Page 99 of Into the Woods

“How many?” Rook demanded.

“Six,” Trick admitted. “Seven if you count Wanda. We can call in Paris police to assist after the fact, but not leading up.”

“Leaks?” Bishop’s stare was hard.

Trick nodded. “Up to and in the Ministry of the Interior. In fact, there are a few upper officials that would be huge if we can get to them at the auction.”

“That’s why you kept it small,” Rook mused, rubbing his jaw.

Trick’s expression went arctic. “You and I both know your team is only as good as the men you can trust.”

Rook’s entire body went rigid, his eyes flashing in a way that made me want to hide under a chair. “Yeah. We both learned that fucking lesson, brother.”

“Then you know why we kept it at six men. Made sure we were all vetted and tested,” Trick added.

Wanda lifted her head, looking at Trick.

That broke the tension holding Trick’s body tight. His shoulders relaxed as he looked fondly at the dog. “Say the word V-E-T and she gets nervous. Not a fan of needles. It’s okay, girl.” He glanced at the rest of us. “I should get going. We have a team meeting tonight.”

He stood, as did the rest of us. Wanda yawned and pushed herself into a sitting position.

“Thanks for stopping by,” Rook said, shaking Trick’s hand again.

“Anytime, man.” Trick nodded at Court and Bishop before giving me a kind smile. “I guess I’ll see you around, Bex. Stay safe, okay?”

“Will do,” I replied with a smile that felt forced. Standing in the middle of these four guys—three of them trained by the military to do things I’d never be able to comprehend and one who owned my damn heart—I was struck by how out of place I was in their world.

As we watched Trick leave with Wanda, I wondered how I could ever fit into this world. How I could make a difference the way they were.

CHAPTER 30

COURT

After the night I’d spent with Becca, it was hard returning my attention back to the reason I was in Paris, but there was shit that needed to be done. After a lengthy phone call with the guys and my brothers to bring everyone up to speed, we split up.

Rook and Bishop each had their own leads to follow, and while I could’ve been doing the same thing, I decided instead to focus on my girl.

Fuck. The grin that thinking of her gave me was undeniable.

Pushing back from the laptop in front of me, I turned to see Becca still curled up in a corner of the sofa, her Kindle on her lap. Her brows were pulled low and she was chewing on her thumbnail. At some point she’d dragged the fluffy blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself. She’d snagged one of my old football hoodies earlier, and the overall look was fucking adorable.

She gave a tiny little gasp, her hazel eyes going wide. Her dark hair was still in a messy bun, the streaks of teal shooting through it not as vibrant as they’d been a few months earlier.

“Good book?” I asked.

She didn’t look up, utterly entranced by whatever she was reading.

“Becca,” I tried again.

After a beat she gave a half-hearted hum of acknowledgement.

I stood up. “Are you about done?”

“Mmm,” was the only response.

I scratched my stomach, watching her with amusement. “Do you need anything?”

“Okay,” she agreed, still not looking up.

---