Kick Back - Susi Hawke Page 0,15

is, how big do we make it?"

My brother snorted. "I'll give Chaz Santos a call. By the time he finds room on his calendar, I'm quite certain you'll have it figured out." He rolled his eyes affectionately before going back to the conversation he'd walked in on. "So what was all that about coincidences? You know those make me nervous, Dear."

Nathaniel explained before I could get rid of Dan and his nosy questions. "My brother was an omega who was sold into an arranged mating by our parents. For over thirty years, I believed what I was told when my father said that Tony now lived in South Africa. Dear discovered that my brother actually was sent to Slovenia. And when I checked with my contact just now to find out where these omegas I brought with me needed to go next, I learned they are expected in Slovenia."

Dan didn't even blink. "Interesting. And you say you had no prior knowledge of this?"

"Not a bit. I was supposed to have put them on a boat that left our island last week. But my instincts said not to move them, so I kept them hidden instead. When a pickup is missed, I have to either get in touch with my contact if it's an emergency or wait ten to thirty days for the next boat to come in. I won’t know they’re coming until I get a signal by text. By not knowing the next stop, the underground can't be compromised if a single station is discovered."

I whistled softly. "That's a fantastic system, no wonder you've been able to keep it going so long. Why are they trusting you now? Never mind, that's obvious. Because your stop will no longer be in service, right?"

"Precisely. Right now I'm temporarily considered a transporter. My involvement in the organization will be up in the air after this mission. Especially since I'll need to fly under the radar for a while."

Dan looked at me. "What do you need? I'm sure you're planning to research the Slovenia connection, yeah?"

"Yes, I need to start with the town of Volksberg and see what information I can pick up on a local family by the name of Horvat. That's where Nathaniel's brother was sent."

Nathaniel's mouth fell open. "That's the same town where I'm taking Kevin, Sonia, and Andy."

Dan was already shaking his head as he backed toward the door. "Nope. That's one coincidence too many. I'll grab some help because we need to get this research party started."

Sonia and Andy ended up in the kitchen with my brother-in-law Nick. It turned out they loved to bake and Nick baked every day with our nephew Sacha. My brothers Clay and Nash worked with Darius to decide our best transportation option while the rest of us dug into the research on the Horvat family and the town we’d be heading to next. Kevin was really good at taking notes, so that quickly became his job.

After a couple hours, I slipped out to use the bathroom. On my way back to the library, I was startled by pounding on the front door. Before I got there, I'd already grabbed a handgun and a knife from one of our stash spots along the way. Dan and Clay met me at the door, both of them already armed as well. As I reached for the knob, I felt eyes on me and looked up to see a concerned Nathaniel watching from the doorway.

I gave my head a shake. "Don't worry because I’m armed. This is standard protocol. Nobody should have been able to get onto our estate without calling from the front gate or several alarms going off if they came in over the mountain."

Nathaniel frowned. "I'm not worried about the weapons in your hands; I don't like the idea of you being the one to open the door and possibly getting hurt. But I also don't want to tell you to hide behind one of the alphas so I'm just going to stop talking now."

Gib snickered. "I knew you were a keeper, Nate. And Dear, quit scaring your mate. Open the damned door already. I was smart enough to look out the window and it’s okay. While I’d be fine if you shot them on sight, I know you won't do it. It's your buddy Gil and his brood of ninja bunnies."

"Ninja bunnies?" Nathaniel mouthed the words, as if trying to make sense of them.

Sacha came flying around the corner. The kid was