Page 58 of Theirs to Hunt (Girls Like Us #1)

Chapter fifty-eight

R eagan's laughing at something Bobbie said.

Low, probably a little wicked. She tucks her hair behind her ear and leans into Grayson without thinking.

My stomach tightens. She doesn't know how closely we watch her.

How much weight she carries between us. For Grayson, it's loyalty.

For me, it's the way she owns her mistakes without making them anyone else's problem.

But today's not just about her. Devon sits next to me, coffee in one hand, scanning the room always. Casual posture, but his eyes never stop moving. He's not wired for rest. Neither am I.

Grayson leans in slightly as I ask "Still wake up before the sun?"

Devon snorts. "You know I do."

"Some ghosts don’t leave," I say, more to myself than anyone else.

Devon glances over. "You still get those dreams?"

"Sometimes. Could be worse. At least we're not still eating chalk-dry MREs and shitting in trenches." I smirk .

"Speak for yourself. I miss the quiet." He laughs once, real and short.

"You're a sick bastard." Grayson stays silent, but he's locked in. Watching us.

We've danced around this for years.

"I know what you're building," I say to Devon. "I helped pitch the loan package."

Devon nods. "And you pulled the strings to keep it off the radar. Don't think I missed that."

"You needed a chance. Dad gave you one. But what you've done since? That's all you."

Devon's tone is even. "Nightclubs. Restaurants. The kind of influence that camoflauges your reach."

"And the surveillance rig you built from scrap defense contracts," I add. "Still some of the best modular tech I've seen."

"We installed the same gear at her place," Devon says, voice low. "You know that already."

"I do." Grayson finally speaks. "We've all been circling the same fire. Time we stopped pretending otherwise."

Devon lifts an eyebrow. "You suggesting what I think you are?"

"You've got the street-level leverage," I say. "Dad's got the front-facing machine. I sit in the middle."

Grayson's eyes flick to Reagan, then back to Devon. His tone drops, measured and sharp. "What we're building around her isn't about guarding a girlfriend.

It's about staying ten steps ahead." Devon raises a brow but stays quiet.

"Someone noticed we were watching her. They used it. Paid Genevieve to apply pressure. Forced our hand. Made us act on her faster than we might've otherwise."

Devon leans forward slightly. "Why?"

"Because they needed us looking the other way," Grayson says. "And it worked. I already had a gut feeling something was going wrong inside Calhoun. Vendor shifts. Quiet contract swaps. It wasn't clean. While we were circling her, something else moved."

I nod once. "They didn't plan her, but they exploited her.

They saw the opening and used it." Grayson's jaw tightens. "They used her once. They don't get another shot."

Devon tips his chin.

"You think they'll try again?"

"I'm not taking the chance. She's got good instincts. Reads people better than most of our analysts. She's loyal. And she's getting promoted. I need people I can trust." Grayson looks at Devon. "You're on that list."

Devon lifts his cup. "Then let's finish building the team. And flush whoever's behind this."

Across the table, Reagan's still laughing, cheeks flushed from champagne and sun. She has no idea what's forming around her.

I raise my glass.

"Let's not."