…
The Wilde Security office sat in a rundown strip mall that was otherwise hopelessly vacant. Reece had bought the graffiti-covered building cheap and had set up shop in one of the seven empty stores with plans to restore the remaining six into office spaces they could rent out for extra income. But while it was a good idea in theory, none of the Wilde brothers knew the first thing about restoration, and most of the building was still boarded-up. The only cosmetic changes they’d accomplished so far were the darkly tinted front windows and the neat, white lettering that spelled out “Wilde Security” on the glass.
At least the neighborhood wasn’t half bad anymore. It had experienced a revival over the past several years as young professionals flooded the area looking for cheaper rent, which in turn, had driven up housing costs and chased most of the gangbangers farther east. All of the graffiti was old, faded, and starting to chip and gave the building the look of an eighty-year-old with regrettable tattoos.
Cam guided his 4Runner into the parking lot, which had been freshly paved during the summer and glowed like an oil spill in the yellow splash of the street lamps. He parked next to Vaughn’s Hummer, somewhat dismayed to also see Reece’s new Scion FR-S and the ten-year-old Jeep Cherokee Greer drove when it was too cold for his Harley.
Damn. He’d really hoped only his twin was burning the midnight oil at the office tonight. Should have known better. Since they’d all been in Key West for the past week, things had piled up. Now, with Jude on his honeymoon, they were a man short and playing catch-up. To top it off, a new missing person case had come in this morning, which had fallen to Vaughn, who had an uncanny ability to track people.
No doubt, Vaughn was already on the trail, which explained why he was still at the office on a Friday night. Reece was always at the office because, workaholic that he was, he didn’t have a social life outside of Wilde Security and his other business ventures. And if Greer had one, he didn’t talk about it.
So, yeah, should have known they’d all be here.
Greer and Reece both had offices in the back of the building, while Cam shared the front area with Vaughn and Jude, so maybe he’d get lucky and his oldest brothers would be shut away doing expense reports or whatever they did. Then he could talk to his twin in private.
Or…not.
He pushed through the front door to find everyone gathered there, waiting. Figures. “Oh, lookie. A welcoming committee.”
“What situation?” Greer demanded. “And where the hell is your coat?”
Cam barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. What was it about his oldest brother that made him feel like a teenager again? “Okay, Dad.”
“Don’t be an ass,” Reece said. “That’s Jude’s job.”
“Well, he’s not here, so I guess I’ll do the honors this week.”
Reece shook his head. “Fucking younger brothers.”
“Enough.” Greer made a slicing motion through the air with the blade of his hand, effectively shutting everyone up. “Vaughn said you went out to meet an informant, and now you have a situation. What is it?”
Yeah, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to share said situation with his brothers just yet. At least not until he had something more substantial than a drug addict’s word. They’d blow the whole thing all out of proportion when it could be nothing. Hell, it probably was nothing. And even if it was something, he’d handle it. They didn’t need to be involved.
“It’s no big deal, guys. Really.” He shrugged out of his shoulder holster, locking it and his firearm in the top drawer of his desk before grabbing the hoodie hanging from the back of his chair. He stuffed his arms in and zipped it half way, then faced his brothers again. “I just wanted to give Vaughn a heads up.”
“About what?” Vaughn asked.
Cam met his gaze. As much as he’d rather skirt around the issue, it was pointless to keep evading because his twin could read him like a preschooler’s alphabet book. It was only a matter of time until they all found out anyway. “Someone’s been shopping around Soup’s territory looking to put a hit out on me.”
The room exploded with noise.
“What?” Reece said.
“You call that no big deal?” Greer asked.
Cam held his twin’s gaze throughout, silently conveying how sorry he was for putting Vaughn in danger. If the threat was real, which he wasn’t completely convinced of yet.
Vaughn inclined his head. He got the message and accepted it, which took a huge load off Cam’s shoulders. Truthfully, he’d been more worried about Vaughn’s reaction to the news than he was about the supposed hit.
“Who is it?” Greer asked, drawing him back into the conversation.
“Dunno yet. Working on it.”