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“As fuck.”
Hunter instantly switched to warrior mode and pointed across the yard. “Meet us in that gazebo. I’ll grab Jack. We’ll be there in five.”
Matt nodded. “Hurry. Every minute counts.”
“Roger that.” Then Hunter jogged back to the gathering.
Sighing, Matt headed across the yard, waving at the guys on his team enjoying the good time. One-Mile and Brea were holding hands and playing peekaboo with their younger son, Kylen, while chatting with Zy and Tessa, who still looked madly in love. Trees towered over Laila like he stood guard while she sat on the grass, playing blocks with their middle son, Magnus, who wasn’t yet two, while she breastfed her infant, Landon. And holy shit, the way she stroked her belly made Matt wonder if she was pregnant again.
He shook his head. Between Oracle and EM, these people had procreated enough to start a daycare. Or a small army. If he had any future with Madison, he’d give her a tall glass of whatever water they were drinking. But he didn’t. Hell, he’d probably never spend another night with her. Even if she managed to stay alive and get free of the Pershings, what did they have left?
“Hey, man. You good?” one of the Oracle operators, Trevor Forsythe, called from the deep end of the pool, far from the kids.
“You going to dive in so we can drown your ass?” quipped Ethan Garrison, the cocky bastard.
“How about you fuck off?” He did his best to grin.
Ethan howled in laughter.
“Language!” Several of the moms barked at once.
“Sorry,” Matt muttered as he strode forward.
Crashed on a lounger in the shade, one of the Oracle guys everyone called Ghost hung out, as he always seemed to, alone. Matt waved. The guy tipped his chin in return, then closed his eyes and tuned everyone out.
Thankfully, by the time Matt made it across the substantial yard to the gazebo and turned, Hunter and Jack were bearing down on him, Logan, Deke, and Joaquin in tow, too.
“What’s up?” the eldest Edgington asked.
Matt gritted his teeth at Hunter. “I didn’t ask for a crowd.”
“If you say something to me, you say it to Logan and Joaquin.”
“And if you say something to me,mon ami, you say it to Deke,” Jack cut in.
Matt got that, but… “The fewer people who know, the better.”
“Whatever you say won’t leave this circle,” Deke assured.
They were solid, and this argument was wasting time. He didn’t get to dictate to his bosses or Oracle’s owners how they helped, especially since this wasn’t a paying case.
“Two days ago, Madison Archer-Pershing went to tell her husband that she wanted a divorce and saw him commit murder.” He handed Jack a fresh copy of Madison’s video. “He tried to kill her. She’s been running since. She appeared on my doorstep last night. I don’t have to tell you that her in-laws can be powerful enemies with long arms. She needs a place to hide while we think of a long-term solution to ensure her safety.”
His words went off like a bomb in the gazebo, detonating an explosion of shocked silence. Matt knew they were all rocked.
“Shit,” Deke muttered first. “I still have friends in DC from my CIA days. Winston Pershing is dirty as fuck.”
“How else do you enter office with less than a hundred thousand dollars and be worth a hundred million forty years later?” Logan asked rhetorically.
Jack and Hunter both launched into problem-solving mode.
“Who is she with?” Jack wanted to know.
“Where is she now?” Joaquin demanded.
“Nash. They’re at his place.” When his trio of bosses all looked ready to object, Matt held up his hands. “I know it leaves the office unattended, but I called the person I trusted most who would come without question and swings by often enough not to raise brows if I’m being watched.”
“Do you think you are? Were you followed here?” Logan insisted.
