“Anytime,” Trey said and picked up his menu to take a look.

  John did the same although he knew what he was going to get. He was hooked on Cuban sandwiches and the teeth-achingly sweet shakes the restaurant made.

  When the waitress came over, they ordered, and Trey quickly got to business. “You said you needed help.”

  John hesitated and bit his lip, but then blurted out softly, “I think someone is trying to steal my new software.”

  “I’m assuming you don’t have a clue who is trying to do that,” Trey said nonchalantly.

  “I don’t. I’m running a bunch of scans. I’ve beefed up security on the servers and supercomputer—”

  “Like beefed-up security technology-wise, not like security guards and alarm systems to keep people out?” Trey asked.

  The waitress came over with their shakes and placed them on the table. When she stepped away, John said, “We have some security like that. We hired Equinox ages ago, before I knew about SBS.”

  Trey picked up his glass to take a sip. “They’re a good company. I can call and ask what they’re doing and, if you don’t mind, add anything I feel may be necessary.”

  John held up a hand in a go-ahead motion. “It’s why I’m hiring you.”

  Trey shook his head. “We owe you for all the help you gave us with Ricky and Mariela. Not to mention not outing Roni during that earlier investigation. Besides, we’re friends.”

  Friends. There was that word again and John wasn’t going to argue with him. He needed friends, especially loyal ones like Trey. “I appreciate that.”

  “No problem. As for the tech side of things, I know you’re a smart guy, but Sophie and Robbie are really good at what they do. Would you mind if they helped out?”

  So far John had kept any access to his new program to himself and he really wanted to keep it that way. “I’ll give them as much access as I can, but my new code... It’s really important to keep it secret.”

  The waitress walked over and placed their sandwiches in front of them and a plate of ripe plantains in the middle of the table. Trey picked up his sandwich and took a big bite. After he swallowed, he nodded and said, “I get it. We’ll respect any boundaries you set, but if you don’t mind my asking, what exactly does this program do?”

  In truth, even John was having trouble defining just that because the program was proving to do so much more than he’d ever imagined it could. He kept it simple because he was sure that he’d have to explain again once he met with Trey’s tech-guru cousins. “It’s a program that reviews data, finds trends and makes...predictions,” he said, hesitant to use a word like that because it created all kinds of expectations in people’s minds.

  As expected, Trey arched a dark eyebrow. “Predictions. Like who’ll win the next Super Bowl and stuff like that?”

  “In theory you could, if you fed those stats into the system, but you could also use it to analyze what your competitors are doing, facial recognition, weather, customer churn—”

  “What is customer churn?” Trey asked with a puzzled look.

  “How many customers you lost during a specific time frame,” John said and took a bite of his own sandwich, enjoying the tasty combo of the meat, cheese, pickles and mustard. He chased down the bite of sandwich with the super sweet mango milkshake and smiled.

  “Sounds like it can do a lot,” Trey said and snagged a ripe plantain from the plate in the middle of the table.

  “It can. You can even use it to predict possible crimes and their victims,” he explained, which made Trey perk up.

  “Really. How does it do that?” he asked, but John waved him off.

  “How about you set up a meeting with your cousins and anyone else you think needs to be in on this case. I can tell you more about how the software works, and we can decide what to do to stop whoever is trying to break in.”

  “I think that sounds like a plan. Can you come by the office in the morning?” Trey asked and, with a slurpy sip, finished the last of his shake. He ordered another one with a shake of the empty glass in the direction of the waitress.

  “Diabetes, much?” John joked.

  “I know. For some reason, I’ve had this horrible sweet tooth lately. Hungry, too,” he admitted and forked up another sweet plantain.

  “Boredom, maybe? I imagine working at SBS is quite different than what you were doing as an undercover detective.”

  Trey shrugged his broad, muscular shoulders. There wasn’t an ounce of flab on them, or anywhere else on Trey, from what John could see. “Different for sure but in a good way. I like spending time with Roni and my family. You know how it is.”

  “Actually, I don’t. My family life, it was kind of dysfunctional so being around you all... It’s really different for me,” he admitted.

  “Sorry to hear that, John. No matter what happened with Mia—”

  “Nothing happened with Mia. I respect her too much to treat her like that,” he said to shut down whatever Trey was thinking because he did want this man as a friend.

  “Glad to hear that,” he said and accepted the second shake from the waitress as she brought it over. After a healthy sip, he said, “Mind if I come by on Friday to make sure?”

  John narrowed his gaze, not understanding, but when it hit him, he muttered a curse. “Miles. He invited Mia and Caro to the party.”

  “He did. Let’s say Mia was less than pleased,” Trey admitted.

  “I’m sorry. Miles has his own way of keeping both me and the company in the limelight. You can tell Mia she’s free not to come,” John said and polished off the last of his sandwich.

  Trey laughed heartily. “Tell Mia? Did you forget what my little sister is like?”

  John smiled. He hadn’t forgotten, which was a big part of his problem with Mia. He just couldn’t forget her.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said and motioned the waitress for the check, but when she came with it, Trey snagged it and tucked several bills into the leather wallet.

  “Cash is king, John. Remember that. Until we figure out what’s going on, no credit cards. Have you checked your phone to make sure it’s clean?” Trey said and handed the waitress the wallet.

  “As far as I can tell,” he admitted.

  “Good. We’ll have Sophie and Robbie double-check it tomorrow during the meeting,” he said and rose, but when John started to stand, Trey signaled for him to sit.

  “Wait a few minutes and then go. No sense risking that anyone sees us together until we have more info on what’s happening,” he said and, without waiting for a reply, he left.

  John sat there, running his straw through the runny remains of his shake. He hungrily eyed the last ripe plantain on the plate before giving in and eating it. Impatient, he looked at his phone and figured it had been at least a few minutes since Trey had left.

  He got up and walked out, satisfied that he’d taken the right steps to protect himself and his new software. He hoped that being with the Gonzalez family might give him another chance with Mia.

  * * *

  CLACK, CLACK, CLACK went the fake shutter on his digital camera.

  He zoomed in with the telephoto lens to get a better look at the man who had been sitting with Trey Gonzalez, and as he zoomed in, he sucked in a sharp breath.

  “John Wilson,” he murmured. He recognized the man from some news reports on a recent charity event Wilson’s new software company had sponsored.

  Interesting, he thought, wondering what the tech multimillionaire had to do with Trey. As far as he knew, it was Mia who had been hanging out with the man. Maybe that’s what this little meeting had been about: what Wilson’s intentions were toward Mia.

  The Gonzalez family was a little old-fashioned that way. They stuck together. Protected their own.

  Too bad they hadn’t cared at all about what had happened to his family. How his family had suffered over the years while the Gonzalez family had achieved the American Dream.

  He intended to make sure that they’d pay for that suffering when the time was right, and his gut told him that would be soon.

  He’d been patient after the last attack, waiting for them to let down their guard. It had dropped...a little. That was obvious from what he’d seen of today’s lunch meeting.

  Trey had done his best to hide in that back corner and not be seen with John Wilson, but he didn’t know who he was dealing with. Trey and his family had underestimated the danger for months now, but soon he would give them what they deserved: the same kind of pain and loss he and his family had endured for over sixty years.

  Soon, he thought, and snapped off a few more photos.

  Chapter Two

  When John returned to his office, his brother was there. His feet were up on his desk and the chair was leaning back precariously. Miles was thumbing through the latest issue of a tech magazine, but when he saw John, he casually tossed it on John’s desktop and sat up.

  “Where have you been, bro? I came to get you for lunch,” Miles said, a broad smile on his face.

  “I had a...date,” he said, wishing he didn’t feel so unsure of his own blood, but until he got to the bottom of this, everyone was a suspect.

  “That Gonzalez girl again?” Miles asked with the lift of an eyebrow.

  “A business lunch,” he said but then wished he hadn’t.

  “Why didn’t you ask me to come along?” Miles asked, touchy as always about his role in the business.

  With a shrug, and to keep Miles from getting angry, he said, “I didn’t think anything would come of it. Just someone trying to talk me into looking at their building for our new office space.”

  “And?” Miles said and shot out of John’s chair.

  “No interest. It was in South Beach, but way too small for what we’re planning,” he said, making sure to emphasize the we’re when he spoke.

  That seemed to mollify Miles a little. With a shrug, he said, “It would be nice to be in South Beach.”

  Miles loved all the glamour and partying in the area, but John wasn’t convinced that was the kind of impression they’d want for potential clients. He favored a location in downtown, like the one they had for the start-up he’d sold, but he didn’t say.

  “Do you want to do dinner tonight?” he asked, changing the subject to avoid having the same old argument with his brother.

  Miles was too smart not to see what he was doing, but didn’t challenge him. “I’d like that, bro.”

  “Great,” he said and mentioned one of Miles’s favorite places along the Ocean Drive strip in South Beach.

  “How does eight sound?” Miles said.

  “Sounds good. It’ll let me get some more work done on the program,” John said, and Miles perked up at the mention of the software.

  “Is it going better than this morning?” Miles asked, his sandy-colored eyebrows raised in question.

  “Still giving me some issues, but I hope I’ll get the kinks out. How are the other projects going?” he said, referring to the apps and programs he’d assigned others to code and which Miles was supposed to be overseeing.

  “Okay. We should have more for you to look at soon.”

  “Great. We’ll need those projects bringing in money until I can do more on this program,” he said and jerked a thumb toward his desktop.

  “We have lots of money,” Miles said, and John didn’t correct him to say that he was the one with the money. He’d only allocated a set amount for this new start-up, and as for his personal finances, a lot of Miles’s “suggestions”—like the parties and the Lamborghini—were eating into his savings.

  “We need to have some income to show investors,” he said, and Miles reluctantly nodded.

  “I’ll have updates for you by the end of the week,” he said, then turned and left the office without waiting for John’s reply.

  When John was sure that Miles was gone, he did a quick check to make sure there wasn’t anything like a key logger or other malware in place. He hated doing it, hated not trusting the only family he had left, but he couldn’t take a chance.

  This software was too important and too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands.

  * * *

  CAROLINA WOULDN’T BE back for another day, so Mia decided to go into the South Beach Security offices the next morning and finish unpacking Trey’s boxes. They should have been able to do it the day before. There had only been three boxes, but somehow, they’d started chatting about all the changes that had happened in the last few months. They’d barely gotten through one box when their father had come in to haul away Trey for a meeting and then her brother had left for lunch with a client.

  Having no desire to be alone, she’d left to run some errands, visit with her mother and then attend the opening of a brand-new club on Ocean Drive. But that sense of restlessness for more had lingered all day and night. She’d woken with it and, feeling like she had to do something, she’d gone back to the SBS offices to finish what she’d started the day before.

  Trey was clearly surprised to see her as he walked into his office, carrying a paper bag that matched the one she’d brought with her. “I’m sorry. I should have let you know I planned on coming in.”

  “It’s okay. I just wanted to grab a bite before...a client came in,” he said and placed his bag beside hers on the table.

  “I can go if you want,” she said and gestured to his door, sensing he was uneasy about the upcoming meeting.

  He stopped her with a raised hand. “No need. I have some time before the meeting,” he said as he sat down at the table and took out his café con leche and toast.

  She joined him and did the same, removing the contents from both bags. “Anyone interesting?” she asked.

  Her brother hesitated, surprising her. Seeing his discomfort, she said, “I understand, Trey. I get that the company has to keep some things confidential.”

  “You know I would share if I could,” Trey said and held the coffee cup between his hands as if warming them.

  “I understand, but if you need my help with anything—”

  “I know I can count on you,” Trey said and took a sip of his coffee.

  “I can leave once we’re done or finish unpacking. Whatever you want,” she said and nervously tore off a small piece of her toast to dunk in her coffee.

  “We’re meeting in the conference room, so feel free to stay, and thank you. I’ve hated staring at those boxes for the last couple of weeks,” he said, finishing his cup of coffee. Then he reached for the one she’d brought, along with the toast.

  Feeling even more restless than she had the day before, she said, “I’ve been thinking that maybe I could do more around here. Help out with things.”

  Trey lifted an eyebrow in surprise. “Really? What about Carolina?” he asked, clearly shocked that it seemed like she intended to break up the Twins.

  With a little shrug, she said, “She knows I want to do something different, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to do a lot together.”

  Trey nodded in understanding. He tapped his chest on a spot over his heart. “You’ll know in here when it’s time for that change.”

  She suspected that more than anyone, Trey would know. Change had been his middle name lately.

  “You’ll be the first to know,” she said with a smile and squeezed his hand.

  Trey’s office phone rang and he answered. “Please put Mr. Smith in the conference room and let my father, Sophie and Robbie know as well.”

  When he returned the receiver to the cradle, he pushed to his feet. “Duty calls.”

  “Mr. Smith? Not very original. What’s next? Jones?” she teased.

  With a grin, he jabbed a finger in the direction of the boxes. “If you’re serious, once you finish that, I have other work for you to do.”

  Mia bobbled her head from side to side, considering his offer, and finally said, “I think I’m serious.”

  * * *

  JOHN PULLED THE ball cap low and hunched down into the collar of his jacket, hoping to avoid being recognized by anyone in the office. He’d been careful coming over as well, walking quickly and keeping his head on a swivel to make sure no one was following him.

  After Trey strolled into the conference room, he walked to some switches by the door and hit a few buttons, and the glass wall on the reception side of the room went opaque. He gestured to the wall of exterior windows and said, “Those have a privacy film. No one can see in.”

  “Thanks,” he said and ripped off the ball cap and denim jacket, since he’d been sweltering in it with the heat and humidity of a Miami morning.

  A second later, Trey’s father and tech-guru cousins walked in. His father was in a bespoke suit while Trey and his cousins were casually dressed.

  “I think you know everyone,” Trey said.

  John nodded. “I do. Mr. Gonzalez. Sophie. Robbie. Thank you so much for any help you can provide.”

  “Trey has told us that you’re worried that someone is trying to steal the new software that you’re developing,” his father, Ramon, said.

  “I am,” John replied and opened his knapsack to remove his laptop. He set it on the table, intending to demo it, but Trey motioned for him to wait.

  “Before you tell us about it, I just want to fill you in on what we’ve done so far,” Trey said.

  John nodded and sat down at the table, eager to hear, and Trey continued.

  “As I mentioned yesterday during our lunch, I reached out to Equinox to discuss with them what security they had in place at your temporary office and the location for your supercomputer. I had them increase how often the guards did rounds, and I also asked them to install a few more CCTV cameras on the interior of the building with your supercomputer. Finally, I verified that they were using a top-notch alarm system on all the entrances to the supercomputer location, so we’re set that way.”