“Perhaps. If she discovers the full truth, she may kick him to the curb.” Nathan grabbed a bag of chips half smashed underneath yet another monitor.
“Yep.” Matt leaned back in the sofa. He was so fucking tired. But sleep had become a luxury. “Have you been able to hack into her files at work yet? We need to find out who bugged her house.”
“You think the situation has to do with the commander?”
“No. I think this has something to do with her job. Not us. But she’s family, and we need to figure out who’s gunning for her.”
Nathan started, swinging a startled gaze at his older brother. “Wow. She got to you.”
Yeah. The little blue-eyed minx had wormed right into the small circle of people he gave a crap about. Matt fought a growl. “She’s Shane’s wife. Like it or not, we put her in danger two years ago, and it’s even worse now. Shane might have alerted the commander when he tried to Google his past.”
“Yeah. Every instinct I have says they’re coming for us now.” Nathan rubbed his neck. “The commander is close. I can feel his presence.” He cleared his throat. “Do you think Shane found out who killed Jory?”
Matt exhaled, forcing the heavy weight of guilt out of his body. For now. “I hope so.” The need to draw blood roared like a tempest between his ears. “I shouldn’t have let Jory go.”
“You didn’t have a choice. Jory was good at his job and did what needed to be done. If he had a lead, nothing could’ve stopped him in pursuing it.” Nathan glanced at his phone with a frown. “Not even you, Mattie.”
The thick taste of the foreign beer failed to wash away the bile in Matt’s throat. “I failed him.”
“No. It was my job was to keep track of the three of you in the field—I failed him.” Nathan reached for a plain manila file holding a list of Josie’s current clients.
The blame game was useless, and they didn’t have time for it. Matt threw his file down on the coffee table. No need to read any more—he knew Josie’s life by heart, had since Shane married the woman. “Shane took the news of his imminent death well.”
“What choice did he have?” Nate sighed. “We’ll find the doctor. I promise.”
“It had better be soon.” Matt shook his head. How the woman had managed to hide from him for so long was a mystery.
A monitor beeped. Nathan punched in keys. “My results are in. I hacked the ME’s office for the autopsy results on the three men found down by the river. No evidence left on the bodies.”
“How did they die?” Matt asked.
“They all had lacerations from a good fight but died from broken bones in the neck.” Nathan raised an eyebrow. “Military style. The cops found a metal bat by the bodies, but the river washed away any and all DNA.”
Jesus. Matt huffed out a breath. Three guys had gotten to Shane with a bat. “How did they get so close?”
“My best guess is that our brother was distracted.” Nate’s face remained impassive, as usual. No emotion for so damn long. At least, none Matt could see. God help them all when he finally exploded. “I’ve traced Shane’s movements and hacked into the files of some of his old contacts. I’ve confirmed his theory that he bugged Josie’s house.”
“Why?” No way would Shane bug his wife’s house just because she was dating some construction worker. He’d be more likely to break down the front door and beat the guy to a pulp.
“My guess is that he discovered the other bugs and figured the commander was watching Josie. Knowing Shane, he wanted to trace the bugs back to the bastard.” Nate crunched a chip. “So, what’s our plan here?”
“First we figure out who’s after Josie while Shane gets his memory back. Quickly, considering we’re sitting ducks here. Then I assume he’ll try to send Josie to the compound with you while we deal with Jory’s killer.”
Nate visibly jumped. “He’s not keeping her, Mattie. He can’t.”
“I know. He’ll figure that out soon enough.” Matt kept his face expressionless. He steeled his shoulders. “You’re flying home to Montana tomorrow.”
Nathan tossed his file down. “I’m not leaving.”
Exactly what Matt expected. He hardened his face into true big brother mode. “Yes, you are. We don’t know how long it’ll take for Shane to get his memory back, and I sure as hell don’t need help with whoever’s after Josie. Go home and do your job.”
Shane loped barefoot into the room, yanking a T-shirt over his head, wearing ripped jeans. And a relaxed jaw. Bastard.
He glanced at Matt. “I need to fill in the blanks. Now.”
Matt nodded. “Let’s get down to business.”
Chapter 21
Early morning, Josie pinned her wet hair up, smoothing lip gloss on her face. Shane had retrieved clothes and toiletries from her house. Thank goodness. Though the isolation was beginning to bother her. She needed to get back to work. Now that might be a battle.
The thick socks masked her steps as she meandered down the hallway toward the smell of coffee.