Page 21 of Brutal Secrets

Jace scoffs again while glaring daggers at me, causing me to fidget in my chair.

“Nothing is fucking happening. That’s the problem!”

“Keep your voice down,” I say through gritted teeth.

His nostrils flare at my command, and he opens his mouth to no doubt rebut my words, but I hold my hand up. “If you’d calm down and sit your ass on the couch, I have news.”

His eyebrows spring up, and he turns to the couch before crossing his arms over his chest like a scorned child, and instead of sitting, he leans against the wall, raising his chin in defiance. “I’ll stand.” He glares back at me, and I roll my eyes.

Cole laughs awkwardly before throwing himself on the couch.

I open the encrypted email sent from Oscar O’Connell only an hour ago, scan over it once again, then explain in idiot talk what involvement Tia’s newfound, but very absent, family intends on having in bringing down the Lancasters.

“Oscar has reached out to someone who has a link within the FBI, apparently there’s a whole hidden dossier on Mr. Lancaster.” My stomach fills with a heavy foreboding of sickness at the implication. Clearing my throat, I continue on, “He’s hoping to have a full breakdown of Timothy Lancaster and those files within the next two weeks.”

“Two fucking weeks!” Jace spits, pushing off the wall.

I ignore his outburst and continue to explain, “He said that Mrs. Lancaster lied about her age; she’s older than she puts on her government documentation, and this has all been doctored by the Lancasters’ legal team. He’s working on an answer as to why.”

Jace drags a hand through his wayward hair and exhales loudly. For the first time since he stepped foot into the office, I realize how much this is affecting him. The strain it’s putting on his body, and clearly his mind too, is immense. He has dark circles under his eyes, and his shoulders sag. He drops his head and mumbles, “I just want to keep them safe, ya know.”

“I know, Jace. We all do.” My brother needs me to be the strong one right now. When I’m normally so weak and standoffish, he needs me to step up and take control—the only control he will ever allow me—and I intend to do it.

“Why do you think they need two weeks, though?” Cole asks, sitting forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

I turn and face him. “My guess is, he has someone on the inside and they’ve given them a time frame to get the information we need.” He nods. “In the meantime, I got the girls trackers.” I lift the box from under my desk, place them on the top, and both guys move in to take a closer look at the smallcapsules which house trackers, along with a needle to insert them.

“What the fuck?” Jace quizzes, raising his head from the contents, then glancing at Cole.

Cole smiles widely. “How the fuck are we going to get away with this?” He lifts the needle before giving me a pointed look, then says, “Are you fucking serious?”

“I have a plan.”

“Of course you fucking do.” Jace smirks. I feel like pointing out how only moments ago he doubted me, but I don’t want to kill the buzz of the moment.

“Harper and Mia will receive theirs using a small anesthetic cream at the back of their necks. Tia’s is larger, so she will need a mild sedative, then we won’t have to explain what the fuck is happening. Assuming we still insist on keeping her in the dark about all of this?” I raise my eyes to look between my brothers, and they nod in agreement, Cole more reluctantly.

“Good. I will administer the girls’ tonight once they settle for bed, and then I’ll sedate Tia and administer hers.” My cock throbs at the thought of watching Tia sleeping, completely at my mercy. My lips become dry, and I lick them as my mind races at all the positions I can have her in while she’s unaware.

“Oh, Jesus, you’re into necrophilia, aren’t you?” Jace reels back on his heels, his eyes wide and mouth twisted in disgust.

Cole throws his head back on a loud chuckle. “Fuck, Jace. Necrophilia is when they’re dead, dumbass.”

I stare at Jace dumbfounded.

Jace winces at his mistake, then looks toward me for confirmation, so I gift him with a nod before he darts his eyes away. Not an apology in sight.

“So, we have two weeks of watching the girls until what exactly?” he asks without giving me or Cole any attention.

“Until Oscar gives us whatever intel he has on the Lancasters. He said he even knows someone who can take them out.” I tap my finger against the desk. “‘Remove the subject’ were his exact words.”

Jace chokes. “Sounds like he’s talking about removing a fucking pimple or something.”

My lip quirks up at his analogy; the fact he’s making light of the situation means he’s becoming more at ease with the plan.

“And we don’t have to watch the girls for two weeks because we have a security organization at our disposal. Owen, one of the co-owners of STORM Enterprises, sent over a bunch of resumes for us to go through. The girls will get their own personal security detail.”

Jace’s eyebrows shoot up.

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