Page 75 of Saint

Brax explained how he’d received the mysterious text then left to investigate. The others gave him hell for going alone, but he reminded them they’d been drunker than skunks at the time.

“I would’ve gone with you,” Gray insisted.

Braxton arched a dubious brow. “And what? Puked on the tripwire?”

After telling them every detail of what happened at the parking garage, he finished with the kicker.

“It was Quinn,” he stated.

“Who’s Quinn?” Inda asked.

“My ex-wife.”

His reveal caused jaws to drop.

“When the hell were you married?” Ryland asked.

“Five years ago.”

“Why would she try to kill you now?” Zane frowned, pushing his glasses up.

“I thought about it all night and kept coming back to the same answer. She’s working for The Agency.”

A slew of grumbled curses filled the air and Mia tightened her fingers around her mug.

“Is she former military?” Nik asked.

Brax shook his head. “No. Former CIA.”

“That’s not good,” Zane stated dryly.

“No, it’s not,” Brax agreed. “After leaving the CIA on, ah, bad terms, everything sort of fell apart. Until last night, I hadn’t seen her in five years.”

“Graves…” Zane tapped a finger on the side of his mug and exchanged a look with River who nodded. “You think she’s the one?”

“Yep.” River set her coffee down and reached for her laptop. “I bet she’s the Graves on the list we decrypted. Not Brax.”

Mia looked over at Braxton and the color drained from his tanned face.

“We divorced,” Brax said. “Why would she keep my last name?”

“Maybe she’s still pining over you,” Inda suggested and Brax snorted.

“She tried to kill me,” he reminded her.

“True.”

“I’m going to do a deep dive on Quinn Graves and start running some searches,” River announced. “What’s her middle name?”

“Noelle,” Brax replied flatly.

“I’ll help,” Lucas said, then turned to Brax. “Don’t go anywhere in case we have questions.”

“Oh, I have a lot of questions,” Inda said, crossing her arms and focusing her attention on Brax, who merely scowled.

As the team’s hackers got to work, Nik led Mia out onto the balcony where they finished their coffee. They looked out across the morning sky, admiring its beauty, listening to the birds sing and the occasional ship’s horn blare in the bay. After a minute, he moved in behind her, caging her between his big arms.

“I used to spend a lot of time out here. Smoking. Alone and miserable,” he admitted, nuzzling her neck. His stubble tickled and she loved its scratchy feel against her skin.

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