Page 9 of Forged in Secrets

Ben couldn’t help but to chuckle at the absurdity of the thought. Gabe had to be joking to get back at him for questioning his leadership of FBS. He had to be.

“You need to work on your field op skills,” Gabe said with a shrug of his shoulders. “You can’t just live in your nerd cave. Besides, if Katie’s disappearance has anythingto do with her father’s work at AveroTech, your expertise might come in handy.”

“And I can come and help you,” Grace added. She sounded positively thrilled about the idea of tagging along on his own personal nightmare trip.

“You aren’t an operative,” he protested. “And how exactly do you expect the office to function without you to keep things running?”

He gave Asher a pleading glance, hoping that his twin would offer some backup.

“I’m sure we could survive without her for a few days,” he said, winking at Ben. “Besides, Grace knows her way around a gun.”

“Nevermind a gun,” Gabe said, rolling his eyes. “Now you guys have got me thinking. Hmm. Grace knows her way around a beach, and knows how to talk to college kids and get information. Something Ben is going to be abysmal at.”

Gee, thanks.

“He’s not wrong,” Asher added, grinning.

Traitor.

Ben cringed. His chances of getting out of this seemed to be slipping further away with each passing moment.

“What if Katie Fairman was kidnapped or something?” he protested. “Knowing how to shoot a target at the firing range is one thing. Being trained as an operative is another. Any number of things could go wrong.”

“The police think she just ran away,” Grace said, turning to Gabe, who was once again stroking his temples, lost in thought. “If they’re right, maybe chatting up a few college kids will be all it takes to figure this out.”

Ben glowered at Grace. She was the one who was convinced her friend was in mortal danger in the firstplace, and now she was trying to convince Gabe to let her have a nice vacation while playing detective. Unbelievable.

“Ben, you may be out of practice, but I have every confidence that you’ll be able to handle this operation,” Gabe said at last.

He paused, and Ben felt hope swelling in his chest. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. He could go by himself and look for Katie, and when he wasn’t investigating, he could enjoy the air conditioning at the hotel and ring up a suitably hefty room service bill to send home to his big brother.

“And Grace is a fantastic office manager, but it would be good for her to round out her skills with some field work,” Gabe continued. “Unless you don’t think you can handle keeping her safe while you’re on the island?”

Asher coughed, suppressing a laugh. Ben ignored him and met Gabe’s eyes, trying not to notice Grace’s hopeful, puppy-dog expression.

“I can handle it fine,” he said before he could realize he’d just stepped into Gabe’s trap.

Darn it. His brother knew how to manipulate his competitive side way too well.

“Perfect,” Gabe said, reaching for his coffee and taking a long sip. “It’s settled. The rest of us will handle things back here in San Antonio. It’s gonna be tight, but we can make it work. So long as Grace keeps her phone on in case someone needs help.”

“You got it, boss,” Grace said, getting up so quickly that her chair skipped against the floor. Two other people sitting in the far corner of the cafeteria glanced over at her for several long seconds before returning to their breakfast. She didn’t seem to notice them as she hefted her purse upon her shoulder and started walking toward the door, heels clacking as she went.

“Um, where are you going?” Asher called out after her. “Don’t you need a ride home?”

“I’m gonna take an Uber to the office. I have flights to book,” Grace said. “I’ll text you when I have the info, Ben. See you soon.”

Ben watched as she walked away. Grace always managed to be both the most chaotic and most ruthlessly efficient person he’d ever met.

“Well, that’s that, I guess,” Gabe said, downing the dregs of his coffee. “I suggest you go home and get packed, Ben. Asher, I’d appreciate it if you could come straight to the office with me. We have some work to re-assign.”

“Will do,” Ben said, shaking his head to himself as Asher clapped a hand against his shoulder, giving him an exaggerated wink.

“Might be nice for the two of you to get some time alone to get to know each other better,” he said.

“We know each other just fine,” Ben said.

“I think Grace is looking forward to it,” Asher said. “Look, man, she’s obviously into you. I don’t get what your problem is.”

---