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“You should have come here,” Austin said when he finished.

“If they know who I am, they know who you are, and they probably know where you live. I didn’t want to risk putting you and Nina in danger. Besides, the guys were up, and they didn’t mind us crashing.”

The guys, still sitting at the table eating breakfast, voiced their agreement.

Austin made a sound that said what he thought of Nate’s statement. “Where’s your truck?”

“Jacksonville, out by the airport at a place called Safe Spot Parking Garage.” Nate leaned against the counter and crossed his feet at the ankles. “I never saw a tail, so I ditched the truck just in case there’s a tracker on it. Could you check it for me?”

“Can’t. I’ve got an appointment with EMQ this morning.”

Nate understood, though he wasn’t happy about it. His brother had been courting the biomedical conglomerate for the better part of three weeks. Word on the street said they were dissatisfied with the quality of service they were receiving from a rival security firm. Landing the contract would be a major coup, and considering the amount of work it would generate for Six Points, they’d have to do a whole bunch of hiring.

“Hold on,” Austin said. “Hey, Ryan, you got time this morning for a road trip to Jacksonville? Nate needs his truck picked up.” The sound of Ryan’s muffled voice asking why carried over the phone. “Long story; I’ll fill you in later. Can you do it or not?” Another pause. “He says he’ll do it.”

“Great. Tell him I said thanks.”

“Will do. He’s taking Vicky with him so she can drive your truck home.”

“She knows how to drive a truck?” The only thing he’d ever seen Ryan’s wife drive was her sporty little two-door hatchback.

“Dude, it’s a pickup, not an eighteen wheeler. I’m pretty sure she can manage.” Austin blew out an audible exhale. “All right, I better go if I want to get to EMQ on time. Hopefully, Dorcas’s cat won’t burn the house down while I’m gone.”

“Thanks, man, I really—”

“You can thank me by being at the office when I get back. Dorcas too. We need to figure out what the fuck’s going on and how we’re going to deal with it.”

Austin ended the call before Nate could respond.

“Bossy fuck,” Nate muttered under his breath. He felt bad for thinking uncharitable thoughts about his oldest brother, but there were times when he really hated Austin’s take-charge-of-everything attitude. It wasn’t as bad as when they were kids, but it still managed to scrape under his skin.

“What’s up with the boss?” Jackson asked, breaking Nate’s train of thought.

“Not much, just being his usual cranky self.” That wasn’t quite true; that was Nate being an ass again, and he forced the thought from his mind. Austin wasn’t cranky. He just got intense when talking about work-related subjects. Outside Six Points, or when he was with Nina, he was a completely different person: well-adjusted, relaxed. Happy. Well, maybe not relaxed. That simply wasn’t a component of Austin’s DNA.

Nate drained the last of his soda and tossed the can in the recycling bin. On his way to the fridge for another, his phone chirped with an alert for an incoming text.

The message was from Nina, letting him know that the background check for Rita was complete and the results attached for his review.

He had to give Larissa credit; she’d trained her protégé well. The information was summarized in a series of bullet points, with the supporting documentation attached in separate files. He skimmed through the information, and the more he read, the more his stomach twisted.

“What’s wrong?” Dorcas asked from her seat at the table, the mug of coffee in her hand. Her clothes were wrinkled, her hair mussed. Not a stitch of makeup, and yet she was the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen. She stirred things inside him that he never knew existed, things he wasn’t entirely comfortable with.

He hated the thought of crushing her, but he didn’t see much of a choice.

The knots in his stomach tightened. “We need to talk.”

“Why? What is it?” she asked. “Is it Rita?”

“Yeah, it has to do with Rita.”

Her face paled and her mouth fell open. “Oh, God. Is she—”

“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just...” His gaze flicked to the men at the table. He’d trust any of them with his life. Trust them with his deepest secrets. But he doubted Dorcas would want her family’s dirty laundry aired in front of an audience. “Can I, uh...can I speak with you in private? No offense, guys.”

“None taken,” Hatch replied between bites.

“It’s cool,” Navarre added.