Torch (Unbreakable Bonds 3)

Rowe had taken him on a tour of the building, showing off all the interesting toys he’d accumulated for security, surveillance, and protection. Some legal…and some things not quite so legal. Noah watched as he talked with the few employees in the office on a weekend morning, marveling at the man’s easy nature with everyone he met. Rowe was a natural people-person. He could talk to anyone about anything, which was probably part of what made him so damn dangerous. His big grin and big personality knocked a person’s defenses down before they even realized it. Upon meeting him, you couldn’t help liking him. And it didn’t hurt that he genuinely cared about all the people who worked for him.

“The place is great,” Noah conceded.

“Great? That’s it? Great?”

Noah laughed, leaning back against a worktable used to take apart and clean weapons. The rubber soles of his shoes squeaked on the slick lacquer floor as he crossed one ankle over the other. “You’ve done good, boy, and you know it. This place is amazing. You’ve won. You’ve got the most toys.”

Rowe snorted, some of his good humor dissolving. “But not the best.” He dropped his hands from his hips, tightening them into fists at his sides. “Someone is getting around my security system.” He paused again and shook his head. “It was bad enough when Gratton got into Snow’s house, but then Lucas’s club and now Lyntons’ home?”

“You know who the target is,” Noah said firmly.

Rowe’s frown deepened. He waved at Noah, motioning for him to follow. “Let’s go up to my office.”

Noah nodded, falling into step behind his friend. There weren’t many people around the building, but he could understand Rowe’s preference for keeping quiet that he and his best friends were in the sights of an arsonist. Shit like that didn’t instill confidence in the longevity of the company and Rowe also didn’t need any of his own people going rogue in an effort to protect their boss.

At the top of the stairs, they turned toward Rowe’s office but Rowe sharply stopped when a woman in a long floral skirt and soft yellow sweater stepped out of the next office down. She was pale and wisps of brown hair hung down around her thin face from where it had fallen out of the bun loosely piled on the top of her head. She jumped and gasped when she spotted Rowe, her eyes going wide.

“Rowe! What are you doing here?”

“Showing Keegan around,” Rowe said. He shifted to the side so that Noah could step forward. “Noah Keegan, this is Jen Eccelston, but I just call her Gidget. She’s my software/tech genius. Gidget, this is Noah. A good friend from the Army and he’s going to be joining us.”

“Good to meet you,” Noah said, shaking her hand. She smiled at him, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Something was bothering her. There was no missing it, but she was trying damn hard to hide it.

“Welcome to the team. Rowe’s a great boss,” she said, stepping back toward her office again. “Are you going to be working in the field?”

“He’s going to be helping me with some special projects for now. I’ll need you to get him set up in the system. He needs full access to everything.”

“Oh…okay, I’ll get started on setting him up—”

“Whoa! It can wait until Monday,” Rowe said, holding up both hands as if to slow her down. “Why are you even in today? Where’s Eric? I haven’t seen him in the office in months.”

Something crossed Gidget’s face, cutting lines across her brow and tightening around her lips before it passed almost as quickly as it appeared. She shook her head several times before her mouth finally formed the words she’d been searching for. “Eric is with my mother. I…I wanted to come in. The fires. People could get hurt and…”

Rowe walked over and touched her arm. “Go home. Rest. Go see a movie with Eric.”

“But people are getting through the security system and I need to figure this out.”

“I know. I need to hire another white-hat group to work through the system again.” Rowe shook his head, his expression turning grim for a second before he forced a smile on his face for Gidget. “The first group missed something. We’ll figure this out.”

“Rowe, I’m so sorry—” Gidget’s voice wavered and Rowe quickly cut her off.

“Hey, no sorries. You know this isn’t your fault. We’ll figure it out and fix it.”

Gidget nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. Her eyes ventured up to Noah and then just as quickly darted away, gaze sticking to the floor.

“Get out of here. Spend some time with your son. We’ll have plenty to keep us busy on Monday,” Rowe repeated.

Gidget nodded and slipped away from Rowe, heading back to her office. She paused in the doorway and turned her head toward Noah, but didn’t quite lift her eyes back to his face. “It’s good to meet you, Mr. Keegan.”