By then, most of the guys had peeled off. Jake and North headed to bed, Ham and Pete going over what he knew about the compound and the Petrovs’ plans.

Pete and Noemi hadn’t exactly talked yet, but by the way Noemi kept pressing her hand to her mouth, turning away, shaking her head, yes, there was a conversation coming.

Probably one between Colt and Tae too, but . . . yeah, he’d sort of like to dodge that.

“I just can’t love a man who is going to . . .”

He wanted to hit something because, yes, he knew this was coming.

Just wasn’t ready, quite so soon, to break her heart.

To be the bad guy.

Tae had gotten the supplies, shot Pete with enough Novocain to put down a horse, and then gone to work stitching up the layers of his leg like she might be a plastics resident.

Colt sat on a stool next to Ham, drinking a Powerade, watching her work. Her face masked, her hair tied back, her hands gloved. Pete laid with one arm over his eyes, exposing a couple thick scars on his forearm.

Clearly this wasn’t his first go-round with a needle and thread, probably not even away from an ER.

Tae closed the entry wound, then turned him over. Pete tucked his head into his arms.

The exit wound was uglier. “This is going to take some time,” she said.

“Let’s talk,” Ham said to Colt and gestured outside.

He still—hopefully—worked for the man, so Colt nodded and followed his boss.

The air had cooled with the deepening of the night. It was late—well into the wee hours. Ham walked over to one of the deck chairs that edged the deep aqua blue of the pool. To Colt’s surprise, Fraser was already camped out in a lounger.

“Hey,” Ham said as he sat down.

Colt took another chair. The sound of the sliding door made him glance behind him. Dodge had joined them. His brother’s cool voice in his ear today had done something to Colt, grounded him, maybe.

Like old times, Ranger had said earlier. Not really, but . . . yeah, he liked working with his brothers. Felt almost right. Normal.

“With Ranger’s actions tonight, pulling Pete out, we might have ignited the timeline for the bioweapon deployment,” Ham said.

“Sounds like Range had no choice,” Dodge said.

Ham held up his hand. “I’m not pointing any fingers. Just saying that we need to get into the compound as soon as we can and get hold of the canisters. Pete can give us a thorough lay of the land, but we need a plan.”

“I can help with that.” Ranger had come outside too. He’d changed out of his wet suit into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, and now held a power drink as he walked up to them.