Alec would usually be in a suit and tie to meet a new client, but this day was an exception. He headed up the coast on his motorcycle in his rider’s gear: leather pants, white t-shirt, boots. He liked the wind in his hair but wore a helmet because he knew the dangers of wiping out, especially on this stretch of road. The Pacific lay to the right, bright blue and sparkling in the sunshine. It was a perfect Southern California day in springtime.

Rick’s house was in Palisades, a two story home built back in the 1950’s when people didn’t realize they’d be in the company of millionaires if they just waited around a couple more decades. Alec and Rick had been friends for five years, back when they met during a motorcycle ride for charity. Over the years they had gone on many fishing and camping trips together, along with a few friends they had in common.

The thing about Rick was, outside of their shared love of riding and the outdoors, Alec didn’t really know much about him.

Alec kept his own past and parts of his life guarded, and he found that he gravitated to other people who did the same. After several years of working in Black Ops, it was a way of life to keep quiet, be private with both his professional and personal life. At thirty-five, Alec considered himself blessed to have retired from the business. These days he worked with three men he called his brothers, former black ops soldiers who’d worked the same unit he did. They had fought, schemed, and in several cases, nearly died together. He knew that they would always have each other’s backs. Not everyone had those kinds of bonds with friends, much less colleagues.

Rick had called him a few days before, asking him to come up, but making it clear that while he should be casual about it, he had a business proposition for him to consider.

“Hey, you’re right on time,” Rick greeted him with a smile. “How was the ride up?”

“It was great,” Alec told him. “It’s been too long since I rode up this way.”

The men settled onto the back deck. The house was on an acre or so of land, and the yard backed up to some woods. They shared a few beers and talked about riding, and some of the trips their mutual friends had been on lately. There was a lull in the conversation before things turned more serious.

“I know you must be wondering what I wanted to see you about,” Rick said. “I do want to contract your firm. I heard your people are very discreet.”

“Absolutely,” Alec replied. “What is it you need done?”

Rick turned to him. He was a big man, tall muscular and built like a quarterback, with dark curly hair and green eyes. Alec knew his friend didn’t ask for help often, and it was probably difficult for him to do it now.

“You’ve probably noticed I don’t talk about family much,” Rick began.

Alec shrugged. “I have but it’s not my favorite topic either.”

“Well here goes. I’m looking for someone.”

Rick put his beer down. He looked out into the woods as if he were imagining the past out there. Or maybe it was a way to keep from looking Alec in the eye.

“So my parents had a complicated relationship. I guess you could say they were on and off with each other. When I was about six, the two of them were trying to figure out whether or not they wanted to get a divorce. They broke up for a while. My mother was pregnant at the time, which only made things worse. I only remember bits and parts of things that happened between them back then, I was just a kid. Anyway. She left me with my Dad and went to stay someplace else. My guess is she was with my grandparents, trying to figure things out, I can’t say for sure. But when she came back she wasn’t pregnant anymore. When my father asked her what happened, she said she lost the baby.”

“Okay,” Alec said quietly.

“She was with us for maybe another year. And then she left again, this time for good. I stayed with my Dad. I would hear from her every so often—birthday cards, gifts here and there, you know the drill. I got postcards from her all over the world. She never mailed me anything from the same place twice. I had the feeling she was running from my Dad. When I was a kid I used to blame everything on my mother. I hated her for not being with me or wanting to take me with her. It wasn’t until I got older I started to see how truly obsessive my Dad could be in a relationship. I started to realize maybe she had a reason for not wanting to be with him. I think she left me with him because he wouldn’t agree to share---and if she had taken me with her, he’d have scoured the earth until he found me. He’s a rich man. Trust me, he’s got the resources and he’s the kind who would do it. He wasn’t ashamed to tell me that was true when I finally got up the nerve to ask him.”

Alec nodded, urging him to go on. Rick crossed his arms over his chest.

“Well, I had an unexpected surprise a couple of weeks ago. I was notified by an attorney that my mother died last month.”

“I’m sorry, man.”

Rick nodded. “Yeah. Apparently, I own a bunch of property from her in all kinds of places: a flat in London, a house stateside in Virginia, a home in Argentina. And those are just the ones I remember off the top of my head,” he sighed. “The interesting thing is all her estate is divided evenly between me and one other person—my sister.”

“Wait. So the child survived?”

“Yes,” Rick said. “The lawyer told me that he doesn’t know where she is, and he was actually hoping that I could tell him where she is so he can inform her about her inheritance. It was a shock but I’ve had a little time to sit with it. She’s twenty-nine and I know nothing about her. And it just haunts me that until now I haven’t known she even existed, much less what happened to her. Maybe she had a difficult relationship with our mother too and hasn’t been in contact with her for a few years, but I don’t know.”

“You’ve already tried all the regular routes for finding her?”

“I have,” Rick said. “It’s looking more and more like she was never given up for adoption, or if she was, it was under a different name than the one in the legal documents. She’s listed as Erika Hill. I haven’t found anything. You’d think with all the websites out there to help find missing relatives, and social media, I would have come up with something. Nada.”

“It has to be frustrating. My team has certain resources,” Alec said. “Finding people can take a little time but we haven’t ever come up against someone we couldn’t locate. It sounds like wherever she is, she’d not trying to be found. Not to dwell on the negative but I want you to consider the possibility that she won’t want to speak with you.”

“Well she might not but money is usually a pretty good motivator,” Rick replied. “Really, I have thought about it. At this point, I’d be happy to see her, know who she is for sure and that she’s okay. I’m not getting my hopes up, after all, it’s possible our mom never told her about me and Dad. Which, by the way, I would like to keep him out of this if at all possible. If she wants to meet him herself, it should be her decision. To be frank, I don’t get along with the old man myself much these days, I wouldn’t push him off on somebody else.”

“Other than a name, do you have anything else?” Alec asked.

“Oh, yes. I have this.” Rick reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. It had been folded and was frayed around the edges, but it wasn’t old, just well worn. There was a digital time stamp on the bottom, which showed the date as January of the previous year.

“I was given some boxes of my mother’s personal effects, and this was wedged inside one of her favorite books. She always had a thing for Bronte, so I knew this was special to her when I found it. See that girl to the left? She’s a spitting image of my mother. I believe that’s Erika.”

He handed me the photograph and took a good look. The girl looked like she was Rick’s kin. There was a resemblance in the dark hair and shape of her brown eyes. She wore a black leather jacket and a dark dress beneath it and high heels. She seemed unaware of the camera and stood with her head tilted towards the speaker, a man standing a few feet away from a statue. There were other people crowding about her in the photo, also listening, but none seemed as intent as Erika. From the looks of things, this was the start of a standard museum tour. Alec’s training clued him in on the fact that the photo was taken with an expensive lens and at a distance. Whoever was behind the camera, Erika was the subject of their attention.

“Would you mind if I took this? I would like to have it analyzed,” Alec said.

“Sure. I guess we should discuss fees…”

“Let’s not,” Alec cut him off. “I know you can afford it but you’re a friend. Let me see what we can come up with first. If you like our results, then we can discuss how much you’re going to pay me. We are expensive, but we’re also the best.”

“I appreciate this, Alec. You don’t know, I have been losing sleep over wondering what happened to her.”

“We’ll find out,” he promised.

* * *

Alec lived and worked within a compound, behind high white walls and ten-foot gates. And this was by choice.

When Alec and his friends: Kiefer, David, and Jesse arrived back home to the States, the first order of business was figuring out where they should live. Returning to civilian life after years of being in black ops had its own challenges, none of which they could reveal to other people outside of a therapist or a clergy member. Instead of splitting up and not seeing each other again, they decided to buy four adjoining properties. The fifth was a house in the center of their enclave, which they turned into their office space. There was high tech security around the perimeter of their homes and workspace; they didn’t have to worry about enemies turning up or curious onlookers coming through. Everything they owned was for their own design and comfort.

Alec opened the door to his office. Metallica was pumping through the air. He went up to the second floor and found David alone at his desk.

David was the technical genius of their group. He could hack into almost anything given the time to do it in. He’d been recruited into black ops for his skills, but Kiefer trained him and he became as much a soldier as the rest of the group. A natural redhead with a thin beard, David kept his head shaved. Because he worked out a couple hours a day, he allowed himself whatever junk he wanted to eat. It wasn’t unusual for him to live off of chips and soda when he was busy working on a complex problem. Both his arms were covered in full sleeves of tattoos, and he’d recently gotten a stud through his left eyebrow.

“Hey, Man,” Alec said, dropping into the chair across from his friend’s desk. “Where’s everybody else?”

David nodded. He slurped ramen from a foam container with a pair of chopsticks. “Well, let’s see. Jesse is on his way to Los Feliz to close with that client from last week. And Kiefer is out with Shari. It’s her birthday, so those the lovebirds probably won’t be around until tomorrow.”

Alec chuckled. “I’m surprised she took a day off, workaholic that she is. Kiefer was complaining last week about having to pull her away from her laptop, even when she’s at his place. She has three different cellphones.”

“Well, you know how it is, I’m sure he worked out some way to convince her. Watch, he’ll be bragging about where he took her and what they did. I heard something about wine country and a bed and breakfast.”

Alec smiled. He was happy to see his friend with a woman he really cared about, but he would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit it made him feel odd.

Alec hadn’t really tried to be in a relationship for a few years. He had friendships with women that turned physical. The last woman he was seeing hadn’t even been free to be in a relationship, and things ended after a few hot and heavy weeks of hookups. He wasn’t lonely. He was used to not having people in his life who were permanent. Every now and again, when he saw how happy Kiefer was with Shari, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was missing out on something. His rationalization was that he wasn’t cut out to be with anyone for the long term, especially with all the emotional baggage he brought to the table. Kiefer bore the same battle scars he did. And if that man could have a fairly normal relationship with a woman like Shari, who was a catch in every aspect… it made his justification for not even giving it a shot with a woman of his own seems pretty thin.

“I’ve got, maybe a new case for us,” Alec said. He needed to shake off this train of thought so he could concentrate. He got up, poured himself a cup of steaming coffee, and gave David a recap of everything Rick told him.

“Well, that gives us a lot to go on. Not,” David said cheerfully. He sat up and typed a code into his computer. “Never freaking stopped us before, though. What do you think about this whole story? I know he’s your friend, but isn’t there something fishy?”

“Could be,” Alec admitted. “Really makes me want to know more about what was going on with his parents and exactly why he’s not talking to his Dad. Might not have anything to do with his sister, but maybe it does. I find it odd her mother didn’t seem to know where her daughter was when she died, or if she did, she didn’t tell her lawyer.”

“Details,” David said. “I gotcha. Couldn’t hurt to look into it. This girl,” David paused. “Kinda hot, don’t you think?”

* * *

Alec wondered how Rick had dealt with the news about his family; his mother’s death and the existence of a sister he never knew about. Here he was, basically a stranger investigating the case, and Alec found himself haunted by it. The night after his meeting with Rick, Alec found himself haunted by uneasy dreams. Early the next morning, he went back into the office.

“Hey,” Jesse called from the kitchen. “What are you doing here so early?”

Alec smiled. Jesse had been doing client calls all week, and he was again dressed up in a black suit and steel blue tie. The tie brought out the blue of his eyes, his light gold skin contrasting with both. Jesse was definitely a lady’s man, and though he’d be hard pressed to admit it Alec could see why. For all the kidding the guys gave him about being the pretty boy of their group, he more than held his own with the rest. Alec had seen Jesse take a bullet to save a child, ran through a swamp pulling an injured comrade over his shoulder. And with the ease of twisting a bottle cap, he’d watched Jesse snap someone’s neck.

“Figured instead of thinking about work I might as well get to it,” Alec shrugged. “David’s not here?”

“David left when I came in,” Jesse said. “He said something about a quick run to the computer store. Needed to purchase some components. Pretty sure he’s been here since yesterday.”

One of the things about their “office” was that it was a converted house, and there were four bedrooms upstairs in case any of the men wanted to crash rather than getting up and going home. That said, David sometimes fell asleep in front of his computer monitors and then had to be cajoled to go upstairs and change.

“By the way,” Jesse said. “He told me if you got here before he made it back to the office, he’s already got something on your case.

* * *

“I wish we didn’t have to come back so soon,” Kiefer said.

Kiefer and Shari were at his house. They were in the kitchen, Shari standing behind the counter, wearing one of his t-shirts which was pretty much a dress on her small form. He was shirtless in boxer shorts. He hadn’t even bothered to get anything to eat. Instead, he stood staring at his girlfriend. She had beautiful legs, shapely and firm like a dancer’s. Even though she had spent the night at his place, and a couple nights before that at a bed and breakfast on the coast, he never got tired of looking at her, especially when she was only half clothed. Her dark eyes and voluptuous mouth never failed to entice him. Kiefer was sure she didn’t really understand the effect her sex appeal had on him.

“I know but we’ve got business,” Shari said, batting her eyelashes at him. “I’m surprised my boss wasn’t texting me the whole time we were gone.”

Hal Kittredge, Shari’s domineering boss, was known to stalk her via email and text for the smallest things, regardless of how early or late the hour was. He was a combination of paranoid boss and father figure. While Shari could stand up for herself and had no problem telling him where to go when those kinds of talks were needed, she had a tendency to help him when it was for the benefit of a client. Kittredge knew her weakness for doing good and used it.

Kiefer nodded and smiled. He had no intention of telling her he’d had a private man to man with Hal himself--- it was the only reason her boss hadn’t been a pest over the last few days.

“How soon do you have to be to the office, honey?” Kiefer asked. He was already struggling against a familiar ache.

Shari looked up, and she must have picked up on something in his expression because she blushed. “Um. Nine.”

Kiefer stood up and rounded the island to pull her into his arms. “Okay, so, nine. I mean, that gives us some time, right?” he asked. Tipping her chin upwards, he leaned in and gave her a long, deep kiss. He stroked the small of her back. He caught the scent of her perfume. A small sigh escaped her throat.

“I guess we do have a little time before I leave.”

Kiefer grinned. “I can always drop you off myself. I’m sure you can be…just a few minutes late, since it’s your first day back in town at all,” he said, pressing his forehead against hers. “Blame the traffic,” he said, lavishing kisses upon her throat. “Or say you overslept,” his hand lingered over her breast, and he could swear he felt her heartbeat.

“You make an excellent argument,” Shari sighed, biting her lip. “I think your skills at persuasion are solid.”

“Solid?” he wrapped his arms around her. “Maybe not the only thing! Though I can tell you, if none of the other excuses work, just go ahead and blame me. I don’t mind. I’d like them all to know.”

Pressing both his hands on her waist, and she swayed with him as if they were lost in a dance. They were so close that when she breathed out, he took in her breath. She smelled like mint and coffee, and when he kissed her lips they tasted like cream.

“I guess I can be a little late,” Shari replied her hands on his shoulders. She reached up on tiptoe to kiss him.

* * *

“I’m glad you’re here, dude,” David told Alec. “Have a seat.”

Alec sat down in a black leather chair beside him. David’s desk was crowded with five different monitors. “Watch this one right here,” David pointed to the left. He typed a code furiously into his laptop, and all four of the other screens changed.

“Alright. I have some new software that uses facial recognition,” David began. “It takes a while because though the markers of any one person’s face are unique, this searches so many different websites trying to find data. You were right about this being an art gallery. I made a search based on that. And here’s what I found.”

David typed in another string of code. “Look at this,” he tapped the screen at the center. “See the tour guide? He’s holding a purple notebook. See the insignia? I found out this symbol is for a small gallery in West London.”

“Okay.”

“From there I narrowed my search down to art galleries in Europe,” David explained. “I started to get much quicker results. All these galleries have something in common. They’ve been hit. I mean, she’s careful about it. Apparently, she cases her sites more than once, and she doesn’t move right away. But sometime within the year of her visit to each museum, there are robberies. Usually of a few big ticket items. I’d say she prefers jewelry but there have been a few pieces of artwork which have gone missing too.”

“How come she’s not on Interpol’s radar?”

“She might be,” David said, crossing his arms. “It’s not an easy crime to prove though. Even if they caught her on camera at each museum, they have to catch her actually doing something. She could be the point person, giving information to another thief while she takes a cut. She could say she’s an art lover and it’s just a coincidence. If they can’t actually tie her to the day the thefts took place, they couldn’t do anything but question her. The other part of it is that these galleries don’t like reporting thefts, but when they do, it’s not exactly the highest on the list of felonies the police are after. Unless you steal something from the Louvre, it’s not going to get an incredible amount of attention, and the authorities tend to move on quickly. It takes a lot of manpower and time to catch a jewel thief.”

“Which some of these police agencies might not have,” Alec mused.

“Exactly,” David said. “And here’s the other part of the problem; a lot of these galleries will not even report a theft. They beef up security and take the loss because they don’t like admitting to clients and potential investors that it was easy to breach their systems. Unless it’s an absolutely priceless object, the negative publicity is not worth the trouble.”

“So we can assume for each one of these that we found, she’s done a few which were never mentioned in the news,” Alec said.

“Yeah,” David said, and opened another file on the computer. “I started looking in North America. Didn’t find anything in the States, but there were a couple of questionable incidents in Quebec at places she cased.”

“I wonder why she hasn’t worked in the U.S.?”

“Could be she already has but is off the radar,” David said. “But it’s a question worth asking. My bet is she’s European and is just more comfortable in familiar digs. If she’s been a suspect over there she may have to switch up her location soon.”

Alec scratched his chin. “Well damn. I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Who are you telling?” David chuckled. “Reinforces my theory about not trusting people. Like ever.”

“I’ve got to think about this,” Alec said. “I’m not sure if that’s even something her brother is going to want to know, or if he will want to see her once he does. Hell, I don’t know I’d want someone to tell me.”

“Tell you what?” Kiefer asked.

Kiefer had a habit of appearing in doorways without making a sound. It was a skill from his old black ops days but even after years it never failed to creep his friends out. Knowing that neither of the men heard him, Kiefer grinned. “What can I help you with?”

“You’re back,” Alec said. “Which is good because I want your advice.”