Secret Obsession. Robin Perini

winter storm’s hail damage. “Colorado weather is not kind to my toys,” he muttered. “No wonder Dad’s had so many outages.”

      Ignoring the fact that he should have found time to repair this months ago, Noah grabbed a small set of tools from his back pocket and quickly adjusted the encryption device while Chase checked out the damaged tiles from the storm.

      They’d almost finished before Chase spoke. “You were out of touch for over a month, bro,” he accused. “Dad was worried.”

      Yet another way Noah had let down his dad. He sent Chase a sidelong glance. “I told you, I had business—”

      “You gave the family a cock-and-bull story that even a child would see through. We’re not stupid, Noah. Dad developed pneumonia two weeks ago. We couldn’t get ahold of you. You didn’t answer your cell. No one from your companies could tell us anything. Not acceptable.”

      A small screwdriver fell from Noah’s normally secure grip, rolled down the roof and tumbled over the side. He let out a sharp curse before snapping the cover over the panel. “I can’t talk about it.”

      He eased to the edge and made his way down the ladder in seconds. Chase followed. “I’m just giving you fair warning. You won’t be able to avoid the truth this time. Dad’s staging an intervention.”

      Noah stilled, the muscles at the base of his neck tying into a familiar knot. He looked over at his SUV. He could just leave. His family was better off not knowing about his side job as the Falcon. They knew about his public career. The encryption and software patents he’d developed as a teenager had turned into big business. They’d never understood why he’d left it and home at eighteen for the Marines.

      They definitely had no idea that he now worked for an organization that took on tasks the government or military couldn’t risk.

      Chase slapped his brother’s shoulder and the move yanked Noah from the dark memories.

      “Come clean,” his brother said. “Just like you did when Dad caught you and Mitch sneaking out during high school. Some things aren’t worth avoiding.”

      “And sometimes the truth doesn’t make it better,” Noah said. “This isn’t high school.”

      Bracing himself, he entered his father’s home, past the handicapped ramp that his siblings, Mitch, Chase and Sierra, had installed. Noah had been on a job. By the time he’d returned, all he’d been able to do was write a check.

      His mind already searching for a means of escape, he found his way into the living room. “Satellite is fixed. You’ve got TV and internet, all encrypted for your super-secret-police consulting.”

      His father didn’t take the bait. Paul Bradford said nothing; he simply quirked an eyebrow while the football game played in the background. Noah squirmed under his dad’s focus. He might be in a wheelchair after a gunshot severed his spinal cord, but nothing was wrong with his instincts.

      Noah’s forefinger scratched at his knuckle. “What?”

      His brother Chase shrugged and passed him a longneck bottle with that I-told-you look.

      Paul Bradford drummed his fingers on his chair. “I did a little digging—”

      Noah’s hand paused on the way to his mouth, then he took a long gulp. Yeah, he’d been brilliant encouraging his father’s interest in computers. Noah knew exactly how he inherited his own tech ability. The idea of setting Dad up with a side business doing investigations had seemed like a perfect way to keep Paul Bradford engaged in life—and law enforcement. Noah downed half the bottle, the cool liquid sliding down his throat. What a fool. “Your point?”

      “I hit a damn brick wall,” Paul growled.

      At least something had gone right today.

      “You want to tell me why I can’t find out anything about you, Noah? Short of the vanilla bio you published on the websites of your companies.” Paul rolled his chair across the wooden floor, coming a few inches from Noah. “I haven’t pried into your life before. Well, that stops now. Exactly what are you into, Noah? How worried should we be?”

      His sister, Sierra, saved him from answering. For the moment. She exited the kitchen with a large tray of chips and guacamole, followed by Mitch and his very pregnant wife, Emily. Mitch held Emily’s two-year-old son Joshua in his arms while Emily waddled into the living room and settled down on a hard-back chair with a sigh. “I can’t get out of that sofa,” she said with a smile. “Last time, Mitch had to use a crane to hoist me.”

      Thankful for something to do—anything to avoid answering questions—Noah doled out a plate for Emily. She looked at him in surprise. “Thank you?”

      “It’s not like our resident man-of-mystery has learned manners,” Chase commented. “He’s just avoiding Dad’s questions.”

      Noah winced and eyed the door. He should go. This conversation had already strayed too close to truths he couldn’t discuss—some classified, some, well, they’d just worry. Some—things he’d done he would never talk about. To anyone.

      He tugged on his jacket. “I’d better go.”

      Before he could get to the door, Emily gripped Noah’s hand and her sympathetic gaze met his. He really loved his sister-in-law. She saw through more than most. Probably because she’d been to hell and back. “They’re worried about you, Noah. You scared them this time. Your dad, too,” she mouthed the last few words.

      Noah scrubbed his hand over his face. His dad had lost weight from the illness. He looked pale. “I’ve made sure you can reach me anytime, anywhere,” he said, tugging a card from his wallet and handing it to his father. “This number will page me no matter where I am. I designed it myself. I won’t be out of touch again.”

      Paul tucked the card into his shirt pocket. “It’s not about that, Noah. It’s about the riddle your life has become. What if something had happened to you? How would we ever know?”

      “I’m a trained marine. I can take care of myself on a business trip.”

      “Business trip, my butt,” Sierra said under her breath.

      “You haven’t shown your face at any of your companies in six months,” Chase said. “Just a few conference calls. So where have you been?”

      That they’d infiltrated the careful web he and Crystal had set up gave him pause. He had some major shoring up to do once he figured a way out of this mess.

      Mitch settled next to Emily, clasping her hand while he bounced Joshua on his knee. “We get that you like your privacy, Noah. You’ve always preferred hiding off in your lab with your electronics and computers, but this is different. No word. Not even an answer to the calls and emails when Dad was in the hospital.”

      Truth was, they didn’t know him at all. Noah had never wanted to disappear, but he hadn’t fit in. He’d never fit in. Mitch and Chase were the athletes and Sierra was the perfect daughter. They hadn’t understood him. Noah kneaded his neck. That’s why he’d joined the Marines, hoping to find a place in the family. But then the secrets just got worse. He couldn’t talk about his job. Or the Falcon.

      So, most of the time, he didn’t talk. He just listened. Even now, how could he tell his family that he’d spent the past six months dealing with one crisis after another for Covert Technology Confidential based in the middle-of-nowhere Carder, Texas?

      He’d backed off the government intel jobs, but CTC kept him busy, and truth be known, not a lot safer.

      His phone vibrated in his pocket. He slipped it from his coat and glanced at the number. A number he hadn’t seen in a very long time. “We’ll have to talk about this later,” he said. “There’s an emergency in Phoenix...” He let his voice trail off, too tired to lie. He sighed. “There’s an emergency. Let’s leave it at that.”

      “Someday you’ll have to trust us with what’s going on in