“I’m not really sure what the hierarchy of loyalty is in this situation. Naomi and Sloane are my first real friends in a long time and I’m out of practice. But I know how much it hurt you when I kept you in the dark. I got a taste of that when you were off plotting without me. And—”
He pinned my hips to the door with his with a thump.
“Are they fucking in there?” I heard Knox ask from the other room.
“And what?” Nash asked me.
“And they should know. And I get that you’re mad and I’m sorry for not raising this with you first.”
“I appreciate that and you’re not wrong,” he said, brushing my hair back from my forehead in a gesture so gentle my knees went weak.
“I’m not?”
A smile tugged on the corner of his mouth. “No. But next time, let’s have the conversation first.”
He was so damn handsome and so damn…good. No wonder I’d fallen in L-word with the man.
I managed a nod. “Yep. Got it.”
He cupped my face in his hand. “You and I are in this together. When our decisions affect each other, we make them together. Understand?”
I nodded my head vigorously.
“Good,” he said, pulling me away from the door. He gave my ass a stinging slap. “Consider that a low five.”
“Ouch!”
“She either slapped him or he spanked her,” Sloane said in the other room.
“Now, let’s get back out there and figure this shit out. Together,” Nash said firmly.
“Okay.”
He paused. “Is there anything else you need to tell me before we go back out there?”
I opened my mouth just as another knock sounded on the front door. “I swear this one isn’t me,” I insisted.
He grinned and opened the bedroom door.
Nolan strolled inside and Knox closed the door behind him. The marshal stopped and eyed the gathering, the whiteboard, and Mrs. Tweedy mixing up a pitcher of old-fashioneds. “I’m gonna hate this, aren’t I?”
“Not as much as I already do,” Knox told him.
“Hi, Nolan,” Sloane said with a pretty smile.
“Hey, cupcake.”
Lucian remained silent, but the “I’m about to explode” vibes were a tangible presence in the room.
“I’ll get more beers,” I said, deliberately stepping between Lucian and Nolan, who seemed unaware that his life hung in the balance.
“You know the basics. This is your last chance to bail before shit gets real,” Nash said to Nolan as I headed for the kitchen. “In or out.”
“In,” he said without hesitation.
“Nolan, this could get you in serious trouble,” I warned, pulling a six-pack out of the fridge. “Your bosses won’t like your involvement in this.”
Nolan spread his arms. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my job sucks. It cost me my marriage. It ruined any hope I have for the world in general. And sleeping in one-star roach motels has destroyed my back. I already have my resignation drafted. I’m just waiting to get drunk enough or fed up enough to send it up the chain. Besides, I’m tired of babysitting.”
Nash and I exchanged a look and he nodded. I handed Nolan a beer. “Welcome to the team.”
“I don’t know what the hell you kids are talkin’ about, but I’m on the team too,” Mrs. Tweedy announced.
I shrugged at Nash and he rolled his eyes. We both knew there was no easy way of giving her the boot.
“Fine,” Nash said to her. “But you can’t repeat anything you hear tonight. Not to your gym buddies. Not to your poker pals. No one.”
“Sheesh. I got it already. Let’s talk turkey.”
“Let’s get this over with,” Knox muttered and pulled a chair out for Naomi.
We sat around the table with bourbon and beers and listened as Nash walked us all through the events of the past few days, then laid out the basic plan they’d come up with.
“I hate it,” Sloane announced when he was finished.
Naomi was wide-eyed and gripping Knox’s hand. “You can’t be serious, Nash. You can’t just dangle yourself out there as bait. He almost killed you once.”
“And this time, I’ll be ready for him,” Nash said gently.
“We all will,” I promised.
Naomi turned beseeching eyes to Knox. “But if Nash is a target, a loose end, so is Way.”
“So are you,” Lucian said.
Knox dragged her into his side. “Look at me, Daze. No one is getting near either of you. I promise you that. They’d have to get through me first, and no one is fucking getting through me.”
“He shot Nash,” she said, her eyes welling with tears.
“He’s not gettin’ a second chance there either,” Knox promised. His gaze went to his brother and they shared a long look.
Naomi closed her eyes and leaned into Knox’s chest. “I can’t believe all this is happening because of my sister. I feel like I brought this on all of you.”
“You can’t take responsibility for another adult’s bad decisions,” Nash told her. His gaze shifted to me. “All you can do is try to make good ones for yourself.”
“I want one thing straight,” Knox said. “None of this goes down before the wedding Saturday. Nothing fucks up Daisy’s day.”
“It’s your day too, Knox,” Naomi said, leaning into him.
“Damn right it is. And nothing and nobody is going to ruin it. Agreed?” He looked around the table, making sure each of us nodded our agreement.
“We’ll put everything in motion Monday,” Nash said.
“Okay. Then we should talk about preparation,” I suggested.
Nash nodded. “We’re all part of the team. We’ve all got a job to do, otherwise why are we here?”
“Because Lina opened her big mouth and dragged them into it,” Knox said.
“Lina saved you a week of sleeping on the couch, which is exactly what you’d deserve if you’d gotten away with keeping me in the dark on this one. So you should be thanking her,” Naomi pointed out.
Knox looked at me and used his middle finger to rub at the corner of his eye. “Thanks, Leens,” he said.
“You’re so welcome,” I said sweetly, lifting my glass with middle finger extended.
“Let’s get back to assignments,” Nolan suggested.
“Go on,” Nash prompted me.
I blinked. “I don’t really… I’m not comfortable…”
“But you know what needs to be done,” he insisted.
“Right,” I said. “Okay then. Nash, you’re going to get access to the case file the Lawlerville PD started before the feds muscled their way in. Maybe there’s something in there that will tell us where Hugo went.”
He nodded his agreement and I blew out a breath. “Keep going,” he prompted.
I turned to Nolan. “Nolan, you use your charm and connections to see what information you can get on the case the feds are building against Anthony Hugo. Who’s feeding them information, and how are they getting it?”
“On it,” he said, stroking his mustache.