Deke stared down at his phone.

Disconnected.

He redialed. Evie’s phone rang and rang and rang. He canceled and redialed again. Same result. He moved outside, thinking the metal building was blocking his signal. Still no Evie.

He scrolled his phone contacts. “Lisa?”

“Hey, Deke.” A rack of coughs followed her greeting.

“Everything okay?”

“Did Evie tell you about the fire?” Her breathing sounded exaggerated and muffled, at the same time.

“Yeah, but we got disconnected and I can’t get her back. Did you see who set it?”

“No, but Evie said someone was following her on the way back from the ice cream place.”

“Following her?”

“I didn’t see him. But a few minutes later the front and back of the RV l-lit up.” Her voice broke. “Everything’s burning.”

“I’m sorry.” He understood how shattering the loss was to her. Any other time, he would do what he could to lighten the blow. “Do you see Evie?”

“No, she went to move the Med Mobile and check on Rachel.”

“Dammit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I don’t know.” He blew out a breath. “I’ve got a bad feeling, Lisa.”

A second of silence past. “Oh, God. I didn’t think. There was so much smoke. Couldn’t breathe. She insisted I stay put—”

“Calm down, ma’am. You need to keep the mask on.”

Lisa took another deep inhalation of oxygen. “Deke,” she said, ignoring the EMT’s orders. “The RV hasn’t moved.”

“Are the police there?”

“Yes.”

“Have them check on Evie and Rachel.” Deke returned inside. “I’m on my way.”

“Britt,” he called. “Will your staff be able to finish here and get the cubs back to Steele Ridge?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Would they be able to drop off Dylan at the nearest urgent care?”

“Nobody’s dropping me off anywhere. After what Harwood did to me, I deserve to see this through.”

Deke ignored the urge to protect his brother. It was time they all let go of bad habits. Instead, he took off for his truck.

“Where are you going?” Reid demanded.

“To check on Evie,” Deke said over his shoulder.

As the storage unit’s door slammed shut, he heard Britt and Reid barking out orders. Dylan climbed into the extended cab and, before Deke could put his vehicle in drive, Britt slid into the passenger’s seat.

“Drive and explain,” Britt said, buckling up.

Deke punched the gas, and gravel spattered the undercarriage. They barreled down the narrow country drive and skidded out onto the highway, rocketing toward Niles…and Evie.

“The line disconnected while I was speaking to Evie.”

“We’re not driving like a bat out of hell for a disconnected line. What’s got you spooked?”

I love you. Evie’s whispered declaration spun through his head, over and over and over. “Someone lit up the RV with her and Lisa inside.”

“What?” Britt burst out. “Are they okay?”

“Evie’s fine. Lisa sucked down too much smoke, but she’ll recover.”

“Did they see who set the fire?”

“Evie thought she saw the guy who attacked her outside my apartment.”

“Got a name?”

“Eli Harwood.”

“The same guy who locked me in a cage.”

Britt glanced over his shoulder at Dylan before staring out the front windshield. “What’s going on, Deke?”

His grip tightened on the steering wheel.

“Explain,” Britt ordered in a low voice.

“I can’t. Not fully.”

“You’re family now. I’ll protect your secret to my dying breath.”

“Family,” he repeated.

“We all knew it was only a matter of time before Evie nabbed you. And given her state of dishevelment in your apartment, I recommend that you propose to my sister sooner rather than later.”

“I tried to do the right thing by her, Britt. I swear to you, I did.”

“A decade of purgatory is enough, don’t you think?”

The ache in Deke’s throat worked its way up into the back of his eyes. “You don’t mind?”

“Can’t think of a better man for my little sister.”

“My job. It’ll be rough on the relationship.”

“If you love her, don’t let anything stand in your way.” Britt held his fist between them. “She’s worth whatever challenges you might face.”

Don’t we at least deserve a chance?

Evie’s plea echoed in his mind, growing stronger on the tail of Britt’s counsel. She was worth it. They were worth it. Why continue denying what they’d both craved for years?

He wouldn’t. Not any longer. They did deserve a chance to see where this thing between them led.

Drawing in a shuddering breath, he bumped his fist against Britt’s. “Thanks, bro.”

Rolling his neck, he gave his passengers the Cliff Notes version of the past several days. By the time he’d finished, Britt and Dylan looked like they had a severe case of stomach flu.

“What’s your plan?” Britt asked.

“My only solid plan right now is to get a visual on Evie.”

A ringer blared through his truck’s speakers.

He hit the telephone button on his steering wheel. “What’d you got, Jax?”

“Not good news, boss.”

“Let me have it.”

“Rita Sampson’s dead.”

“How?”

“Someone beat her to death.”

Grief clamped around Deke’s chest. “Suspects?”

“No names. A neighbor saw a man—white, approximately thirty years old, medium build—wearing a ball cap. He walked head down through the neighborhood about two hours ago.”

“Harwood,” Dylan said.

“Who’s with you?” Jax asked.

“Britt Steele and Dylan.”

“Maybe you should take me off speaker.”

“Circumstances required me to bring them into the fold.”

“How much into the fold?”

“Enough for you to talk freely.”

“Britt, you don’t need Randi Shepherd. I’m your girl.”

“Not that freely, Jax.”

“Be more specific next time. I’ve been waiting years to talk to your big friend.”

He sent Britt an apologetic shrug. Jax was a damn good nerd, though her sensitivity chip shorted out on occasion.

“What else you got?”

Her voice turned solemn again. “Rae and Taj paid Gracie’s brother another visit to see if he knew why Harwood wanted access to his sister.”

“What’d they discover?”

“His tongue.”

“Jax—”

“Pinky swear. Found it floating in the toilet.”

“What kind of sick bastard would do that?” Dylan asked.

“The same one who slit Gracie’s throat and beat Rita to death.”

“Same one who might be with Evie.” Britt’s voice held a note of savagery.

Already clocking seventy-eight, Deke hit the accelerator, praying nothing entered his path. None of them would win that battle.

“Is the brother dead or alive?” he asked.

“Bullet to the head.”

“Everything’s pointing to Eli Harwood,” Dylan said.

“Did they find anything at the brother’s place to explain Cassidy’s betrayal of his sister?”

“Nada.”

“How many buildings did you say Harwood’s leasing?”

“Six or eight. Why?”

“Dylan led us to a warehouse owned by the Harwoods in Creede. It was full of wildlife contraband.”

“Let me pull up the list.” Several mouse clicks later. “What the hell?”

“What’d you find?”

“I’m getting an error message. Hold on.”

Deke peered at his brother in the back seat. “Now would be a good time to explain why the Harwoods set you up to take the fall for Gracie Gilbert’s murder.”

Dylan’s gaze shifted and pain straddled his features. “They wanted to tie you up long enough for them to make their next shipment.” He glanced at Britt. “They know about SONR.”

“What’s SONR?” Britt asked.

Ignoring Britt’s question, Deke asked, “They told you this?”

“Blaze bragged about his connection at the Service and about how your secret’s not a secret. The rest I heard from Eli and Caleb before they took me prisoner.” Dylan pressed his fingers into his temples. “Eli asked Tina—a mutual friend of mine and Gracie’s—out to dinner. When she went to the bathroom, she left her phone on the table and he used it to text Gracie about meeting with me.”

“Why Gracie?”

“Eli thought you’d never be able to make the connection. His father set him straight in two seconds flat.” Dylan met his gaze in the mirror. “That’s when Blaze ordered him to eliminate you—and your teammates.”

“Eli’s the tool,” Britt said. “Blaze is the machine.”

“Boss, the gig is up,” Jax said. “Headquarters has locked me out of the system. We’re flying blind now.”

Deke slammed his palm against the steering wheel. He couldn’t believe Vasquez would shut them down without informing him first. The director could be a hard ass when it came to protecting SONR, but he also operated from a playbook that was steeped in honor and integrity.

“Sorry, Jax.”

“Don’t ever give up on the nerd, boss. I’ve got moves that’ll blow headquarters away.”

“First, contact the team. If they see any Harwood, they should consider them a threat. The storage unit op’s a dead end. Call them off. Send Keone and his team to me in Niles.”

“I’m on it.”

“Then find the mole who’s feeding Harwood intel.”

“With pleasure. Jax out.”

“Maybe Jonah can give her a hand,” Britt said.

“He’d never find her location.” He tapped his thumb against the steering wheel. “I learned a long time ago to never underestimate a pissed-off Jax.”

“Sounds like Micki.” Britt grasped the oh-shit handle. “What else do you know about Gold Star?”

“The term popped up on the Service’s radar about a year ago. SONR began investigating and received a viable tip that a large inventory of illegal contraband would be moved from a remote location. By the time we got there, the barn was empty. I didn’t hear the term again until this business with Gracie Gilbert.” His gaze flicked to his rearview mirror. “Got anything to add, Dylan?”

“I learned about Harwood and Gold Star during a hunting trip. A friend of a friend bragged about the money he’d made hunting bear out of season. Piqued my interest.” His eyes met Deke’s in the mirror. “Not in a financial way.”

“So you started following the family?”

“Yeah. I thought the Conrads were screwed up, but our family’s not even in the same stratosphere as the Harwoods.” He jabbed his thumb behind him. “That storage building back there. I broke into two others just like it. Same inventory.”

“If Harwood has a half dozen of those buildings filled with animals and animal parts,” he said, “I’d wager his business goes beyond the local Asian markets.”

“International?” Dylan asked.

“Fits. A businessman would do much to protect an enterprise that size.”

“Like murder,” Britt said.

“He’s employed the perfect weapon. Eli Harwood’s got a taste of blood and now he can’t stop.”