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Low, masculine voices projected from the front of the condo. After a minute, Jace entered the kitchen with two big men right behind him.
All of a sudden, the kitchen felt tiny and cramped. Bronte got to her feet and Kimmy took the cue to do the same.
Wow.Both guys owned that same don’t-screw-with-me presence Jace possessed. One had the same dark good looks, though she thought her bodyguard was bigger, tougher-looking and more handsome. The other man was taller, roped with lean muscle like an athlete. Both looked as if they could do some major bodily harm, even to somebody calling themselves The Broker.
Jace waved a hand at the ladies. “Bronte Burns and her assistant, Kimmy…”
“It’s Jones.” Kimmy looked between the two new bodyguards as if she were looking at hot film stars or gods. She was so fixated on the men, Bronte was shocked she even recalled her last name.
Jace tilted his head toward the newcomers. “This is McCoy.”
The man with the ropey muscles gave her a tip of his white Stetson.
“And Jaren.”
The other man shifted his bulky shoulders by way of greeting, an action Bronte recognized as one Jace often did, raising even more questions about them being related.
“They’ll be staying in the building,” Jace announced.
Bronte sat up straighter. “In one of the condos?”
“Yes.”
“But how? There are rarely openings in the building and there is a waiting list for months—sometimes years—to get a unit.”
Jace’s lips quirked at one corner. “We have connections. It’s important that the guys stick close by.”
“I see.” Bronte wrapped her fingers around the mug as a way to warm away the chill. Having the ability to bypass all building protocol and set up in one of the condos was a huge reference to WEST’s power. It was enough to remind her—again—who she’d hired.
Jace walked to the fridge and poured himself a glass of water from fridge door, while the other two leaned casually against the wall as if about to discuss the weather rather than a possible murder.
Bronte tossed Jace a look. How was he going to deal with this?
He sipped the water and ran his tongue across his lips.
God, those lips. He kissed like she was the only woman in the world and he’d never see her again.
Hooking a hand around his nape, he tore his stare from hers and centered it on his teammates. “We need a plan of action. Starting with getting this bloody shirt into the hands of the authorities.”
McCoy nodded shortly. “We bypassed the local police and we’re going straight to the FBI with this.”
“This is going to the FBI?” Panic swept Bronte.
They all looked at her.
“It can’t escalate outside of your team! If all this is happening because of my former partner and what she did, then we definitely can’t let the information leak. It will tank my entire company, and in just a couple days, I plan to search for another company to partner with me on my new project. This software is something that must be rolled out as soon as possible. It will mean better medical treatments for adults and children both. I cannot let Artemis fail!”
Kimmy bobbed her head in agreement, compassion on her face for the cause.
Jace’s lips compressed. “You didn’t tell me all this before—about the benefit of the software and the importance of attending the trade show. Why?”
Her heart gave a flip in her chest. “I didn’t think it was important to the case.”
He pushed air through his nostrils. “Everything is important. Didn’t you trust me?”
Bronte opened her mouth, but anything she might say was cut off by Kimmy shoving her chair back and leaping to her feet.
“Excuse me,” Kimmy said before hurrying from the room.
