Mine

The next thing on the agenda was to remove that extra chair. Maybe making people stand would usher them out of his office faster. But first he needed to figure out what mess Rick had created now. “And you know this how?”

“I went to Montana.”

Of course he did. Hopped on a plane, flew to an area where no one lived except militia members and off-the-grid types and bothered Gabe. Andy thought there had to be a better job out there than the family business. He thought maybe he and Gabe should take it. “Now there was a terrible idea.”

Rick slouched down in the chair and crossed one leg over the other. “Gabe didn’t exactly welcome me to the place.”

“You thought surprising him out there, in the middle of nowhere . . . the guy who’s an expert shot, by the way, was a good idea.” It was a wonder they weren’t pla

“Natalie wasn’t exactly happy to see me either.” Rick frowned. “Threatened to kill me more than once. Seemed mighty co

“Not a surprise.” At least not the first part. Natalie might be on the run, but that woman was capable. She also had a loyalty streak that rivaled Gabe’s.

But the last part piqued Andy’s interest. Gabe’s attraction to her wasn’t exactly a secret. He took this assignment, one he would normally outsource to someone on the staff. He insisted he be the one to communicate about Natalie’s case. That he be the one to run this operation. The guy practically drooled when she walked in the room.

While Andy liked to see a spark of life in Gabe, that road could lead to some very dark places. Andy knew from experience. His feelings for Eli once had him so wrapped up that when the guy left, Andy checked out. Literally. Had to go away for a while. The whole scene knocked him sideways. He saw hints of the same thing between Gabe and Natalie.

“But dangerous,” Rick pointed out.

Andy couldn’t argue with that, so he didn’t really try. “So was going out there without any warning.”

“I needed him to know where we were.”

“Uh-huh.” Now that sounded like nonsense. It ignored pretty much every rule of surveillance. Also skipped over the part where Andy could contact Gabe. Rick didn’t need to take this one on personally and fly back and forth to Montana in something like eighteen hours.

“What’s the matter with you?” Rick asked, but there was no real heat behind his words. Not this time. Not like usual.

But that didn’t mean Andy thought they’d worked through their issues. A battle loomed and he dreaded its coming with every cell inside him. “I’m just waiting to see what you say next.”

“He’s still pissed off about Brandon and my request for a DNA test.”

There was no way a trained operative, a guy who could read people and interrogate in ways Andy didn’t even want to think about, could be this clueless. “Now there’s a surprise.”

Rick shook his head. “I don’t understand why you two don’t see how important this is to me.”

And that said it all. That was the part about being a father by blood only that Rick could not ferret out and deal with in any real way. “You mean to Brandon.”

“What?”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Andy closed the file and put it on the stack on the left side of his desk. “Look, you did your duty by Gabe. I’ll take over now.”

“Fine.” Rick stood up and headed for the door. Didn’t actually get there but stood nearby, as if ready to bolt any minute.

But the concession came too easy. Andy had never known Rick to agree and walk away. Just to be safe, he poked around. “Did you contact the CIA as you promised you would?”

“I have a meeting scheduled this afternoon.”

Andy wasn’t convinced they were saying the same thing. He’d call Eli and Bast just to be sure they kept applying pressure. He’d take care of the subterfuge on his end. Fake a plane crash, because how fun would that be. He’d faked a lot of things, but never this.

But Rick still needed to play his part. “Be convincing.”

Rick nodded then turned to the door. His hand slid off the doorknob as he spun around to face Andy again. “Gabe is gone, isn’t he? He took Natalie and left Montana already.”

Now there was the smart, quick-thinking brother he knew. “Wouldn’t you have done the same thing?”

“Yes.”

“I guess you guys still have something in common.” Andy wanted to say that showed some hope, but he knew it didn’t.

“This assignment still could go sideways on Gabe.”

Andy knew what Rick was saying, but there was no way he’d ask for help. Gabe would kill him. “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“And if you can’t?”

Andy went with the stark truth. “I’ve never let him down before.”

SIXTEEN

Gabe had dealt with jet lag on a regular basis for most of his life. He could get off a plane and go right to work. He didn’t need time to acclimate or whatever regular people did. But he must be getting old, because the only thing he could think about once the wheels touched down at the private airstrip in Virginia was hustling Natalie back to the house and into bed. Or maybe that meant he was still young. He wasn’t sure.

He reset the alarm as soon as they stepped into the foyer. He expected her to say something. When he told her he lived in a log home in the woods of Virginia, she’d winced. Tried to hide it, but he saw. She likely feared a lack of ru

It could not be described as rustic. Built into the side of a mountain and surrounded by a motion-sensor-activated fence, it had four thousand square feet of stone and wood aboveground. A place designed to his specifications with big rooms and high ceilings. Stuffed with comfortable furniture and housing a state-of-the-art kitchen. An indoor theater and a game room rounded out the specialty items.

He didn’t exactly skimp when it came to his home life. He liked to pretend it was all for Brandon, but truth was Gabe liked toys, too. That explained the hot tub and pool out back. Not that she could see either right now since he used the program on his phone to keep the place, including the grounds, dark. The contained and secure work area and communications center downstairs would also remain a mystery for a bit longer.

Then there were the photos all over the house. Those posed a problem. As soon as she looked at them she’d know Brandon was not some elementary school kid. That would lead to a discussion, possibly a lecture, and he’d never get her into bed. And that was the goal—her hair fa

Right now she stood at the edge of the flagstone entryway and stared into the great room. She seemed frozen in place.

“You okay?” he asked, knowing he wouldn’t like the answer.

She glared at him. “Did you forget to mention something?”

Everything. The whole place. The reality of the normal life he tried to live outside of the office. The seven televisions spread through the rooms so Brandon never missed a second of a football game. Well, that was mostly for Brandon.

Gabe went with an abbreviated response. “No.”

“Well, Mr. Mountain Man.” She took one step down into the great room. Then another. “You said you lived in a cabin.”

He didn’t bother turning up the lights. She could wait and explore tomorrow. He was fine to leave the arguments and debating until then. “I never said that. You assumed.”

Her eyes widened. She looked fully awake now. “You let me.”

“Okay, yes. That might be true.”

Dealing with her had been a lot easier when he drugged her to fly. Not that he would do that again. She’d never let him get away with that move a second time, especially now that the reason for it had disappeared. She’d long stopped fighting with him about sticking close.