“Baby, just call him,” Sydney said.
“Who?” Tank replied.
She raised her eyebrows. “Really? That’s how we’re playing this?” She caressed his back, the luxurious Santini cashmere sport coat tickling her fingers. “You’re worried about Gabriel?—”
“Aren’t you?”
“No,” she replied. “He’s ruthless, fearless, and completelyunpredictable. He acts, then thinks it through hours later, long after he’s eliminated the threat. Why don’t you just call him?”
Tank showed her his phone. He’d called his brother five times in the past two days, sent well over a dozen texts. “He’s never gone dark for this long.”
She leaned up, pressed her lips to his warm ear. “He angered a lot of people. The Bratva doesn’t play nice.”
“Neither does he.”
“Why don’t I call him?” Before she could extract her phone, Dakota and Providence joined them.
“Welcome!” Tank said as he shook Dakota’s hand. “Glad you could make it.”
“We never miss a date night,” Providence said. “Congratulations on a terrific interview, Sydney. I’m looking forward to making you anofficialpart of the team.”
“That’s great!” Sydney said with a smile.
“I’m just waiting for Langley to sign off,” Providence said. “I’ve gotten a lot of resistance. They donotwant to lose you.”
“I appreciate that,” Sydney said, “but it’s time for a change.”
“I’d like to bring you on in January,” Providence said before she regarded Tank. “Both of you.”
“Absolutely,” Sydney replied. “Tank?”
“I appreciate the offer,” Tank replied. “I love running the family restaurant and I don’t want to feel stretched for time between the two.”
“That works for us,” Dakota said. “Sin, Stryker, Hawk, and Greystone are brought in to work our high-profile or most dangerous missions.”
“That’s perfect,” Tank replied. “Plus, I’m thinking my brother, Gabriel, might need me.”
“I thought he was running Santini International for Luciano,” Dakota said.
“That was the plan,” Tank said, “but he can’t steer clear of trouble.”
“I’ve got news about your offers on the two houses in Alexandria,” Dakota said.
“Tell us something good,” Sydney said
“Your second choice was accepted with contingencies,” Dakota said.
“Okay,” Tank said.
Dakota grinned. “But your first choice was accepted outright. Congratulations.”
She and Tank broke into smiles, then he pulled her close and dropped a soft kiss on her lips. “Congratulations babe, we got our dream house.”
“Yay,” Sydney exclaimed. “I love that it’s in the same neighborhood as my mom and dad,andHawk and Addison.”
“Did I hear our names?” Hawk asked as he and Addison joined them.
“We’re going to be your neighbors!” Sydney explained. “We bought a house that’s halfway between you guys and my parents. It’s a smaller townhome with a killer view of the Potomac.”
