Page 61 of Jonas

Fuck.

“He knows your real name.”

I didn’t need confirmation, yet she supplied it, “Yes.”

“You got a family you’re worried about protecting?” Cash asked.

Her real identity getting out didn’t pose any greater risk to her safety—her image would’ve been captured on one of the many cameras at Delcon. Her chances of going undercover in the future might be an issue unless Kira, Garrett, or Shep could wipe any traces of her picture off the darkweb if it had made its way there.

But right then I wasn’t worried about her future employment. I was more concerned that Cash had brought up her family.

“Um…no.”

Her less than confident tone had all the men in the room zeroing in on her. Lore and Nebraska weren’t far behind the men. And the only reason why Kira hadn’t joined was because she was now lost to her screen and whatever intel she was digging into.

“No?” Cash pushed.

“Cash,” I warned.

Since her hand was still on my thigh I didn’t miss when it twitched ever so slightly. But even if I had, I wouldn’t have missed the indecision rolling off of her.

Finally she settled on a partial truth, and cautiously muttered her understatement, “We’re not close.”

Cash’s eyes skidded to me before he settled back on Derrika. There was a flicker of acknowledgment in Cash’s gaze. His situation was much different than Derrika’s but he knew better than to push any topic of childhood or parents.

“Got it,” he said and looked back to Lore. “So, how long you planning on staying?”

“Why? You planning on asking me to go steady?”

Beside me Derrika blew out a relieved breath. Across and down the table, Cash flashed Lore a wicked smile. Lore’s return smile was damn near as devilish.

Zane bounding down the stairs broke whatever spell the two of them had cast over the other.

“My wife wants to talk to you,” Zane announced.

“Which one of us?” Theo inquired.

“All of you.” Zane fiddled with his phone, then held it out toward the room. “You’re on speaker.”

“One of you needs to promise me to keep my husband on a tight leash.” Ivy’s voice echoed through the basement.

The collective groan was well-timed and indicative of none of us wanting that task.

“I’ll babysit him,” Kira offered.

“You won’t be in the field,” Ivy denied. “Theo?”

My teammate’s tan skin bleached. “I’ll make sure we have a dentist on standby.”

Zane smiled wide, showing off his fake front tooth. Not that someone would know it was fake unless you knew the story.

“I really need the full story,” Derrika murmured.

“My husband shapeshifted into a coyote⁠—”

“A coyote?” Zane protested. “More like a wolf.”

“More like a rabid animal.” Ivy sighed. “Please don’t let him go scorch the earth. He still doesn’t understand you can’t burn a whole city to the ground to save one person.”