Riley Anders had gone the college route. Burke Lennox swore Riley was one of the premier hackers in the United States. It was a skill that would mean the world to an investigator. There was a lighter air to him, but Dane didn't doubt he'd been trained well.
"Lieutenant Mitchell?" Lawson asked.
Dane winced inwardly. How fucking long would it be before he could hear military titles and not have his stomach go south? "It's just Dane. I'm not in the Navy anymore."
Law leaned against the wall. "Yeah, from what I hear, you got a bad fucking rap. But I understand. I got out because I couldn't listen to the brass anymore, either. Now Dominic is the only person who bitches at me. I'm the idiot who gets his ass out of the military, then goes to work for his former CO."
Riley shrugged. "Well, I'm the smart one who didn't go into the military in the first place and I still end up getting my ass chewed out on a regular basis by your former CO."
Dane didn't have time for the Anders brothers comedy hour. "Do you have the information I asked for? I don't understand why Dominic wouldn't just send it to me. I could have saved you a very long flight."
"Dominic never likes to give bad news over the phone." Lawson glanced down at the briefcase his brother carried. "Do you have some place where we can set up?"
A knot formed in his stomach, and Dane wondered if he was really braced for the truth.
"Should I give Tal the signal?" Cooper asked him over the radio.
From the edge of the ballroom, Landon looked back. He stood in the shadows, watching over the woman they all loved. The woman who might still be in danger. Dane gave him a nod, and Landon edged closer to Alea. He would keep an eye on her so Dane and Coop could take this meeting.
"Dane?"
He was procrastinating. "Yeah. Get everyone into Talib's office pronto."
With a nod to the private investigators, Dane began to lead the way to a more private part of the palace. Behind him the brothers chattered on, throwing more annoying digs at one another.
Dane was grim as he unlocked the office and turned on the light. It was past time to find out just how screwed they all were.
Chapter Two
Lan looked out over the ballroom and tried to imagine himself belonging here. It was an impossible task.
Alea held out her hand, greeting some big wig. Schmoozing was probably politically important, but all he gave a shit about was that her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. He hated to see her so withdrawn. When she didn't realize he was watching her, she gave in to pure joy. Then her dark eyes glittered and her pillowy lips curved into a smile that could light up the whole fucking world.
But now she was faking it, flashing that annoyingly bland smile to the crowd, which she often did to people who didn't matter. When she didn't want anyone to look at her too closely. He didn't even mind the little fit she'd thrown earlier because at least when she was pissed off at him, she was being honest. He would take her anger over nonchalance any day of the week.
But she was right about one thing: he was a dumbshit who didn't deserve her. He needed to remember that. He was here to do a job, which meant protecting her, period. No matter how much he wanted to take her in his arms and love her until she couldn't think about anything else, she was a princess. He was pure Texas trailer trash. He was nowhere near Alea's league.
"Does Rafe have the target?" Dane asked over the tiny device in his ear.
Lan quickly found the man they were talking about. Rafe took Piper's hand, kissing it as he started to lead the shaykhah to the dance floor. The music had changed from a bouncy song to a long, slow grind. That was baby-making music, and Rafe grinned wolfishly at his wife.
Alea stopped and looked out to the floor, longing plain on her face. God, he wanted to walk over to her, thread his fingers through hers, lead her out there. But he also wanted his two best friends to be there touching her, too. And that made him a fucking freak in most of the world. Bezakistan was different, so in Lan's book, that's what made the country great.
"He's got her." Piper was following Rafe onto the dance floor, her face shining up at him.
"Excellent. Keep an eye on our brat. I'll let you know when we're done. Out." Coop's voice cut off, and Lan knew he was out of the loop for a bit. He'd volunteered for this duty to remove himself from the meeting. He'd rather watch over Alea because he didn't agree with this clandestine shit. Everyone was planning Alea's life without including her. She should be in that fucking meeting, but he'd been outvoted.