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After a quick round of hellos, Dorcas squinted at the screen. “Is that guy holding a light saber chainsaw?”

“Something like that,” Pinto replied as he got off the couch. He was average height, average build. At first sight, not impressive. But what lay beneath was a fourth-degree black belt who could take down a guy more than twice his size without breaking a sweat. “These are a lot more fun when you get your drink on. Want a beer?”

“After the night we’ve had, a beer sounds really good.”

“Why yes, I’d like a beer as well,” Nate called after Pinto as the other man walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. In truth, he didn’t want a beer. He hadn’t drunk one in almost seven years. He just wanted to give Pinto grief.

“I’m off the clock. Get your own damn beer.” Pinto craned his neck to look past Nate to Dorcas. His dark-brown eyes were a bit unfocused, but he didn’t seem drunk, just buzzed. “Which do you prefer, IPA or lager? Or how about vodka? Jackson’s got a bottle of Stoli in the freezer.”

“Lager’s fine, thank you.”

Beer bottles in hand, Pinto left the kitchen, bumping shoulders with Nate on his way to Dorcas. She thanked him again, and then settled on the couch between Pinto and Hatch, where they’d made room for her to sit. She sipped her beer and leaned forward, her gaze narrowed at the television. Thank goodness the screen was huge, or she wouldn’t be able to see a damn thing without her contacts.

“I’m pretty sure a shark would completely burn up on re-entry,” she said right before she drank a sip of beer.

Hatch laughed, a rich, smooth sound that seemed to rise from the pit of his stomach. He was tall and pale, with a shock of wavy red hair and a dusting of ginger stubble. “You can’t apply the laws of nature to these movies or your head will explode.”

“But it’s horrible. Why would anyone—oh, Lord, is that a—did she just give birth while trapped inside the belly of a shark?”

Chuckling, Nate went to the fridge, grabbed a can of Coke, and returned to the living room. There weren’t any open seats so he leaned against the wall and gave Navarre a closer inspection. “How long has he been out, and who brought the pink nail polish?”

“He checked out about an hour ago,” Jackson replied, a tumbler filled with clear liquid in his hand. On a night like this, the liquid would usually be Stoli, but considering Nate had filled him in on the danger, he’d probably switched to water. “As for the polish, it’s a long-standing tradition that the first one out gets their nails did.”

“Yeah, and now the rest of us can relax,” Pinto added.

“WithSharknado?”

Jackson shrugged. “Hey, don’t be hating, or we’ll make you watchSharktopus Vs. Whalewolf.”

Dorcas laughed, and something inside Nate relaxed for the first time that evening. “That’s really a thing?”

“Oh yeah, there’s a whole series ofSharktopusmovies.” Pinto swallowed a swig of beer. “And then there’sDinocroc, andPiranhaconda—”

“Don’t forgetSupergator,” Hatch said as he dug into the bowl of popcorn.

“How could I forget? If you want, we can put those on after we finish the lastSharknado.”

Dorcas shook her head with amusement. “No, that’s okay. I’ll probably be asleep by then.”

“Suit yourself,” Hatch said over a mouthful of food. “But you’re missing out on a true celebration of craptastic filmmaking.”

As she’d predicted, Dorcas fell asleep before the fourthSharknadomovie ended, sometime after the “cownado” formed but before the “nukenado” filled with radioactive sharks. Pinto and Hatch were down for the count as well, their heads tipped back against the couch cushions. Pinto snored softly. Nate barely resisted the urge to draw penises on their foreheads.

He did, however, give them pink nails.

“Thanks for letting us crash here,” Nate said to Jackson, keeping his voice low as he replaced the cap on the bottle of polish.

“Ain’t nothing to thank me for. I’m kind of hoping somebody’s dumb enough to mess with you here. It’s been awhile since me and Navarre had that sort of fun.”

From what Nate had heard of their time in the Army, they were the type of guys who’d be up for deposing a third world dictator for a case of Budweiser and bragging rights. But they weren’t reckless, as demonstrated over the course of their employment at Six Points, and he trusted them implicitly. “What do you have for weapons?”

“A bit of everything. It might be easier to list what we don’t have.” Jackson downed the last of his drink and set the glass on the arm of his chair. “Navarre installed new sensors the other week, so we’ll know about any trespassers the second they set foot on the property.”

Nate nodded in approval. In times like these, it was comforting to be with folks who were armed to the teeth and almost as paranoid as he was. He glanced over to Dorcas, who was still fast asleep, and that feeling in his chest he didn’t want to think about roared back with a vengeance. “Do you have an extra bedroom where I could put her? She’s had a rough night; she’s not used to this kind of shit.”

“Yeah, y’all can crash in the spare room. Second door down the hall by the bathroom.” He winked. “Just try not to make too much noise.”

“No, we’re—it’s not like that.” At least not yet, but the kiss in the hotel room gave him hope. “She’s a friend of Nina’s. I’m just helping her look for her sister.”