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Tia had stormed into the monastery, hot about something, and now Doyle came walking over, blowing out a breath.
“You good?” Stein asked.
Doyle nodded. “Yeah, she’s fine.”
“You, bro—you.”
Doyle raised an eyebrow, then sighed. “Yeah. Sebold left with a couple kids from the orphanage, not to mention some expensive medical equipment, so there’s that?—”
“And nearly stabbed Tia.”
Doyle’s mouth tightened.
“Stay away from that guy.”
Doyle held up his hands. “You don’t have to convince me. I’m not signing up to get into a battle. Tell it to my codirector.”
Stein tamped down a smile. Still, “Seems that you two have an interesting relationship.”
“If you mean she can’t stand me, and that maybe I feel like I’m getting in way over my head every time she walks into the room—yes.”
“You get in way over your head all by yourself, little bro.”
Doyle gave him a look.
Stein lifted a shoulder. “Just saying... Ever since...”Oh... well,“Just, it seems for the last few years you’ve been all jump-in-and-then-figure-out-where-you’re-going. Like this gig. Did you even know where Mariposa was on a map before you jumped on a plane?”
Doyle frowned. “Did you?”
Right.
His brother met his gaze, hard. “We’re both just trying to figure out what’s next. You do it your way, I’ll do it mine.”
Stein nodded. “You’re right. Sorry.”
Doyle sighed. “No, I’m sorry. Thanks for circling back around tonight.”
“Something didn’t feel right.”
“Good thing you still have those SEAL instincts.” Doyle thumped Stein’s arm as he headed past him into the compound. “Tomorrow we’ll buy a security system. You can’t sit outside all night every night.”
“No worries.” Because, again, he wouldn’t sleep anyway. He checked his smartwatch. Zeus had said he’d send relief in a couple hours.
Now Stein walked over to the steps of the medical clinic and sat down in the shadows. Ran a hand over his knees. They still swelled sometimes, especially after a hard workout.
“You do it your way, I’ll do it mine.”
He wasn’t sure what his way was, really. For a long time, he’d hoped it meant getting back in the game, rejoining his team.
He just hoped to keep one step ahead of whoever wanted a piece of Declan Stone.
“I think someone is after you, sir.”
The conversation he’d had with Declan after he’d been released from the Hospital of Barcelona, as they’d been packing to leave, returned to him as he sat in the cool of the Mariposa night, the wind stirring the grasses.
“It was an accident, Stein,” Declan had said as he limped around his room, packing, his nose in a bandage, his hands wrapped in gauze.
“Sit down, sir,” Stein had said, and taken the clothing from Declan’s hands. He’d turned into a valet, but after spending over a month with Declan, he liked the guy. Which frankly, was a perk of the job.