Grace

“I’ll be able to hear everything as it’s going on?” I asked, watching Ian secure the cufflinks to his blue button-down.

Nodding, he pointed to one of the small, silver cufflinks. “This one’s an audio transmitter. You can hear what’s going on, but I can’t hear you. I know these are your people, so if there’s something you feel I need to ask them, just text it to me.”

“I will.” He folded up the sleeves. The action hid the cufflink from view, but showed off his tattoos. “So, your plan is to find Emily and work your charm on her?”

Sighing, he pulled me into his arms. “Does that bother you?”

I shrugged. “There are a lot of things that bother me right now. I always knew Emily was a little jealous of me, but what if she’s the one who wants me dead? I can’t wrap my head around it. We’ve worked together for a long time.”

He brushed his thumb across my cheek. “Like I said before, sometimes, those closest to us are the ones who’ll betray us first.”

“I know,” I said, holding his hand to my cheek. “Just don’t flirt with her too much. I don’t know how much I can handle. The thought of it alone pisses me off.”

A mischievous smile spread across his face. “Imagine how I felt watching Jared do the same thing with you.”

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

His eyes took on a dangerous glow. “I know. Because if he had anything to do with what happened to you, I’ll kill him.”

A part of me believed him. But then, my father would be right along with him. Hell, I wanted to face the people who kidnapped me. If given the chance, I wondered if I’d be able to kill them.

Lifting on my toes, I kissed him. “When you find the people who wanted me dead, I want to be there.”

He nodded. “I’m a good hunter, cupcake. I’ll find them.”

“Cupcake?” I asked with a laugh.

“What? You taste sweet. I’m hoping to get a little more tonight.” Grinning from ear to ear, he bit his bottom lip. “I shouldn’t be gone too long.”

“Ian,” Reed shouted, “we’ve got a package.” We walked to the living room, where he’d pulled three small boxes out of a larger box and set them on the coffee table. “Pretty sure it’s our watches,” he added. They each grabbed one of the smaller boxes and opened them up to reveal black watches.

“Those look nice,” I said. “Did you get them on the internet?”

Reed’s focus shot over to Ian and they both chuckled. “No,” Ian replied, hooking it around his wrist. “These are special order.”

Reed pressed a button on the side of his. When he did, Ian’s beeped.

“What do they do?” I asked.

Reed handed me his watch and Ian explained. “A woman we know designed these. It took a while to get the tracking software just right.” Ian tapped his finger on the watch face and it came to life. “These three watches are connected. If one of us is in trouble, we can alert the others and find their location. It also has voice to text, so messages can be sent easily.”

Fascinated by the whole idea, I checked out its features. It was some real James Bond-type shit. “This is insane. I didn’t know the government had this kind of stuff.”

“You wouldn’t believe the kind of things we have access to,” Reed said. He opened the last box and strapped the watch to his wrist.

Ian took the watch from me and slipped it around my wrist. “This is Bryce’s, but for the time being, why don’t you wear it? That way, I’ll know you’re okay.”

“Are you sure?” I gasped, looking down at the watch. It had to be worth thousands of dollars.

Ian smiled and my body melted. “I’m sure. If Reed has to leave for some reason, and something happens, I’ll be able to find you.”

Reed shook his head. “I’m taking tonight off. I want to be near my computer in case you find something. Plus, I need some sleep.”

Ian slapped his back. “That you do, brother. You look like dog shit.”

“Thanks, asshole.” Chuckling, he flipped him off. Leaving the room, he soon came back, laptop in hand.

I’d noticed Reed hadn’t had time to sleep, with being gone at nights and being with me during the day. It made me wonder what he was doing. Ian told me they had secrets, and I wasn’t going to lie, I wanted to know them.

Placing his hand on the back of my neck, he pulled me close and kissed me. “I won’t be gone long.”

Reed typed away on his computer. “We’re all set. You’re connected,” he called out.

Ian winked and headed for the door. I could hear his footsteps through Reed’s computer as he walked to his truck.

“Want to order a pizza tonight?” Reed asked, sitting back on the couch.

I sat down beside him. “Sure. I’m not picky. I can eat any kind.”

His smile broadened and he got back up. “That was easy.” He walked away and called it in while I listened to Ian sing along with Bruno Mars on the truck radio. I couldn’t help but laugh. Reed came back and sat down, shaking his head incredulously at his brother. “He was always the life of the party.”

I giggled. “I can see that. What’s Bryce like? I know you said he and Ian were different from each other.”

“Definitely different. Bryce is more serious and doesn’t play around, while Ian can look death in the face and laugh. It’s like he’s not afraid of anything. Some might call it reckless, but I think he’s just fearless because he has nothing to lose.” He cleared his throat. “Until now.”

“What do you mean?”

“He has you. When he found out you were missing, it was like something snapped inside of him.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know him that well, but even I could tell he was a different person when I woke up yesterday. I’ve never seen him look so serious.”

He held up his hands. “All I can say is, give him a chance. I don’t know what all he’s told you about us, but what we do is unpredictable. We never know if we’ll be gone for a night or three months. It all depends on the case.”

“Is that where you’ve been the past couple of nights? On a case?” I asked.

Averting his gaze, he turned back to the computer. “Something like that.”

And there it was, a closed door; one of the secrets Ian told me about. I wasn’t about to pry further, so I let it go. “I’ve always liked Ian,” I confessed. “As long as he doesn’t break my heart, we’ll be fine.”

Reed grinned. “He may be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I know he’s not that stupid.”

“All right, I’m here.” Ian’s voice interrupted our conversation, his voice coming from the computer. I hated that we couldn’t see what was going on. All we could do was listen.

Reed pressed one of the side buttons on his watch and said, “We’re listening.”

I watched the words type across his screen, then my watch buzzed and the same words showed up on its screen. “Amazing,” I breathed.

Ian’s truck shut off and I could hear him pulling the keys out of the ignition. “Got your message. It’s show time.”

Zoe shouted his name, all flirtatious and sexy. Groaning, I leaned over on my elbows and stared at the computer. “It’s going to be a long night.”

Reed chuckled. “Don’t worry, she has nothing on you.”

I smiled. “Thanks. It’s been hard to trust people after my ex cheated on me. Seeing women fawn all over Ian isn’t going to be easy.”

The doorbell rang and Reed jumped up. “Pizza’s here. I’ll be right back.”

I got up and grabbed us two plates out of the kitchen, along with two glasses of tea. All I could hear was Zoe, talking about how happy she was he agreed to go out with her. I hadn’t realized until now how irritating and grating her voice could be.

Reed set the pizzas on the coffee table and opened both boxes. “I got one with practically everything on it, and another with just plain cheese.”

I snatched up a piece of each. “Looks good to me.”

As we ate, time slipped away. I listened to Ian and Zoe eat dinner and talk about mundane things. Ian was there to find Emily, but so far, I hadn’t heard her voice anywhere.

“Excuse me for a minute,” I could hear Ian say.

“Sure,” Zoe replied.

Next, he spoke under his breath. “Emily’s here, but she’s nowhere near Brad. I had to get away. Going out the back door to get some air.”

Reed scoffed. “I would’ve gotten away a long time ago.”

“What kind of women do you like?”

He shrugged. “All sorts. But I prefer outdoor girls who don’t mind getting a little dirty. Women like Zoe and Emily hold no interest for me.”

“That’s what shocks me with you and Ian,” I said. “My ex wasn’t like that. He always wanted me to be put together all the time. My makeup had to be on and I had to wear the expensive clothes he bought me.” I shook my head. “That wasn’t me. For a while, I thought I could live like that, but then, reality hit. I’m so glad I made the decision to move back home.”

“It’s a good thing you did.”

“Getting ready to go back to the party,” Ian mumbled. The music got louder as he went inside.

Grabbing mine and Reed’s plates, I took them to the kitchen. I needed a refill on my tea.

“Want another drink?” the bartender asked. I recognized his voice. His name was Chris and he always made sure to add extra vodka to my drinks.

Ian sighed. “Gin and tonic, please. I need it.”

Another person entered the conversation. “I would too, if I had to deal with your date.”

The second I heard his voice, I dropped the plates in the sink.

“You all right in there?” Reed called out. When I didn’t answer, he stormed into the kitchen, his expression concerned. “Grace, what’s wrong?”

Swallowing hard, I walked past him to the computer. I sat down in his spot and stared at the screen, focusing on the voice. The more I heard the man speak, the more I knew it was him. “That’s him, Reed. The man who abducted me.”