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“Am I on speaker?”
“Yes. With Silas, Mathias, Jaren and Boone. Corrine just stepped out to talk to someone about buying one of her horses. Talk.”
“My ward just received a message from The Broker.”
Dead silence filled the airwaves. Hearing the statement aloud even rocked Jace—how the hell was his past coming around to haunt himagain?
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Judd grated out.
“I’m not. Bronte’s assistant just came to her condo to deliver the message that he wants to make a deal with Bronte.”
“Jesus Christ. I thought we got that guy three months ago. We know for a fact that The Broker is no longer a threat.”
“Well, he’s back. Don’t ask me how. But I can guess what kind of deal he’s trying to do with Bronte’s company.”
“Clearly we didn’t get the right guy,” Silas said in a particularly dry tone.
“You mean the Russian mafia didn’t cart away the right guy,” Jaren added.
“I can’t imagine the mafia makes many mistakes,” came Boone’s ominous response. “Either someone else is calling himself The Broker in his place or there was always more than one. Do you have a plan, Jace?”
“I agreed to a meeting with him, to be set up as soon as possible. I’m going to draw the bastard out.”
More silence reigned. Finally, Judd said, “We’re sending you backup.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jace returned.
Jaren spoke up. “I might be totally off base, but why do I get the feeling that The Broker’s really targeting the Abel brothers?”
“You may be on to something, but it’s more likely that he works for someone targeting tech businesses. We know his past.” Judd was usually the voice of reason.
Jace considered his words for a moment. Judd was right. Their former company, Abel Security, had been contracted to protect a congressman’s daughter. Only after the woman lost her life—and they lost their company—did they uncover that The Broker had been pressuring the congressman to toss out a bill that would shut down tech company monopolies.
Then The Broker popped up again and threatened another company owner—who happened to be Judd’s girlfriend now.
Judd said what Jace was thinking. “Both events revolved around tech companies. It might be a coincidence that we brothers are involved.”
“Or it might not,” Jaren cut in.
“Either way, we’re sending people to you, Jace. Expect them tonight. Meanwhile, I suggest postponing that meeting,” Boone said.
He threw a look at Bronte’s bedroom door. She hadn’t emerged but as soon as she did—hopefully wearing something besides that sexy, silky green robe that clung to her curves—they were having another conversation.
“I’ll do what I can,” he told his team on the call. “Meanwhile, someone needs to dig into that dead driver’s background, see if he has any connection to The Broker or Bryan White.”
Bryan White. The man the Russians had carted away, and three months before, they all believed to be The Broker.
The team agreed to research the driver and they ended the call. Jace reached up for the brim of his hat, a nervous habit he’d developed over the course of his months at WEST. But he wasn’t wearing the Stetson. Hewaswearing the toolbelt.
He only needed a minute to install those cameras on the ceiling. It would give Bronte time to get ready for the day and him time to process the situation.
How the hell did so many seemingly unrelated events unfold in such a short span of time? They must all be connected, but there were too many shadows he couldn’t see beyond yet.
As he climbed the ladder to work on the camera, he mentally flipped through Bronte’s troubles with her former partner. The woman helped build Artemis. She knew the company secrets and all the ins and outs of the business. Then she got caught entering the office after hours. They knew she removed files, but he couldn’t see what they were.
Was it possible The Broker had gotten to her? He was known for making threats, most recently against Judd’s woman.
Jace needed to find the ex-partner and question her.
