Page 64 of Remade

I’d never let my facial expression give anything away, including now. I turned back to Darius and went for pensive, as if I was racking my brain to remember anyone by that name.

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I wasn’t allowed to share anything, period. Just like Reese hadn’t been allowed to divulge anything to confirm my suspicion about the Quinn family. And thiswasfamily.

I knew Operator Nolan. I’d fucking been there when he’d graduated. I hadn’t been his mentor, but I’d been one of several senior operators to guide him through our final selection in Ecuador.

That was one of the years we’d had so few applicants that we’d accepted recruits without military experience. Which we hadn’t done in ages before then. But even so, he’d proved himself. We’d had a shit-ton of dropouts that year, and he’d soared to the top on determination and anger.

Anger he was still in therapy for. Now it made me wonder what the anger was about. I mean, it couldn’t have been noteworthy enough to pull him back; Coach and Danny wouldn’t have let him graduate if it was too serious.

“You’re frustratingly difficult to read, Beckett.”

I feigned confusion for a beat before I chuckled. “My bad. I was just thinking. When the hell did Hillcroft become a family business? You and Ryan, Vince and me—we have a new recruit now whose brother graduated this summer. Coach and Doc…”

He hummed and peered out to where the girls were inspecting something on the frozen ground. Leighton, Lias, and Gray were talking nearby while keeping an eye on the giggling mini operators.

I didn’t know where the boys had gone. Jayden and Justin were older, with at least one of them a teenager around high-school age. I didn’t know which one, obviously.

“You convinced Leighton to reach out to us, didn’t you?” Darius didn’t wait for me to respond. “If I discovered Gage worked at Hillcroft, I’d do the same thing. I’d want him to at least tell Gray.”

He didn’t have to convince me he was digging with the best intentions in mind. I believed him, and I wanted him to know.

“I understand that,” I said, shifting my gaze back to him. “I’m grateful Reese was willing to connect a few dots about y’all.”

He hummed. “He told me last time we spoke.”

I wasn’t surprised.

“He reminded me of something your brother told me about you,” he went on. “He used to say you were a by-the-book kind of guy—right up until you weren’t.”

My mouth twitched. “Aren’t we all?”

He smirked and finished his coffee. “I always viewed the book as a recommendation.”

Of course he did. So had Vince, with less success.

I got what Darius meant, though. And glancing back at the girls, I had an idea.

“Alex!” I called.

She perked up from whatever she was inspecting on the ground, and she sprinted toward me, with Cass in tow.

“Yeah?” She was panting by the time she skipped up the steps and joined me.

“How’s land nav going?” I asked. She leaned against my armrest, so I put an arm around her and touched her rosy cheeks. Not too cold.

“It’s tough without a compass,” she said and sniffled. “But that’s south, ’cause it’s down.” She pointed east.

“Hi, Daddy! Alex learned me to draw a map,” Cass announced. She was as rosy-cheeked as Alex.

“She did, huh? That’s a great skill, angel,” Darius replied. “Where’re your brothers?”

Cass huffed. “Nobody knows.”

I grinned and tugged lightly on Alex’s ponytail. “Darius and I were just talking about work. You like runnin’ around there, don’t you?”

She nodded and beamed. “It’s better than school.”

I smirked and faced Darius. “Who was it you asked about, again?”

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