Page 26 of Inevitable Dream

Inside, there’s a regular kitchen, a living room, and so on, but one end of the basement is wall-to-wall computers, screens, and techno-shit that I couldn’t explain even if I wanted to. The other side is a home gym, replicated from the one at the Storm office.

Wire was never a small guy. When we met him, he was big and bulky and clumsy. He was young and scared, but he joined the army because he wanted to get an education, which wasn’t something his parents could afford with three other kids to look after. Wire is the youngest, and each of the brothers and their sister had to find their own way.

His parents are good, wholesome people who raised their kids right. They showered their kids with love and gave them what they could. One Christmas, the Reids insisted that I join them for Christmas because they knew I’d be alone. My sisters were too far away, and we only had a three-day pass. The house was packed with his younger sister and two older brothers and their families, or significant others, but they found room for me.

I saw a side of Colton Wire Reid that night that I hadn’t seen before. Colton came into the army not knowing what he wanted, but we soon found out how brilliant he is with computers. Falcon saw it and nurtured his thirst for knowledge. Wire attended every course offered, but he was a natural talent and exceeded all expectations, making him top of the class.

During those three days with his family, Wire never once mentioned what he was doing. He was just another man serving his country, and that was all. He let his brothers talk themselves up about how well they were doing and celebrated their success with them and listened to his sister’s dream of owning her own salon one day, and never said a word. He did, however, send her a lump sum of money to put a deposit on a shop in the business part of town.

On our way back to base, I asked him why he never told his family about his accomplishments. His answer was simple: “They never asked.” I looked back on our trip and recalled that they all asked how he was doing and hugged him, and they talked for hours about everyone else’s shit, but he’s right, they didn’t ask.

He saw I was getting pissed and quickly added, “I’m in a war zone ninety-nine percent of the time. They’re afraid to know what I do on a daily basis. It’s fine. I’d rather they didn’t know.”

I’m still not sure I understand, but I respect his decision to deal with his family in his own way.

Wire works hard and works out harder, and occasionally, I’ve seen him with beautiful women. None lasted long, but who the hell am I to talk? Up till Sadie, I was exactly the same.

“Bro, do you ever sleep?” I ask as I step into his office.

He smirks. “Occasionally.”

“You’re making me look bad,” I joke.

“Unlikely.” He rolls his eyes. “I’ve done some preliminary background checking on Professor Mitchell Fontaine. I thought we could go over it, then decide on how to divide and conquer.”

“Let’s get to it,” I say, coming closer to his desk.

“Falcon first. He’ll be here in five minutes,” he tells me.

“Boardroom?”

“Yeah.”

“Coffee?” I offer.

“Hell, yeah.” He smiles at me.

I plod down the hall, past Kailyn’s empty office, to find her in the break room.

“Hey, gorgeous, how’re you doing? No Phoenix today?” I greet her. Phoenix is usually near or around Kailyn when he’s in the office.

“He’s with your other brother Bull. They’re meeting up with the tech company that asked us to look into a leak. The company was undermined on several project contracts. They lost two supposedly surefire bids. The CEO realized the files were tampered with. Phoenix and Bull are probably with him right now,” Kailyn says, glancing at her watch. “How are things with you and Sadie?” she asks, waggling her brows.

“You’re a goof,” I say, ignoring her question and pouring two cups of coffee, adding cream and sugar the way Wire likes it, then making my own. “Sadie’s great. She heard from her interview at the hospital. She got the job.”

“That’s awesome! We should celebrate,” Kailyn exclaims, clapping her hands.

“Sure thing. We’ll plan something.” I lift the coffee cups. “Falcon and Wire are waiting for me.”

“I’ll call Sadie in a while to congratulate her,” she says.

“She’ll appreciate it.”

As I predicted, Wire is waiting for me just outside the boardroom, which means Falcon is inside. I hand Wire his coffee and follow him in.

“Morning, Rebel,” Falcon says, already seated, looking through the file of information Wire and I have collected on Mitchell Fontaine.

“Hey.” I sit down on one side while Wire is on the other.

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