“Wow, I’m surprised she is back in the country. I didn’t spend a lot of time talking to her during our diving expedition, but I got the impression a couple of guys in the military had broken her heart. She swore she was going to stay as far away from Texas as possible. Evidently, they’d played with her, then disappeared in the middle of the night. She said it didn’t take her long to figure out they weren’t going to return her calls, so she headed south to work them out of her system.”
Cam had to suppress his smile as he watched realization dawn in her sparkling blue eyes.
“I keep telling you she’s brilliant. Look at her. That quick mind is piecing it all together.” It was impossible to miss Kent’s sarcasm. His comment earned him a wicked glare from his wife and brother.
“You’d better be careful, or you’ll lose your status as her favorite. Although I’d be happy to move up in rank.” Kyle flashed what CeCe called a panty-melting smile at his wife, who moved to his side. Leaning down, she whispered something in his ear.
Cam couldn’t hear what she’d said, but the way the other man’s eyes widened and the smile moving over his expression was more than enough to tell Cam that Tobi had promised to reward her husband’s loyalty. Kent’s unrepentant grin made Cam roll his eyes. The man was no stranger to a challenge when it came to his wife. He’d be back in her good graces within the hour.
Moving back to her original position, Tobi shook her head.
“The odds of them being there… in the exact location necessary to rescue her… holy hell’s blaring bells. That’s some powerful Universal manipulation, and it’s going to be damned hard to ignore.” Plopping herself into the chair adjacent to Cam’s, Tobi shook her head. “It will be easier to choose things for her now that I know who we’re talking about. I have to admit it wouldn’t be easy for me to pretend I don’t know her, and the truth is, Lilly is better at pretending she doesn’t know someone. She sluffs off those snooty bitches at the country club like a champ. You’d swear the women were invisible if they’ve crossed Lilly. You want on Mom’s bad side, treat one of the service employees badly. I’m telling you… that wires her up tight.”
“A good spanking would probably help her focus.” Cam’s observation earned him chuckles from his fellow Doms as Tobi’s cheeks flooded with color. When they started discussing his sources on the dark web and the various scenarios they needed to plan for, Tobi’s eyes quickly glazed over. Smiling to himself as Kent ushered her to the door, Cam caught Kyle’s amused expression.
“Everyone thinks our work is all adrenaline-filled run-to-the-roar moments. Their brains turn to mush as soon as they’re stuck in a planning meeting.” Shrugging, he chuckled, “I should qualify that statement. It’s true for everyone but Kodi. I swear that girl is born to plan missions. It comes so naturally to her, as if she isn’t even trying.” The West twins were academically gifted. Kodi and Kameron West had joined his kids in a school specializing in accelerated studies a few years ago.
Kameron West was a computer geek of the first order. The West’s young son spent so much time with Mitch Grayson, he was already acing his upper-level college classes, although he wouldn’t start high school for another year. God only knows what career path Kodi West would choose. Cam agreed with everyone else who knew her—anything was possible with Kodi.
“I have to admit, planning sessions are more interesting when she sits in. She reminds me of Jen McCall in a lot of ways. She’s brilliant, fearless, and totally unaffected by someone else’s opinion of her.” He’d heard her talking about becoming a diplomat but didn’t expect her to end up in the State Department. Kodi was too honest for politics, and heaven only knew she was too blunt to succeed in a profession where success was predicated on deception. Refocusing his attention on the situation in Galveston, Cam studied Kyle for several seconds before asking, “Are you sure you want your mom on Cruz’s radar?”
“I think she is the least likely to land on his radar. She’ll do what she does best—flaunt and flirt to the point everyone forgets she hauled boxes and bags aboard a fishing vessel.” Kyle’s plan was so ridiculous it might actually work. “I’ve seen her dressed up as the owner of a hippy boutique and can assure you no one will recognize her. If she walked in here now, dressed and made up, I swear you wouldn’t recognize her. To be honest, I was more concerned with Dad Del. He flatly refused the suggestion of a costume, and he’s too well known in the area to take a chance.”
“You and your brother are every bit as recognizable as your dads. Between the club and your charity work, there must be hundreds of pictures of you floating around the internet.” It was easy to see the other man had a plan, and something told Cam it was going to be damned entertaining.
“Sage McCall volunteered. He reminded us he’d done something similar a few years ago. I have no idea how I forgot.”
“Seeing Sage dressed in hippy attire will be a Kodak moment. I remember his gay persona well. If he ever gives up mission work, Sage really should look into an acting career.”