Chapter 5
five
Aaron
It’s my turn to clean up after our family dinner. Eating together ensures we see each other every day and can catch up on what’s going on, either at work or around the homestead. Asher rarely took part before he found Emma and made her his, but now he’s here all the time.
Every day a different brother cooks dinner.
Another cleans up afterward. With four of my five brothers married, they split the work with their wives.
It was Asher and Emma’s turn to cook today.
The grilled kebabs served over rice, made with venison from Asher’s last hunt and vegetables from our garden, were delicious.
I’m not going to lie, having all the women around has definitely improved the quality of our meals, not that any of us are inept—Mom made sure of that.
It’s a good thing Emma put some aside for Andrew and Jaclyn, and I know how much he eats. Anticipating the newlyweds wouldn’t be joining us, she’s packed up a care package ahead of time. Someone will have to drop it off at Andrew’s cabin soon.
Chuckling to myself, I realize I’ll have an easy cleanup tonight since there’s hardly any leftovers to put away, and I add them to a container, then handle the dishes we used at dinner. Emma must have already washed and put away whatever she used in the kitchen while Asher grilled.
After turning on the water in the deep farmhouse sink and giving it a moment to heat, I rinse the dishes and load the dishwasher.
“One more.” Adrian reaches around me to add a glass to the sink.
“Where did that come from? The island’s empty.” I ask as I pick up the next plate.
“My office, sorry. I meant to bring it when I came up for dinner.”
I expect him to leave like everyone else has. Instead, he crosses his arms over his chest and leans against the counter. Still holding one of the wet dishes, I turn to meet his gaze. “Something on your mind?”
He shrugs. “Not really. Just wondering whether you’re heading to your office or home when you’re done.”
I think about it for about ten seconds, but I’ve got too much I want to do before I stop for the night. It makes me wonder why he’s asking, though. “I’ve got a few things to finish up before I take off. Did you need something?”
“No, not really. Tristan is calling in about ten minutes with another update. I figured I’d let you know, in case you wanted to listen in.”
“Thanks. Did he give any indication of what he wants to discuss?” I ask, as I finish the dishes, add soap, and start up the dishwasher.
“You know how Tristan is—he’d rather share information on a call or encrypted messages. He said he wanted to talk, but it could be anything. He didn’t give me any specifics.”
I grab a dishtowel from the drawer next to me and dry my hands as I nod.
“Okay, yeah, I’ll sit in. I’m curious what he’s come up with.
So far, I’ve investigated but found no signs of anyone tampering with our financials or any indication of embezzlement.
Still, I can’t shake off this needling feeling there’s more going on that we haven’t discovered, even if that motherfucker Mercier is a moron.
The fact the feds have formed a special task force tells me they agree. ”
With the kitchen clean, we open the pantry door, and Adrian scans his thumbprint on the pad mounted on the inside wall.
The hidden door opens, and I follow him down to our bunker.
It’s our family safe room, although it’s more like a full-sized apartment with multiple bedrooms. It’s also where Adam, Aaric, and Adrian have their offices—secure and underground.
Even dropping a bomb on the house wouldn’t damage it.
The first time Asher’s wife, Emma, saw it, she called it our hidden lair, which everyone thought was hysterical.
It was some reference to a movie, but I didn’t have the first clue what they were talking about.
It happens a lot—missing normal social cues.
Andrew said I spent too much time buried in numbers.
Deana, my ex, said the same thing, but not until after we broke up.
I dodged a bullet with that one. Another reason I have no interest in finding a wife.
Instead of going to Adrian’s office as I expect, we head to the conference room.
Adrian sits at the head of the table and boots up his laptop.
The seventy-inch wall-mounted monitor comes to life.
Why we need to take Tristan’s call in here is a mystery since it’s just the two of us here, but security is Adrian’s baby, and I’m sure he has a reason.
We typically use this room for virtual board meetings or client negotiations to ensure total privacy.
We had the room built to the same specifications as a government SCIF—a sensitive, compartmented information facility.
It’s secure, blocks all electronic surveillance, radio frequencies, and data leakage.
Nothing and no one will access anything discussed or stored here, once the door is triggered to lockdown.
I pull two water bottles from the small refrigerator built into the console on the back wall, then hand one to Adrian.
“Thanks,” he acknowledges when I drop into the chair on his left and take a swig of water.
A notification to accept a video call pops up on the enormous screen. Adrian glances at me. “Whatever he has to say, we’ll handle it like always.” He clicks the accept button to connect the call after I nod.
He doesn’t have to remind me. God help anyone who messes with our family or our business. We may be the good guys, but our wrath will decimate them—legally, of course.
As the video call connects, Tristan is at his desk.
I’ve never been to his office, but Adrian has.
It looks like what you’d expect from the head of a company.
The walls are a soft gray, with bookshelves on one side.
His desk is large, and the wood is dark, almost black.
Hanging on the wall behind him is a wide painting of an infinite staircase.
I wonder at the symbolism until Tristan’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.
Tristan and Adrian were roommates in college.
Initially, they hated each other. Adrian would bitch about his roommate every chance he got, but something happened their freshman year that changed everything.
After that, they were inseparable, and we were sure that Tristan would join JNG once he completed his master’s.
“Adrian. Aaron, I wasn’t expecting you.” Tristan’s deep, raspy voice and raised eyebrow are condescending, and irritation tightens my shoulders.
Adrian responds before I can answer, “I asked him to join us. It’s not like I keep anything from my brothers. You know that, Tristan. Stop being a dick.”
Tristan’s smirk doesn’t reach his eyes. With his image displayed on the large monitor, he’s larger than life, and his pale blue eyes glint like shards of ice.
“I wasn’t complaining, just commenting. Besides, I’m always a dick, or have you forgotten so quickly?”
Adrian chuckles and runs a hand through his hair. “Like I could ever forget. You initiated this call. Do you have something to share, or are we just shooting the breeze?”
With his smirk still present, Tristan leans forward and opens a folder on his desk.
As he shuffles through it, I note how he’s aged over the past few years.
He and Adrian are both thirty, but he looks older than Andrew, who’s thirty-six.
Deep lines bracket his mouth, and his perpetual frown keeps most people away from him.
Tattoos cover most of his exposed skin; he looks like a hitman rather than a white-collar hacker.
Our parents' deaths turned our lives upside down. It’s also the reason he’s the best at what he and his team do.
Apparently, he found what he was looking for, and he sits back in his chair and narrows his eyes. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was about to accuse us of something.
“I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?” Tristan glances at the paper he pulled out of the folder.
My choice? Bad news, always. Then soften it with the good news, but this is Adrian’s shitshow, so I wait for him to respond.
Adrian glances at me, then answers, “Might as well hit us with the bad news first.”
“Enki is behind everything. We haven’t figured out Mercier’s contact yet, but we will probably do so before the task force. They have too much bureaucratic bullshit to wade through. I can guarantee they’ll let Mercier take the fall. What I didn’t expect to find is that Enki is a shell company.”
“What the fuck, Tris? We vetted them. Dammit, you vetted them! How did we miss this before we signed the contract?” My brother clenches his fist where it rests on the conference room table.
I can feel the fury radiating from him. Not that I blame him.
How the hell did they pull one over on Tristan’s company? Now I see why he wanted the video call.
“I know we vetted them. I’m not going to give you a bunch of worthless excuses. Somehow, they slipped past all our safeguards. Ultimately, it’s on me. I promise we’ll make this right. Enki, Inc. is now our top priority. My best team is working on this, and I’ll be hands-on.”
It’s times like these when I’m thankful my brain is more analytical and less prone to react to bad news. While Adrian is wrestling with his frustration, I’m parsing the information and searching for weaknesses Enki Inc. might have discovered.
“What does this mean for our current problem?” After twisting off the cap of the water bottle, I take another swig.
“Not as much as you’d think. From what we’ve found, they were testing the waters, testing for vulnerabilities. That’s why the cover-up is so sloppy. Mercier panicked when he realized Jaclyn discovered an issue and went directly to Andrew. You were lucky—very lucky—there.”
Adrian and I exchange glances. “Is she in danger? I doubt Andrew will let her out of his sight, let alone off the mountain now that he’s married her,” Adrian comments.