Page 40 of Wild Card (Men of Action #4)

TALON

I pass through the lobby, hoping to keep a low profile. No such luck.

“Talon? Is that you?” Taylor, the receptionist, calls out and heads turn.

It’s been a while since I’ve been in the Hayes Security office, but one thing hasn’t changed.

Taylor comes around her desk and rushes over, throwing herself in my arms.

“It’s good to see you. Where have you been?”

I dip out of her hold and flash her a courteous smile. “I’ve been around. Returned to work full-time.”

“I thought maybe you’d be back here to finish up whatever project you worked on.”

She’s definitely fishing for information. Our contracted assignment with Hayes was confidential. Most people didn’t even know we existed.

The first time I laid eyes on Taylor, it was obvious she was interested. She didn’t hide her advances.

Similar to now.

Her eyes rake over me, flashing with hunger. She scales a nail over my shoulder and bicep, trailing my ink. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“Is everything back to normal?”

“Better than they’ve ever been.”

She licks her lip before pulling it between her teeth.

When Willow does this, I’m instantly hard, wanting to be inside her. But with Taylor, I wish I could unsee the whole action.

“Got a thing with Robbie and Max.”

“You still have my number, you should use it,” she purrs with an invitation like a neon sign.

“I’m off the market, sweetheart.” The endearment was meant to help ease any awkwardness, but her face clouds with rejection.

“Are you dating Willow Richards?”

I’m taken aback by her question. “You know Willow?”

“We went to school together. I chat with her sister sometimes on Insta.”

“Better yet, how’d you know I’m with Willow?”

“I saw the pictures posted on Sayge’s social from the party this weekend. She has such a sad story; it was nice to see her having a good time.” Her lack of sincerity burns a trail through me.

“Don’t know what you heard; her story is anything but sad.”

“But her sister and her boyfriend… it’s hard to come back from that. How humiliating.” She twirls a strand of hair around her finger. “I’d hate to see you as the rebound.”

“The ex-boyfriend was a spineless piece of shit. The sister was no better. Willow is fine.”

“I thought you needed time to recover.” She repeats the letdown I used the first time she made her move.

“Recovered a while ago.”

Any hope is dashed as anger sparks in her gaze, before sliding into confusion. “Did you say Max? As in Max Roberts?”

“The one and only.”

“He’s here? I haven’t seen him.”

Smart man must have used the private entrance. “Maybe he hasn’t arrived.”

She straightens, a new determination taking over. “I’ll watch for him.”

Good to know she’s an equal-opportunity manhunter.

I flick a half-wave and make my way back to Robbie’s office. Finn and Max greet me with shit-eating grins.

“How’s Taylor?” Max points to the screen that monitors the lobby.

“On the prowl. She’s got her eyes out for your arrival now that she knows I’m taken.”

Taylor sits behind her desk and unzips the top of her skintight sweater to reveal a peek of lace.

“I let her down easily, but she may need a big, strong Marine to erase the sting.”

“Asshole. Now I can’t even go to the break room.”

“You two run off our receptionist, we got problems. Dad will be pissed.” Robbie shakes his head.

Probably best I don’t mention the conversation about Willow. “Any news today?”

“Rylee was in Willow’s last Friday.”

“You have proof?”

“Lawn service technician knows the family. His uncle owns the company and he’s been working there since high school. He helped get Rylee in the house. She approached him with the story she was surprising Willow with dinner. He blocked the view long enough for her to get in.”

“He bought that shit? Any friend of the family would know there’s a rift between the sisters.”

“She had a grocery bag and a key. And he didn’t strike me as the type to follow the gossip chain.”

“What else?” I barely contain the hatred in my voice. “Even dipshits have to think that was an odd request. She had to do something to convince him.”

“He obviously carries a torch for her. My guess is she played on his attraction. He didn’t think much about it until I showed up this morning.”

“Jesus fuck.” I massage the back of my neck. “How’d she leave without being detected.”

“I went over today to do a walk-through. Willow in the habit of leaving her windows unlocked?” Max asks.

“No.”

“Didn’t think so. The living room window was unlocked and the screen tampered with.”

“We have her for the break-in.”

“Except she had a key.”

“Shit, the place belongs to Willow’s grandparents. It’s likely they all have a key, even though Willow lives there full-time.”

“There’s more. Received and reviewed the labs. Willow and Wolf had two different brands of peanut butter in their system. The contents of Willow’s stomach showed high volumes of aloe, psyllium husk, castor oil, mineral oil, and salt.”

“The contents of laxatives?” I vaguely remember the staff asking her about her medications and vitamins.

“Yeah, but they can be disguised as probiotics, natural or over-the-counter. They aren’t generally a red flag.”

“And Wolf?”

“Wolf’s labs showed all the same with the inclusion of macadamia nuts, cinnamon, and a sleeping agent. Which can be lethal to dogs. It’s enough to make him sick and pass out.”

“We weren’t in this place when Willow got sick.

Her brother mentioned her craving peanut butter in the hospital.

Likely her family knows, too. Meaning fucking months ago, Rylee broke in and contaminated Willow’s favorite food in an effort to make her sick.

This time she came back to trash her place, steal a few things, destroy most of Willow’s wardrobe, and went after Wolf? ”

“Her phone records show she’s in touch with resale sites online. She’s desperate to get cash. She’s also begging for Wynn to rethink his decision about their engagement, promising to pay him back.”

“She hawks some designer handbags and trinkets she steals from her sister, she had to know she’d get caught. What the fuck is her angle?”

“Working on that. We can always turn this over to your department and let them work through the details.”

While what we have is solid, there is a process. Pulling her in for questioning will tip her off and she’ll likely lawyer up. We need leverage.

I spear him with a glare that has the motherfucker gloating. “So, we don’t have shit to go on right now until she peddles Willow’s stolen stuff online?”

“We have the peanut butter.”

Ace’s search at Willow’s for any peanut butter came up empty. Rylee was smart enough not to leave anything behind. If they have something, it means they likely found it unlawfully. “Do I want to know how?”

“Not yet. It’s in processing.” Finn hands me a piece of paper. “Our independent lab is doing a comparison and collecting prints. Once the results match, we’ll reconvene.”

“How long?”

“Few hours, tops.”

My phone rings, Willow’s name popping up. “Babe?—”

“TAAAALLLLLLOOONNNN,” she wails, and every man goes on alert, hearing her through the line.

“Talk to me.” I switch to speaker.

“You aren’t… I can’t… It was awful…. He… She…“

“Lo, calm the fuck down and talk to me. What happened?”

“W-Wyatt begged me to pick him up after school so he could swim.”

“I know.” My blood goes glacial. If something happened to that little boy, someone will pay.

“His teacher called me and said he was upset because he forgot his suit at home. No problem, I’d stop by and grab it.”

“Baby, what happened?” I repeat, my patience shredding.

“I-I-I went to Chase’s and he… he… he…” She takes a deep breath. “He and Bex were having sex on the kitchen counter!”

My shoulders sag and relief races through my system.

“Fuck me walking,” Robbie rumbles.

“They didn’t know I was there, but I couldn’t move. Is it possible to be paralyzed from shock? I didn’t see them, but there were clothes strewn across the living room and she was screaming and… wait, who was that?”

All the men have mirrored amusement on their expressions. “That was Robbie. I’m at Hayes Security.”

“Am I on speaker?”

“You called in hysterics, didn’t know what I was facing.”

“Oh my God, get me off.”

“Not a chance, babe, gotta hear how this plays out.”

“Is that Max? “

“The one and only.”

She squeaks and my cock twitches, imagining her skin splotching.

“Who all is there?”

“Does it matter?” Finn answers with a chuckle.

“Finn Black! Oh my God, now everyone knows my brother is banging my best friend.”

“I’m thinking you are the only one who didn’t know it, Lo.” Robbie doesn’t disguise his hilarity.

“Are you kidding?” Her screech pings around the room. “Talon, did you know?”

“Princess.” I try to think of something that won’t rile her up further.

“Don’t princess me! You knew and didn’t tell me.”

“Not my place to tell you who Chase is fucking.”

“Oh my God, oh my God,” she chants. “What am I going to do?”

“There’s nothing to do.”

“My brother and best friend are… are… “

“Fucking,” I finish for her.

“Stop! This is disastrous.”

“Nothing disastrous about it. Think when you calm down enough to approach them, you’ll see they are into each other.”

“Into each other, like in love?”

“Don’t have access to your brother’s journal, but yeah, something like that.”

“Do NOT make fun of me right now.”

“Then calm down.”

“I’ll get Wyatt and we’ll go for ice cream. He’ll be disappointed about swimming, but I’m not going back over there for a bathing suit.”

“I’ll buy him one and meet you at the house. Calm your shit and drive safe.”

“Don’t tell me to calm my shit, Talon Simms. I may be scarred for life.”

“See you at the house in thirty.” I click off and let out a long breath.

“Your woman has a flare for the dramatics,” Max surmises. “No wonder she fits right in.”

“How did she not know? I locked in on that fact the first night I met him.” Finn eyes me.

“Same, but he’s been keeping it quiet for a long time. Bex had some hang-ups and he had to work through them.”