Page 52 of Shadow Undercover

“Seems all right. I woke her a few minutes ago. She might not have been awake enough to give me a good read.”

“Anything happen overnight?” Nico asked.

“Before we get to that, tell me that coffee’s fresh and Ben didn’t touch it.” Joe eyed the carafe with suspicion.

“You’re safe. I dumped Ben’s toxic experiment down the drain.”

Joe breathed a sigh of relief. “Excellent. We brought breakfast burritos, egg and cheese biscuits, bagels, and donuts.”

“Did someone mention food?” Ben strode into the kitchen, breathing in deep. “Oh, man. That smells good.” He opened bag after bag, peering inside each before settling on a couple breakfast burritos and an egg and cheese biscuit. “Go clean up, Trace. I think your woman is almost finished.”

He grabbed his bag, and climbed to the second floor. After he showered and dressed, he returned to the first floor.

Bridget smiled when he walked in. He set his bag against the wall and dropped a quick kiss on her lips before sitting in the seat beside hers. He polished off a biscuit and eyed her empty plate. No crumbs. “Not hungry?”

“I’m not a breakfast eater.”

“You didn’t eat last night. You need to keep up your strength.”

“Try a plain bagel,” Sam suggested. She covered Bridget’s hand with her own. “I know you’re worried about Ruth. Not taking care of yourself won’t help her or you.”

“We’ll find her,” Joe said. “We won’t quit until we bring her home.”

Bridget’s gaze locked with Trace’s.

He nodded. “He’s right. You and Ruth are our top priority.”

She glanced at Ben, her lips curving. “Aren’t you going to weigh in, too?”

“Sure.” He inclined his head toward Trace. “Ditto what he said.”

Laughter filled the room as the doorbell rang.

Nico got to his feet. “That’s probably the installation team. I’ll let them in. While they work, Ben, Trace, and Bridget need to bring the rest of us up to speed.”

Joe and Sam exchanged glances. “You had a party and didn’t invite us,” Trace’s spotter said.

He lifted one shoulder as he polished off a breakfast burrito. “Happened fast. We had a visitor last night. Turns out Ruth had a friendly stalker.” He held up a hand. “I’ll tell you everything once Nico returns.”

Fifteen minutes later, he sat back and waited for his teammates’ response to the events of the night.

Nico dragged a hand down his face. “Incredible. If Juan is serious about working for us, he needs to get his act together. One misstep at this point and his career is over before it begins.”

“He’s aware.” Ben refilled his coffee mug and rinsed out the carafe. “Anyone else want more?”

“I’ll make it,” Sam said and rose. “I can’t drink the tar you call coffee.”

“Wuss.”

She grinned. “I’ll remind you of that when I’m brandishing a needle to stitch you up the next time you’re injured.” Sam nudged him aside and filled the carafe with water to pour into the coffee maker.

“What’s the next step?” Bridget asked Nico. “The one lead we had dried up.”

“Find a new one. Hugo is trying to make a name for himself. He can’t do that by hiding out. He’ll surface. When he does, we’ll nab him and free your sister.”

“You make is sound simple.”

“Nothing about this will be easy. Pedro Torino was a master at surrounding himself with lackeys with no conscience. Rumors say Hugo was trained well by his father.”

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