As he sipped his beer, Ryan continued to watch Z, realizing he didn’t know all that much about the guy on a deeply personal level. Other than the pertinent information such as his medical history, where he’d grown up, what his parents’ names were. He also knew that Z was loyal, dedicated, and honest to a fault.
His thoughts drifted back to their conversation over breakfast. The one that Z had reacted quite badly to.
“You’re a serial dater. You don’t use your real name most of the time, opting not to let the men you’re with know the real you, claiming it’s to keep your cover.
Ryan had been hoping, somewhere deep, deep down, that Z would refute the statement, tell Ryan he was out of his mind for believing that. Unfortunately, Z had appeared angry when he’d clammed up, then told him it was time to go to work.
Since then, Ryan had thought about Z’s reaction numerous times, but he’d yet to find an opportunity to bring it back up. As a rule, Ryan had never jumped to conclusions, but it dawned on him—especially after Z had gotten angry—that he’d done exactly that where Z was concerned. He’d listened to the rumors—rumors that Z had never tried to deny—and made a shitload of assumptions.
“Whatcha hangin’ out in the shadows for?”
The sound of his cousin Kira’s voice yanked Ryan from his thoughts. He downed the rest of his beer and shot her a quick look. “Took a call.”
“Yeah?” Her smile lit up her face. “Was that while you were ogling Z from afar?”
“What? No. I wasn’t—”
“Don’t bother to deny it,” Kira interrupted. “We’ve all seen it. But it’s cool. So how’s it goin’? The assignment?”
Grateful she dropped the subject of Z, he said, “It’s gonna fizzle out fast if we don’t get a lead on the painting.”
“That’s why I’m here,” she said with a huge grin. “I was talking to Jericho and Amahn—he’s kinda overprotective, by the way. Amahn, that is. Anyway, when Ally showed up, they started chattin’ about her condo on the beach. Turns out, Jericho’s got one, too. Not far from here.”
Ryan’s full attention turned to his cousin. “Damn. Why hadn’t I thought of that?”
“Because you’re too busy tryin’ to get in Z’s pants?”
Kira’s offhanded remark wasn’t helping Ryan focus.
“Kidding,” she said with a giggle. “I gotta get back.”
With a short wave and another face-splitting grin, Kira left him standing there, thinking about what she’d said.
Jericho had a condo on the beach.
Did Amahn know about it? Obviously he had to if Jericho had mentioned it.
Knowing they had a little time left, Ryan shot a quick text to Kira’s brother Dominic.
I need an address. All properties in the area owned by Jericho Ardent. Send to Trace.
After that, Ryan shot off another text. This one to Trace, informing him he’d be receiving an address shortly and to check it out as soon as possible.
And now, the only thing Ryan could do was wait for more details.
Which meant he had no excuse to keep his distance from Z.
As he slogged back through the sand, Ryan realized that he was looking forward to spending some time with Z.
A lot more time.
TWENTY-TWO
“ARE YOU SERIOUS?” JAYDEN QUESTIONED, giggling. “You really did that?”
Z grinned against the lip of his beer bottle as he scanned the faces over the flames from the bonfire. He scooted over so that RT could join him on the bench he was seated on. “Not me, no. But the twins were always pulling one prank or another.”
For the past half hour, they’d been pulling stories about the Walker brothers from him. It’d all started after his trip down to Coyote Ridge to help out Brendon Walker. When he’d come back, Z had shared a few stories with the ladies in the office, and since, they’d been interested in hearing more about his rebellious childhood.
So he gave them what they wanted.
“An ice machine in the cafeteria?” Jayden confirmed. “Did they get caught?”
“Them, no,” Z explained. “But their brother Zane took the fall ’cause his brothers had too many marks. They would’ve been expelled, but Zane was a straight-A student.”
“But you’re the one who set it up?”
Z smiled, not answering. He’d been wild as a teenager, and he blamed it on the guys he’d kept company with. The Walker brothers had been known for their mischief, so yeah, maybe Z had picked up a few things from the twins.
Or vice versa. Who knew?
“So, I’ve got a question.” All eyes turned to Courtney. She was sitting on a bench beside Marissa, elbows propped on her knees, a beer bottle dangling from her fingers. Her husband was standing a few feet away, talking to Leyton and Ashlynn. “Where do you disappear to at night?”
Z hadn’t expected the question, and he tried to hide his discomfort, glancing around at the others. All those eyes had turned to him, clearly anticipating an answer.
“We’ve decided you’ve got a secret life,” Marissa added, excitement buzzing in her words. “Possibly a husband and kids tucked somewhere.”
Thankfully, Jericho and Amahn were up near the stairs, talking to Ally and Clay, out of earshot. That offhanded remark would’ve easily blown their cover. Or made Z look like a cheating bastard.
Z laughed. The notion of him having a secret family was absurd, but he should’ve expected Marissa and Courtney to come up with something like that.
RT shifted, catching Z’s attention. Glancing over, he saw that he was anticipating an answer. An answer Z wasn’t ready to give.
“Are you a stripper?” Jayden asked bluntly. “I bet that’s it.”
“Magic Mike,” Kira added. “I can so totally see that. And I bet Evan’s a stripper, too.”
“Is Evan even old enough to be a stripper?” This time Casper was the one with the question.
“Whatever,” Evan snorted with a laugh. “I’m definitely old enough.” His face reddened. “But I’m not!”
Z exhaled, grateful they’d shifted the attention off him, the teasing turning on Evan. Downing what was left of his beer, he peered over at RT to find him still looking his way. Curiosity glowed in his ice-blue eyes.
Luckily RT’s phone rang, and he snatched it from where it rested on his thigh. From Z’s position next to him, he could see by the caller ID on the screen that it was Trace.
“Yeah?” RT spoke into the phone.
Z couldn’t hear the other half of the conversation, but the pleased smile that lifted RT’s lips told him it was good news.
“Perfect.” Pause. “No. Don’t do anything yet.” Pause. “Okay, good. See you soon.”
RT’s gaze shifted to Jericho and Amahn. The pair was still deep in conversation with Ally and Clay.
After disconnecting the call, RT leaned over, his mouth dangerously close to Z’s ear. “Trace and Hunter found a painting in Jericho’s beach house. Trace doesn’t think it’s the real thing, but at least we know where the other fake is.”
“Beach house?” Z questioned. Obviously, he’d been out of the loop on this particular aspect of the mission.
“Kira mentioned it to me a little while ago. Dom pulled the address, and Trace and Hunter went to check it out.”
RT’s warm breath against his neck was giving Z chills. He pulled away slightly, not wanting his body to give him away in front of all these people. “It’s about time we got some good news.”
“Yes, it is.”
“So no luck on the real thing?” Z asked.
“No. Conner and Colby found a storage unit key in Amahn’s office. They’re over there now.”
Z knew that the only thing they’d possibly find—if anything at all—would be the fake that was originally stolen. And now that they knew the whereabouts of the other, they didn’t necessarily need it.
“What do we do now?” Z inquired, a surge of relief coursing through him.
“We enjoy the night.”
The way RT said the words had Z thinking about something other than the party. Something more private. A lot more private. Turning to look directly into RT’s eyes, he attempted to see whether RT had meant it the way it sounded. Based on the flare of heat that ignited in those icy blue orbs, it looked as though they had plans for later.
Hopping to his feet, Z was tempted to tell everyone to go the hell home.
Instead, he smiled down at RT. “You want another beer?”
“Sure.”
“Be right back.”