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The boss man cuts me a look that leaves no mistake—this is not open for discussion.
“Ugh. You guys.” I throw up my hands and march to the center of the room. “There’s nothing that warrants all of you being here. Please, don’t pass up on paying gigs for this. Go home. After breakfast, of course, but I could never afford the team.”
Marshall crosses his big arms as half his brow angles up. Oh no. I’ve seen that look. Mules are less stubborn than my boss when he hits no-can-do mode.
“Last I remembered, I was the one in charge. So, leave that for me to decide.”
I shake my head as I massage my aching temple. “I’m at a loss for what to say.”
Mako chuckles. “Well, that’s a first.”
I give the former SEAL a death glare.
Sierra, sitting next to her husband on the couch, kicks Mako in the shin with her leather boot. “Watch it, buddy. I know your weakness.”
He leans in and grins, his all-American-boy face lighting up. “You do?”
“Broccoli. You cross me and I’ll make sure it’s in every take-out meal I’m responsible for until I’m good and satisfied.”
Mako’s smile disappears. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, but I would.”
Andre chuckles as he inspects a mint green macaron. “Don’t put it past her.”
Knowing I have no choice but to give in to the madness, I drop down onto the floor, cross my legs and pluck a giant croissant from the pile of amazing looking baked stuff. “Someone did a fine job of getting breakfast. So, as they say, if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them…”
By the end of the breakfast discussion, I know a little more, but not much more than I did last night. The team needed some social time, it seems. But I did learn that Pavel ended up at the hospital last night, but Andre promises me it’s nothing serious.
Yeah. That worries me. He didn’t take dragging me around on a wild goose chase on rutted third world roads after surgery seriously either. Andre’s a tough case. ‘Serious’ could mean a lot of things. Painful, ugly things.
With a punch to his leg, I catch Marshall’s attention. “Do we know exactly which forum or job board, whatever the hell place on the dark web that Pavel found the job on?”
“It’s called BloodWork, one word.”
I scrunch up my nose. “Ick. That’s just sick to begin with.”
“Yeah, we could get a lot of security and rescue work off of it, actually.”
Scotch says, “Interesting. You mean look for people who’ve been targeted and then help them evade capture?”
“Yep. That and work with the authorities to bring down the person hiring and hopefully eliminate some of the sick fucks who are taking the jobs to begin.”
This idea really resonates with me. “Well, if anything good comes out of this, then that makes me feel better. So, what’s next?”
Marshall sets his coffee cup aside and flips open his notepad. “Simona, I think you should start digging around for a digital trail, reach out to Pavel to see what else he’s learned. And of course, see what you can recall from your past that might have led to this. Andre is on guard duty for you.”
I groan. “Come on. I’m fine. It’s not like I can’t take care of myself.”
Scotch leans in and wraps me up in a hug. “Not for you to decide.”
I huff out a breath as Marshall goes on with his list. “Scotch, you dig around with her and see if you can figure out what’s triggered this bounty for our little Sprite. Roark, Cole and Sierra, you’re with me. We’re still working the kidnapping case for the little girl. We’ve got more to sort through. Mako, don’t you already have a dark web avatar or persona or whatever the hell you use there?
“Yep.”
“I want you to start looking for a way in on that forum.”
Mako’s eyes spark with the challenge. “I’ve already got some street cred with my avatar, which will help get me in.”
