Ignite (Unbreakable Bonds 7)

“That’s some twisted shit,” Rowe muttered, but there was an evil twinkle in his green eyes. Noah could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. Noah was not going to teach him, and he wasn’t going to use it on their family. He didn’t want them worrying about whether they could trust him.

Well, he might do the meowing command with Snow first, but that was it.

“It’s just a shame that we couldn’t get more out of Jeff,” JB said. He tossed an uneaten bit of crust into the box and sank back into the couch, groaning softly like he’d stuffed himself. “We know he wasn’t involved in Chris’s death and that Dave’s brother Erik seems to be the head of what’s going on, but we still don’t know anything. If Dave is alive, why didn’t he come forward? Does it mean that the other two guys who were taken hostage are alive as well? Where are they?”

“I have a feeling we’re not going to be able to fit any pieces together until we start getting some data back from Gidget and the rest of the triplets,” Rowe said.

JB sat up a little, cocking his head at Rowe. “You’ve got triplets working for you?” The confusion cleared from his face and he grinned. “Are they hot?”

Rowe snatched up a pillow from the couch and tossed it at JB. “Not that kind of triplets.”

Noah laughed. “Ward has a tech team of three people—Quinn, Gidget, and Cole. Two guys and a woman. All brilliant.”

“I call them the triplets because they tend to be inseparable.”

As if she could sense they were talking about them, Gidget’s dedicated ring started rising from Rowe’s cell phone. He snatched up his phone from the charger. “Gidget?” he asked. He was wary now that Lucas had called once using her phone. He didn’t want to make the mistake of being fooled by the man.

“Hey, Boss! I’ve got a big chunk of the info that you were looking for. Do you or Noah have your laptop or tablet handy?”

Rowe looked over at Noah and mouthed, tablet. His man instantly jumped to his feet and jogged to the bedroom where he’d stashed his bag. One of them always brought a tablet along when traveling not only for work, but for binge-watching some of their favorite shows when they were cuddled in bed at night. Rowe loved lying in bed with Noah, his head on his shoulder, while they watched some movie or TV show before falling asleep. It was their quiet time together, and he treasured it more than Noah probably realized.

“Noah’s getting his. How’re things in the office?”

“Quiet.”

“Too quiet,” Quinn added, proving that Gidget had them on speakerphone. “You gotta get back here soon, Rowe. Dom has been restless and he’s been talking about making this crazy obstacle course for the next team-building exercise. He thinks the entire company should do it. All of us. You know I don’t run, Boss.”

“You’ll run if you’re being chased,” Cole muttered in a low voice.

“That’s why I like my computer. It doesn’t chase me with a paintball gun. That shit hurts!”

Rowe looked up when JB made a noise, and the man was covering his mouth with his hand like he was trying to keep from laughing. Cole, Quinn, and Gidget were an interesting bunch. Rowe didn’t always understand what they were talking about, but they were incredibly skilled when it came to locating the information he needed.

“A little running is good for you,” Rowe said.

“Trust me, I’ve got ways of getting plenty of cardio,” Quinn grumbled.

“Sex doesn’t count.”

“If you think sex doesn’t count, then you’re not doing it right.”

A loud bark of laughter from Noah filled the main room as he returned just in time to hear Quinn’s comment.

“Don’t you worry about your boss’s sex life,” Noah said. “He’s doing just fine.”

As Noah returned to the couch, they quickly cleared away the mostly empty pizza boxes and beer bottles. Gidget worked her tech magic to take control of Noah’s tablet, pulling up the information they needed while Noah set it up in the center of the coffee table for them all to see.

“We’re ready, Gidget. What do you have for us?” Rowe said.

“We’ve uncovered a lot, but I’m not sure how much is actually useful yet. The picture of the man you sent me was Jeff Hastings. He joined Clayborne about a year ago. No criminal record. Not married and no kids.”

“He’s been handled and should be headed to Alabama as we speak. Keep feelers out for him and alert us if he stays in the DC and Alexandria area or if he gets too close to Cincy,” Noah said.

“What about Erik Johnson and Dave Johnson?” JB asked.

“Dave Johnson was listed among the missing for the ambush in Afghanistan in 2014. He is presumed dead, though his body was never recovered,” Gidget said. The screen changed to show two pictures of what looked to be the same man, but with different hairstyles and facial hair. “We dug up an old military picture of him and compared it to the staff roster that we found. We found a 97.6 percent match with a guy by the name of Travis Long. Noah, I think this is who your friend Chris saw.”