Page 84 of Dash

Dash groaned between his teeth.

“He’s like Atlas.” Mina dipped her pointy chin.

I frowned. “Atlas?”

“Yeah, you know, the Titan god in Greek mythology who carried the weight of the heavens on his shoulders?”

“Oh, that Atlas.” I tossed Dash a glance and smiled wider. “Yeah, he’s definitively a titan, and that weight, he’s always carried it.”

“See?” Mina grinned. “She agrees with me, boss. She’s smart as a cat, this one.”

“May the gods have mercy on a common guy caught between two supersmart women,” he muttered, running his hand across his jaw.

I covered my mouth, but I found the resignation on his face hysterical. Another stream of chuckles escaped my control.

“Like I was saying,” Mina trampled on. “I suspected coming here wouldn’t help with Omega’s elevated levels of grouchiness. So, I thought, what if I make his arrival funny for him? Only I forgot. His sense of humor? Gone. But yours is spot on.” She offered me her fist and burst out her fingers when we bumped. “Here’s to female power and men who can laugh.”

“Hear, hear,” I pretended to raise a glass in the air.

Dash rolled his eyes. “If you two are done dishing on me, I’d like to know why you called me here.”

“Yes, to the business at hand.” Mina’s expression grew serious. She moved behind the desk, sat down on Father’s throne-like chair, and pointed at the wingbacks across from the desk. “Please.”

Sobering up, I pushed to my feet, crossed the room, and eased down on the chair, trying very hard not to see my father yelling at me across the desk and focusing on Mina instead.

Taking the seat next to me, Dash slashed an impatient hand in the air. “Go.”

“I called you here because I have some news,” Mina said. “Not the best news, but news.”

“What is it?” Dash and I said at the same time.

“First,” Mina announced. “We got a lead on Coco.”

“What kind of lead?” Dash leaned forward on his chair.

“Trev back-hacked from Wilkes’s accounts to the Valdez Cartel’s accounts. He found several suspicious transactions.” She clasped her hands on the desk. “He followed those to an offshore trust. He was able to get a name by hacking the legal entity that set up the trust.”

“Let me guess.” Dash straightened on his chair. “Coco.”

“You’re as sharp as the stiletto you’re named after.” Mina grinned. “You got it, boss. One Coco Martinez popped up on the radar.”

“Druid strikes again.” Dash smirked. “The guy’s a genius.”

“Of course he is. Who did he marry?” She tapped her chest. “Moi.”

I smiled again. Her likeability index kept going up.

“My sweet handsome hunk is currently on the ground in the Cayman Islands, trying to flush out Coco’s whereabouts.” Two small lines formed between Mina’s eyes. “Now that I think about it, I can’t believe I’m not over there with him. I have thecutest itsy bitsy yellow bikini—”

“Focus, Mina.” Dash snapped his fingers in the air. “Does Trev have backup?”

“He’s with Elite, so hell yeah, he’s got backup.” Her earring clattered as she assented with vehemence. “If there’s a trail, Trev and his team will sniff out Coco.”

“Good work.” Dash sat back on his chair. “The sooner we find Coco, the sooner this ends. Anything else?”

“Yes, boss. BB’s lab contacted me about an hour ago.”

Something about the way she glanced at me made me queasy.

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