Lily took a bite of her sandwich, her eyes flicking between laptops. She’d managed to break into the last of the files that morning, and in one of them was a ton of paperwork. She was trying to sift through it all to find the important stuff. Some had addresses on it, and a little digging revealed they were Fernandez’s real estate holdings.

She’d already ruled out a lot of the properties as places the Enforcers should look for the women at. Some of them were legit businesses owned by Fernandez, and some just didn’t feel like what she was looking for. She wasn’t sure how she knew that, but in her gut, they didn’t feel right.

Her laptop dinged, and she looked over to find the finished results of the search on the mansion in Idaho. She probably hadn’t needed to run it through again, since Fernandez, Damara, and his men had all cleared out, but she wanted to make sure all loose ends were tied.

Eyes widening, she leaned in. The property had just come up on the market. Fernandez was selling it. She wasn’t sure why that surprised her—she hadn’t thought he’d return, based on having an auction that let others know that location. But she hadn’t considered that he’d sell it, either.

Another tab she had running in the background started flashing and she glanced around, her eyes landing on Noah, standing at the bar as he talked to Luke and Tarun. Seeing that he was occupied, she clicked on the tab, frowning at what she found.

She wasn’t sure how shifters did a lot of things, but she knew they had identification. They had to, to live in a human world. But there were no matches for a Chance Benson anywhere, and the program she used was thorough. No address, no bills, nothing. She’d found a birth certificate, but that was it.

The plus side was that she hadn’t found a death certificate. But finding no record of him at all was presenting a challenge she hadn’t expected.

She wasn’t going to give up, though. She was determined to find him.

Her eyes landed on Noah again. She needed to find Chance for him. Yeah, he’d said to wait on the search, but she figured she could multitask. There was no reason she couldn’t plug Chance’s name into the program she used for that type of thing and let it run in the background while she focused on the dragon case.

Noah might feel nervous about finding his twin, but he needed it, too. She’d seen it in his eyes the night before. She wasn’t going to let him keep stalling.

But it looked like the search just got that much harder.

Blake walked into the bar and she lifted a hand, waving him over. As he walked toward her, he called for the others to join them. He looked a little better after a full night’s sleep, but she could still clearly see the worry he felt weighing him down.

“Did you find something?” he asked, taking a seat across from her at the large table.

“The mansion in Idaho just went up for sale. Fernandez won’t be back. And it might be a long shot, because running the kind of operation he does means he has to be pretty thorough about not leaving anything behind. But I was thinking Noah and I could go back over there. We can pretend to be interested in the property and have a look around. Maybe we could find something.”

Noah frowned as he sat down next to her. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We don’t know that he doesn’t still have people in the area, watching things, and we’ve been there before. We could be recognized.”

“Luke and I haven’t been,” Tarun said. “We could go. It might be a long shot, but it’s better to make sure.”

Blake nodded as he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Agreed that we should check it out. But I also agree with Noah, Lily. I don’t want to risk you being recognized. Besides, I need you here. Luke, you and Tarun head to Idaho and see if you can get a tour of the house. When you’re done, you can meet up with Dmitri and Liam. I’m about to head that way myself.”

Luke leaned forward as he looked at Blake. “Did something happen?”

“Liam called. They weren’t able to keep eyes on the van Damara was in, but they’re still in listening distance. Fernandez’s men made her ditch her clothes, including her shoes, so we don’t have access to the tracking device. Fernandez’s camp was just crossing the state line into Oregon when they lost her exact location. But she says they’ve stopped now, and she’s been placed with the other women. They must be in Oregon.”

Lily frowned as she pulled the tech’s laptop closer. “Oregon? Hmmm. If I’m remembering right…”

Noah glanced over at where she was doing a search in the files. “What is it?”

“I’m pretty sure I saw Oregon in the properties—yes! Here it is. According to this, it’s a large property. And the only one Fernandez owns in the state.”

Blake straightened with interest. “Email all that information to me. That might be the break we’re looking for. And we need to move fast. Damara said they’re preparing the four women who were bought. We have them covered even if they’re taken away—I have Enforcers from other crews watching the buyers. But I’d prefer to stop this before they’re sent away, and we need a little time to get the lay of the land before we go barging in.”

Noah looked at him questioningly. “And you’re sure you don’t need me with you?”

“You guys are better off here, finding any other information we can use. And I want to move quickly, but something’s telling me it’ll take time to resolve this. If that happens, we’re going along with Damara’s plan—getting the women out one by one. And we’ll be sending them here. We need you and Lily here for that.”

Lily felt her eyes widen. She was supposed to help dragons who’d been held captive? How was she, a human, going to be able to help with that? Glancing over, she eyed Noah. Then again, at least she was another woman. She couldn’t see the kidnapped women looking kindly on men after this. She knew she wouldn’t.

“Okay. We have somewhat of a plan set in place,” Blake said as he stood. “Luke, Tarun, you two go to Idaho and see if there’s anything to learn there. I’ll text you the address where Fernandez and Damara are, and you guys can meet us close by. Lily, Noah, you guys stay here and hold down the fort. Keep looking through those files and see if you can find anything else we can use, Lily. We’ll let you know how things are going and when we start sending the female dragons over. I’m going to go join Dmitri and Liam now. Everyone—be careful and stay safe, okay?”

“You too,” Lily said softly, watching as everyone left to do their part.

Blake paused and looked back at her with a smile. “Oh, and welcome to our Enforcer family, Lily. This has been one hell of an introduction to us, but I hope it hasn’t scared you off.”

She shook her head, fighting the urge to tear up as her sense of belonging intensified. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good,” he replied with a nod before striding away.

Noah put his hand on her thigh and squeezed. “You sure this isn’t too much for you?”

“Underestimating me again, are you?”

He chuckled as he held his hands up. “Never. Just checking on you. I’ll leave you to your work. Just don’t forget to take a break, okay? I’ll be in the office.”

Leaning over, he kissed her softly as he stood. She watched him stride away, full of so many conflicting emotions. The sense of belonging she felt, of being exactly where she was meant to be. Love for Noah, so potent that she felt overwhelmed by it. Worry for the other Enforcers. Urgency to find the kidnapped women and get them away from Fernandez.

She had a feeling Blake was right, though. The dragon case wasn’t going to be solved any time soon. She just hoped they could get the women out before they were lost forever, or hurt worse than they already had been.

A part of her felt guilty for finding so much happiness while they might be suffering, but she still couldn’t bring herself to regret any of it. Maybe it made her a bad person, maybe it didn’t, but there was nothing in this world that could make her regret loving Noah.

Noah walked toward the bar, sure he was going to find that Lily hadn’t heeded his advice about taking a break. He was on a mission to make sure she did. She was a human—she could get sick, and he didn’t want her stressing out so much that she made herself ill, or gave herself another headache.

He’d meant to check on her sooner, but he lost track of the time while he was in Blake’s office. Despite his words to Lily the night before, he hadn’t been able to resist at least attempting to search for his twin. The need inside him to find Chance was overpowering. So, he’d powered up Blake’s desktop computer and set to work.

He was no hacker. He didn’t possess much more knowledge than the basics. But he’d thought maybe he could find Chance somewhere, and once he started looking, he hadn’t been able to stop his search.

Even though he hadn’t been able to find a trace of his brother, he still couldn’t call a halt to it, trying every search engine he knew of, scrolling through pages of results. Not until he glanced at the clock and saw he’d been in there for almost four hours. Deciding that was enough for the day, he turned the computer off, determined to make Lily take a break while he cooked dinner.

Frowning as he reached the bar and found the room empty, he called her name as he walked over to where the laptops were still open. He glanced idly down as he called her name again and then stopped as his eyes fell on a tab that said Chance.

That couldn’t be a coincidence.

He debated for a moment, torn. He should probably find her and ask her what she’d been doing, but instead, his hand reached for the mouse and he clicked the tab open. He’d been right—she was searching for his twin.

But it looked like she hadn’t found anything more than he had. A big, fat nothing.

Exhaling with disappointment, he clicked the tab shut again and walked to the front window, looking for Lily. He saw her struggling to get a box out of the back of her car and he rushed outside to help her.

“Wait,” he called as he jogged over. “Let me get that. You should have asked me to help before you came out here.”

She smiled as she shrugged at him, the blue shades in her eyes looking even more drastic than usual as the setting sun highlighted them. “I didn’t want to bother you. It’s not all that heavy, anyway.”

“I went into the bar to make you take a break while I cooked dinner, but it looks like I didn’t need to force you.”

Shutting the trunk lid, she walked with him back to the door and held it open for him. “I wanted to get that out of the car. Besides, my eyes were starting to cross, and I could feel a tension headache building. I thought a small break was called for.”

“In that case, I’m glad you weren’t going to push yourself more,” he said as he set the box down on the counter. “I was going to make dinner. Any requests?”

She laughed. “Maybe not chicken, in case Skylar shows up.”

Chuckling, he nodded. “Yeah, that might be best. Anything else sound good?”

“I’m not picky. Just don’t forget that you switched out the salt and sugar.”

Leaning in, he kissed her softly. “Yeah, that’s a surprise for Liam. I don’t want it backfiring on us. Keep on taking a break. Don’t work again until after dinner, okay?”

“I promise I’ll try not to.”

His eyes narrowed on her, but he figured that was as good as it was going to get. Nodding, he turned and made his way back into the kitchen. He was just about to open the fridge when he felt his phone vibrate. Pulling it out of his pocket, he frowned when he saw a number he didn’t recognize.

“This is Noah.”

A pause came over the line and then a deep male voice spoke. “Noah. This is J—Chance.”

His heart stopped beating and then started up again with a vengeance, threatening to break free of his ribcage. “My brother Chance?”

The other man hesitated and then cleared his throat. “Yeah. Your twin.”

“How—where—how did you get my number?” he asked, feeling dazed as he made his way over to a stool and sank down on it.

“I’ve had it for a long time.”

He frowned. “So I was right. You did remember me, then.”

“You say that like you didn’t remember me,” Chance replied, his voice careful.

“Not until last night. I had no memories before age eight.” He frowned, shaking his head. “But you clearly remembered. And you had to have looked me up, if you have my number. But you didn’t try to find me or get ahold of me at all. Why?”

A sigh came over the line. “I couldn’t. I shouldn’t have even called now. But two searches for my name came from your location today, and I had to call. To let you know you need to stop. I’m close to finally ending this, and I don’t want them finding out about you.”

Frown deepening as confusion washed over him, he hesitated for a moment as his mind raced. “Ending what? What’s going on?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“You seem to know things about me, like my phone number and where I live, so let me ask you this. Do you know what I do for a living, Chance?” he asked, straightening on his stool.

“You’re an Enforcer, and an ex-Marine. Yes, I know. I’m proud of you, brother. You’ve done amazing things with your life.”

“Seems you know all about me, but I know nothing about you.” Closing his eyes when his words came out bitter, he shook his head, frustrated that he let his emotions show so clearly. “If you know what I do, then you know whatever you’re mixed up in, I can help.”

“I appreciate that, Noah,” Chance replied, his voice quiet. “Maybe more than you know. But you can’t help with this. Look, I have to go. Just stop looking for me. Please. And never, ever call this number. If you do, I’ll have to change it. I promise, when this is all over, I’ll call you again.”

Before Noah could reply, the line went dead. Pulling the phone away from his ear, he resisted the urge to chuck it at the wall. The fuck had that been about? His twin brother had known about him the whole time—not only remembered him, but knew where he was and how to get ahold of him—but hadn’t once attempted to call him?

Not only that, but told Noah to stop looking for him.

All those years Noah spent feeling that ache in his chest, the longing for whatever the missing piece was that he had. All those years, his lion pined for their brother, always pacing and agitated, so worked up over not having Chance close.

All those years, Noah felt like he was a heartbeat away from losing his mind, not realizing that what he was missing was his twin brother—and then that twin calls him and tells him to stop looking for him. There was obviously a reason for it that he didn’t want to tell him, but Noah still felt like his brother just told him he wanted nothing to do with him—and never had, since he’d been able to get ahold of him at any time.

It doesn’t make sense, his lion said, pacing furiously. Something is going on we don’t know about.

Clearly, he retorted sarcastically. But I still think that’s a fucked up way to say hello after twenty-two years of silence.

Don’t give up on him. He’ll come around. He’ll call again.

Noah exhaled heavily. No, he wouldn’t give up on Chance. That wasn’t in his nature. And from his twin’s words, there was something he was trying to finish before he let Noah into his life. It wasn’t like he was actually telling him to get lost, even though it felt like it. So, he’d abide by his brother’s wishes for now, but he wasn’t going to let him just disappear all over again.

“Noah? What’s wrong?”

Glancing up at Lily’s words, he tried to force a smile as she walked toward him, but judging by her frown, it didn’t work. Blowing out a breath as she stopped in front of him, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her to stand between his legs and hugging her tightly.

“Chance just called me. He knew about me, Lily. He remembered. He had my phone number and he knows where I live. He knows I was a Marine and that I’m an Enforcer. But he never once tried to reach out to me.”

She pulled back, her eyes searching his. “He called you?”

“Yeah. Said he somehow knew I was looking for him and asked me to stop. Said he was almost at the end of something and he didn’t want to lead someone to me, but that’s all I could get out of him. Told me to stop looking and to not call him on that number. He said he’d call me when he could, and then he hung up.”

Eyes widening as she stiffened, she sank her teeth into her lower lip while her blue eyes filled with guilt. “I’m so sorry, Noah. That was me. I looked for him. I know you said not to yet, but I knew it was important to you, and—”

Reaching up, he put a finger against her lips, halting her rapid speech. He took her hand as he shook his head at her. “I already knew. I saw the tab on your laptop and got curious. But you weren’t the only one who looked for him today, Lily.”

“You tried, too?”

Smiling, a small, wry quirk of his lips, he shrugged. “That’s what I was doing the whole time I was in Blake’s office. I’m not a hacker like you, though. I didn’t know what I was doing at all.”

She sighed as she squeezed his hand. “It’s not like I had any luck with it, either. It’s like he doesn’t exist.”

“I have the feeling he’s mixed up in something he shouldn’t be mixed up in. I offered to help, but he said no. I’m going to do as he asked, but I won’t let this go forever. I’ll track him down if I have to, if too much time passes and he still doesn’t call.”

“I’m sorry you’re left with more questions than answers. And I’ll help you track him down if he waits too long. He might have said not to call that number, but you didn’t mention him saying not to trace it.”

He raised his eyebrows as a slow smile turned his lips up. “You’re one hell of a woman, did you know that?”

“I’m glad you think so,” she replied, leaning in to kiss him. “If you’re not ready to cook right now, I’m okay with waiting. I’m not hungry yet, and I thought maybe you’d like to see the box. It might be the perfect distraction, because I can see worry over Chance still lurking in your eyes.”

“The box? Oh, the one I carried in. Yeah, that’s fine, as long as you’re sure you’re not hungry yet. I don’t mind cooking.”

Reaching down, she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the stool. “Nope. We’re doing this now. I already took it up to the bedroom, so let’s go.”

He let her lead him, curious over what she had that could distract him from something as big as speaking to his twin for the first time in over twenty years. “You should have let me carry it up for you.”

“I’m not helpless,” she replied as they walked into his room. “Besides, I told you it wasn’t that heavy. There it is. Go have a look.”

He kissed her again before sitting on the bed and pulling the box to him. Opening the lid, his breath caught as his hands stilled. There on the top was the signed baseball from the weekend trip he and Brandon took to see the Red Sox play.

Swallowing hard, he looked up and met her gorgeous blue eyes. “This is what you were telling me about at the hotel. The box of Brandon’s stuff you came to give me.”

She nodded, and he glanced back down, picking up the baseball with fingers that had the slightest tremor in them. He turned it around in his hand, remembering when Brandon caught the ball. He’d been so proud of that.

Fuck. So many emotions were hitting him all at once and he could barely breathe through them. He had to get control of himself before he looked through the rest of the contents of the box.

But he knew, even if the baseball was the only thing in there that Lily brought him, it would have been more than enough. The only gift she could give him that was better than that baseball was herself.