Chapter 16

Avery blinked awake,disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings. The silky sheets felt cool against her skin, a stark contrast to the warmth of the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the sleek, modern bedroom and the heavenly, high-thread-count sheets. She sat up, the luxurious fabric pooling around her waist as memories of the previous day flooded back. Another Rain Bay employee dead, and at least one semi-truck full of stolen––or counterfeit––medication heading for the black market.

And here she was, in a borrowed mansion on the shores of Lake Washington, a world away from the gritty reality of her investigation. She slipped out of bed, her bare feet sinking into the plush carpet as she padded across the room. After a quick change of clothes, she headed down the floating staircase, the aroma of rich, freshly brewed coffee luring her toward the kitchen.

Whatever Bridger did before building the personal security firm with Mason and the others must have been highly lucrative. Either that, or the man was a trust-fund baby. No way SEAL pay stretched to cover an eight-figure home he didn’t even use.

A puzzle for another day.

She paused in the doorway, taking in the sight of Mason, his broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his t-shirt as he worked the espresso machine with the precision of a barista. The same way he seemed to do everything else. Perfectly.

As much as she appreciated his assistance, she would need to rein in his special ops tendencies to do whatever it took to obtain the objective. She needed to keep their search for evidence as legal as possible, or risk jeopardizing the entire case. It was a delicate balance, one she would have to navigate carefully as they moved forward.

He glanced up, his emerald eyes locking with hers. “Coffee’s on, or I can whip you up a cappuccino? Latte? Macchiato?”

She moved into the kitchen, brain on overload with so many choices. She pointed at the tiny cup in front of him. “Whatever you’re having is fine.”

He whistled. “Going for the straight espresso. Impressive.”

She made a face. “Belay that. Coffee’s good.” Despite spending her entire life in Seattle, in her opinion, good coffee was more cream than brew. Espresso was way out of her league.

As he poured her coffee, he nodded toward the laptop open on the granite countertop. “Say hello to the team. I’m updating them. Team, Avery. Avery, team.”

Avery leaned in, smiling at the faces on the screen. Bridger, the leader, was undeniably handsome, with a winning smile behind the dusting of stubble that only added to his rugged charm. His blue eyes sparkled with warmth and intelligence, making it easy to see why he commanded such loyalty from his team.

“Thanks for the house, Bridger. It’s incredible.”

“Mi casa es su casa,” he replied with a playful wink.

The other two men on the screen were equally impressive. The first, tall and dark-skinned with a neatly tied man-bun, exuded a quiet strength and intensity. His deep green eyes seemed to miss nothing. Avery had no doubt that he was a formidable presence both on and off the battlefield.

The second man had a lean, classical face that could have graced the pages of a high-end fashion magazine. His arresting eyes, a striking blend of green and gold, held a glint of mischief that hinted at a quick wit and a penchant for trouble. Despite his almost too-pretty appearance, there was an unmistakable air of competence about him, suggesting that he was just as skilled as his teammates.

Man-Bun loomed closer to the camera, eyebrows raised. “Yo, Mason. You didn’t mention that your mysterious FBI agent was a knockout.”

Mason’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “Avery, meet Tai. Tai, Avery.”

Tai winked at her. “Careful, bro. Keep spending time with a woman like that, you might just end up––”

“Can it, Kaholo,” Mason growled.

Their other teammate leaned into the frame. “I’m Fenn. A pleasure, Agent Ellis. I’m here to say, we’re not all as rough around the edges as my man Mason. If he gives you a hard time, feel free to let us know. Mason’s almost house trained, but we’re still working on a few of the details. Don’t let his bark––”

“Okay, briefing complete. Bye-bye.” Mason collapsed the screen.

Avery laughed, shaking her head. She could get used to this easy camaraderie.

Paul stumbled into the kitchen, hair spiking skyward in a truly impressive example of bedhead. He yawned widely. “Man, that media room is sick. I could live in there.”

Mason slid a mug of coffee toward his brother. “Looks like you tried to. Get any sleep?”

Paul shrugged, sipping the coffee. “Who needs sleep when you’ve got every video game in the known Universe at your fingertips?”

Avery hid a smile behind her own mug, appreciating the way the sharp edges of Mason and Paul’s sibling dynamic seemed to be wearing off.

Mason turned to her, all business now. “We need a plan for today. I say we stake out the warehouse, follow a delivery van, and see where it leads us.”

Avery set her mug down. “We can’t just tail them without probable cause. It’s not legal.”

Mason’s eyes flashed with impatience. “Legal won’t get the job done. We need to act, and fast. Plus, you’re not exactly officially on the case, if I remember.”

“Exactly why I have to do this by the book. The further we color outside the lines, the more we risk tanking the case completely.”

No. It was time for her to make the parameters clear. “I get that you’re used to using force––reaching for the quickest, fastest tools––but we need to be more subtle here.”

His head jerked back. “You think I’m the reckless one here?”

Avery backpedaled, realizing her misstep. “That’s not what I meant. I just meant that you’re quick to reach for your normal tools. The ones that work in your world.”

Mason leaned back, crossing his arms. “You’re just as quick to reach for your FBI playbook.”

The tension in the room was palpable, both of them standing their ground.

Paul choked on a mouthful of coffee. “You guys sound worse than me and Mason.” He leaned forward, a glint of inspiration in his eyes. “In the gaming world, when you’ve got two players with different strengths, you team up. Use the best of both.”

But that only worked if both parties cooperated. Mason didn’t strike her as the compromising type.

“Okay,” she relented, picking up her mug again. “I’ll consider your thoughts. But we stick as close to the law as possible.”

Mason glared down at his cup for a long moment. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. For now.”

Avery nodded, surprised by the concession. “Okay. Let me grab my things, and we’ll head out.” She paused, remembering the small evidence bag of pills in her purse. “We need to locate a lab today and get that sample analyzed.”

Mason tilted back his mug, draining the last of his fancy espresso drink into his mouth and swallowing. “I’m thinking we should wait. Paige will get back to me soon with a contact. After today, we might have more evidence to add to the analysis.”

Anger heated her cheeks. And just when she was starting to trust that he actually heard her. She jammed her fists on her hips. “And why would you think that?”

His expression grew wary. “No reason. Just trying to be efficient. You never know what’ll come of our op today. No need to make multiple trips to a lab.”

“Right. Because more samples are going to fall out of the vans we follow.”

“Could happen.”

With a great deal of help that Mason was probably dying to provide. He’d already made it clear he was ready to get this done.

As was she, to be fair. But how many times did she have to remind him they had to follow procedure?

As she climbed the stairs, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she might have made a mistake hitching her wagon to a man as hardheaded and dangerous as Mason Ortiz.