“Finally tracked Victoria down,” Flash said as he breezed into my office just after three in the afternoon.

I peered up from my computer as he slid into the seat across from me. “And?”

“She’s safe. She went to visit her mother in Detroit.”

“You talked to her?” He nodded and started to shake his foot that hung over his other leg as he sat with his ankle propped on his thigh. “What did she say?”

“Matías did spook her. She decided to leave town after they spent an evening together. She knew something was off, so she thought it was best to get as far away from him as possible.”

“I’ll make sure to let the guys at Taboo know she’s safe. I know they’ve been worried.”

Flash didn’t move even though I’d basically dismissed him. He stared at me, which was awkward.

He’d grown on me over the years. His past with Izzy made it a little harder for me to become friends with him. The whole, he fucked my wife bit kind of grated on my nerves. I won in the end, slipping the ring on her finger and making her mine, but it didn’t make it easy to sit across from a man every day who knew exactly how she tasted.

“Something else?”

“I’m going to need to take an extended leave.”

“Why? What’s up?”

He hadn’t taken time off since he started at ALFA. Sure, he’d taken a few days here or there, but extended time meant a long-term absence and one that would leave a hole in our company.

“Fiona’s expecting.”

I jumped up from my chair and rounded the desk to shake his hand. “Congrats, buddy.”

“Thanks, but she’s been put on bed rest. So, until her mother can come down and take care of her, I’m going to be taking a leave.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The doctor said some mumbo jumbo about an incompetent cervix. Whatever the fuck that means.”

“We’re all here to help with anything you two need.”

“Thanks, James.” He gave me a small smile, but I couldn’t imagine what he was going through. “I’m excited about finally being a dad and don’t want anything to happen to Fiona or our baby.”

The last thing I wanted was for Flash to worry about his place here at ALFA while focusing on the birth of his child. We needed him. I needed him. We didn’t run without him, and he’d become an invaluable member of the team.

“I’ll talk to Thomas, and maybe you can work from home. We still need your skills and contacts. Would that work for you?”

His face brightened. “That would be great. It would make everything easier. I can’t sit there all day and do nothing.”

“I get it. I do,” I told him because I wasn’t a sitter either.

Even when it was my day off, I was always doing something. I didn’t like to sit idle with my hand tucked in my pants, watching television. I was a doer. Always had been a workaholic, and it was something I didn’t see changing anytime soon.

“Thanks, man,” Flash said as he climbed to his feet, looking a lot happier than he had when he walked in.

“Anytime.” I waved him off. Although I was doing it for him, it was in the best interest of ALFA to keep him active and working, especially with a case like Matías’s still open.

But then again, there was always an important case we were working on. As soon as a top priority was closed, another one popped up. Our little company Thomas and I started when we finally hit burn-out level after working at the DEA had grown into one of the most well-respected and in-demand investigative companies in Tampa Bay. I never would’ve believed it possible with the ragtag group of guys we had working with us.

Leaving the DEA was one of the hardest decisions of my life. After years of training and climbing the ladder, getting more and more important assignments, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I had been a little hesitant walking away. But having Thomas with me and with the clear goal in mind of opening ALFA Private Investigations, I figured, what the fuck, how could it go wrong?

Every agent had a burn-out point, and I hit it just as Thomas did. Working on the case with the Sun Devils MC was a nightmare. Not only was Thomas’s life at risk every single day, but then Izzy’s life was in danger too after Flash, being the sometimes dumbass that he was, brought her to Daytona for Bike Week. Naturally, she’d caught the eye of the SD vice president. Thank God Thomas was there to work shit out and keep her safe.

After what was almost a clusterfuck of epic proportions, I was ready to tap out when we did. I’d never regretted the decision either. Being my own boss, surrounding myself with the best and most trustworthy people in the business, and living life on my terms gave me a freedom I never knew when I was with the DEA.

“Am I interrupting?” Ret asked, standing in the doorway as Flash stood near my desk.

I waved him in as his eyes moved from Flash to me. “We’re done.”

“Thanks again, James,” Flash said as he walked toward the door. “Hey, Ret. Nice to see you back.”

Ret gave him a chin lift as Flash passed. “Wanted to talk to you about Matías.”

“Whatcha got?”

Ret sat in the same chair Flash had just occupied, looking way more relaxed and comfortable in front of me. “I want to help with catching the fucker.”

Ret was our newest addition, although he’d been here longer than a hot minute. He was also Bear’s kid, which added some moments that were funnier than shit. But Ret, just like his father, was a man of honor. In his previous life, he was a bounty hunter. He chased down the bad guys using any means necessary and often put his life in danger while doing it. ALFA gave him more security and less chance of his ass getting popped while on the job, although the pay was significantly less, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“Well, you know I’m like you and have spent more than a few nights inside a BDSM club.”

I nodded. Ret and I had talked more times than I could count about handling our women. “I do.”

“Since he seems to be making the rounds at clubs, I thought I could reach out to my contacts around the country and see if they can help.”

He had my attention. I hadn’t even thought of asking him to help on the case. I should’ve known that he had ears and eyes everywhere that could help track Matías as he hopped around the country. “What kind of contacts?”

“I have memberships in or at least have visited every major BDSM club in the fifty states.” He rubbed his hands on his jeans with a tiny smirk. “I didn’t like to sit in my hotel room at night and watch television, so I filled my downtime with some of the best submissives in the country.”

“Busy man.”

“Happier than a pig in shit.” He laughed, relaxing back into the chair. “I figure I can call my contacts within the clubs and put out an APB to find out where Matías is right now. It may help save us a lot of time and legwork.”

Resting my fingertips against my lips, I thought about what he proposed. Matías seemed to be using BDSM clubs as a means to nab women who were already well-versed in the lifestyle. “Do you trust these people?”

“I trust them implicitly, and if there’s a bounty involved, they’ll be more inclined to find the man.”

I rubbed the scruff on my face, staring at Ret and pondering his idea. Money motivated everyone. Even my kids, when I thought it was time for them to get lost so Mommy and Daddy could have a little private time. Ret’s idea of offering money out of the ALFA coffers to get people in the BDSM community talking and sharing was a brilliant idea. “How much money are we talking?”

“Five thousand should be plenty to get people salivating and tracking his ass down.”

“You got it. Just make sure it’s on the DL. We don’t want Matías to get spooked and head underground.”

“The real question is…do you trust me, James?” Ret leveled me with his stare, the same one that probably had submissives’ legs quivering all over the world.

“I do. Make magic happen.”

Before Ret could walk out, Thomas strolled in. “I heard there’s a party in here.”

It fucking seemed like it over the last thirty minutes as people popped in with news and walked out. It had been a nonstop parade, and it always seemed to end up at my desk instead of Thomas’s.

“Here’s the man of the hour,” I said with a little more snarkiness than usual.

“I’m going back to my office. I’ll get right on it, James.” Ret passed Thomas on the way out.

“Why do you think everyone comes to me instead of you?” I asked Thomas before his ass hit the chair.

He shrugged it off and laughed. “You’re friendlier than I am.”

I groaned. “You know I’m a bigger asshole than you.”

“I do.” He pitched his thumb toward the doorway. “But they don’t.”

I sighed. “Ret came up with a great idea to sniff Matías out of the shadows.”

“The bounty is perfect.”

I jerked my head back. “You know?”

“Uh, yeah, fucker.”

I twisted my lips because Thomas had gotten one over on me. “You keep sending everyone in here, don’t you?”

He laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes. “I always tell them to check with you first.”

“You’re a complete dick.”

He pounded on his chest and smiled. “But you love me.”

I grumbled under my breath, but I did love the man. He was the closest thing I had to a brother. From the day we started training until today, we’d been thick as thieves. I’d say I was closer to him than any of his blood brothers. Spending time away from everyone and keeping secrets left a hole that never would be completely filled. He and I shared experiences that no one else would ever understand, and because of that, we had a different relationship than many normal friends.

The one thing I was most thankful about was that my relationship with Izzy never changed the friendship Thomas and I had. It could’ve turned into something we would’ve never recovered from, but he knew the kind of man I was and thought his sister and I were a perfect match. He turned a blind eye when it came to our sex life, thank God, and all he cared about was that I made her happy.