Page 88 of Smith

Zane stopped in front of the boys. They all tipped their heads back and stared up at their uncle and father. That’s when I noticed the boys were all standing at attention as Zane stared down like an unhappy CO.

Oh, boy, I knew what was happening.

I, too, had stood at attention in front of Captain Taylor many a time when I’d disobeyed and gotten busted.

“Do we blame others for our mistakes?” Zane asked.

“No, Sir,” Robbie answered.

“Do you know why your mission failed?”

“Because Asher wants to marry Aria.”

My gaze went to Asher. His cute little boy face turned red, but he didn’t break.

“Did you learn something?”

“Yes, sir. Don’t bring Asher on a recon mission,” Robbie went on throwing his brother under the bus.

“Which one of you is the team captain?” Zane asked the boys.

None of them answered.

“That’s why your mission failed. A team without a leader fails.”

“You didn’t tell us who the team captain is,” Eric piped up.

“None of you asked. Lesson, son—when your orders are unclear, ask questions. When your mission is not clearly defined, ask questions.”

All three boys stared at Zane like he was Sun Tzu imparting ancient wisdom. It was cute. It was sweet. I knew Ivy thought so, too, when she tried but failed to hide her smile.

“Next mission. Grab your lockpicking kits. Garrett’s office. Retrieve his laptop. You have thirty minutes.”

The boys started for the door but Asher stopped and looked up at Zane.

“Who’s the team captain?”

“You are.”

“What are the parameters?” Asher astutely asked.

A big question for such a little boy.

“None. Get the job done by any means necessary.”

The smile that Asher gave his uncle was a tad bit worrisome.

Garrett’s office was a glass enclosure in the middle of the huge open space, surrounded by a scattering of desks. When I asked Smith about it, he explained before Zane had renovated and built actual offices for his ever-growing roster of employees who now mainly worked out of headquarters since they were all married. Private contracts paid less but they didn’t come with the headaches and red tape. Zane rarely took jobs that would send a team out for more than a week or two.

“Any means necessary does not include setting charges and exploding Garrett’s office,” Ivy amended, obviously thinking the same thing I was.

What was more worrisome than Asher’s smile, was Ivy having to explain they couldn’t set a bomb in the office.

Yikes.

“Okay, Aunt Ivy,” Asher mumbled.

The boys ran out the door.

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