any more difficult on her than it has to be.”
“She’s seventeen. Everything’s difficult when you’re seventeen.” Shawn eyed Pierce. “At least she’s not about to end up responsible for the well-being of a toddler.”
Shawn’s words carried a hint of bitterness.
“I couldn’t tell you.” Pierce glanced at one of his oldest friends. “It’s not personal.”
“Not when we were eighteen it wasn’t.” Shawn’s jaw set. “But it definitely became personal.” Shawn’s gaze was hard as it settled on him. “You were pissed as hell when you thought Zeke wasn’t fully committed to you.” Shawn snorted. “You wanted complete commitment even when you weren’t willing to give it back.”
“Zeke’s potential defection put the entire company at risk.”
Shawn’s brows lifted. “Yeah?” He looked around. “And this isn’t?”
“Why are you wearing your angry eyes?” Heidi bumped into Shawn’s side. She immediately reached up to smooth one finger across the line of his brows. “You are all back in one piece. You should be smiling.”
Shawn’s full attention went to the woman at his side as he pulled her close, tucking his face into the crook of her neck.
“He’ll get over it.” Abe watched as Brock caught Eva, swinging her around as he walked down the hall, her laugh loud and easy. Abe’s gaze shifted around the hall. “I’ll go find Eli.” He left, winding his way through the clog of men milling around the space.
Pierce watched as Bess smiled up at Wade, her dimples on full display as she beamed at the man she trusted implicitly.
Was he worthy of the same sort of trust? Maybe.
Maybe not.
“I don’t think I’d expect to be Amelia’s favorite uncle right now.” Mona’s voice was soft. “But I’m sure she’ll rethink that once she realizes what her other uncle wanted to do to her.”
Pierce turned his head to where Mona stood just behind him. “Are the houses gone?”
Her mouth pressed to a thin line as she nodded. “I mean, they’re still burning, but I’m sure once that’s done they’re as good as gone.” Mona’s pale blue eyes moved over him. “I forgot how different you look in your gear.” Her lower lip went between her teeth.
“Should I wear it more often?”
“I guess that depends on your goals in life.” Mona looked down the hall. “Are you going to go meet with Helen and Amelia?”
He gave her a single shake of his head. “I am not.”
“Oh.”
“I think she needs some time to wrap her head around what happened today before I add anymore to her plate.” Pierce reached out to run the back of his fingers across the flush of her cheek. “I do need to check on Vincent though.”
“Yeah.” Mona let out a little breath that could almost be considered a sigh. “That would probably be good.”
He stepped in close. “But once I’m sure there will be no immediate fallout I am at your disposal.”
“Immediate?”
“There will most definitely be fallout, Love.” Anthony would be furious he missed the opportunity to steal Amelia away. His retaliation would come, but whether it would be swift or calculated was anyone’s guess. “And I have to make sure we’re ready.”
Mona’s lips curved into a soft smile. “I know.” Her hand found his, holding it tight. “Let’s go then.” She pulled him along, taking him down the hall to where the back garages met the main building.
He let her lead him, following Mona past his office to the end of the hall where Intel was already back to work. Bess stood at the wall he would happily repaint when this was all over, a Sharpie in one hand and a trash can in the other.
“Vincent just called.” Heidi was at her laptop, eyes glued to the screen. “He’s linking me into the cameras GHOST has set up.”
“Fantastic. Give them what they need to link to ours.”
“Got it.” Heidi’s fingers continued across her keyboard. “Seth and Roman are both at GHOST. Seth’s been in contact with Dutch so everyone should be on the same page.”
Pierce glanced around the room. For so long he’d felt the weight of carrying an entire company on his shoulders.
A company that served more purpose than anyone else knew.
“Seth has half of Alpha and half of Beta with him plus GHOST’s security team.” Dutch’s eyes went to the screens on the wall as they began to change.
“I’m going to set them to rotate. Top screens are GHOST. Bottom screens are us. Center screen is the front gate.” Heidi looked from her computer to the wall of monitors. “I think I got everything set