Page 2 of Recovering Ivy (Red Team #4)

Zane

“Swear to Christ, if the two of you don’t shut the hell up you’re both fired.” I looked between my brother and sister-in-law. “And why the fuck are you in my office?”

Jasmin and Linc continued to bicker as if their boss hadn’t threatened to fire them.

I leaned back in my chair and further observed the couple.

I was happy for them, but their domestic disputes were getting on my last nerve.

When had my company turned into a daytime soap opera with wives and girlfriends traipsing in and out all day?

Olivia and Violet both seemed to skate by my extensive security protocols with ease.

They came and went from the office just as much as the team did. I’d lost all fucking control.

“Yo!” I tried again. “Get the fuck out of my office.”

“What?” Jasmin turned her attention to me.

“You heard me, leave.”

“But I have a case and your brother is being unreasonable and won’t let me leave the building,” she complained.

“You’re fucking pregnant. You are not getting in your car and following a scumbag around all day,” Linc argued .

Yes, I’d lost control.

“Linc, she has a job to do,” I told my brother but when Jasmin smirked I quickly added, “and you’re on light duty. That means you follow and do not approach.”

“Desk duty,” Linc shot back.

“Brother, she’s gonna have your balls if you don’t lighten up. Believe it or not, she’s not the first woman in history to have a baby.”

“Babies,” Linc said as if he was proud of himself for giving Jasmin twins.

Since she’d announced her pregnancy, all the office had heard about was Linc’s super sperm.

I gagged every time my brother mentioned his semen.

Not a thought I wanted to dwell on. “And we all know my wife has trouble following orders. If she sees Forester approach any girls, she’ll be out of her car confronting him before backup can arrive. ”

In the last four months since Eric’s death, the team had been busy stateside.

Colin and Declan had gone OCONUS once, to Dubai to escort a Senator while he visited a US Navy base there.

Not that anyone was complaining about their current workload.

The only person that seemed to have an issue was Linc.

Leo and Olivia were living in marital bliss.

Leo, the crazy bastard, had finally knocked Olivia up and he, too, was more than happy to spread the baby cheer.

“I really don’t know why I bother paying the two of you a salary.

Between your lack of work and the amount of money you’re costing me to put a goddamned daycare in the building, you should be paying me.

Jasmin, go get to work. I want a full report of every move Forester makes.

If you so much as get out of your car you won’t have to worry about Linc; I’m not fucking around. You’re six months pregnant.”

“Aye aye, LT,” Jasmin said and made a dash for the door before Linc could stop her .

“What did you find on Forester?” I asked Linc, trying to bring the meeting around to actual work.

“You know she’s not gonna listen,” Linc grouched and sat in one of the two chairs in front of my desk.

“She will. She loves those babies. It’s you that’s lost your fucking mind. She’s fine. Your babies are fine. I’m not kidding, she’s gonna kick your ass out and not let you back in until after she has those kids if you don’t chill the hell out.”

“Fuck, Z! It’s just… if something happened to any of them I don’t know what I’d do. She goes and goes; it can’t be good for her. I want her to rest, prop her feet up, or some shit. I don’t know. But the thought of her putting herself in danger guts me.”

I stared at my brother; the poor guy looked miserable.

The more I studied Linc I realized it wasn’t misery, it was adoration mixed with fear.

Love for his wife and unborn children and fear he wouldn’t live through the loss of them.

I tried hard to summon what it might feel like to love a woman that much, but I couldn’t, and not only that, I knew I’d never know what those feelings felt like.

I’d long ago made the decision that I would never burden a woman with my demons.

“Did you think it was ever gonna be any other way with that woman? Relax, you’re gonna give yourself high blood pressure. What’d you find?” I repeated.

“Dude’s a scumbag. The CEO was right to be worried, Forester is absolutely a plant.

Before going to Techwatch he worked for Lemans, a subsidiary of Smart Technologies.

His employment records indicate he was laid off due to corporate restructuring.

However, there were no other layoffs around that time period,” Linc explained.

“What is Forester after? The software for the watch? ”

“Nope. Both companies, Techwatch and Smart Technologies, have the exact same product, a smartwatch for kids. Unlike the adult smartwatches, the kids’ version doesn’t need data or wifi, the games and apps are built in.

Smart Technologies planted Forester at Techwatch to steal their pricing structure and launch plan. ”

“Smart Technologies wants to bury Techwatch. The old Walmart trick, sell deep and cheap and run your competition out of business,” I surmised.

Shady, but not a bad plan. What Forester and Smart Technologies were doing was illegal but, in my book, it didn’t exactly make Forester any more of a scumbag than any other overpaid executive trying to run other corporations out of business. “What else did Jasmin find?”

“He likes prostitutes and he likes them young, we’re talking barely legal.

Also, a year ago the police were called to his residence when a young girl he rented a room to was found dead in his house.

Officially, it was ruled an overdose. The PD suspected foul play but couldn’t prove it.

The girl, Joanna Long, nineteen at the time of death, had bruising on her inner thighs.

There was evidence of intercourse, but no DNA present.

Forester said he didn’t know if the girl had a boyfriend or what she did outside of his house.

They did find strands of his hair on her clothing, but, again, she lived there.

The investigators chalked it up to household transfer.

With what Jasmin found while tailing him, I’d say he had something to do with Joanna’s death.

But there is no evidence to support the theory.

Just my gut telling me, Forester is behind the murder. ”

“Fuck me running. Does Jasmin have everything she needs to wrap up the case and turn everything over to the CEO?” I wasn’t sure how much further down the rabbit hole I wanted to go .

“She does. But there’s a loose end. Forester’s PA, Susan Black, doesn’t exist. Name is fake, resume is fake, ID and SSN, both fake.

But she’s not part of the scope of work so I haven’t put much time into her.

We have everything we need to slam him without the PA, so I haven’t dug much.

Jasmin also has the images and times logged when he visits the prostitutes. What should we do with those?”

I hated loose ends, almost as much as he hated going into a situation blind. Years of experience taught me to never leave a stone unturned.

“Find out what you can on Susan Black. Send Declan in if you need. Women tend to fall all over him. I’d like this shit closed by the end of the week.

Tell him to lean on her if he has to,” I ordered then remembered my brother had asked a question.

“We’ll hand over the images to the DA. Maybe he can use them as leverage to get Forester to flip. ”

“Sounds good,” Linc said and stood. “You coming over for dinner tonight? Violet and Jax are coming.”

Fuck no, I wasn’t going to my brother’s house for dinner. The last time I did, I had to sit through hours of baby talk and watch as Leo couldn’t keep his hands off Olivia. No, that was not my idea of a good time.

“Got shit to do,” I answered.

Linc continued to stare before he shook his head and made his way to the door. When Linc stopped in the doorway and turned, my gut twisted at the look on my brother’s face. It was a look that told me I wasn’t going to be happy with Linc’s next statement.

“You ever think about finding a woman?”

I thought about flipping Linc the bird and telling him to mind his own fucking business, but I knew it would only lead to more conversation, something I tried to avoid at all costs. I didn’t want to discuss my personal life with anyone. ”

“No,” he answered.

One word. Short and to the point. No, I had not put any thought into finding a woman I’d want to keep. Not only did I not want one, there wasn’t one out there that could handle the fucked-up mess I was.