Page 37 of Weston’s Treasure

“Yeah, saw that in there.”

Now Weston was getting even more pissed. There was something else in Alec’s tone, something he didn’t like.

“Why are you asking me this shit? What’s the real issue here? You gotta thing for Silver I should know about?”

Alec shook his head and frowned. “Clocked her ass the second she hit the conference room. Hard not to notice a woman that hot when she’s all attitude and brave enough to throw it in a room full of men. Thought about it for about five seconds, wondering what—”

“Don’t wanna hear that shit, Alec.”

“Bottom line is, I thought about it. Then I thought twice because that woman uses attitude to cover a soft spot. One I had no intention of looking after. So the thought died. She’s hot as hell, no doubt just as wild. What she isn’t, is a woman who’s practiced enough to know the score. Therefore not my type. So with all that said, I get it why you’d want in there. But you haven’t answered my question. You sure about this? Getting involved with her, knowing you get in deep and go all-out it will be not only your ass, your team’s ass, but mine at your back, cleaning your shit up.”

Weston didn’t have to think about his answer, therefore he didn’t. He gave it to Alec straight.

“You’re correct. The stubborn attitude is bullshit. She hides behind it, but once you crack through just a tiny bit you get to something that’s unbelievably soft. My guess is once I get there and she trusts me, it will be better. It’ll be treasure. So the answer is—yes. I’m sure. I’m also not dumb. So you can stop worrying about imaginary messes and figure out why you’re catching shit at DHS. And while you’re at it, you should consider a career change so you’re not having to deal with government bullshit.”

Alec’s lips tipped up and he chuckled. “That a job offer?”

“It is if you want it to be,” Weston told him honestly.

“’Preciate it. But I don’t think Gemini Group could match my salary. Then there’s the cushy office in DC and the company car.”

Alec was so full of shit. He didn’t have a cushy office, he had a fucking cubicle. One in an office in the middle of DC where the traffic was a nightmare, the cost of living was bullshit, and there was nowhere you could go—to a bar or otherwise—where you weren’t running into scheming fake-ass people. Yet, for some reason, Alec stayed. Maybe it was for the money, but for Weston no amount of money would make him do something, live somewhere, or be around people he didn’t like.

“We straight?” Weston asked.

“Yeah. We’re good.”

“How much danger do you think Silver’s really in?”

“On a scale of one to ten? An eleven. Shit’s adding up and what it’s totaling in corruption…. Brace, brother, they think she has something. Which means they aren’t done with her.”

Fuck. There it was—confirmation.

Time to plan.

14

I was dying to ask Weston what he and Alec had talked about out on the back deck but I’d refrained. But now it was hours later, Alec had left to go back to DC, and we were in Weston’s Jeep driving to his office.

We’d been the last to leave the house. Holden had left first saying he needed to go pack because he was leaving that afternoon for a few days. He didn’t say where he was going and I wanted to ask about that, too, but Holden’s schedule was really none of my business so I didn’t ask about that either.

Jameson left to go home and said he’d meet us at the office in a few hours, he needed to help his woman, Kennedy, load her truck. I didn’t ask what they were loading either.

Nixon and Chasin had taken off at the same time, both saying their ‘laters’ at the front door.

The morning had been odd. All of the men had included and openly talked in front of me like I wasn’t a complete stranger. But I’d been lost for most of the conversations because I was. I didn’t know who Kennedy was, but I did know Jameson’s face gentled when he spoke about her. I didn’t know McKenna but I knew she was a computer genius and worked with the guys. I knew she and Nixon were getting married because Nixon had said something about her planning a wedding and he didn’t give a shit what she planned as long as it was exactly what she wanted.

So it was weird to be included but still on the outside. I was used to being a loner and the definition of that meant I kept to myself and didn’t ask questions. But now I had a hundred of them and they were burning in my chest, not because I was being nosy but because it felt good to be around people who openly cared about each other.

“You got a lot going on in your head, babe,” Weston noted.

“What?”

“You’re sitting there staring off into space, quiet. What’s on your mind?”

It shouldn’t have been surprising how much Weston paid attention, yet it still was. It was a little disconcerting I couldn’t seem to hide my mood from him, but more than that, it felt nice to be noticed.

“What did Alec need to talk to you about outside?”