Page 35 of Weston’s Treasure

“Your purse and duffle are on the couch,” Holden informed Silver. “You’ll need to go through them and see if anything’s missing. And the car’s fine, other than your stuff being dumped out of the glove compartment and center console. I drove it to a friend of ours, Thompson. He’s gonna dust it and check it for hair and fibers. He should be done by tomorrow and I’ll go pick it up for you.”

Last night Holden hadn’t explained that he’d already taken it to Thompson’s place. He was a friend of Nixon’s we’d used in the past. They’d gone to school together and now the man worked as an independent forensic expert.

“Thanks,” Silver mumbled.

“Not sure there’s much to save but when this is done, if you wanna go through your apartment we’ll all be there with you,” Chasin added. “If you don’t wanna go back in, we’ll handle the dumpster so you don’t have to.”

“You don’t—”

“Silver, between the five of us it will take an hour, tops. And even if it took three weeks we’d still do it.”

Weston had always known he had great friends—the best. Men that he’d always thought of more like brothers. He’d never doubted Chasin, Holden, Nixon, and Jameson’s loyalty, never doubted they’d risk their lives for him, but hearing Chasin extend that to Silver made him all that more grateful to have them at his back—and now at hers.

He was also thankful Holden and Chasin had immediately engaged, taking her mind away from any embarrassment. Yes, they’d seen the clothes, yes they were both smart men, yes they’d known something had gone down between Weston and Silver. But they were not the type of men to be dicks to a woman with the sole purpose of being a dick.

“How well do you know the men you work with?” Alec asked, bringing the conversation back to why he’d traveled all the way from DC for a sit-down.

“Not well,” Silver admitted and looked self-conscious. “I mean, I know surface stuff. We talk. Sometimes after our rotations are over we’ll all go grab a beer together, but I wouldn’t really call them friends.”

Weston tried to tamp down the jealous knot that tightened in his gut. It was irrational and unnecessary. Silver had let all that shit hang out last night, admitting she hadn’t had very many lovers. Not that Weston needed to be told, but she’d confirmed all the same. The moment she was in his arms, he’d known. Her touch had been tentative at first, clumsy, not knowing where to put her hands. Her inexperience had been a turn-on, but if that hadn’t been enough, when he’d slid his fingers into her tight sheath, his cock damn near exploded at the snug fit.

It had even crossed his mind, there was a possibility she was a virgin. Not that he concentrated on that thought too long, when his fingers were working her pussy and she was grinding down trying to take more.

“What can you tell us?” Alec’s question pulled Weston from his dirty memories and he watched Silver as she squirmed in her seat.

“What do you want to know?” she returned, obviously uncomfortable with everyone’s attention on her.

“You’re an observant woman, Silver.” Alec pointed out. “Does anything stand out? Something one of them has said, done, any changes in circumstances, cagy behavior, withdrawn. Anything.”

“Well, Gary’s wife just had a baby—their first. He seems excited but stressed about being a new dad. Jumpy every time his phone rings. He takes way more calls than the rest of us because his wife is seriously nervous about being a mom. Therefore she calls him like three hundred times a day. Matt’s single, lives on his boat, keeps to himself mostly. Rodger’s married, a chill kind of guy, always upbeat. Leonard’s divorced, his oldest daughter’s sick. He doesn’t talk about it much but I know the medical bills are killing him. He sold his boat and his motorcycle to pay for her treatment. His ex is kinda bitchy, she comes around sometimes. He meets her in the parking lot and is in a seriously bad mood when he comes back into the boathouse. My boss Travis is a nice guy. Smart, jovial, understanding but still demanding. He expects everyone to be the best they can be.” Silver stopped and shrugged her shoulders. “Those are the guys I work with the most. There’s another crew and I’ve filled in with them when someone’s been sick or needed time off, but I don’t know them really.”

“We’ll start with Gary and Leonard,” Nixon announced. “Do you want McKenna to run the searches or is there someone at DHS you have in mind to do it?”

That question was for Alec and the longer the man took to answer, the more Weston studied his friend. There was certainly something working behind his eyes, but it was in the way Alec held himself stiff that worried Weston.

“McKenna,” Alec finally replied.

“There something going on we should be made aware of?” Weston asked.

“Possibly.”

“You care to share?” Weston pressed.

“Not yet.”

Weston thought about Alec’s answer and found it was unacceptable. If there was something going on at DHS he wanted to know. Not for himself, not even for his team, but Silver’s well-being was wrapped up in this case and if something was going on that was going to put her at risk he needed to know.

“Normally I’d appreciate your discretion and wait until you were ready to discuss whatever’s obviously eating at you. But Silver’s ass is out there, she’s swinging. Something I was clear from the beginning I didn’t want. Things have changed and now not only do I not want her in anymore danger, I really don’t want it. So if something’s going on that’s gonna put her out there more than she already is, I need to know. And I need that information now.”

“You don’t say.” Alec’s snide comment was out of character and unappreciated. But before Weston could tell him he needed to check his attitude, Alec went on. “I’m not thrilled about some of the pushback I’m getting. I’m not sure if it’s simply political red tape or if there’s a different reason I’m catching so much shit for pushing this operation.”

“You’re catching shit?” Jameson inquired.

“I wasn’t a few months ago. But the more intel we get and the closer we are to nailing whoever’s in charge, the more shit I’m catching. My boss is getting squirrelly—community leaders are involved and I don’t like it when people around me start shifting their loyalties.”

Weston could understand that. All of it actually—one of the many reasons he himself had turned down offers from DHS and the CIA. Weston had learned a lot during his time in the Navy. More, once he became a member of the Special Forces community. One of those things was, he despised people sitting behind a desk with no real-life or real-time data-making decisions that his ass was going to pay for.

Politics and red tape had no place on the battlefield. Or in this situation, encroaching while they were in the middle of an operation to take down a drug lord.