Page 14 of Shattered Secrets

Gavin placed a bottle of water next to Bean, then held one up to Matt, brows raised in question. At Matt’s nod, Gavin tossed the bottle over and retook his seat. “As you know, we have a number of high-profile clients and usually ten to twenty cases going at any given time. Right now, one such client has a twenty-four-year-old son who’s gone missing. The family believes he was abducted while on vacation down in Mexico. The son had round-the-clock security with him, but they were subdued. We’ve gathered some intel and would like you to take a look. We know what we think, but I’d like to get your opinion.”

“You don’t think he was abducted?” Matt asked, breaking the seal of his water and taking a drink.

Gavin shrugged. “I’d like you to take a look before sharing my thoughts.”

“That’s fair. I’ll happily take a look at what you’ve got.”

A ding from Bean’s computer, and her subsequent curse, had their attention moving to the woman.

“What’s up, B?” Gavin asked.

“Got a hit,” she said, her nose scrunching as she typed. Then, turning her attention to Matt, she clarified, “I have a facial recognition program running constantly that monitors Hudson’s comings and goings.”

“Like the Hudson Security property?” Matt asked.

“Well, that too, but I meant Hudson Island.”

His eyes widened in surprise. “How the hell do you monitor an entire island?”

A grin played at the edges of her lips. “Basically, the only way on our lovely island is the ferry”—she held up a hand, forestalling the comment on the tip of his tongue—“Iknowthere are technically other ways, but ninety-nine point nine percent of people come through the ferry terminal. So, I have my program monitoring the cameras there. I get a notification when anyone on the local, state, or federal watch lists visits. Then depending on who they are and what they’ve done, I inform whoever needs to know.”

Matt’s brow furrowed. “Is that le?—”

“Excuse me?” The glare she sent him made his balls shrivel and his mouth slam shut. Right. No asking her about the legalities of shit.

“You’re a fast learner.” Gavin chuckled. “So, the personal security side of our operation is pretty straightforward. People need bodyguards; we assign them accordingly. The investigative side, like the Mexico case, is more complicated. That’s where we could use your help. Oliver handles everything originating outside the US and has a couple cases he’d like extra eyes on.”

Oliver MacKay was the second-in-command of Hudson Security. Though Matt had never met him personally—the man wasn’t based out of Hudson Island—they’d been on a handful of video calls together.

Matt’s phone dinged an incoming text.

“Sorry about that,” he said, pulling his phone from his pocket with the intention of silencing it. When he glanced at the text from an unknown number, however, he frowned. “Do you mind if I check this real quick?”

“Everything okay?” Bean asked at the same time Gavin said, “Go right ahead.”

Opening the text, a photo filled his screen. He smiled.

It was a picture of Daisy with a giant grin. Her lips and part of her cheek were stained bright blue from the Otter Pop she held in her good hand. She was wearing the same unicorn outfit as earlier, but now a tiny hot-pink cast covered her right forearm. Her beloved Mr. Slothy was clutched in the crook of her left arm. The text underneath read,Thank you SO MUCH for everything!

Letting out a breath, Matt put his phone on silent and placed it face-down on the table. “Sorry about that.”

“Holy shit,” Bean murmured, eyes wide as she stared at him.

Taking a drink of water, he looked at her in question.

“Damn, Alvarez.” She fanned herself with a manila folder. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that. Warn a woman next time, will ya?”

Matt choked, and water sprayed from his mouth. Gavin laughed, so Matt flipped him off. Clearing his throat, face hot, he wiped up the spilled water with the napkin Gavin had tossed at him. “Uh, thanks, Bean. I think.”

“No, thankyou. And thank whoever it is that texted you.”

“You know Scarlet from Ray’s Diner?” When they both nodded, Matt continued, “Her daughter, Daisy, broke her arm at day care this morning. Cade and I were there when Scarlet gotthe news, so we drove her.” He waved at his phone. “She just sent me a picture of Daisy in her cast.”

Bean grimaced. “Yikes, poor kid. Is she okay?”

“Seems like it.”

“Good. Kids are resilient.” Gavin glanced at Bean. “Can we get back to work?”

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