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“No, probably not.”
I sighed. “Neither of us have been doing what we should, but once we land, we’re going to be watching each other’s backs all the time.”
“I know how to take my work seriously.”
“So do I. I also know how to take my pleasure seriously.”
“I don’t think I’m what you’re used to.”
Fox laughed. “That’s for damn sure.”
“We’re going to fuck this up.”
“Undoubtedly, but hopefully we’ll have fun with it while we’re stuck together.”
“And how long do you think that will be?” I was starting to worry this was going to take longer than I’d anticipated.
“Not long. Isn’t the goal to find these men and take them out?”
“Sure, but one thing I’ve learned about you is that things rarely go as planned when you’re around.”
13
FOX
Darren shook his head. “Isn’t that exactly what got you into this mess?”
“Nah. Things went exactly as I planned them. I just shouldn’t have made the plan in the first place, or maybe I should. Who’s to say? It worked in the moment.”
“And you’ve been dodging this man ever since.”
“No, only recently. Before that, I thought he was dead. For the last few months, I’ve had feelers out, and I knew X did too, but I expected X to give the intel to me, not some asshole I never wanted to work with again.”
“Uh-huh. Do you honestly think I wanted to work with you?”
I refused to acknowledge his statement. “I don’t know about you, but I could really use a nap before we land.”
“Go ahead and sleep. I could use the quiet to get some work done.”
I turned away and grinned as I laid my chair back and settled in for a nap.
A few hours later, one of X’s endless supply of drivers took us to Paradise Ranch.
The whole ride there, my stomach grew increasingly unsettled. Grant was going to be furious I hadn’t told him the details about what happened. He knew I’d stopped an invasion of our camp, but he didn’t know how, and he had no idea how badly it had fucked me up.
I’d hidden it well, but I was unraveling, and hard as it was to believe, Darren seemed to be the closest thing to an anchor I had. When I was sparring with him—or better yet, fucking him—I stopped feeling like I might lose my mind from the anxiety. I needed this to end.
My heart raced as I approached the front door of the ranch house.
Grant yanked the door open before I had a chance to knock. Darren laid a hand on my back as if he knew I needed the support. How had things between us changed so fast?
Grant looked like he’d just come from the barn. “Um… Hi.”
“I thought you wouldn’t be here for another hour,” Grant said.
I shrugged. “The plane arrived earlier than expected.”
Grant frowned at a stain on his jeans. “I meant to at least shower before you got here.”
I wrinkled my nose. “It’s fine. It wouldn’t have mattered. You’d probably still smell like horse anyway.”
Grant flipped me off before motioning for us to come in. I had to remind myself to relax. I could handle this. I just had to avoid any direct questions.
14
DARREN
I’d pretended I knew less than I did about Fox’s friends, but I’d studied the other men from his team just as I had him. It was almost as important to know the company your target—or client—kept as it was to know the client themselves.
When Grant opened the door, I knew Fox’s and my assessment had been right. We weren’t going to get along. Grant had the classic special forces bravado with the bonus of a cowboy hat.
Laughter drew my attention behind Grant. Two identically beautiful men who differed only in their haircuts and the expressions on their faces were laughing at their older brother. Obviously, the men were Rhys and Rogue.
The one with the big grin held his hand out to me and introduced himself before either of his brothers. “I’m Rogue—or you can call me Riley, but most people don’t.” He gave me an up-and-down assessment. “I think you’re going to fit in nicely here.”
I looked down at my suit, then at their dusty, dirty clothes. “Really?”
“Yeah. You look like you could give Fox hell.”
Fox huffed. “You know no one can be as annoying as me.”
Rogue grinned. “I try.”
Grant glared at him. “And you often succeed.”
“Not today,” Fox said.
“No, not today.”
Fox introduced me to the six men who’d gathered in the entryway, all the characters I’d been expecting.
“Come sit down,” Jacob said once Fox was done. He gestured toward a large living room. “Otherwise, Grant will pin you down at the door, and you’ll have to answer all his questions there.”
“You don’t need to interrogate me,” Fox said. “I’m sure X already sent you information on the men who are after me.”
