Shae’s eyes popped open to darkness. Though the room was dark, there was the tiniest bit of light streaming through the crack in one of the curtains. She hoped she hadn’t slept too late.

She turned her head and immediately looked to the chair Tristan had been in, but it was empty. Odd. She didn’t think he was there just because he liked her company. Someone must’ve told him to spend the night with her. She wondered what had changed.

She rolled out of the bed and ran her fingers through her hair, doing her best to make it look like it wasn’t some unruly mess and failing miserably. After using the attached bathroom, she nabbed a brownie and walked into the hall. She suddenly had a pretty good idea of why Tristan wasn’t there anymore. There was a little security camera she must’ve missed the day before. Not that she’d really been that focused. The exhaustion and stress more than caught up to her by the time she’d been led to the bedroom she thought was all hers.

She nibbled on the brownie she had taken—breakfast of champions—as she made her way down the hall. The house was rather odd. It was so big and extravagant, yet completely empty. She looked through every open door at the deserted bedrooms and sitting rooms. Most of the furniture was still in place, but covered with white sheets and plastic. In all the homes she’d bought, especially the foreclosures, everything had been gone. From wires to switch plates.... In one of the foreclosures, the owner had even taken a sledgehammer to some of the drywall just to prove his point to the bank. She wondered what happened to make the former owners leave so quickly.

The house was in a bright-white contemporary style. It was supposed to look clean and sunny, but neglect and dust put a slightly off sheen to everything. Shae’s mind raced through all the things she could do to make the place better. Some fresh coats of paint, splashes of color here and there to bring in the Florida style, some sheer drapes to let the sun do its magic without overpowering the rooms. This place could be a showstopper.

She reminded herself why she was there and pulled herself out of her odd fantasy. Once she reached the center of the house, she heard voices and followed her ears. She found a gathering of people, including Tristan, in the main living room. This room wasn’t super bright. In fact, the heavy curtains on all of the large picture windows seemed to block as much light as possible, which was a crime considering those windows were some of the biggest selling features of the house. She wondered why anyone would cover them like that, until she saw all the computers set up. Technology was sometimes the bane of the creative mind’s existence.

Everyone turned to face her as she walked in, and Shae froze in place, suddenly feeling awkward. Of course, the first person her eyes fell on was Tristan. He looked as good as ever in a pair of sharp black pants, a navy-blue shirt with no tie, and about one too many buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. Next to him was another handsome man with sandy-blond hair cut close to his head and dark-blue eyes. He was dressed in a long-sleeved black sweater and black slacks. And then there was the redhead wearing jeans and a T-shirt, the most casual of the bunch, and the man standing next to Toni. A tall, imposing man with brown hair and sharp cheekbones. Somehow he seemed to be the least intimidating of the group, but also terrifying. She didn’t know how she found herself in with this odd group.

The other odd one out was the other woman in the room. She was really pretty, with long, straight black hair and piercing blue eyes. But what was odd about her was that she wasn’t intimidating. She was the only other person in the room who seemed somewhat normal. The woman gave her a soft smile that Shae returned hesitantly.

“Morning, sunshine,” said Toni. Shae turned around to see the blonde approaching, rolling forward in the main computer chair. “I suppose it’s time for introductions.”

“I’m terrible with names,” said Shae with an awkward laugh.

“Trust me, you won’t forget any of these people.” Shae had a feeling she was right about that. Toni pointed at Tristan and got started. “Tristan, our lovable, huggable con man, you met already. Gage is the second best computer hacker in this room.” The blonde nodded at her and smiled. Judging by all the computers around Toni, she didn’t have to ask who the first best computer hacker in the room was.

“You can tell yourself that, Toni. One of these days, you and I are gonna have it out.”

Toni let out a laugh. “Please. I’m so far ahead of you, I’d beat you before you knew we were competing. Moving on, the strapping ginger over there is Hunter. He could kill you with his pinky finger, but don’t worry. He’s also funny and watches way too many movies.”

Hunter winked at her, and she tried to figure out whether Toni was joking about the pinky finger thing or not. Judging from the size of the man, she was guessing not.

“I, as you know, am Toni. I handle the computer technology side of things, but if you call me IT support, I will make you pay. The strapping man next to me is Scott Hart. Me and him lead all operations. He’s in charge of strategies, but doesn’t talk as much as I do, thankfully. Then you’d never get a minute of silence,” she said with a little grin.

Scott walked across the room and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Shae reached forward and met his hand with a firm handshake. She was used to working with men, and a handshake was the first chance to show off that she wasn’t going to be easy to handle. She liked that he’d walked forward to introduce himself. A sign of character, as though he actually cared whether she was comfortable or not. More than she could say for Tristan. She winced. Why did her mind always go back to him?

“And this model-looking girl is Melissa Slade. She is here to help out with you. She’s the newest member of our little group here and we’re working on getting her oriented. I figured you two could hang out together while we figure our next steps.”

“My new babysitter?”

Toni rolled her eyes. “What is it with you guys and babysitting? You do know we’re working a dangerous job, right? You do know there was a shootout at your home yesterday, right? Do you really want to be alone right now?”

“I don’t want to be alone, but I also don’t want to pretend this is only for my own good. You’re keeping an eye on me.”

“I’m keeping a protective eye on you. I’m not saying it’s only for your good, but don’t pretend like I’m making you do this. If you want to leave, you know where the door is.”

Shae was quiet. They both knew she would never call Toni’s bluff. As much as she hated to miss work, she was in no hurry to go back home. She folded her arms in front of her chest and tightened her lips.

“That’s what I thought,” said Toni. “Now, if you want to give us a few minutes, we were in the middle of something.”

Well, that wouldn’t work. “What were you guys talking about?”

“Things you don’t need to hear.”

“What’s the harm in me hearing it? You have cameras all over the place making sure I don’t squeal, and I know more about Blackthorne or Damask than any of you do. Isn’t that why you sent Tristan to spy on me in the first place?”

“I sent Tristan to spy on you because he fucked up and that was his punishment.”

“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better,” Shae muttered.

“That’s not true,” said Tristan. “We do want to figure out what Damask wants with you.”

“I told you, he wants me to sell the property. I never did anything to piss him off. He’s just crazy.”

“Unfortunately, he’s not crazy,” said Scott. “He’s very smart and ruthless. So if he wants a mediocre property on the ocean, there’s probably good reason. If there’s a good reason, that means we can exploit it.”

“Mediocre property?”

“You know what he means,” said Toni. “Damask isn’t going to be building any skyscrapers or condos on that plot of land. There’s some other reason he wants that land. Something worth killing for. And, judging from the bullets I was picking off the beach yesterday, it’s something he’d kill recklessly for. That’s a warning sign. Are you telling me you don’t have any idea what he wants?”

Shae threw her hands up in exasperation. “Why would I lie to you?”

“Why would you tell me the truth? In my world, people lie.” Toni’s eyes drifted over to Tristan. “In my line of work, people lie frequently. Excuse me if I just don’t believe everything you say, especially when it makes no sense to me.”

“Fine. Assuming I’m not a dirty liar, we still have no idea what Damask wants with my house. What’s the next plan? I’m assuming you do have a plan, right?”

“We do,” said Scott. “Damask has done a lot of questionable things lately. He sent some inexperienced guys to your house this morning and there was a very public shootout on the beach last night. He’s doing things he’s never done before. He’s shaky—he’s on edge. And that means we can use that. I want to rattle him a little bit and see what falls out.”

“Why bother rattling him? Why don’t we just, you know, take care of him?”

Hunter smiled, and everyone else stared at her questioningly. Melissa seemed shocked while everyone else seemed rather amused.

“What? Isn’t that what you do? You take care of bad guys?”

“We’re not killers,” said Tristan.

Shae pointed to Hunter. “He was introduced to me as a guy who can kill people with his pinky. So don’t tell me you’re not killers.”

Melissa raised her hand. “I’m not a killer,” she said with a soft voice.

“You ain’t an angel either,” said Gage.

Melissa glared at him. “That’s rich coming from a guy who broke someone’s wrist the first time I met you. Go ahead. List all the ways you’re a saint.”

“Quiet, all of you,” said Scott with an authoritative voice. “The point is, we help people, not hurt them. If it comes down to it, Damask will get what’s his. But I want to focus on a legal way to get him his comeuppance.”

“The guy sent people to my house with guns last night. Ask me how worried I am about doing this legally.”

“Well, you’re not our client,” said Scott harshly. “For all we know, you’re working with him.”

Shae’s mouth dropped. “I’m not.”

“The things we do are harsh measures. We don’t do any of this lightly. We vet our clients, thoroughly, to make sure they deserve all the help they get.”

Shae couldn’t take this anymore. “Fine. If you want to figure out why he’s after me, then let me help.”

“No,” said Tristan immediately.

Shae didn’t look at him, instead focusing on Toni. “Scott said that he wants to rattle him, maybe cause him to make a mistake. Send me in front of him. Get me a one-on-one conversation, and let’s see what he says. You’re not the only one who wants to know why he wants that property so bad. Don’t just hide me away in this stupid house. Let me do something to help.”

“I can’t have you getting in the way, even if you only have the best of intentions. Trust me, we’ve got this.”

“I’m not your client. You said it yourself. Why not use every resource available to you? Besides, don’t you owe this to your actual clients? Getting this settled as quickly as possible. If I can get you some kind of leverage over Damask, let me get you that leverage.”

“Fuck no.” Tristan stepped up. “She has no experience. She doesn’t know how to shoot a gun, doesn’t know how to fight, and she sure as hell doesn’t know how to lie. No.”

“I don’t need to lie. I’ll get into his face and tell him what I really think of him. Like I said, rattle him and see what comes out.”

“This is needlessly reckless,” said Tristan.

“Needlessly reckless is staying here with a bunch of you criminals. I don’t know you. I sure as hell don’t trust you, especially not you.” She narrowed her eyes at Tristan. “But I’m here taking a risk because I want this to stop. If you think I’m going to sit back and hope you strangers take care of it, you’re wrong. You told me where the door is and that’s where I’ll go. To find Damask, to confront him. Whether you are with me or not is up to you.” And with that, Shae strode toward the front door and walked into the bright Florida sun.

She didn’t have a car, but her phone was fully charged. One little gift from Toni. She was just going to have to figure this out on her own. Yet, as she walked, she held her breath. The driveway was massive, and she couldn’t see any other houses. Wherever they were, this was a large private lot. The walk to the road might be a quarter-mile. And then who knew how long she’d have to walk until she would find some civilization. She had been here once before, but hadn’t been paying attention to that from the comfort of her car....

She looked down at her phone. At least there was good reception. Could she get Uber here...?

Thankfully by the time she was halfway down the driveway, she heard footsteps behind her. She hadn’t realized how nervous she’d been until she heard those steps. She turned around to see Tristan approaching.

“You’re an idiot,” he said by way of greeting.

“You steal for a living. Don’t accuse me of being an idiot. At least my work is legal.”

“Legal will be the least of your concerns if you go through with this. You know Scott’s practically salivating to have you put yourself in danger.”

She held her hands out. “Then let me go in the line of danger. I’m smart. I’m reactive. I might not be some world-class criminal, but I think I can handle myself, especially if I have someone like you backing me up.”

“I don’t want to back you up in a situation like that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want you to get hurt,” he blurted. “Now come on,” he said with a jerk of his head. “If you do this, we have to plan it right.”

A grin spread across Shae’s face. “If we do this? You mean you agree? You’ll actually let me help?”

“I’m not agreeing to anything. This is a team, and not a democracy. Apparently you’re more convincing than I am, so pat yourself on the back. That doesn’t happen often. At least now when you get yourself killed, you can be proud when they bury you.”

“They’re not going to bury me,” she muttered, wishing she sounded more convincing.

“Just get your ass in the house. If you’re going to do this, you need to get washed up and Toni is working on getting you a change of clothes. And you better not die. Because if you do, I’m just going to have to kill you again.”

Shae smiled at the lightweight threat. She was a mix of terrified and elated that she wasn’t going to be stuck in the corner. Then, as she approached the house, she started to wonder.... Why exactly was Tristan so reluctant to have her go out? Did he really care about her?

The idea of him caring about her gave her a little thrill. It shouldn’t. They’d had this conversation last night, and it had made a lot of sense. They just met. He didn’t care about her. He just wanted to find out more information on Blackthorne.

But as she walked to the house, she couldn’t help the little smile that remained on her face.