The waitress stopped to fill their coffee cups and take their orders, and Blake’s hand settled possessively, warmly, on her leg. The brothers exchanged a few comments, more manly jokes than anything, and Kara covered Blake’s hand with hers. There was a new intimacy between them, a sense of being together, not just wanting to strip each other naked. For the first time in her adult life, she’d let a man slip inside her life. No. Inside her heart. It felt both wonderful and terrifying. She and Blake were bonded in pain, she thought, and she couldn't help but wonder if that was a good or bad thing.

Kara sipped her coffee and glanced around the table, a smile sliding onto her lips. The Walker brothers were a sight to behold—genetics at their best. “There’s enough testosterone at this table to shatter all the windows,” she teased them all and, focusing on Luke and Royce added, “Why do I know you’re all just as difficult as Blake and I’m about to be ganged up on?”

“You seem to like Blake’s flavor of difficult,” Luke commented, his lips curving in a charming smile. “So we’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Let’s talk about our plan,” Royce said, getting right to the point.

“Okay,” Kara said. Apparently there was no small talk for this big guy. “As long as it doesn’t include calling in the feds.”

“Just because we bring them in—”

“No,” Kara said, cutting off Royce. “I know why you’re pushing this. I know it’s to put the brakes on Blake. What you fail to see in your concern for your brother is that we’re both inside the operation in a way the feds only dream of being inside. We not only have a chance to find my sister, and the other women that have been kidnapped, but to bring Alvarez down completely.”

“You’re both too personally involved,” Royce said. “You know that. I know you do.”

“I’ve had time over the last two years to remove myself from the situation,” Blake said.

Kara turned on him. “This is removed?”

He grimaced. “You aren’t helping our case here, Kara.”

“I just think we should be honest about where we all stand. We are both too personally involved.” She glanced around the table. “Maybe that’s what it takes to break into something this big. We’re more inside the cartel than the task force working on this for years. The one insider close to Alvarez the feds had went missing three months ago.”

“You don’t think the feds will see the value in that?” Luke asked.

“I went off the radar,” Kara said. “I’ll be considered a risk.”

“She’s right,” Royce said. “The feds will be concerned. I’m not sure that means they’ll shut her down, but they might.”