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“Fucking Maxwell.”
Chapter 11
Luciano
THE SUN HADjust appeared on the horizon when I pulled into my parking space at Quattro Security. Gabe’s and Alec’s vehicles were already there, and I knew Rico would only be a few minutes behind me. Before I had a chance to close the door of my car, Gabe exited the building.
“Did you bring the drive?”
“No.” I deadpanned. “Do I look like a fucking rookie, Gabe? Of course I have it.”
“Shit. Sorry.” He clapped me on the shoulder when I approached. “I’m a little on edge.”
“I’d say the early morning wake-up call has us all a little wired. Is Duncan here yet?”
We entered the empty training facility, our footsteps echoing through the vast space. Quattro was our pride and joy. We each brought something different to the table in terms of skill, which was why our security firm was such a huge success.
“He’s on his way.”
“Well, well, well. It looks like our little brother finally extracted his head from his ass,” Alec voiced when we walked into the conference room.
“And how do you know that?” Gabe teased.
“He’s wearing the same clothes he left in yesterday.”
Gabe’s gray eyes shot to mine. I shrugged because what else was there to say? Alec was correct.
“It’s about fucking time.” He grinned.
“I’m so glad to see you all can joke around when soldiers are dying,” Duncan groused.
Considering none of us had heard him walk in, it was a testament to his skill. The man was a ghost, quite literally. Duncan wasn’t even his real name. When he’d first approached us, Rico used his computer skills and connections within the FBI to learn more about the man in front of us. All we knew––rather––all we were allowed to know, was he’d been deep undercover several years back, when his identity was blown. From what we were told, he barely escaped with his life.
“Nice to see you too, asshole,” I grumbled.
“The party started without me, I see,” Rico quipped, skirting past the grumpy-looking agent.
“Why don’t we all have a seat and let Duncan explain why he pulled us out of bed at the crack of dawn,” Alec suggested.
Rico and I headed to the Keurig for a much-needed jolt of caffeine, while the rest moved to the large table in the center of the room.
“Thanks for bringing River over this morning.” I handed him a cup and grabbed another for myself.
“My pleasure. Don’t be surprised if Quin is there when we get back though.” I raised an eyebrow in question. “River texted her before we even left the house. My guess is they will be well on their way to tipsy by the time we’re finished here.”
“Where’s Fia?”
“Stayed the night with a friend.”
“Are you ladies finished gossiping?” I heard from behind me.
This guy was really starting to piss me off. I whirled on him; my coffee long forgotten.
“What the fuck is your problem, Palmer?”
Chairs scraped across the floor as Gabe and Alec rushed to my side. Duncan had about two inches on me, but I was beyond caring. My brothers would have my back, just like I’d always have theirs. No one came into our house, disrespecting all we’d built by throwing shade, without consequences. We were nose to nose, chests puffed up like angry bulls. There was no way in hell I was backing down. Thankfully, Duncan proved he was just as smart as he was stealthy.
Taking a full step backward, he dropped his head in defeat. “I’m sorry, Luc. The last six hours have been a fucking nightmare, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on all of you.”
