It was nearly midnight when the plane touched down on the tarmac. The asphalt was bumpy and little more than a farmer’s field with a strip of asphalt, even though it was the private airfield. After they came to a stop, Anya unclipped her belt and ran toward the cockpit and the pilot. “We here?” she called, her voice so high and full of excitement that Jarrod couldn’t help smiling.
“Yep, baby girl, we are here.” Jarrod stood up and took her by the hand as she toddled from one foot to the other before tumbling to the floor. He helped her up and held out his hand to Mindy.
She looked tired. Her eyes were dark and her hair was falling loose from the clip she had put it up with. She tried to force it to submit as they made their way down the stairs.
There was a black sedan waiting for them and it took them straight to the ranch. As they got out of the car, Zoey stepped outside the main house and waved.
“How was your flight?” she asked.
Mindy flashed Jarrod a guilty smile. “It was good, but it got a little rough about midflight.”
He checked his laugh. Zoey would already be looking for something in their relationship to pick apart, and he didn’t want to even hint about what had happened—or rather, hadn’t happened—back on the flight.
He didn’t need Zoey questioning his judgment. He was the head of both the family and the STEALTH team, even if Zoey constantly took it upon herself to put him to the test. Though she was his junior, she always seemed to be at odds with him, like somehow it was his fault that she was the youngest.
In a way, Mindy was a bit like Zoey. They were both incredibly strong willed and among the most determined women he had ever met. Hopefully, they would get along.
And hopefully his secret role in Mindy’s life wouldn’t yet come to light and put their budding relationship in jeopardy.
Zoey opened the back door to the car. “Hiya, little one,” she said, giving Anya a high five as Jarrod got her out of her car seat. She introduced herself to Mindy with a handshake. So far, so good.
Anya wiggled in his arms as Zoey stretched her arms to take the girl. Anya, the girl to whom few were considered strangers, pushed him and motioned for him to let her down. She made her way over to Zoey and wrapped herself around her legs in the smallest bear hug he’d ever seen.
Zoey laughed as she hugged the girl. She motioned them inside. “We have everything ready for you guys. We don’t have much in the way of furnishings in the house, but what we do have is yours. So make yourselves comfortable,” she said, giving Mindy a little nod.
Maybe his sister had grown up a bit since he had last seen her. Or maybe she was feeling the weight of Trish’s loss. Trish had always been the glue that had held the family together and the one to call Jarrod and Zoey to the table when they were at each other’s throats.
However, he would do anything for Zoey and she the same for him. And, if anything, her constant pressure had only forced him to work that much harder and for that, they had all benefited.
Mindy took Anya by the hand, pulling her from Zoey’s legs and lifting her into her arms. “This little one got a nap, but it is well past her bedtime. Is there anywhere specifically that you would like for her to sleep?” Mindy smiled.
Zoey pointed up the stairs. “Up there, third door down the hall. I made up a bed for both of you. There’s an attached bathroom with everything you need to wash up.”
Wow, his sister really had thought of everything.
With a thank-you, Mindy and Anya made their way upstairs. As soon as they turned the corner to the hall and were out of view, Zoey turned on him. “How much does she know? Did you tell her about STEALTH?”
“I haven’t told her about us—or anything else. I was hoping that we could get this all sorted with the Riksdag first. I don’t want to overwhelm her with everything all at one time.”
“That’s a cop-out and you know it. You aren’t giving this woman enough credit. She is going to figure out what’s going on, and then where will you be?” Zoey shook her head. “She has an MBA from Brown—graduating first in her class. She is the type who is going to question the world around her.”
“You’re right, but what we do shouldn’t be on her radar…unless she learns the truth about the kidnapper.”
“I’m taking it that you didn’t mention his identity to her on the flight?”
He gave her an exasperated look. “Why are you drilling me before I’m even in the house? Can’t this wait until morning?”
“You are seriously going to come at me just because I want a little information? I’m helping you, remember?” Zoey rebuked.
He sighed. “Sorry, I’m just tired. It’s been a hellish couple of days.”
“Apology accepted.” Zoey started upstairs, Jarrod close on her heels. “And for now, I’ll let Chad and Trevor know where we stand.”
“How is Chad doing?” Jarrod asked.
Zoey waved him off. “He’s fine. You know Chad—he’s tougher than nails and the wound wasn’t too bad.”
“Sounds like he got lucky,” Jarrod said, giving a relieved sigh.
He considered telling Mindy the truth about who he and his family were—it wasn’t too late to share some of the truths about STEALTH and his role in her life. But he feared opening up. She was smart. She was going to ask questions, and those questions would only lead to catastrophe.
For now, all he could do was avert disaster and keep anyone else from getting shot. If his family came under fire again, he doubted they would be lucky enough to stay alive.
* * *
MINDY ROLLED OVER in the bed and glanced at the clock. It was early but sunlight was starting to creep in. Her body, still on New York time, screamed for her to rise and get to the business of her day. Without a doubt, she had probably missed at least a few hundred emails, most of them urgent, thanks to the loss of her phone.
No wonder she hadn’t missed the dang thing.
Getting up, she was careful to not rustle too much. Anya was still asleep on the bed beside her. It had been a long, fitful night for them both. Sleeping next to a child was a bit like sharing a bed with a fish out of water. Anya, though she had been completely asleep, flipped and flung her body around in her ever-pressing need to get comfortable.
As Mindy slipped from the room, her lower back pinged where Anya’s wayward foot had found her a few hours earlier. Coffee. Ibuprofen. Phone. And back to work. Just because she had been out of the loop for the last few days didn’t mean that the world had stopped. And with Daniel being MIA, she could only imagine the state of things at H&K. There had to be someone available to run the ship.
She made her way down the hall, walking by an open bedroom door. Inside, Jarrod was asleep. He was sprawled out on the bed, taking up nearly the entire thing, and he reminded her of her fight for space with the little fish. He was definitely a man who spent most of his nights alone in his bed. The thought made her smile.
For a second, she considered going into his room, getting into bed with him and finishing what they had started last night, but instead she simply closed his door. What had happened last night on the plane, while fun, had been a bad idea. With sharing bodies came sharing hearts, and hers was already a hot mess.
She needed to get her life back in order and under control before she would be ready to open herself up to what a physical relationship would entail. Even before the last few days, starting a relationship would have been questionable at best. Now, thoughts of starting a relationship were completely asinine.
Her focus had to be on removing herself and Anya from the crosshairs, and then she needed to resolve the obstacles preventing her plants from opening up in Sweden. Until that happened every day was a money-losing day for the company. When Daniel found out, he was going to be furious that she hadn’t done her best to watch the bottom line.
Though, thinking about it, he’d be one hell of a hypocrite if he dared to call her out when he’d failed to tell her where he had gone and why. Actually, when he came back, she was going to make it a point to give him a piece of her mind.
Making her way to the kitchen, she found Zoey sitting at the table, tapping away on her computer. “Oh,” she said, “good morning. Is it okay if I get some coffee going?” she asked, pointing at the empty coffeepot on the nearly barren kitchen counter.
“Hey,” Zoey said, looking up from the screen. Her eyes were red and tired looking, making Mindy wonder if she had even bothered to go to bed the night before. “Go for it. Or if you want, I can do it.” Zoey moved to stand up, but Mindy stopped her with a wave of the hand.
“You stay there. I’ll grab you up a cup, too.” She walked over and started to fill the carafe. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
Zoey shook her head and clicked off her computer before Mindy had a chance to take a good look at whatever was on the screen. The way she moved made her wonder if Zoey was hiding something.
Jarrod hadn’t talked about his family very much and, until now, she hadn’t really thought to ask much about them. She tried to quell the anxiety and distrust that moved through her as she made the coffee. Zoey was helping with the investigation—nothing more.
Zoey slipped her computer into the case by her feet. She started to stand up, but then stopped herself and reached back into her case. “Hey, I have something for you.” She pulled out a phone and handed it to Mindy. “Jarrod said something about you losing yours, so I updated my old one and set it up for you. It’s not much, but it will get you through until you’re back in the city.”
“Wow. I…uh, thank you,” Mindy said, taking the phone from Jarrod’s sister and clicking it on. It was almost identical to her old one. As she scrolled through it, she was struck by how much Zoey seemed to know about her, though—admittedly—the phone thing might have just been a coincidence. “I appreciate you doing this… I thought I was going to have to hunt down a new one out here in the middle of nowhere.”
Zoey laughed, the sound loud and reverberating through the seventies-style kitchen and over the percolating sounds of the coffee maker that was likely from the same era. “I figured as much. You’d almost have better luck finding gold than finding a good smartphone out here.” She grabbed two cups from the cupboard and poured them each a mug of the only half-brewed coffee. “You should have seen me when we first got out here. I thought I had found the actual middle of Nowhere, America.”
Mindy laughed. “It’s a far cry from the city. I’m not gonna lie, I don’t think I’ve ever heard crickets that loud before. Even with the windows closed in our bedroom it sounded like they were in the room with us.”
“Knowing this place, they may well have been.” Zoey gave her an apologetic smile, as if their home was a poor comparison to what she’d been used to in the city.
“That’s not what I meant at all… I guess I’m just not a country girl. I like the amenities that come with city life—constant sirens and all.” She took a sip of her coffee, strong and bitter.
“I bet you are thinking about espresso at this very minute. I know I am.” Zoey laughed.
She feigned ignorance as she buried her face in her mug and suffered through the next drink of the boiling hot road tar. “I guess making coffee should be put on my list of skills that need a little more work.” She reached over for Zoey’s cup, but the woman pulled it away.
“No, I don’t mind a hearty cup of coffee. In fact, when we’ve been working overseas there are times when I would give my left leg for even this.”
“What is it that you do?” she asked.
Zoey’s face tightened. “Well, I’ve been in the investments game for a long time. Once in a while I travel around and look into whatever our next investment will be, as well as checking my current ones.”
Though Zoey’s answer made sense, something about it rang false, and she was once again reminded to check her cynicism.
“What kind of things do you invest in?” She knew she should drop the subject, but at the same time she just had to stir the pot and get to the bottom of why she was feeling suspicious.
“This and that,” Zoey said, giving a vague wave.
“Jarrod said that you are a genius when it comes to tech. Have you been following everything with Elon Musk?” she asked, trying to make conversation and go a little bit deeper with the woman.
Zoey nodded. “He’s an interesting man, but I tend to steer clear of his promises. Though, years or so ago, I went to one of his dinners in Hollywood when he was looking for investors in his latest project. That turned out to be PayPal. So as many successes as I have had, I’ve had just as many failures and missed opportunities.”
“Can you imagine how much those stocks would be worth now?” Mindy asked.
“Millions. That was, if we had played it right. But investing is a gamble. What works for one may not work for another. I mean just look at the Bitcoin boom some time ago. Our company made a substantial profit, but others we know lost nearly everything they had and had to start over. Most of the time, we’ve been lucky.”
“Is that why you all moved here—you got lucky?” Mindy sat down at the table as Zoey stood up, walked over to the counter and poured a bit of sugar into her coffee.
“Yeah, that and a few other reasons.” Zoey’s face was again pinched, but Mindy wasn’t sure if it was from the coffee or from something else. “Did Jarrod tell you about Trish?”
She shook her head.
“Oh,” Zoey said, staring into her cup. She took a long breath. “Trish is our sister. She died. A few months ago. It’s been hard on the family.”
“I… I’m so sorry.” Mindy tried to not feel hurt that he had kept a secret so big from her. And on the heels of that was a twang of pity. Here she had been so consumed with her life’s upheavals that she hadn’t paused for a moment to consider he had things going on in his private life, as well.
Zoey shrugged, but she could tell from the look in Zoey’s eyes that it pained to even mention her sister’s name. They must have been close.
The door to the kitchen opened and Jarrod walked in. There was a sleepiness to him and his eyes looked heavy. “Hey,” he said, walking over to the pot of coffee and pouring himself a cup. “I thought I heard someone talking down here.” He glanced over at her and gave her a tired, sexy grin that reminded her entirely too much of their time together on the plane. Her cheeks warmed.
“You hungry? I think there are some frozen waffles or something.” Zoey motioned for him to help himself.
“What, no breakfast feast this morning?” he teased.
Zoey gave him a look. “You know how to cook. Feel free to make yourself at home.”
“Oh, come on now, sis, you know you want to make me breakfast.”
Mindy stood up. “I can make myself useful and start breakfast if you like. It’s the least I can do for your generosity in having me here.”
Jarrod’s smile disappeared, and there was a strange look on his face as he turned to his sister. Zoey cocked her head, quickly glancing between them like she was trying to understand why Mindy would offer to be so nice.
“Seriously, it would be my pleasure. I don’t want to impose, and if this is a way I can make your lives easier—”
“No,” Zoey said, standing up and walking between her and the stove. “My brother is just kidding around—he knows I hate to cook. Besides, he’s lucky that he isn’t eating expired MREs while holed up in a cave somewhere. He should consider himself lucky.” She glared at him, but there was a faint smile playing across her lips. She walked to the freezer, pulled out a box of Eggos and threw them at him. “Here. Now, stop your whining.”
Nearly dropping his cup, he caught the box as it hit him in the ribs.
“While you’re at it, why don’t you whip up a couple extra for me and Ms. Kohl. We have business to discuss.” Zoey grabbed her phone and clicked it on.
“Did you find something?” Jarrod asked.
“Actually, we may have,” she said with an excited grin. “The sourcing came back on the chemical samples you sent me from the attack.”
A black hole formed in the center of Mindy’s chest. She was desperate to hear who may have been behind the attack on Hans, but at the same time, she wasn’t entirely sure she was ready. As soon as they located the source and found out who was responsible everything was going to change. It was possible that Jarrod would even leave her here. He had no reason to stay with her and Anya now that she was tucked into the safe harbor of his family’s ranch. He was definitely the kind of man who was more comfortable traipsing around the world on a moment’s notice than sticking to one place.
Not to mention what it would do for her professionally and personally if her company or her brother had something to do with the attack. Their futures might well be in jeopardy. Not only would their business with Sweden be deemed out of the question, she could easily find herself on the fast track to prison.
But Daniel couldn’t have had anything to do with the attack. He would never have ordered such a thing. He wasn’t the type. And he certainly wouldn’t have done something so rash and put her in danger. That is, unless he was tired of having her at the company. What if he wanted it for himself? As of now, they were profit sharing. Sure, they were both making a decent amount of money, but with her out of the picture he would be making millions more. And he had Anya to support now… Maybe he felt he needed that extra income.
She tried to calm herself and put those kinds of thoughts out of her mind. Her brother didn’t hate her. Sure, they weren’t the closest of siblings, but for half brother and sister they were certainly a lot closer than most. But then again, Daniel was all business. He was always about the bottom line and how to put more money into his pocket.
Jarrod walked over to her like he could somehow sense her turmoil. “You okay?” he asked, leading her out of the kitchen and away from his sister. “Why don’t you just sit down out here on the couch? Let me talk to Zoey for a while, unless you want to come along?” He sat a plate of waffles down on the table in front of her.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m fine. Just…” She didn’t know exactly what to say to convey her true feelings of terror and uncertainty. “I need to take a break, maybe get some work done.”
“Okay, babe. But know that I get what you’re feeling. You’ve been through a lot in the last couple of days. But everything is going to be okay. You have me.” He walked her over to the couch and flicked on the television to some stupid early-morning talk show and handed her the remote. “If you want, just take a break. Veg out for a bit.”
As he smiled, relief moved through her. Yes, for the first time in years, she finally felt as though there was someone she could trust.