Page 25

For as long as I could remember he’d been bouncing between the naval base in California and wherever his next top secret mission took him.

Maybe it was selfish, but I kinda assumed when he retired, he’d come back to St. Louis to stay.

For good.

Heaving a sigh, I got out of my Jeep, grabbed the boxes of sweets from the backseat, then shoved the door closed with my hip.

“Need some help?”

Lifting my hand to shield my eyes from the setting sun, I spotted Maverick, a man on my brother’s team, coming up the alley. I couldn’t remember exactly what he did. Communications or something like that.

“No thanks,” I said. “I think I got it.”

To prove my point, I shifted the boxes to my other hand and punched in the code to the garage door.

Just like with Drew’s garage, there was a beep before the light on the keypad turned green, and then the door started to go up.

Once it was up enough for my body to fit, I ducked underneath it and headed for the metal staircase in the corner, all the while feeling the barbs pressing in on the back of my neck thanks to the man who was following behind me.

I couldn’t help myself.

Having someone at my back in a darkened space always made me nervous.

Thankfully, the discomfort vanished when the door at the top of the landing swung open.

“Your fashion sense is atrocious,” I said to the shirtless man in front of me.

My brother glanced down at his red Nike shorts and the lime green Crocs I bought him for as a joke for Christmas two years ago.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

I shook my head. “Everything. Now move before I drop these.”

He moved to the side, and I squeezed by him.

“It’s the little sister.”

Turning toward the familiar voice, I smiled.

Fury was standing barefoot at the bar. He was also shirtless, and his hair was all over the place.

Secretly I wondered who’d had their hands in it. Him or someone else? Judging by his bloodshot eyes, I was thinking the latter.

“Rough night?” I teased.

Fury smiled mischievously, confirming my assumption. “Somethin’ like that.”

Eww. Gross.

I knew all about Fury and his playboy ways. According to my brother, the former sniper had a woman in every state.

And doing a quick sweep of him from head to toe, I could understand why.

He had light brown hair that curled at the ends, bright blue eyes, and a beard that could make most men envious. He sort of reminded me of a mountain man if a mountain man looked like a commando. However you wanted to describe the man; he was handsome.

Actually, my brother’s entire team was hot.

As if proving my point, Outlaw came around the corner and jerked up his chin at me. “Sup.”