Page 59 of Shared By the Mountain Men Triplets

She follows me into the house, closing the door gently behind her.

“The warning couldn’t be more clear if he’d strung caution tape,” I say.

Rhett comes in right behind us. He’s still on the phone, but I’ll bet he’s feeling the same need I am, to put our bodies between Wren and every line of approach to this cabin. I want her close enough that if anything goes wrong, I can have her behind me before she even draws in a breath.

Rhett ends his call and slides his phone into his pocket. “Sentinel will be coming by in an hour for a property assessment. No one’s going to get this close again without us knowing.”

“I’ll make breakfast,” I say. I don’t have an appetite, but we all need to eat. “It’ll just be eggs and toast today, because apparently some asshole interrupted my plan for pancakes.”

Rhett’s mouth twitches, and Cade looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. That's why I said it.

Anger is still sitting under my skin like rebar in concrete, but humor gives us room to breathe.

“Pancakes were the plan?” Wren asks.

“Blueberry.”

“Goddamn.” Her eyes narrow and she puts a hand on her hip. “You’re telling me Harlan Turner is making me miss out on blueberry pancakes?”

I lift a brow and nod as some of my usual grinreturns. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Then now it’s personal.”

As I smile at Wren’s joke, Rhett keeps his eyes on her. “It’s been personal.”

After we eat, the day is filled with focused action. Rhett calls around for new tires, Cade sketches out the property in preparation for Sentinel’s visit, and after Wren and I clean the breakfast dishes, I check our hardware supplies.

Atlas arrives with a man he introduces as a new hire. There’s a baby at Sentinel’s compound now, and the men are understandably reluctant to take work far from home, so they’re expanding their team.

When Rhett introduces the men to Wren, Atlas shakes her hand. “The biologist. Kira told us about you.”

“Kira? Oh.”

I watch understanding dawn on Wren’s face.

“Your maps are what gave DEA the pattern?” Atlas asks.

After a brief hesitation, Wren says, “Mine, plus Cade’s cache-point data.”

Atlas glances at Cade, then back at Wren. “Good work. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait on them too long. In the meantime …” Never one to waste time, Atlas tips his head toward the door, ready to get started.

While Rhett walks the perimeter with Sentinel, and Cade follows at a distance, I stay at the cabin with Wren and go over new protocols. I move her through the space, showingher where to go if we saydown,where to go if we sayrear,and where to hide if we saysafe room.It’s not a true safe room, but the reinforced storage closet with one small high window and survival supplies is where she needs to be if trouble comes to us.

She memorizes everything without complaint.

By the time Atlas is ready to leave, there are new motion sensors outside and Rhett’s holding a list of recommended upgrades.

“I’ll get in touch with Brennan,” Rhett tells Atlas.

“Good. The right people in the area need to know what we’re dealing with so we can look out for unusual movement.” He shakes Rhett’s hand. “Don’t freelance, Wilder.”

Rhett’s face gives nothing away. “Wasn’t planning to.”

When Atlas looks at me, I smile, but he doesn’t buy it. “Especially you,” he says.

I press my hand to my chest. “I’m wounded.”

Atlas lifts a brow. “Not currently.”