Page 28 of Mountain Protector

“What about the evidence at Lark’s house?” Enzo leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the worn oak table. “I know the fingerprints are a bust with the police records, but with our connections…”

“I’m working on that.” Alec pauses to look at his laptop for a second. “The plan is to search through every fingerprint database in the country. Ones that areprivately held. And I know a guy who can access military records, so I’m going to ask him for help.”

“Okay.” Enzo gives a quick nod of approval. “So Alec keeps investigating, if we find any leads, we’ll get on them ASAP, and we’ll keep Lark here until we solve this thing.”

“What about when she’s feeling better?” Gage asks. “If this goes on for weeks… she may not want to stay here.” He looks at me. “She has a job, right? She’ll want to get back to it, eventually.”

I nearly crack a molar trying to keep from snapping at him. But just because I hate the idea of Lark putting herself in danger doesn’t mean his point isn’t valid. “Well, she has the option to work remotely. And Lark’s dad owns the company, so I’m sure he’ll encourage her to stay home as long as possible. But if she insists…”

“We’ll figure something out if it gets to that point,” Enzo interjects. “But let’s not borrow trouble. Hopefully, we’ll get this solved sooner than later and Lark can get back to her regular life again.”

“That reminds me.” Casting my gaze around the table, I continue, “I’d really like to make sure Lark’s house is all cleaned up for whenever she goes back there. Do you think?—”

“Count me in.” Ronan lifts his chin at me. “I’d be happy to help.”

Enzo, Gage, and Alec echo the same statement, and a bubble of warmth expands in my chest.

It’s nice to be part of a team again.

“So we’re all set for now, unless anyone has concerns or questions?” Enzo flips the cover closed on his tablet and pushes it to the side.

A chorus ofnosandI’m goodsfollow, and he smiles. “Alright. So last thing before we adjourn this meeting and let Knox get back to Lark.” He shoots me a teasing smile. “Thanksgiving. Winter’s been at me to finalize plans.”

“Oh.” Ronan brightens. “Are you hosting Thanksgiving?”

“I am.” Enzo beams. “Well,weare. Winter’s been talking about it, but I didn’t want to put too much on her, what with her recovery after everything. But she said it would make her happy, so…” He shrugs, looking pleased about it. “We’re hosting Thanksgiving for anyone who wants to come.”

“I’ll be there,” announces Ronan. “Winter’s cooking is great.”

Enzo coughs. “Mine isn’t that bad, you know.”

“It’s not that great, either,” Alec retorts with a smile. “But I’ll come. We’re having Thanksgiving on Saturday at my parents, since my sister can’t get off work until then.”

“Count me in.” As everyone’s heads swivel toward Gage, he says, “What? Just because I like peace and quiet doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good turkey dinner.”

“What about you, Knox?” Enzo raises his eyebrows at me. “Are you coming? Lark is invited, too, of course. She won’t be the only non-team member here. Winter’s best friend, Violet, is coming up from DC. And my old teammate, Nolan, is going to be here, too.”

“Yeah, I’m coming.” A spark of excitement kindles inside me. I haven’t had a big Thanksgiving dinner in years, and it was always at a teammate’s house with their family. This is the first time it feels almost likemyfamily, instead. “And I’ll ask Lark. Since she can’t spend the day with her dad, I’d hate for her to be alone for the holiday.”

“Definitely ask her,” Alec says with a knowing glint in his eyes. “We’d love to have her here.” A beat, and then, “Just as afriend, of course.”

These guys. It’s like theywantme to date Lark.

Well.

Maybe they’re on to something.

CHAPTER 7

LARK

Contrary to what I told Knox this morning, I’m not okay.

When he texted at seven-thirty AM, he apologized for waking me up, but said he wanted to check in before he headed out to check on some job sites.

Despite my terrible mood, I came up with a positive response—that I was okay, he didn’t wake me up, and I hoped he had a good morning.

Two of those were true, at least.

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