Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(89)
Axel grunted, nabbed his plate and coffee mug off the counter. Despite the beleaguered sound, his voice was full of mirth. “Sounds to me like the women want us out of their hair so they can get the play-by-play from last night.” He winked at Darya as he rounded the island then shot Knox a smirk as he headed toward the dining room table where Jace, Danny and Beckett were already situated. “Better hope you gave it your A game, brother.”
Knox palmed her hips and squeezed, tempted to tell the lot of them to go to hell and cart Darya back to his suite. Instead, he lowered his voice just for her. “You good while I talk with the guys?”
Her smile was a sweet one. Soft like her morning kisses and a little bit shy, but void of the worry she’d wrestled the day before. “I’m good. I’ll help your moms with cleanup then spend some time digging into work.”
Work was good. Like him, she was all focus the second she dove into her code. Where they differed was once she walked away from the screen, she could easily detach. He cupped the back of her neck and kissed her, not giving two fucks about the fact that conversation had all but ceased around them. Only when she smiled against his mouth and pushed against his chest did he release her and move away.
“Tags, huh?” Danny grinned and shoved the empty seat next to him far enough away from the table Knox could slide right in. “You sure you don’t want to go with something that would warn the male population off a little more clearly? Like, I don’t know...a big honkin’ ring?”
Eyes on the screen in front of him and fingers moving at about half the time what Knox was capable of, Beckett cut in with a chuckle. “Be glad he didn’t haul her off to a tattoo shop in the middle of the night.”
“Property of,” Axel added.
Jace held Knox’s gaze, but his low voice was for everyone else at the table. “Careful, brothers. What comes around goes around.” He scanned the rest of the men and picked up his coffee. “The way I see it, you’re all prime pickings to be in his shoes. Just a matter of which one’s gonna fall next.”
Yeah, Jace got it. Had been the first of the brothers to face all the unfamiliar sensations that came from claiming a woman for their own. The fact that he’d never thought to be in these shoes only made the moment sweeter. “They can give me all the hell they want. Only thing I care about right now is fixing shit so Darya and the rest of our women aren’t cooped up inside four walls.” He stretched his legs out long, reclined against the seat back and rested his forearm on the table, fingers coiled loosely around his mug’s handle. Eyes on Beckett, he got down to business. “So? Anyone watching Darya’s house?”
“Two,” Beckett said. “Took a while, but found ’em backed into a driveway across from the complex. House was for rent and completely dark. Only thing that tipped ’em off was their shiny black Mercedes.”
“Not exactly the best way to blend in in that neighborhood,” Danny said.
Axel leaned into the table and sipped his coffee. “A good slip for us, though, if it means Beckett can get a bead on where they’re operating from or how big their crew is.”
“What about Darya?” Jace asked Knox.
“What about her?”
“If they’re tracking movements then they’d have marked the two of you leaving with a suitcase in tow. They might buy you two headin’ out for a little trip, but if she doesn’t pop back up on their radar, they’re guaranteed to start digging into you.”
“Let ’em dig.”
Jace hesitated, keeping his gaze steady even as he gave his toothpick a quick swirl with his tongue. “Think you’re missing my point. If she shows, it keeps them off track. They think we’re still clueless and buy us more time to build a plan.”
“No.” As if his harsh shut down wasn’t enough, Knox focused on the screen in front of him completely cutting eye contact. “I’m not using her.”
Situated on the same side of the table as Knox, Beckett shifted enough to see around Danny. “He’s got a good point, Knox. No one’s saying it has to be much. Just show back up at her place, drop off an empty suitcase and head out again.”
Knox whipped his head around and glared with all he had in him. “Not gonna happen.” He held Beckett’s stare and tried bringing his breath in line with something less heavy than a marathon runner. Not exactly the easiest task considering his heart had taken off at a sprint with the mere idea of letting Darya outside the safety of his loft. He forced his attention back to his laptop. “I put out a new honeypot.”
His brothers kept their silence, either too stunned by his outright refusal to say anything, or just giving him space to see where the new topic was headed. He was just about to share more when Axel grumbled, “What the fuck’s a honeypot?”
Danny snickered. “It’s a lure. Knox uses ’em to trick people nosing into our business. Fake databases with the promise of financial or personal info. They bite and he blocks.”
Axel grinned. “Think I like my definition of honeypot better, but to each his own.”
One quip and the tension was broken. But then, that was the thing Knox loved about his brothers. They might not always see eye to eye completely, but they always had each others’ backs.
“I take it you’re hoping this lure is gonna get us another inroad to Ruslan?” Jace said.