Page 1 of Hunted Hearts (Black Heart Security #6)

T heo Malone gripped the railing of his brother’s deck, his mind as restless as the wind sweeping across Lake Tahoe.

The crisp mountain air bit at his skin, but the mug of black coffee in his hands anchored him, as did the pine trees that stood like tall and silent guards around the lake, reflected in the shimmering mirror of the water.

Here, amidst the chaos of this big family vacation he never wanted to be dragged on, he’d found a spot of peace.

The one thing he wasn’t about to admit to his family was that Theo didn’t know what he wanted out of life.

Not anymore.

The years he devoted to the military and his SEAL team had come to an end—a bittersweet one, if he was honest with himself.

He missed the hell out of his brothers-in-arms. But in the heat of battle, he missed his five brothers and kid sister back in Wyoming.

He brought the coffee to his lips and drew a sip of the dark brew into his mouth. One definite perk of civilian life—the coffee was miles better than anything he’d ever had on base.

From inside the house came a few thumping sounds. Behind Theo, the glass door slid open, letting out bursts of laughter and the soft thud of socked feet on hardwood.

The house was alive with Malone chaos—his brother Denver’s significant other Rhae was busy wrangling their infant daughter into a high chair and somebody else argued about pancake toppings in the kitchen. It was loud, warm, human.

And Theo felt like a fucking ghost in the middle of it.

Later, he planned to go down to the lake for a bit of fishing. But he knew damn well that tossing a line wouldn’t blunt the edge inside him. The need to scan the rooftops and search for exit strategies was part of his DNA now.

A person joined him on the deck, and he turned his head to see Denver closing the door behind him, cutting off the sounds of the house.

“Crazy in there.” Denver sidled up to the railing and planted his hands on it, leaning forward to gaze at the hillside leading down to the water.

Theo didn’t get a chance to respond to his brother because his phone started buzzing. He set the coffee on the wide arm of the deck chair and dug into his back pocket for the device.

An unfamiliar number flashed across the screen. Some people would ignore any caller they didn’t recognize, but in Theo’s world, he didn’t recognize any of the numbers.

A twitch in his gut told him this wasn’t the kind of call he sent to voicemail.

He brought the phone to his ear.

A clipped voice filtered through the speaker. No greetings, no hesitation. “Theo Malone?”

“Speaking.”

“This is Ash.”

Angelo Ash. Naval Special Warfare Command. The officer who recruited him to join ghost ops—SEAL Team Blackout.

A twist in Theo’s chest had him forcing air out of his lungs. Unable to stay still for this call, he crossed the deck in quick strides, aware of his brother watching him.

If the officer asked him to join Blackout a second time, Theo might just say yes—if only to feel something close to normal again. Because for him, normal wasn’t peace or quiet. It was being part of a team.

He cut his fingers through his hair. “What can I do for you, Ash?”

“How quiet is it on your end?” Ash’s deep tone pricked at his senses.

He twisted to glance at Denver halfway across the desk. His brother had swung to face him, his jaw hitched upward at a sharp angle. Their gazes locked.

“Quiet,” Theo responded.

“I’m calling about a matter.”

“What’s this about?”

“You submitted a note to embassy authorities during your last month in Turkey. We have a few follow-up questions.”

His spine stiffened like a steel bar had been rammed down its length. “That was four months ago.”

An unfamiliar trace of amusement sounded in Ash’s voice. “Wheels sometimes turn a bit slow.”

Theo gritted his teeth. “Go ahead.”

“Did you read the note before handing it off?”

He snorted. “Of course I read it. How else would I know to hand it off?”

“We had to ask. You weren’t briefed on the contents.”

Theo pushed his fingers through his hair again. The strands were the longest they’d been since he got his first buzzcut in boot camp at eighteen. “I figured if someone risked slipping me a note under my espresso cup, it was serious. And it was, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Ash said. “It flagged a trafficking ring moving minors through international shipments. The investigation’s ongoing.”

Theo took a few steps to the rail that ran the length of the deck. He gripped it hard enough for the edges to dig into his palm. The pine-scented wind filled his lungs, but it did nothing to ground him.

“So why are you calling me now? I’ve got my walking papers.”

Unless this was really about Blackout. About roping him back in.

There was a beat of silence, one that was just a little too calculated.

“This is about Blackout, isn’t it?”

Across the deck, his brother’s whole body jerked as if he’d taken a bullet. His fists curled at his sides. After Denver persuaded him to stay out of the very team Denver just left, Theo wouldn’t put it past his brother to hog-tie him to keep him from going.

“Look, I’m on vacation.” It wasn’t much of a vacation to Theo, not yet. But there would be no chance in hell of getting a fishing pole in his hand if he stepped back into special ops.

At the same time, a question wormed through his mind. Wasn’t special ops the very thing he had just been missing?

“Things are breaking open on the case, and you played a pivotal role in it. If anything crosses your radar, you know how to reach us.”

Ash didn’t call to ask, beg or convince him to join Blackout. His mind had jumped ahead.

“I see.” He barely kept the note of embarrassment from his tone.

And he wasn’t sure if he felt relief flowing through his veins or the adrenaline rush he was missing out on.

The call ended without another word, and Theo dropped the phone from his ear, letting it dangle in his hand at his side.

Denver’s brows drew downward like two exclamation points, and Theo could see a lot of questions were coming at him. But before Denver said a word, the door slid open.

His brothers flooded onto the deck.

Theo glanced from face to face. “What the hell’s going on?”

Did they know about the call, the situation with the trafficked minors?

The only Malone brother who hadn’t attended the family vacation was the oldest, Carson, and that was because he just returned from his honeymoon and opted to remain in the Black Heart Security office. That left Oaks to take charge of whatever was going down.

His brother stepped forward. “A call came in.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Denver made an abrupt movement, but Theo ignored him. “What kind of call?”

“Black Heart Security.”

“What’s that mean to me? I’m not part of the family business.” Theo was on vacation, dammit. He hadn’t taken a vacation in… Well, ever.

Oaks went on, “There’s a musician with what appears to be a stalker situation.”

Theo pictured a pop star or a country music artist and started shaking his head.

Oaks started nodding. “We need you, man.”

“Why does it have to be me?”

“Because we have our significant others here. We can’t just leave.”

“Oh, I get it now. I don’t have a girlfriend, and that makes me the odd man out.” Suddenly, he looked toward the back of the group. His little sister was attempting to hide behind the wall of their bodies.

“Willow’s alone too.”

She gave him a sister look. “I’m not part of the security agency that way. I’m not trained.”

Denver turned to her. “That’s about to change as soon as we return to the ranch. You’re going to all get training and refreshers.”

Willow tugged on her long braid draped over her shoulder, a sure tell she was irritated. “ Now look what you did, Theo.”

He issued a groan that was part growl. After everything he’d been through, the prospect of babysitting a musician with a stalker felt like a slap in the face—a demotion he hadn’t earned.

His middle brother Colt gave Theo a direct look. His gray eyes were just like every other Malone’s, even if they held a gleam of persuasion.

“It’s my vacation too,” Theo argued. “Carson should go—it’s his agency.”

“You already saw the world,” Colt said.

“Yeah—in gear! That’s not a vacation, and you all know it.”

Hell. He should just go—he didn’t want to be in Lake Tahoe with the family anymore, anyway.

He did want to do that fishing, though. He shot a longing stare at the lake, then he pushed past his siblings to reach the door, tossing a final word over his shoulder. “Fine. I’ll go pack while y’all have a great time.”

“Thanks for picking up the slack, Theo,” Oaks called after him, though it didn’t make him feel any happier to be leaving.

His family had no jurisdiction over him, but he’d take the order anyway. Pack his bag, show up and do the damn job. Because even if he had no personal stake in the star the world was suddenly worried about, protecting people was still his duty—and duty didn’t require a personal connection.

* * * * *

The scent of gardenias still hung in the air even though the bouquet had been crammed into the trash can at the far side of Juliette’s dressing room. Her designer high heel balanced on top of it like a gravestone.

Juliette folded her arms and leaned against the sofa, watching her publicist pace the room like a cat on an energy drink.

“I really think you’re overreacting, Rachel.” Juliette kept her voice calm. “It was only a scorpion.”

“Only a scorpion!” Rachel stopped to slash a hand through the air.

“We’re in California. There are bugs. Big ones.”

Rachel spun to face her, eyes wild. “It crawled out of your flowers . In your dressing room . That’s not a pest problem, Juliette. That’s a message .”

She rolled her eyes, even though her skin still crawled from seeing that thing’s slow, deliberate creep across her makeup table. And how hard it felt when she squashed it with her high heel.

“It was gross. But it’s not like it was a bomb.”