Page 22 of Out of the Shadows

“It’s the least I can do for her, you fucker,” Gavin grumbled. “We pile so much shit on her plate, and shealwaysgets everything done without complaint. I can at least bring her some goddamn food. Don’t read more into it.”

Xander leaned back in his chair with a furrowed brow. “What the hell’s that quote, you guys? The Shakespeare one? Something about protesting too much?”

A chorus of chuckles sounded around the table. He flipped them all off. Fuckers.

“All right,” Cade said, rising. Along with running De La Rosa Gym with his brother, he was also a former MMA world champion and now one of the top MMA trainers in the world. “I have to head over to the Seattle gym for the weekend, but I have three of my coaches on Tactical’s schedule for the hand-to-hand training for the group coming in tomorrow. Is three good, or do you need another?”

“Thanks, man,” Buchanan said. “It’s a group of about twenty from a few different sheriff’s offices in Eastern Washington, so your three guys should be fine.”

“Cool. Thanks for the food, Frazier,” Cade said with a chin lift. “I’ll see you guys next week.”

As everyone said their goodbyes, Gavin reveled in the competency of the men around him. When he stepped away from the Army, he’d been at a loss about what to do. The skills he was adept in, things he had been trained for, didn’t translate to the civilian world. Hudson Security had been born out of still wanting to make a difference, but without the bureaucratic bullshit. At first, it had just been him. He was a control freak to his very core, but he’d added trustworthy people slowly. One at a time. Now, here he was. Immensely proud of not only how far Hudson Security had come, but how Hudson Tactical was standing on its own.

With just Alvarez and Xander left at the table with him—Buchanan had wandered to the Comfort Food offices to check in with his wife—Gavin said, “So there’s been a change of plans with the McClintock charity event this Saturday.”

“Everything okay?” Xander asked.

“Esme’s sick. Pneumonia. She’s arranged for Bean to go with me to the event. And before you say anything”—he gave Xander a pointed stare—“I haven’t run any of this by B yet.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Alvarez asked, concern evident on his expression. “We keep her under wraps.”

That was one hundred percent true. Bean’s technical title was IT Specialist. However, they made no mention of her on the company website, nor did they mention any of her skills to clients. Ever. She was completely behind the scenes. Not only for her own safety, but for Hudson Security’s safety as well.

In fact, Gavin was pretty sure her legal name was under wraps too. He and MacKay knew. Esme knew since hiring fell under her umbrella. But he was pretty sure their colleagues didn’t know B’s first name was actually Sabrina. To everyone both inside and outside of their organization, she was simply Bean.

“We still will. That’s where I need your help.” Gavin wouldn’t do anything to risk Bean’s anonymity. “We need a cover—a plausible and simple identity for her. A legit reason for her to be there with me last minute instead of Esme.”

“Well, why exactly are you going?” Alvarez asked. “You usually push off the charity event things.”

Gavin nodded. He sure as shit did. “I was initially invited by Edward McClintock. At the time, he was considering us for some cybersecurity at one of his start-ups. Then the shit with his kid went down. I was going to bail on the entire thing since Edward and Rita aren’t going anymore, but I spoke with him yesterday, and he wants me to meet one of his business partners. Esme was going to scope things out as well, get a feel for the partner.”

“I’d say Bean’s a good judge of character,” Alvarez said. “Maybe not as savvy as Esme, but with what she does, she can definitely see through bullshit pretty well.”

“True,” Xander chimed in. “But she’s always observing over cameras. Never in person. You think she’ll agree to go? I mean, she’s not exactly a fan of... people.”

Gavin shrugged. “We’re keeping Esme’s name on the RSVP info. That way, if Bean doesn’t go, it’s no big deal.”

Alvarez ran a hand over his chin. “Then why bother bringing her in the first place? Like Xander said, she’s not exactly what anyone would call a people person.”

“I’m supposed to bring a plus-one to keep the table numbers even.” The second the words left Gavin’s mouth, he fought a cringe. And failed. The words sounded even dumber out loud than in his head.

“Bullshit. More like you’re afraid of Constance Whitcomb.” Xander snorted and turned to Alvarez. “She’s the head of the McClintock Family Foundation. You were in Seattle for forever. Do you know her?”

“Oh,everyoneat the Seattle PD knows who she is.” Alvarez chuckled with a grimace. “When I was there, she was a big supporter of the department. She was a fan of the younger detectives, and I had a few colleagues who knew herquitewell.”

“Not you?” Xander asked.

Alvarez shook his head. “Not that it mattered to Constance, but I was married to my ex back then. And frankly, the woman was always a little too... predatory. Not my thing.”

“I just met her the other day, and I get you,” Xander said. “I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole. Hell,Carmichaelwouldn’t touch her—and believe me, she sure as shit tried with him—and that guy will bang any woman with a pulse.” He nodded at Gavin. “Pretty sure Constance has her sights set on this one. Purposely seated him next to her.”

Alvarez let out a low whistle. “Good luck, brother. Too bad about Esme. She would have held that woman at bay for you. As for Bean, just say she’s your girlfriend—not that that alone will deter Constance—but it will give you a good excuse to reject her advances.”

“Yeah,” Xander said, that smarmy fucking smirk on his face. “Have B act as your girlfriend.”

Gavin shook his head. That’s thelastthing he wanted to do. After spending the last evening with her, after having her in his home, things were... off between them.

Correction: things were off withhim.

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