Chapter 1

September 2012

Austin sighed as he stared at him computer. This was not happening. His life was not about to get more interesting because he wasn't sure if he could take it.

He glared at the screen, at the four other people on his line. He hoped they got his message loud and clear.

He didn't want to do it.

"Why do I have to do it?" he bit out.

"It's in your Sector, which means it's your business," Tyler said. They were Skyping from four different areas: New Orleans, San Francisco, New York and Seattle. The Leader in Seattle flicked his gaze to his left. "What do you think, Aiden?"

Austin's eyes also shifted to the bottom left hand corner of his computer screen. The Queen of the Silver Court chewed on her lip, pulling skin away as she did so. She was the one who always gave them their targets and charges. If she was chewing her lip for something so simple, something else must be happening in the eye of the storm.

They were still a fairly new Court, Aiden having only taken the throne two years ago but she was proving to be a wise ruler. If she said something was off kilter, she must be right.

"Aiden, what should he do?" Keldin asked.

Keldin was Austin's twin. By the look on his face, he was having a bad day. It had only been a few years since his brother lost his significant other at the hands of someone they thought was their friend. Since then he had closed himself off from almost everyone save the three he was talking to now, especially their Queen. She had helped him get through a lot of the side effects that came with tragedy.

"Quit gnawing at your lip, dear," the male voice said softly in the background.

Aiden must have been in her bedroom because that was the voice of her husband. Clint Miller had consented to being the King of the Silver Court and married Aiden two weeks before their coronation in December. He was the calm to Aiden's storm and father to her toddler.

She rubbed her face. It must have been a hard day for her. Ever since they had caught a few of the Gold Councilmen squandering money from their trust funds, Aiden and her brother had been dealing with the backlash of having those fired and imprisoned. Not to mention she was seven months pregnant with her second child.

"Austin, I need you to take this. At the moment we can't afford to send another team to help you. I don't have another team. Tyler hasn't completed his and Jesse refuses to leave the south because of me," she replied.

The computer suddenly moved. Clint's face filled the screen where his wife's once had been. "Austin, we need you to do this for us. If she could, Aiden would be coming to you to help but she just physically can't. Plus, we have to finish this crazy stuff with the Golden Court. You're the only one who can do it."

Austin stared at the chestnut haired man and thought. Aiden rarely asked for favors and when she did it was always something important. This must mean it was important.

He drummed his hands on the desk and leaned back. "Yeah, I'll do it."

Clint smiled then sat back. Aiden's face filled the void and he could see the satisfied smile on her tired face. She leaned back and he could see the baby bump under her shirt.

"Are you sure you're not carrying twins?" he asked.

"I asked Wyatt not to tell me so I don't know," she replied. She tried to stifle a yawn. It was close to midnight in New York, which meant it was eleven in New Orleans. "Thanks, Aussie."

He smiled. "No problem, Ace. Now get some sleep. That baby needs you at peak health." She nodded then her screen went black, leaving him with his brother and best friend. "I see you still know how to con your way into just about anything."

Tyler smiled widely. "I always know how to get you in trouble." He held his hands up in mock surrender at the narrowed blue eyes. "I did it because you're the best one for the job."

Austin hummed as he shifted the windows on his screen around so he could see them and the files at the same time. "Who's our target?"

"This time it's not a guy." Their last mission had been to help a guy being hunted by vampires in New Jersey. He hadn't made it, but it had left a lasting impression on them. Mainly that most guys were dumb and didn't listen.

On the flip side, they hadn't had good dealings with women. The ones they had helped had screamed whenever the slightest inconvenience happened or when they were scared.

"Oh, goody. A catty woman," Keldin mumbled. He might be gay but Keldin hated women who started stuff for no good reason.

"Easy, Kels. We don't need your snarky attitude."

"Hey, chill, Tyler. That's my brother you're talking to," Austin said.

This time when Tyler held his hands up it was in surrender. "I got it. Anyway, her name is Bryony Parker. She's an up and coming publisher in New York. At the moment she's working as a paper pusher."

"What's the reason we're watching her?" Tyler didn't answer right away so Austin looked at his friend. "What is it?"

"Aiden's been matchmaking again," Keldin said as he planted his elbow on the desk and his chin in his palm. His twin's eyes narrowed. "Chill, brother. She's just tryng to help."

"She needs to butt out."

"She knows how you feel about Bryony. She knows for a fact that you tried to ask that girl out when we were in high school. She also knows that she turned you down for the captain of the soccer team. You can say anything about Aiden but you can't say she doesn't pay attention."

"Plus she may have a feeling that something's going to happen to the girl if she's sending you in," Tyler added.

That caught Austin's attention. "What are you talking about?"

"Read the file, Aussie, and you'll understand."

He did as he was told. His eyes shifted along the screen as he read, his mouth moving at the same time. His eyes widened in shock as he got to the bottom of it.

"She's being chased by the mob because of some guy she dated in college? And her brother?" he asked. He didn't remember her brother being a bad guy in school. Then again it had been nearly ten years since he'd graduated, and people changed in a decade.

"And that's why we need you to stay where you are and take the case," Tyler said. He yawned as well, meaning he must have been up over thirty-six hours. "Aussie, if you need me, just call. I'll be there in a heartbeat."

"I got you, buddy. Go to bed and get some sleep." Tyler nodded and signed off. Austin turned his attention to his brother. "Hey, kid, how are you holding up?"

Keldin lifted his eyes and his brother knew exactly what his brother was feeling. Those mismatched eyes were sad and had a longing Austin knew had been there since his tragedy almost two years ago.

They all had been there. The attack was a blatant one against Keldin because of his relationship with Aiden. Austin could still hear his brother's screams for mercy but they had fallen on deaf ears.

The screams of mercy had turned to screams of agony, but Austin hadn't known what was going on. He had been unconscious due to the fact that Tallyn, Tyler's twin and Aiden's partner, had knocked him against the wall.

When he came to, both Tallyn and Eric Martin, Keldin's significant other, were dead. Aiden, five months pregnant with Dylan, was standing over the body of her partner with a smoking gun.

Ever since then Keldin hadn't been the same. He didn't go out, and he rarely spoke to anyone except his friends and team. Sometimes he even forgot to speak to their parents. Austin was the only one whose head he was securely in because of their twin bond.

"I'm numb, Aussie," Keldin mumbled. The pain in his voice was completely raw.

Austin wanted to jump through the screen and wrap his arms around his brother as he saw the tear slide down his face. It took a lot to make Keldin cry. No one but their inner circle knew that he was the more emotional twin. Austin had bouts of anger that he unleashed regularly. It was when Keldin got mad that everyone had to worry.

"Baby brother, listen carefully. It's normal to be numb but you need to hang out with someone who can challenge you," he replied calmly.

Keldin lifted his head to the screen. "Can I come see you for a bit? I can leave Deuce in charge. He's capable and I trust him."

It took seconds for an answer. "I'll see you in a bit."

Twenty minutes later, Keldin stepped out of the shadows in the living room and fell into his brother's arms. Austin held his trembling twin tightly. If he was going to start a new job, he had to make sure his brother was safe first or he couldn't work.