Eli agreed. “Just like us.” Directing his niece to wash her hands, he then grabbed her plate and nodded to the long table across the kitchen. “Come eat.”
Apparently the Agozis didn’t do formal dining, although I could see a very formal dining room through a wide opening at the back. While Eli cut Brooke’s steak into small pieces, Maris fixed herself a plate; then I took my turn. By the time I was mixing my salad, Eli and I were alone together behind the counter.
My heartbeat pumped a little faster.
Brooke’s laughter filtered over from the table. Eli came to stand beside me, and when I glanced up, I saw his gaze on his niece. “She’s a sweetie,” I said quietly, not wanting to interrupt the interaction at the table. “Reminds me of Maris when she was a kid.”
“She’s amazing.” Eli turned his head to look at me, eyes dark. “She was kidnapped a couple of months ago, and she still has problems with strangers, but she’s getting there.”
Brooke’s laughter turned to squeals, and we both chuckled as we watched Diesel lick Brooke’s bare toes under the table.
“You raised Maris,” Eli said, still watching Brooke.
“How did you know that?”
“Deduction.” He shrugged. “Her mom died in childbirth, but I didn’t see any mention of another adult.”
“Just me,” I agreed. I went back to my salad but noticed Eli didn’t move, didn’t attempt to make his own. The silence between us built as I waited for him to speak, and a warm flush crept up my neck and onto my cheeks. Finally I risked a sideways glance.
Eli was staring—at me.
“What?” I gathered my bowl and plate, silverware, but couldn’t step away without looking at him again. “Eli?”
He shook his head. “I was just...” Another shrug showcased the thick muscles beneath his thin T-shirt. “I was trying to figure out what it is about you.”
The thump of my heartbeat got harder against my ribs. “What do you mean? What is what about me?”
He turned, leaning a hip against the counter as he continued to stare. “Every time I look at you, it’s like a fucking magnet,” he said slowly, a vee digging between
his brows, “pulling me back time and again. I noticed it at the restaurant. Couldn’t stop thinking about it. About you. And now...”
Every drop of moisture in my mouth went dry, only I didn’t have a drink to wet it again. Every cell in my body screamed at me to run, hide, get away—and yet... “Now...what?”
“Now I know about you—a little of what you’ve been through, what you do, how you love your team.”
“They’re my family.” The amber glow of his gaze had me dropping mine.
Why was I looking at the floor? I wasn’t shy. I didn’t lack strength or confidence—maybe had a little too much sometimes, actually. And yet that look... God. It was his intensity, the way his gaze crawled inside me and uncovered things I didn’t want to think about, didn’t want to feel. Especially right now.
I couldn’t bear it; Eli Agozi was too much. Too big a threat—to me, personally, my emotions, my thoughts. He pulled me down paths I couldn’t afford to follow. Mere hours in his presence and I knew—
He was the biggest risk I couldn’t afford to take.
Eli’s calluses rasped my skin as he trailed a finger along my jaw, down to my chin. Up to the hollow just below my mouth. My tongue darted out before I made a conscious decision, wetting my dry lips. Coming so close to tasting him.
Stop! Step away, Nix. Don’t let him close.
But my feet didn’t move. And Eli’s stare...
I sucked in a huge breath.
“I don’t think it’s only that they became your family, though it’s partly that. It’s also just who you are, Beautiful.” That blunt finger tapped lightly before dropping. Eli leaned close until his nose barely brushed mine. Too close. “You fascinate me, Mikaela. I’m not sure why, and I’m sure as hell not certain where it will end, but I do know one thing: it’s gonna be a hell of a ride.” He nudged my nose, one side of his mouth tugging up. “I can’t wait.”
He moved around me while I stood, my mouth gaping open like a fish. A blast of cold air hit my back as he opened the fridge, but it wasn’t till the door closed and I realized he was about to return to the counter that I managed to unlock my knees and bolt for the table. The whole time we ate, every bite I took, every word that was spoken around me registered on automatic—all I could think about was hiding the churning going on inside me.
Because that magnet he’d talked about? It was a two-way street. And just the thought of riding ignited a roar of heat inside me.
Fucking A. I was in so much trouble.
Chapter Seventeen
Eli —
In the past two days, we’d made certain the plan was as ready as we could get it. Mikaela’s team had bunked in the basement, though we’d slept in shifts and worked through most of the night. We’d packed our equipment, checked weapons, and armed ourselves in preparation. There was just one thing we needed to do before we left—see Levi.
“We’re going upstairs,” I told the room at large, but my gaze was on Mikaela. She returned the stare, something swirling in the depths that I couldn’t put a name to. Only when she gave me a nod did I turn away.
“Diesel, stay,” I told him. The dog whined, his dark eyes sad, but retreated to the dog bed I’d laid out for him beneath the computer desk I usually sat at. I understood the need to retreat to a cave, a place where all exits but one were closed. Having him near me, tucked into safety, my body between him and possible danger made my chest tight and soft, all at once. I’d take him with me now, but we didn’t know what awaited us upstairs.
Remi and I took the stairs, our footsteps ringing in the empty space as we went up. Remi wasn’t quiet long.
“You know you can’t trust her, Eli.”
And there it was. I’d known it was coming, had time to consider my response. There was no way to hide the emotion riding me when I was near Mikaela; it was no surprise my brother had picked up on it. I wanted her, no doubt. But did I trust her?
My instinct said yes. My past, my training said it was too soon.
“I mean, I get chemistry,” Remi was saying.
“And what chemistry can lead to,” I pointed out. Remi had stalked Leah for almost a year and a half before he acknowledged that the attraction between them wasn’t going to disappear. Even then, it had taken Brooke’s kidnapping to finally make him act.
Remi stopped on the first-floor landing. “Leah is different. Nix is...”
“Mikaela.” She wasn’t just a soldier, no matter how much she thought she was. That’s why she hid behind the nickname. But beneath the fatigues was a woman I very much wanted. My brothers should know all about those layers by now given what had happened in their own lives. “And yes, she is different from Leah. I don’t want Leah.”
“But you do want Mikaela. That doesn’t mean it’s safe to get your dick anywhere near her.”
I certainly planned to get it more than near her, but Remi wouldn’t appreciate that thought.
“Besides”—he started up the stairs again—“what would be the point? It’s not like they’re staying here after we deal with X.”
They might not be planning on it, but my instincts told me Mikaela wasn’t going anywhere, not yet. I might have limited time to get her to let me in, but I could do it.
Also not what Remi wanted to hear.
“You used to realize commitment isn’t a necessity in a relationship.” That, he’d agree with. Me too. Certainly I’d never needed commitment. But with Mikaela...
“I know you, dumbass,” Remi snarled. “You seriously thinking about commitment on any level with a woman you just met is insane. Two days ago we thought she could be a serious threat to our family; she still could be a threat, for all we know.”
It was my turn to stop, just shy of the second floor. “Serious has never been my MO; I get that.” I’d played the field deliberately. Our life was complicated, and I’d never met anyone worth trying to work into it. “I can’t tell you what’s going on with Mikaela. Do I want her in my bed? Damn right. For more than one night? Abso-fucking-lutely.” It would take far more than a night to satisfy my hunger for her. “Do I want a commitment? How the hell should I know?”
I knew, but I kept that intel to myself. I couldn’t tell him how I knew, and yes, it was crazy, but I knew. I just did.
Remi’s narrowed eyes said he sensed I was holding something back. “All I’m saying is, watch your back. That woman will put you on your knees.”
“That’s already where I plan to be,” I said, cocky grin slipping easily into place. “Better access that way.”
Remi shook his head. “I tried to talk you out of it. Remember that.”
The smile dropped from my face as we walked through the second-floor entry. Leah was leaving Abby and Levi’s room down the hall. We watched her walk toward us, her eyes tired. The pink T-shirt she wore pulled around her pregnant belly bump, barely there yet shouting its presence right now. The way she drew a thin long-sleeved overshirt across her middle told me she was as aware of the strangeness as I was.
Remi opened his arms to his fiancée. Leah walked into them, burrowed her face into his chest. He kissed the top of her head. “How is she?”
Leah pulled back so she could look at both of us. “About as well as could be expected. Bleeding isn’t unheard of in the first trimester. Bed rest is a precaution.”
Something in her voice had me asking, “What are her chances?”
Her hand dropped to her belly, starting that rubbing thing I’d seen her do since we found out she was pregnant. “In all honesty, most pregnancies don’t have great chances from the get-go. At this stage, ten to twenty percent don’t make it. We just have to wait and see.” But her expression told me she wasn’t happy waiting and seeing, any more than we were. Men acted—and there was no action we could take to make this go away.
I glanced to her stomach, where Remi’s hand now covered hers. Covered his child. In the back of my mind I’d known pregnancy was risky, but...Jesus, I couldn’t imagine going through this. I wanted to go in there, put on
a brave face, make Abby smile, but that felt like a betrayal of the seriousness of the situation. Children died; I knew that better than most. In and outside the womb. But for it to be your child...
Down the hall, the bedroom door opened and Levi exited. When he moved to close the door, the sound of Abby’s voice filtered out. Levi hesitated, said something back, but left the door cracked before coming toward us.
“She wants to see you,” he said. Lines of fatigue aged his face in a way I’d never seen before.
“We’re about to head out,” Remi said, his voice rough with held-back emotion.
Levi nodded. “You feel like you have a solid plan?”
I noticed he didn’t ask for details. My brother was nothing if not a control freak, but tonight other things were more important. Still I rushed to reassure him. “We do. We’ve covered all the bases, bro. Mikaela’s team is solid.”
His gaze met mine when I used her name. The same warning Remi had given me swirled there, but Levi didn’t speak the words. Instead he looked to Remi. “You shouldn’t have to be out there.”
Remi stared him down. “My family is at risk. I can’t let that stand any more than you can.”
Levi glanced to Leah as if worried she wouldn’t agree. She was nodding.
“Stick together,” he warned us. “And contact me when the job is done. But before you go, come see Abby.”
∞
Abby —
They were on a mission; I knew it the minute they walked in. All three brothers had the same deadly expression, the one that meant secret things were taking place. Killing things. I swallowed hard and gave Eli and Remi a small smile from my place on the bed.
Eli walked straight over to me and sat on the edge, taking my hand in his.
“You’re going out, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Can’t hide anything from you, smart girl.” His smile held a tinge of worry he was trying hard to hide.
I glanced over his shoulder at Levi. He knew what I was asking—are you going too? A quick jerk of his head told me no.
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