Chapter 1

Former FBI agent Grace Carter had opened her own private investigative and security firm, CIS—Carter Investigation and Security—in downtown Conclave. She’d located it in the town square across from the sheriff’s office on the second floor of the Grind Bar.

She was unpacking boxes when her best friend, Janice Conly, arrived. Janice had two coffees from downstairs as a welcoming gift.

“You’d better enjoy this. I just spent what it would cost to buy a month’s worth of coffee beans at Sprouts Farmers Market and brew it myself,” Janice grumbled.

“Quit complaining. You just got a promotion and are now swimming in it,” Grace teased.

Janice choked on her coffee at that proclamation, which tickled Grace. District attorneys made far less and worked much harder than lawyers in private practice. Grace had encouraged her friend to switch, but Janice believed in her work.

For Grace’s part, she’d quit the FBI and hoped the same held true because it had been an easy decision to go private. The agency’s upper echelon had become a political animal over the previous few years. It no longer resembled the organization she’d joined out of college.

For her, everything came to a head during the Moondust takedown of the Russian mob. When the Deputy Director for Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services got wind of it, he swooped in and took charge of the operation. From the beginning, he was more interested in how it would make him look than in letting the professionals do their jobs.

When they raided the Moondust production factory and found it empty, he’d asked for Grace’s resignation before scurrying back to Washington. Thankfully, the local FBI boss, Special Agent in Charge Thomas Wilcox, had allowed her and Special Agent Davidson to continue working on the case.

In the end, the Moondust was either seized or destroyed before it could hit the streets, and a large chunk of the Russian organization found its way behind bars.

Even though the bust was a success, the way it was done left a bad taste in her mouth. Alex had provided the FBI with valuable resources and information to stop the distribution of the designer drug. He’d also been kidnapped by the Russians, and they’d physically beaten the young boy in an attempt to lure his father out of hiding.

Instead of bringing in the FBI’s tactical team to rescue Alex, they’d held off so they could arrest more of the mob. In Grace’s eyes, the FBI had traded Alex’s well-being—and potentially his life—for more glory. It’d worked because Special Agent in Charge Wilcox had been promoted and now worked in Washington, DC.

To add insult to his injuries, the FBI seized all of Alex’s computer equipment because they wanted the software his father had created. She still smiled when she remembered Alex’s hardware self-destructing before they could breach his security. Then, a few days later, his tracking app, which showed where the Russian phones were, had gone down.

When questioned, Alex just gave the FBI agents blank stares.

The sad part was he’d warned Grace the FBI would eventually come after him. She’d not believed him because Alex had been the catalyst for the big win.

All that had left her questioning working for them, and ultimately, she’d quit.

At that point, Grace was faced with the decision of where to live and what to do for a living. She ended up moving to Conclave because she felt she owed Alex. She also wanted to ensure he didn’t become jaded and grow up to be a criminal mastermind. Grace wanted to steer him toward doing good—or as good as he could be.

“Have you asked Alex to work part-time for you yet?” Janice asked, a flicker of apprehension touching her eyes.

Grace didn’t blame Janice for hesitating to allow Alex to work for her. The last time had gone badly in the end.

“He needs to keep busy, or who knows what his idle mind will come up with?” Grace reminded her.

“I know, it’s just...” Janice trailed off.

“You know what’ll make him happy? Have him order the computers and everything else I’ll need for the office.”

Janice brightened.

“You sure? Because I think he overdoes it when he buys stuff like that.”

“Tell him he can only spend this much,” Grace said as she handed Janice a list of stuff she wanted and a budget. “I also want him to come to the office and help me make it secure.”

“This will get him to think about more than his woman problems.”

Grace got a predatory look on her face. She needed some juicy gossip about Alex to keep him in line.

“He went to prom last night and had planned to take Natasha Mikhailov, Alexei’s daughter. From what I heard, Alexei tried the scare-the-boyfriend-to-keep-him-in-line ploy.”

Grace shook her head because she could only imagine how Alex would react.

“Phyllis Porter, Dawn’s mom, called me last night and told me Alex showed up at their house and took Dawn to the prom.”

“He bailed on Natasha?” Grace asked in disbelief.

“Not exactly. Phyllis said that Alexei recognized the error of his ways and brought Natasha to the dance. More likely, his wife and two daughters ganged up on him, and he caved rather than face the hell they’d put him through. Anyway, Alex ended up having two dates for prom. I’ve received endless calls from people wanting details. I plan to go home and make him tell me everything once he wakes up,” Janice promised.

This was the sort of thing that for Alex was a stark reminder of how life in Philly differed from small-town Oklahoma. In Conclave, the whole town knew your business, something his foster mom could appreciate.

Alex and Boomer were staring at Janice, giving her the ‘What are you talking about?’ look.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but could you repeat that?”

“I got you a summer job,” Janice said.

“That’s what I thought you said. But I’m fifteen. My job is to go to the clubhouse, hang out with my friends, and maybe play some basketball. It’s not to work,” Alex said.

Decker had explained how his dad used child labor to run his farm. Alex had no desire to walk beans or detassel corn ... whatever that was.

“You need the job to pay for a car when you turn sixteen,” Janice said.

Boomer could sense the tension between his mom and his sidekick and whined. Alex reached out and rubbed Boomer’s ear to let the pup know it was okay.

He knew his dad had given him money. Quite a bit of it, actually. His thought was that money was there for stuff like his first car. Alex’s problem was that Janice was the manager of his trust.

Then he had a revelation.

“What is this job?”

“You’re going to be working for Grace.”

Alex sort of thought he would help Grace out but never imagined he’d get paid for doing so. That didn’t mean he would go easily. He huffed and rolled his eyes to show his displeasure. Then he noted a twinkle in Janice’s eye; she thought she’d won.

“Fine,” Alex said to end the discussion ... for now.

That resulted in Janice getting a big smile.

“Okay, so we’re going to the flea market. On the way to finding the ‘good stuff,’ you can tell me about your double date.”

’Shoot me! Shoot me, now!’ Alex thought.

Then she added, “My dad and Grace will meet you there to buy stuff for her office.”

Alex dropped his head, and his chin brushed his chest as he shook it.

“Weren’t you scared?” Maddie asked.

Alex had stopped at the Aldrich booths to say hi to Decker, but Maddie and Tanya wanted details on how he’d gone to prom with Dawn and Natasha. He’d explained how Mr. Mikhailov had tried the dad intimidation routine—on steroids.

Alex scoffed.

“I held all the cards; Natasha’s dad just didn’t know it,” Alex said, grinning. “I think Caleb might have peed himself. He looked like death warmed over when he came out from his talk in the garage.”