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“It doesn’t matter,” Kenzie insisted. “You looked at each other across a crowded pub and you knew.”
Her sister was also a bit of a romantic.
“Uhm, she looked across the pub and saw Brian and drooled a bit and then settled for Dare.” Tristan yawned and sat back in his chair, placing a mug of coffee on the table. It would be mostly cream and sugar, but Tristan drank it every morning.
“I did not.” She hadn’t settled at all.
“That’s what Lou told me,” Tristan countered with a shrug. “And I think Kenz should get to go out tomorrow, but it’s mostly because she whines when she’s stuck inside.”
“Do you want to know what I’ll do?” Kala asked, menace in her tone.
Tristan sniffled, and his eyes drifted closed. “Probably stab someone. If it’s going to be me, go for the ears then I don’t have to listen to Kenz talk about dudes she’s never even met before. Also, Tash, you are not in love with this guy. Like you said, you just met him. I’m glad the sex was good, but his family is a fucking mess and a half, so you need to run and fast.”
“You did a deep dive on him?” It was surprising because she had been careful to avoid mentioning Dare since that night. She’d been all about the op.
He looked half asleep, but that was part of Tristan’s act. He was the pretty boy no one thought had a brain in his head or a dangerous bone in his body right up until he snuck in and took out the bad guy. He brought his head up and yawned behind his hand. “Of course. I know you. No matter what you say, you’re never going to be casual about sex. If you slept with him, you’re going to be thinking about him, and if you’re thinking about him there’s the chance that you’ll want to see him again. It’s not a good idea. I’m actually a little worried because he might be at this conference given his family business. He works for an investment firm in Toronto. They’re known for investing in high tech, including medical tech and pharma. I had to work up a report on him. Lou’s dive was more like a splash in the shallow end of the pool.”
Lou frowned his way. “You try manipulating the Internet with your eyeballs in the middle of a pub. The glasses are a work in progress.”
“They’re brilliant,” Zach assured her. He was dressed in what Tash liked to think of as his uniform. Dark jeans and a black T-shirt that showed off arms he’d perfected in the gym. “And I’d like to see anything we’ve found out about this guy if he’s going to show up again.”
“If Dare is going to be there, then Brian might be there, too,” Kenzie posited, tugging her lower lip between her teeth.
“Yeah, and both of them have met you.” Tristan took a sip from his mug. “And that could be a problem.”
“Only if Kenz tries to climb Brian like a tree.” Kala waved the thought off. “Look, I didn’t give Brian Peters any information about what the Kara construct does for a living. If he manages to find the information we’ve seeded on the Internet, he’ll discover I’m a pharmaceutical rep working here in New South Wales, and I’m thrilled my cousins are in town and sad I have to work. Oh, and thanks for adding in how much Kara loves reality TV. I had to watch four seasons of Australian Survivor.”
“You loved it,” Kenzie shot back.
Tash suddenly had a knot in her belly, and she wasn’t sure if it was nerves or anticipation or both. Dare might be at the conference? Her siblings argued about reality TV and who got to leave the safe house, but Tasha was looking through the data Tristan had sent to her tablet. It was a whole dossier on the man who’d so recently rocked her world.
He was rich. Not like her parents rich. The Nash family was super-elite wealthy. His family owned banks and investment firms across Canada. He was probably here at this conference to make some big deals to invest in medical technology. Damn, Tristan was right. They should have caught this before she got close to him. All Lou had been able to do with the glasses was run through his socials. Which were minimal. They knew more about Brian, who worked for the same company.
“Hey, you didn’t have enough data to work with,” Zach said quietly. “You walked into a bar in a completely different part of town. I told you to go there. I vetted the place myself, so blame me. There are over five million people in this city. It’s cool. They’re expecting fifteen hundred attendees at this conference. I would bet he’s here to attend private meetings for the most part. Middleton is the firm’s face here. He’ll be on the floor, meeting vendors and doctors and getting a real feel for what’s going on. I would bet Dare Nash barely leaves his suite. Lance will likely send up potential investments, and Dare will be there to decide if they’re worth it. Kenz and Kala will get close to Lance Middleton, get the invite to the party, and hopefully never see Nash or Peters. If they do, they’ve got their cover in place.”
