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S herman leaped to his feet as the door swung open. Agent Parks paused as it closed behind her, her gaze quickly taking in the room and the five sets of eyes watching her. A beat later, it swung back to him before traveling to Juliana.

“Dr. Juliana Morganstern?” she said, striding forward.

“Holy cow, not what I expected,” Juliana muttered before smiling and rising to greet the agent.

Stone had assumed the agent was a woman based on her voice and name, but other than that, he hadn’t given much thought as to what she might look like. Rising to stand beside Juliana, he took in every detail. Tall, close to five-foot-eleven in her heels, trim in a fit sort of way, dressed in a tailored black pantsuit with a white top underneath that draped down her chest into a work-appropriate vee. No doubt she wore a holster and weapon under her jacket. She reminded Stone a little of Halle Berry, but taller with longer, darker hair.

Her appearance came as no shock to him as he had no mental picture to begin with, but nothing else about her surprised him either. Not her confident walk, not her straightforward introduction, and not her general aura of all-business. He’d bet her tolerance for bullshit was as low as her conviction rate was high.

“Stone,” he said, holding out his hand when Agent Parks finished with Juliana. “Simon McLean,” he added.

With a sharp nod, she gave his hand a firm shake.

“Mantis, Monk, and Viper,” he said, introducing his brothers. He could have used their real names, but as neither he nor Juliana would, he figured it would be easier.

“Can we get you a coffee or water?” Mantis asked once the hand-shaking was done.

“Coffee, please. Black,” Agent Parks added.

Mantis inclined his head. “You all going to head to the atrium?” he asked, turning to Stone, who nodded. “I’ll bring it there, then leave you to it. I haven’t been involved in the work you’re interested in hearing about, so unless you need me, I won’t stick around,” he said to Agent Parks.

“No need. Thank you,” she said, tacking on that last bit as if she’d just remembered they were potential allies, not suspects.

Mantis flashed a wry grin at the group before nodding and heading to the kitchen.

“Shall we?” Juliana said as Sherman ventured from her side to sniff the agent. “I hope you don’t mind dogs?”

“I’d have four if I didn’t have the schedule I have,” she said, giving them a glimpse of her humanity as she bent down to run her fingers through Sherman’s mane. “How old is he?”

“The vet said six months,” Juliana answered, giving the woman an abbreviated version of Sherman’s journey into their lives as they made their way to the atrium. By the time they arrived, the agent had made all the expected comments about his size and how adorable he was. Stone would have taken Sherman in regardless of what he looked like, but he had to agree, he was damn cute and would grow into a gorgeous dog.

“Where’s Philly?” Juliana asked once they’d taken their seats.

“He had inventory to sort out at Rita C’s,” Viper answered. “He’ll come once he’s done with that. Rita C’s is one of the businesses the club owns,” he added, directing the comment to Agent Parks.

She nodded, then turned her attention to Juliana. “Tell me why Anna Palmer suggested I call you,” she said.

“We’d like to know the same thing,” Stone interjected before Juliana answered. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe the agent was legit, but she’d come to them for information. The ball was in her court to give them a reason to share.

She glanced at Juliana, whose gaze skittered between the three Falcons before landing back on the agent. Stone smiled to himself. On her own, she probably would have answered, but sensing the dynamic, Juliana had chosen to stand with him and wait for a response.

Sensing the tide, Parks sighed, partly annoyed, partly amused. “Last year, our department received an anonymous tip from someone inside Brian Gregor’s camp that the financials for one of his federally funded projects—one in San Jose—weren’t what they should be. They included enough evidence to pique our interest but not enough to kick-start a full investigation. We assigned an agent to it, and he’s been gathering intel and information whenever he can. But it’s not the only case he’s working on, nor is it the highest priority—not based on the information we have so far.” She paused when Mantis walked in with a tray full of mugs and a thermos full of coffee.

“I’ve known Anna Palmer a long time,” she continued after Viper poured for everyone. “She has an ear to the ground in her city, so I decided to reach out while in the area. The evidence we have isn’t for a project in San Francisco, but as you know, he does a lot of work in the city. I figured that if anyone other than the perpetrators knew what Gregor was up to, she would. She mentioned Lowery and Polinsky, then recommended I reach out to you two.”

“And here you are,” Stone said. He didn’t doubt the story, but he did doubt it was the full story.

“And here I am,” Parks repeated. “Are you willing to share now?”

Stone looked to Juliana. As a team, they’d dug up a lot of information, but it was her story to tell. She nodded, and Viper pulled a paper from the file in front of him and slid it over.

“Until last weekend, I had no idea who Brian Gregor, Aaron Lowery, or Dean Polinsky were,” she said. “That changed on Saturday when I overheard Lowery and Polinsky talking about getting rid ‘of him.’ They talked about drug deals and Lowery’s involvement in the Bayview development decision.” She paused, then slid the paper over to Agent Parks. “This is a transcript of what they said.”

Parks scanned the document twice before returning her attention to Juliana. “This is very detailed.”

Juliana shrugged. “I don’t have an eidetic memory, but it’s close. Even for sound. Handy for a librarian.”

Parks’s gaze sharpened with curiosity. “Do they know you overheard?”

Juliana bobbed her head. “They suspect,” she said, before telling the agent about the Sunday morning visitor Stone had run off, and then the situation in San Francisco.

By the end, Parks’s brows had winged up more than once. “Where’s the truck now?” she asked. “The one with the tracker?”

“Near Eureka,” Stone answered. “The couple were already planning a road trip to Seattle to visit friends, so they’re making their way north.”

A ghost of a smile lit Parks’s eyes more than her lips. “And in the meantime, you’ve been doing your research,” she said, with a pointed look at the folders on the table.

“We’re not about to let Juls dangle in the wind,” Viper said.

Parks tipped her head. “No, I don’t imagine you are,” she said, her gaze bouncing to him before landing back on the folders.

“So what do you?—”

The door flew open, and Parks wasn’t the only one to reach for a weapon. In a heartbeat, though, he, Viper, and Monk relaxed when they spotted Mantis. Although, the behemoth of a man standing next to him caught and held Stone’s attention.

They might not be under attack, but that didn’t mean he had a read on the situation.

“Griswold?” Stone said. “What the hell are you doing here?”