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It took a great deal of focus to hit my usual rep count the following afternoon. My mind locked miles away, staring at gray-blue eyes looking at me like I’d become a Cerberus. But that focus snapped away as Cap whined from behind my bench, and my brother burst through the door of the private gym in my basement.
“What theactual fuck, Grey?” With his usual spectacular finesse, Ollie stormed into the space, paying no mind to Captain as he lifted his head to observe us. With a grunt, I lowered the barbell onto the rack, sighing as I sat up. Inevitable, I supposed. This entire interaction was inevitable. He’d always been fond of the woman, which is why his next growled demand came as no shock to me. “Alice Rhodes?!”
“Evening, Ollie. Nice to see you.”
He tongued a back molar, light brown eyes ablaze with a disproportionate anger. Like mine, Oliver had his hair cropped tight to the sides in a subtle fade but left longer on top.Unlike mine, he liked to leave his dark locks in disarray, swept off to the side, which meant it was hanging across his forehead as he glared down at me. Snatching the towel off the rack, he hocked itat my face, and I swiped it from the air before wiping the sweat from my forehead.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“Will you shut up for a minute and sit down?” I drawled back.
“Fuck off, Grey. She’s a good woman. Bright. Has so much untapped potential. She’s wasted sitting in your office every day, and you have no right to drag her into your world.”
“I know.”
“You wouldn’t know potential if it bit you in the ass,” he growled, beginning to pace in a tight circle.
With a prolonged sigh, I watched him take four long strides to the perimeter of the mats and back. Refraining from making a quip about his lack of congratulations, I forced myself to unclench my jaw. “Are you done?”
“Have I broken your damn jaw yet?”
A devilish grin cracked through my control. I couldn’t help it. Despite growing up in the public eye, we’d tousled like the best of them. Hell, it’s what got us both into the training ring by high school because Mother decided if we couldn’t turn off the instinct, we’d learn to control it. “You’re welcome to try.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
“I’ll give you the first shot,” I goaded, leaning onto my knees and watching the feral beast slow to a stop, nostrils still flared with anger as he set his hands on his hips.
“Seriously. What are you thinking?”
It wasn’t really a question, but I’d answer him, anyway. “I’m thinking she foundThunderstrike.” And just like that, Ollie’s mouth snapped shut. His expression transformed from anger to fear in a heartbeat. Was it wise for my brother to be privy to the mercenary group I’d been funding since I was wheeled out of the hospital five years ago? Probably not. Was it even more ill-advised that he’d been on the inner circle of it on more than one occasion? Yeah. But Mattie and Beau were as much my collateralas his. Keeping him on the outs would only leave him in the dark in a situation I very much needed him to be illuminated on. One cannot deliver justice without taking risks. Our loved ones are the primary targets. This meant my brother being properly prepared and his family protected was just as essential asmebeing prepared. Studying the fear in his eyes, I said simply, “She won’t say anything.”
Temper palpably cooled, he reached up to loosen his tie, yanking at the knot as he begrudgingly lowered onto the bench across from me. Confusion sent those light brown irises somewhere distant a beat before he asked, “How do you know? She…is she…”
“Blackmailing me?” I guessed when his thought drifted off like he couldn’t fully consider it. I scoffed. “No. Until yesterday, I would’ve said she wasn’t capable of that.”
“And now?”
I shook my head, blowing a heavy breath into my cheeks as my eyes widened. Nodding, I declared, “You always had an eye for spectacular talent.”
“What does that mean?”
“She got through those walls in a matterof hours, Ollie. Jax set us up, and I couldn’t even crack those myself.”
“Alone?” He asked, his voice heavy with disbelief.
“Nah, not entirely. The guy she sent you to yesterday, Max, he helped.”
“A…friend? That’s more capable than the US government?”
“Laws don’t dictate everyone, Ollie. Some people knowingly play in the gray.”
“Christ.” He palmed at his clean-shaven jaw, shaking his head. “I swear I didn’t have a clue you had anything to find when I authorized her to dig.”
“She went looking for evidence or a defense. I’m not sure which.”
“You would never?—”
I shook my head. “She knows.”