“I think Zane is being too diplomatic.” Grimes didn’t want to let anything go. Never had.
“I think we should agree to disagree.” Bear knew it wasn’t worth his breath.
“I’ll just say it out loud.” Grimes had an unapologetic, unfiltered way of saying exactly what he was thinking. He and Bear often rubbed each other the wrong way, probably because they were a lot alike. “We’re too close for any of us to fuck up the mission.”
“You’re taking this too far.” Bear downed the rest of his beer in one swallow. Where the hell was Echo with more? Bear leaned sideways to scan the outer room and just as he suspected, Echo and Sin were still consumed with a handful of women.
“This ain’t just about you.” Grimes shrugged. “Zane’s right. You’re preoccupied these days. You could do us all a favor and keep your dick in your pants for a while longer.”
“Stay in your lane.” Bear gritted through clenched teeth. Tension clung to the air.
“You don’t need me to tell you to keep your focus, man.”
“I think we should remember what the hell we’re doing here tonight. To cool our heels. Why don’t you both have another beer and sit or a spell?” Zane’s mouth fell into a frown.
Bear clamped his fingers at the back of his neck, rubbing out the kinks. They’d been on this power struggle for too long. “If you’ve got something to say, why don’t you just say it?”
One corner of Grimes’ mouth turned up into a grin. “I already said it.”
“The night of the ambush. You think it’s my fault that Echo was shot.” They were overdue in having this conversation instead of ignoring the elephant in the room.
“Thanks, Captain Obvious. I’ve already said that things were fucked up that night. I didn’t say it was allyourfault. Truth is, you and that chick took a ride under the same blanket while some of our men got drilled.”
“What were you doing that night of the ambush? No one has accounted for your whereabouts. In fact, where have you been keeping yourself these days? You’ve been the magician in a disappearing act for the last few months. Maybe we should start questioning where your head is, buddy,” Bear gritted.
Zane swiped his gaze from Bear to Grimes and shook his head. “Fellows, time and place for everything. This isn’t it.”
“I’ve kept the peace,” Grimes said.
“No, you haven’t. I’ve known you a long time,” Bear said. “You can either lay it to rest or speak the fuck up and get it out of your system for good because I’m tired of the back and forth.” Bear pushed the bottle away before he broke it in his grip.
Grimes dropped onto a stool, his gaze narrowing. “How about we take our frustrations out on the dart board.”
Neither Bear nor Grimes gave Zane any consideration.
“Fine, no darts.” He stood and stepped over to the pool table instead. He racked the balls then grabbed a stick.
Grimes settled his stool back on two feet. “We all know Bear that you were supposed to be with Echo that day he was gunned down. You werebothsupposed to be watching Silver’s six. You were sidetracked by a smoke show and Echo went solo. He should never have gone alone, those weren’t the orders, but it was your job to be there as point agent. Echo’s instincts were all over the place. He knew something was up and he couldn’t pull out.”
“Fuck, are we still retreading that story?” Echo muttered as he strolled in bringing with him a tray of bottles of beer.
“Wait a minute, Echo,” Bear said. “So, what you’re saying is that Echo and I both should have been blasted by a bullet?” Bear cut through clenched teeth. “Have you lost your gawddamned mind? I’d never put anyone on the team at risk.” When he’d learned Echo had been shot during the ambush, Bear had been crushed. He ate, bled, breathed Texas Heat. He was a man of honor and would take a bullet for any man on the team, even Grimes. They’d never seen eye-to-eye, but after the ambush things progressively got worse. Bear would never live down that day when Echo was hit. What made the situation worse was that Bear had been sidetracked by the pretty blonde he’d met the night before—the same woman that disappeared into thin air the morning after—after she’d drugged him. Although he’d looked back on camera footage taken at the hotel, the bar where they’d been the night before, and every damn camera in between, he couldn’t find her on any of the recordings. It was like she’d been an illusion. It was easy to believe she’d been involved in theambush scheme. How was she supposed to take him out? Why didn’t it happen?
That night he and the woman, who called herself Desirea, had poured him a drink and the next thing he knew he woke up to an empty room with Zane pounding on the door. Bear had been groggy for hours and would have had the glass he’d drank out of tested, but the woman had been smart enough to wash away any trace.
He doubted he’d ever know what happened that night after he passed out.
“If you two would have been together things could have been different.” The last part of the sentence Grimes said in a lowered voice.
“I made the decision to go alone,” Echo said as he handed the beers out. “No one can judge Bear. We’ve all been distracted a time or two by a beauty in heels.”
Sin strode in, looking from each of the men with a narrowed gaze. “What did I miss?”
Arrow tossed a pool stick to Sin. “Best to not ask. Let’s play a game.”
“I would take a bullet for him any day of the week—for anyone on the team,” Bear said directly at Grimes. “I think you enjoy reminding me of the past but fail to forget that I was sidetracked.” Thankfully the loud music streaming over the speakers drowned out their voices from others in the room next door.
Grimes didn’t even flinch. “I don’t get any enjoyment out of reminding you that while you were balls deep inside a blonde with big tits our team was eating bullets. That’s the whole point, friend.”Friendwas laced with bitterness. “What says that won’t happen again? That you’re getting consumed by Aasia and not making the right decisions?”
