“And she didn’t say what this was about?” Brannon asked again as the group walked into the restaurant and headed to their private room in the back.

“For the fifth time, no, she didn’t. Neither of them have been to work in two days. I got the same text you did about this meeting. I don’t know anything more than you do at this point,” Kira snapped in aggravation.

Brannon grunted but didn’t reply. He didn’t mean to be an ass, but he’d barely gotten any sleep the night before, and his nap had been ruined by the break-in and dealing with that all day. He was on edge and didn’t see that changing anytime soon.

“Kasey just texted that she’s running late. Something came up but she’ll be here as quickly as she can,” Caelan announced.

“We’ve got a few minutes to kill, why don’t you tell us what you guys learned from the kids today? You said there was something interesting on the video you shot,” Bastien said as he claimed a seat next to his mate.

“Yes, Luke and Garrett have already seen the video, but let me forward it to the rest of you.”

A chorus of pings filled the room as everyone got the message about the same time. Brannon glanced between their faces, watching the shock come over them as he saw the kids attempt to shift and eventually the small pop that preceded their “awakening” of sorts.

“Did Jeff and Chris see this?”

“Yes, we did, Caelan,” Jeff announced as they entered the room. “Sorry we’re late. We had to wrap up a few things before we could head here.”

“No problem. Kasey texted and said she’s running late herself.” Brannon leaned back in his chair and waited for someone to say something about the video, but no one seemed to know what to say. “You all saw it, right? Heard the pop, too?”

Everyone nodded in agreement, but still no one offered an explanation. “Does everyone agree, it definitely looks like a trance of some kind? Like what a hypnotist would use. But it’s different because they don’t have to be in the room with the kids.” Again, everyone nodded with Brannon’s words.

“You still think Kasey has something to do with this?” Chris asked, startling the room with the rich baritone of his voice.

“Not exactly,” Brannon replied slowly. “I think she knows something, but I don’t think she’s involved.”

“I agree,” Caelan seconded. “You all know her. She’s hiding something, but she isn’t malicious or out to do anyone harm. I’ve no doubt about that whatsoever.”

“If it helps, Chris and I did some digging and she comes up clean. Nothing pinged at all, no record, no priors, no family history of anything. She lives within her means in a small apartment, owns her car, which she made monthly payments on until it was paid off. Same with her student loans. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. Her mother is listed as deceased, but she was clean, too.”

“I kind of feel bad about invading her life like that,” Toni said sadly. “I wish she trusted us enough to just talk to us.”

“If it helps at all, we’ve done background on all of you, too,” Jeff supplied.

Garrett smirked. “So basically, you’re telling us you know all of our deepest darkest secrets and are willing to share them for a price?”

“No, you ass,” Jeff said with a laugh. “Besides, the worst thing I found on you was your middle name. Though if it were mine, I’d call it a deep dark secret, too.”

The room broke into laughter and taunts as they tried to get Garrett to tell everyone what his middle name was. After a few more minutes of teasing, they all calmed down and lapsed into silence again.

Brannon felt her before he saw her. He wasn’t sure how that worked, but he knew it was true. He turned and saw her approaching hesitantly. She looked exhausted, pale and anxious. He’d never seen her look as sad as she did at that moment either. He longed to pull her into his arms and hug her close, to make her smile and laugh.

“Hey, guys,” she called as she entered the room and moved to the end of the table so she could face everyone at once. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

“Are you okay?” Carly asked gently. “You don’t look so good.”

She backed away as the women stood to embrace her. “No, please, just let me get this said and done with it. If you still want to talk later, that’s fine.”

Brannon could feel her pain and sorrow like a living, breathing entity in the room with them. He watched as the ladies all sat down, puzzled expressions of concern on their faces.

“I needed a job, so I applied at a temp agency. They sent me to you at Rakida Construction, Kira. At first, I didn’t know who you were, as soon as I realized you were Kira Lyon, I vowed that I’d leave at lunch and not come back. But you dragged me to lunch with you guys, made me feel welcome and part of your group. I’d never had that before. I’ve never had anyone treat me like a person without wanting something from my family. I’d fallen in love with all of you and couldn’t do it.”

Tears poured down Kasey’s cheeks as she glanced from face to face. “Every day, I swore it’d be the day I told you the truth, the day I quit the job and walked away from you all. But I wasn’t strong enough, I needed you all too much to do it. I’ve tried to keep you at a distance, but I always knew someday I’d have to tell you who I was and watch your hate for me bloom and take over your love.

“My father came to me Monday night. He’d just discovered my job and who my friends were. I was scared, petrified of what he’d ask me to do, but instead all he wanted was for me to set up a meeting with you, so he could talk to you in person and explain a few things. I agreed, knowing that my secrets had finally caught up to me. I’d been lying to everyone I loved, and it was time to stop.”

“I don’t understand,” Kira whispered as she wiped at her own tears.

Brannon’s heart hurt for the pain he heard in both women’s voices. His mate was a good woman, that he knew without a doubt, no matter what secret she’d been keeping.

“I don’t know what you’re keeping from us, but I do know this. You are my friend. You would never do anything to hurt anyone in this room. We all know that,” Caelan said, his face serious.

“You’re right. I never meant to hurt any of you. I tried to keep you all insulated from my family, tried to help if I could. But I’m not part of that world either, so I’m afraid it was useless. All I could do is keep my ears open and hope I heard something that would be of use to you.”

“The kids?” Brannon said with a hitch in his voice. “That’s why you always look guilty when we mention the kids, isn’t it?”

He hated doing that to her, but he had to know what she knew about the kids. They had to help them before things got worse. He’d make it up to her later, for the rest of his life if need be.

“Yes, I’d heard something, but it wasn’t enough to make any sense. I’ve been trying to figure things out and get answers, but it’s not easy and I have no proof. To be honest, I don’t even know if what I heard is connected to the pack teenagers or not.” Kasey pulled out her phone. “Let me call my father to join us and then you’ll understand.” She put the phone to her ear and waited. “Okay, come back now.”

Brannon watched her, hoping she’d look at him. He just wanted to reassure himself she was holding on, but she refused to make eye contact with any of them. A sharp intake of breath made him turn his attention to the doorway and the last person he’d expected to see.