Chapter 4

Alec followed Finn into the hall. Leaving Seth and Gaige alone for even a second was the wrong call, so Alec stuck close to the door, hoping to pick up some part of the conversation despite the impenetrable walls.

He strained but he couldn’t even hear the rumble of voices. “This is bullshit.”

“Of course it is, which makes me wonder why you’re going along with anything Seth says.” Finn leaned against the far hallway wall.

He handled stress better than anyone Alec knew. Finn might have been the youngest, almost out of his twenties, but he was rock solid. He’d grown up fast and hard. Alec and Griff, their other brother, had tried to guide Finn. Keep him aware and on guard without burdening him with the roughness they possessed. It had worked, to a point. Enough for Alec to trust Finn with every aspect of the business, including doing most of the travel and on-site visits.

So Alec needed Finn with him on this. “If someone is using our name, or if Seth and the CIA are setting us up, we need to know.”

“Uh-huh.” Finn rested his hands behind him on the wall. “And Gaige?”

The air changed. Wariness poured through Alec. He could feel his baby brother digging, acting like he knew some big secret. “What about Gaige?”

Finn made a face. “You have eyes, right? The guy is hot. The tech mind and those arms? Come on. He’s exactly your type.”

Since he had trouble not looking at Gaige, Alec knew what Finn meant. The sleek muscles, the relaxed attitude. The competency with which he maneuvered around the business’s security. It all worked for Alec. He was intrigued about the man and his past…and what he could do with that smart mouth.

But Alec refused to talk about that with his brother. Finn was bisexual and Alec was gay. They never went after the same men. That was an unspoken rule.

Not that Alec had any intention of going after Gaige for anything other than information. The rest he could think about and satisfy with his own hand during the few hours he spent in bed tonight. “Make your point.”

Finn shook his head. “I know other people are threatened by that tone. I’m not.”

For anyone else, Alec had perfected his I’m-done-with-this-shit growl. It apparently no longer worked on Finn. Maybe logic would. “We don’t have a choice when it comes to Seth and his scheming.”

“Sure, checking the story out makes sense. Willingly giving yourself a roommate is the problem.”

“I can control myself.” That had never been a problem before. Alec vowed not to let it be one now.

“I guess that’s why you keep staring at him.”

Son of a bitch. He’d even caught himself doing it a few times and had to force his mind to stay on the subject and off the man standing beside him in that room. “Isn’t there a saying about keeping your enemies close?”

“Which brings me right back to my concern about your obvious interest in this guy.”

Alec was done with this topic. “It’s not an issue.”

Finn pushed away from the wall and met Alec in the middle of the hallway. “You need to keep the work separate from your sex life.”

“When has that ever been a problem?” Never. Not once. He could compartmentalize. Sex was sex. An outlet. Energy and heat and nothing more. Work was everything.

“Why do you think I’m concerned now?”

“Don’t be.” The fact that Finn didn’t usually push, not like this and not on personal stuff, made this harder to shrug off. Alec wasn’t sure how to pivot without threatening, and he didn’t want to do that. Finn would take it as a sign that he was right. “I don’t have sex with employees.”

Alec thought saying it out loud, nice and clear, would end this. He’d made his point and he was not one to repeat commands or comments. He expected people to listen the first time and get it. He’d earned that.

When Finn nodded, Alec thought he’d finally gotten through. He had no plans to stick around to find out. He turned back to the conference room door.

“One problem with your theory.” Finn reached around Alec and typed in his code. Swiped his entry card. “Technically, he’s not our employee.”

Gaige waited until the Drummond brothers stepped into the hall to unload on Seth. They might be listening. Hell, they could be recording every sound and movement in the room, Gaige didn’t give a damn.

He took a step toward Seth. “I paid you back.”

“For espionage? Last I checked, the only reason you’re not national news is because I cut you a break.”

Gaige had a list of arguments but none of them would satisfy Seth or his SAD team. He’d made that clear. This was now the third time Gaige had his life turned upside down when he’d gotten called in to do something off-the-books for Seth. At this rate the blackmail would never end. “Fuck you.”

“That’s the spirit.” Seth had the nerve to wink. “While you’re with Alec, I’ll be sending you encrypted information. Your job is to break it.”

Gaige started to move again, then froze. “That’s not what you said a minute ago to Alec and Finn.”

“There’s the intel I give to him and then there’s what you and I know separately. You don’t share unless I give you permission.”

Permission. Seth had chosen a word guaranteed to piss Gaige off. This was all a game. Seth was putting him right in Alec’s line of fire.

“It’s not bad enough you’re dropping me into this mess and putting a target on my back. Now you want me to lie to a guy who is known for killing people.”

Seth frowned. “Alec? That reputation is blown out of proportion.”

The parsing of words said it all. Not that Alec wasn’t a murderer but that the stories got it wrong. Gaige didn’t like that distinction one bit. “It would have been more convincing if you said the rumors weren’t true.”

“Be careful with him. He’s ruthless. He will use anything, including sex, to get information.”

One word vibrated through Gaige. He’d been thinking about sex since he turned around and saw Alec standing there in the server room. Hot and dirty, up against a wall. On his knees. All of it.

But that was his choice not Seth’s, and the motherfucker had to at least know that much. “I suppose you think that’s part of my job, too? Fuck him and figure out if he talks in his sleep, then report back to you about what he says.”

“Tempting, but even I know that would be too much to demand from a civilian.”

“Happy to hear you have some lines you won’t cross.”

“Look, fuck him if you want. That’s on you.” Seth glanced around before closing in, taking the distance between them down to nothing as he dropped his voice. “But you will break into his system and you will do what I tell you.”

They were whispering now. “You heard him. He’s not going to let me out of his sight.”

“Then you better find a way to win him over.” Seth put a hand on Gaige’s chest. “Act like your life depends on it.”