Page 11 of Breached

He leaned back and slid his long legs on either side of mine. “Frank and General Bruce have decided to close Dusk, one of the safehouses on the east coast. They’ve had too many close calls, so for the safety of everyone there, the house has been deemed inactive. The families will stay there, but any guests they extract will either come here or be taken to Washington. Frank has asked a few of the men who don’t have families to come stay here, since we need extra manpower.” He licked his lips.

“Shouldn’t this house be shut down too?”

“No, we have a lot more security in place here, and we need at least one house to stay open, so that will be Shadows.” He kept his answer vague. “The guys will be here by dinnertime, so Cole wants them to meet you, as one of them will be assigned to specifically watch over you and Chase when the teams ship out.”

Ship out? I had mixed feelings—I hated to be left out of the action and was scared that something might happen to him. “West told me Stonewall doesn’t leave the house. You fly the drones from here, so why would you guys suddenly leave now?”

“Things are different than ever before.” He rubbed his eyes.

“When do you go?”

“Not sure yet.”

“Where?” I knew I was firing a lot at him, but I needed to be in the know—it was how I rolled.

He leaned forward and held my hands in his. “When I know more, I’ll tell you, but I’m sure it will be soon.”

“Maybe I should be there with you guys?” It was a longshot, but I could hold my own. “No one knows Bruno better than me. He has a lot of secrets.”

He tilted his head and stared at me, his gaze hot and serious. “You know Bruno wants you in the worst way and he’ll stop at nothing to have you.”

I pushed to my feet, and his hands dropped away. I leaned against the long table and chose my words carefully. I needed him to see what I did. “Okay, so plant me somewhere, use me as a distraction while you come up from behind and take them out.”

He moved to stand in front of me. “Small problem with that.”

“Which is?”

His hands slid around my neck and under my hair. “Bruno will stop at nothing to have you—and neither will I.”

FOUR

PAUL

Iraced up the stairs and headed out the front door with my head in turmoil. I slipped out onto the long porch that wrapped around the front of the house and pressed my hands against the railing. I fought to calm the memories that flooded through me. Seeing Talya and me like that brought all the tangled secrets we had both lived with to the surface. I remembered that trip so well. It was one of our very few getaways that we ever dared to risk. It was after the first failed attempt to try to push her away, but somehow, we ended up spending three days like a couple of fools in love. Talya had been in love with Eric Noah. It was love, yes—but a love built on lies just like the relationship I had now with Nicole.

Something pinged in my brain, and I closed my eyes as I tried to pull whatever it was forward into my head. It was a memory, just below the surface, and it nagged at me. But what?

The sound of tires put me on alert and my thoughts flew away. I smiled when I saw who it was. Steve Chamness hopped out of the truck followed by Davie and Quinn. It had been a long time since I’d seen the guys from Team North Rock and forever since I’d seen Quinn at the Dusk safehouse in North Carolina. I knew Frank would have brought them up to speed on the situation with Bruno, and I suspected he may have looped Chamness in on the fact that I was Eric Noah as well. Since he’d be the one to watch over Nicole and Chase, he’d need to know the whole picture. Quinn and Davie would most likely still be in the dark.

“Paul,” Chamness held out a hand, “nice to see you again.”

“You too. How’s Jill?” I greeted him, knowing he had every intention of asking his girlfriend to marry him soon.

His smile spread wide across his face, and his eyes lit up. “She’s great. Can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

“I’m happy for ya!” I then greeted the others before following them inside, where they dropped their bags at the bottom of the stairs and went to clean up before joining everyone in the dining room. They knew the routine. It was what we always did whenever anyone came to visit or if a new “guest” had arrived—dinner then drinks. It was the best time to gather.

“Hey, Uncle Paul.” Olivia marched up to me and pulled on my arm to get me to step away from the others. “I’m your favorite, right?”

I smirked but let it fall when I saw she wasn’t playing. “Maybe.”

“As your favorite, I want you to tell her.” She spoke in a low, serious voice as she indicated Nicole, who was speaking to Keith by the windows. “I don’t want her to leave, and neither does Chase. So, make it right, grow a set, Uncle, and tell her the truth. If she loves you, which I know she does, she’ll get over it.” I blinked down at the mini-Savannah who was setting me straight. She reached up high and put a hand on my shoulder. “Get ahead of it—so she doesn’t figure it out and be even more pissed.” I made a face, and she rolled her eyes. “Mad,” she corrected herself, which was funny because we gave up trying not to curse around her long ago, mainly because she was always within earshot.

I gave her a tight nod; she was right. She grinned and nodded wisely then went to stand by Nicole. I caught Cole’s questioning look. I wasn’t about to admit his pistol of a daughter just told me to grow a set. I glanced at Mark, who seemed to be enjoying himself playing bartender. He’d have a field day with that one. I signaled to Cole it was nothing and went to grab a drink.

Mark presented me with my double scotch and an ice cube in a low glass and cleared his throat. “Don’t think I missed that back there. But she’s right. You need to grow a set, buddy.” He grinned then slipped back into host mode. Shit, he really is as bad as the wives at eavesdropping. I went to join Mike, who looked like he was digesting some disturbing news. His face was bent low over his phone. He simply murmured at me, so I didn’t interrupt and enjoyed my drink. I saw Cat watching Mike as she listened to Sloane tell a story. Clearly, she knew something was up with him.

We were told by the kitchen staff that dinner was ready, and we made our way into the dining room. It still felt strange that Abigail wasn’t the one running the show, and given the faces I could see, the rest of the family felt the same. It wasn’t lost on any of us that this was our new normal.