Deadly Games - Cate Noble [104]
Max and Erin were swinging in the oversized hammock on the back deck of the house. Max was reluctant to let Erin out of his sight, which Rocco could understand.
“Travis just got in,” Max said as Gena and Rocco approached the deck. “Says he’s got a big announcement to make at dinner.”
“Dinner. Food.” Rocco’s stomach growled. “I’m starving. And since I’m cooking, I say we eat in an hour.”
Gena followed him into the kitchen. “I wasn’t hungry until you mentioned food.” She opened the refrigerator and began pulling out dishes she’d prepared earlier.
“Any of your potato salad left?”
She shook her head. “Dante and Max finished it off at lunch. But I’ll make more.”
Rocco had been surprised to discover that cooking was another skill Vianca had taught Gena. And Gena had mastered it, too.
Rocco and Gena fell into an easy camaraderie with each other as he seasoned steaks and she chopped vegetables for a salad.
“Let’s eat outside,” she suggested. She piled a tray with dishes and silverware, then followed Rocco and the steaks out to the deck.
Travis and Maddy were standing at the rail, looking out at the beach. Rocco smiled. He had been the first to learn that Maddy and Travis were married. That they were a perfect match was obvious.
“Yo! Look at those steaks!” Dante said as he and Cat came out of the house with Marco in tow.
Cat grimaced at the platters of food and moved to the far side of the deck. “I just got my stomach calmed down.”
Ignoring the adults, Marco made a beeline for the steps, lugging his sand bucket and shovel. He had claimed the sand at the bottom of the deck stairs as his.
Gena ferried food out from the kitchen, declining help. On her final trip, she carried a tray with a pitcher of fresh limeade.
“The kind with pineapple, I hope?” Cat asked.
“Yes. Anyone else?” Gena ended up pouring a glass for everyone.
“Guess this is as good a time as any,” Travis said. He moved to his briefcase and withdrew several large envelopes.
Rocco groaned. “No work! We’re on vacation.”
Travis shoved an envelope into his hands, then gave one to Max and Dante, too. “You can open them later to review the fine print, but basically they’re job offers. Damn good ones. I’ve agreed to head up a new private security operation and I need expert help to build it.”
“You’re leaving the Agency,” Rocco said.
“Resigned last week,” Travis confirmed. “Maddy and I have been house hunting in Miami. The new headquarters will be in South Beach. Your offers include relocation.”
Dante held his limeade up. “I’m in.”
Max nodded. “Me, too.”
Everyone looked expectantly at Rocco now. He wrapped an arm around Gena. “I’ll have to get back to you later, Travis. After Gena and I have discussed what we want.”
Gena smiled up at him. “Thanks for that, but it’s your call. You have my support either way, though personally—” She winked. “Travis had me at South Beach.”
“Guess I’m in, too,” Rocco said.
Dante grinned.“Iproposeatoasttothe new venture.”
“To new ventures!” Rocco echoed.
Max raised his glass now. “To brothers found. And to the remarkable women we love.”
Everyone cheered at that.
Rocco rubbed his sternum. That ache in his chest was back, but this time he had a name for it. It was love fulfilled and expanding.
If you liked this Cate Noble book, try the others in the series, available now from Zebra!
DEAD RIGHT
In the first in a thrilling new series where pulse-pounding suspense meets wild, sensual heat, Cate Noble introduces Dante Johnson, a CIA operative caught in a firestorm of betrayal and desire …
After eighteen months in a secret prison in Southeast Asia, Dante Johnson wants only to move on with his life—until a bomb attack makes it clear that someone, somewhere won’t let the past go. All signs point to Catalina Dion, the brilliant foreign agent he once believed himself in love with … the same woman suspected of selling him out …
Cat knows her young son’s safety depends on her ability to remain hidden. But now Dante has tracked her down, reigniting the searing