There was that. The man their client had hired them to find had been lucky as fuck, and it had cost Z the “scratch” on his arm and a near miss with a few bullets. The wealthy businessman who’d been kidnapped by the cartel had been delivered home to his wife and kids, and for that, Z was grateful.
But Z was pretty sure the failure of the mission—at least on Z’s and Trace’s parts—had been Kevin’s intention in the first place—to get Z and Trace killed so he could swoop in and save the day. The guy had always been volatile, but ever since his relationship with RT had become rocky, Kevin had grown more and more unstable. On more than one occasion, he’d accused Z of wanting to fuck RT. It never mattered what Z said to defuse the situation, Kevin had never believed him.
“I hope you’re not expectin’ my input,” Z stated. He did not want to be part of this. It was up to the big dogs as to what they did to Kevin. Whether they fired him or reprimanded him, that was their choice, not Z’s.
“No, I’m not,” RT assured him, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk. “I just wanted you to know that I take this seriously. The welfare of my employees is important to me. I can’t sit by and let Kevin get away with this.”
Z couldn’t say he wasn’t happy with that decision. If Kevin had gone so far as to try and get Z and Trace killed because he was jealous, there was no telling what he was capable of.
Shrugging as though it didn’t matter one way or the other, Z got to his feet.
“I’m sorry this went down the way it did,” RT said, standing as well.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Z replied, looking directly into RT’s eyes, wanting the man to realize he meant those words. RT was the type to take everything on himself, even the irresponsible actions of a man like Kevin.
“It’ll get better from here,” RT said, smiling, though it was obviously forced. “I promise.”
Yeah, well, Z wasn’t so sure RT could ensure that, but Z wasn’t going to disagree. After all, Z didn’t hold RT responsible for any of it. He was only human; there was no way he could’ve seen this coming.
“Smooth sailing from here on out,” Z replied with a smile as he moved toward the door.
“Why’re you limping?” RT asked as Z placed his hand on the doorknob, anxious to put some distance between him and RT. When the man showed his softer side, he only enraptured Z more, and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
“Huh?” He didn’t bother to turn around.
“You’re limping. Is somethin’ wrong with your leg?”
Peering at RT over his shoulder, Z smiled. “Cramp.”
RT’s eyes narrowed, and Z knew his boss didn’t believe him, but he wasn’t going to go into detail. The man had enough to worry about as it was.
“See you on Monday?” RT asked as Z opened the door.
“Monday.” With that, Z left, feeling the heat of RT’s gaze trailing him as he did.
As he hobbled out of the office, he had to wonder whether or not Kevin’s termination would also mean the end of his relationship with RT. It shouldn’t matter to Z, but for some strange reason, it did.
ONE
Three years later – August
“TODAY. GOT IT.” KIRA TAPPED out something on her iPad before looking up at Ryan once more. “Who do you want me to call in?” she asked, her easygoing drawl polite and to the point.
Ryan Trexler stared back at his cousin, trying to hide the underlying urge to offer her a bit of advice. The dress she wore seemed to be more skin than fabric. Today’s outfit was some off-the-shoulder, puffy black-and-white number combined with dangly earrings, cowboy boots, and a hell of a lot of flesh. Rather than advise her to broaden her shopping to departments that utilized more fabric, Ryan shook his head. Getting Kira to change her style now was like trying to convince Jayden that bright colors were banned in the office.
If only Ryan could keep guys like Decker Bromwell from noticing his cousin, then Ryan wouldn’t give a shit what Kira wore. Since that would likely never happen, he had to remember to keep his opinions to himself. Her fashion sense had nothing to do with her ability to get the job done, and he wasn’t the type of employer to enforce a dress code. They had more important issues to worry about.
Despite her taste in clothing, Ryan was grateful for Kira’s no-nonsense manner. It made getting down to business that much easier for him. And on a day like this one, when an impromptu meeting was the most critical thing on his to-do list, Ryan appreciated it all the more.
Answering her original question, Ryan said, “Clay, Conner, and Z.”
After keying something else into her iPad, Kira gifted him with a beaming smile as she eased toward the door. “Got it, boss. I’ll shoot them a message telling them to be here by three.” Kira disappeared, closing his office door behind her.
“Thanks,” Ryan muttered to the space Kira had just vacated, casting a sideways glance at his watch. Two twenty. That’d give him just enough time to put the details together for the briefing before the others arrived, and then it’d give the four of them enough time to get in place by sundown.
A few quick keystrokes on his computer and Ryan printed four copies of the details that the parents of the missing girl had provided him with yesterday when they’d called seeking Sniper 1’s assistance. He could still hear the father’s fear for his daughter; Mr. Dumont’s anxiety had seeped through the phone, leaving Ryan desperate to help the man find his missing child.
Ryan added the extra notes from the recon he’d done last night, and ten minutes later, after tossing each set into its own file folder, he was ready.
Tucking his laptop along with the additional files beneath his arm, he made his way down the narrow hall that led to his father’s office. Rapping his knuckles on the closed door while staring at the silver and gold nameplate that read BRYCE TREXLER, Ryan waited until his father’s booming voice announced for him to come in.
Opening the door, Ryan stuck his head in but didn’t bother to join his father inside. “I’m meeting with Clay, Z, and Conner at three. We’ll be in the conference room.”
Bryce Trexler, one of the two owners of Sniper 1 Security, nodded. “You need me there?”
“Only if you wanna be,” Ryan said.
Out of a deep respect for the two men who’d built Sniper 1 Security from the ground up, he continued to keep Bryce and Casper involved in the goings-on when he could. For the most part, Ryan had taken control of the business dealings while the original owners contemplated what to do with the downtime they could see in their future. Neither man had yet to take the fully retired plunge, so Bryce and Casper simply did what they were used to doing…they came into the office every day. And Ryan continued to include them.
“Casper and I’ll meet you in there.”
“Thanks.” With that, Ryan left his father to his own devices and then ventured into the empty conference room across the hall. He flipped on the bright fluorescent lights and set his load on the far side of the long table, farthest from the door.
Less than a minute later, the heavy clomp of booted feet announced the first arrival, which turned out to be Ryan’s younger brother. The guy could be quiet as a mouse when he wanted to be, but all other times, Clay Trexler seemed to make as much noise as possible. Ryan had never understood why that was, but he didn’t care enough to question it, either.
“What’s up, boss man?” Clay bellowed, his thunderous voice echoing in the glass-enclosed space.
Ryan turned in time to see a slightly disheveled Clay—complete with shaggy blond hair, white tank top, and tattered blue jeans—flop into one of the fifteen high-back leather chairs circling the table. Without an ounce of propriety, Clay propped his feet up on the conference table while he tapped something on his phone.
“Kira said you wanted to meet.”
“In half an hour,” Ryan informed him, tethering his laptop to the power cable poking up through the grommet in the center of the table. He’d been going nonstop since that morning, nearly draining the battery.
“Make a note then, ’cause I’m early. I know how you are about punctuality,” Clay mumbled. “I’ll prob’ly need to borrow some of these extra minutes at a later date.”