Page 71 of Wicked and Bound

“Speaking of support,” Hunter cut in, “Karliah is joining EM Security full-time. We could use someone with her expertise, especially since we’ve been approached with non-government-approved trafficking investigations.”

“Congrats! Couldn’t stay away, huh?” Kane teased.

Karliah grinned. “What can I say? You guys grew on me like a fungus.”

“Good. I liked the way you cut my hair,” Nash teased.

Haisley elbowed him. “You do not talk like that to one of my bridesmaids.”

Everyone laughed.

Until Xander and Javier Santiago strode into the conference room, slick in designer suits.

Silence fell over the room. So this meeting wasn’t a simple wrap-up of the Velvet Cove mission. Judging from the heavy expressions on the Santiago brothers’ faces, something big was about to go down.

Logan rose to meet them with backslaps and bro-hugs. Rumor was, the younger Edgington brother was friends with Xander from way back. “Look who crawled out of the DC swamp.”

“To come spend time in a real one,” Javier quipped back.

“True that.” Hunter offered the brothers a hearty handshake.

Joaquin, a man of few words, followed suit.

Xander grinned. “London insisted we take a break. Our lovely wife is soft and sweet…until she puts her dainty foot down. And she wanted to visit her cousin Alyssa for spring break. So she and the kids are settling into the house for the duration.”

“Three kids under five.” Javier shook his head. “I never thought my brother and I would become so...domestic.”

“I didn’t, either,” Logan laughed. “But one look at her, and you were both screwed.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Xander scowled. “Like Cherry doesn’t have you wrapped around her little finger.”

Logan winced. “Donotlet Tara hear you call her that. She’ll kill me.”

“Oh, I know.” Xander’s scowl turned into a smug grin that really seemed to piss Logan off. “Don’t think I won’t use it against you.”

Javier cleared his throat, directing his gaze across the table full of operatives. “Speaking of domestic, we’ve come to provide a little background for you all.”

The wives and girlfriends seemed to sense the shift in mood. Without a word, Madison, Laila, Kaylee, and Gracelyn rose and exited. Haisley squeezed Nash’s hand before following them out.

Once the door closed behind them, Ethan leaned an elbow on the table, brow raised. “Background for what?”

Xander leaned against the conference table. “I assume you’ve all heard about Gideon Sterling?”

Nods circled the room. The mysterious disappearance of the billionaire’s plane over the North Atlantic had dominated headlines for days.

“Tragic accident,” Matt said. “He was brilliant. Eccentric as hell, but brilliant.”

“And richer than hell,” Nash put in.

“Yeah. Born with a silver spoon, but never acted like it,” Kane added. “Actually gave a damn about making the world better.”

“How does a man who can buy all the best—even mechanics—mysteriously disappear over the ocean due to mechanical failure?” Trees asked. “Since they never found the wreckage, they can’t even investigate.”

Ethan nodded. “Valid question. When you put it like that, it seems awfully suspicious.”

“It should because there’s more to the story.” Javier’s voice was grim. “A lot more.”

Hunter cleared his throat. “What we’re about to tell you cannot leave this room.” His gaze swept the assembled operatives. “Before his death, Sterling approached Javier and Xander, looking for security operatives they trusted implicitly. They recommended us.”

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