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“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Carson shouted and planted a kiss on both his and Rafe’s cheeks. “I was about to abort this entire mission.”

“That was the loudest I’ve ever heard him speak,” Garrett muttered as he gaped at Carson storming away with his treasured treat.

As the rest of the group came forward to collect their requested snacks, Garrett noticed some people were missing.

“Where’s Thea? I have her ice cream,” Garrett said, holding up the cold pint as he followed everyone into the command center.

“She’s in the air, so to speak, so you can throw that in the freezer for when she gets back,” McHugh said, his gaze stuck on the moving dot on one of Carson’s screens.

Carson’s command center included a table with multiple monitors and computer equipment that rivaled Riley’s setup. Carson sat in front of them like a conductor ready to begin a symphony, the bag of chips open next to him.

“In the air?”

“Danvers and Babs are following the package by car, but Danvers is piloting a drone from the passenger seat so we know for sure who makes handoffs and so we can get photo evidence of anyone who may be involved,” McHugh explained. “We’ll decide the next step once we see what we’re dealing with at the dropoff site.”

The team surrounded Carson and watched the screens with varying displays of interest. Garrett’s eyes darted across the monitors, trying to take in everything.

A little too much munching and crunching filled the room as everyone busied themselves with their snacks. Garrett couldn’t help grinning as he caught Anatoly sharing some jerky with Brookie.

Robin sat atop a table pushed against the far wall eating some baby carrots and watching the entire room with his sniper’s eye, and Miguel busied himself by inspecting the bruise darkening Rafe’s eye from the fight the night before. Garrett winced at the reminder of that punch, the only solid hit he got on Rafe. The rest of their fight turned into more of a wrestling match. Garrett still couldn’t believe Carson infiltrated the security cameras at the gym so the merc team could watch him there too. These guys really took their spy games seriously. It almost didn’t seem real.

Meanwhile, McHugh stood over everyone, carefully watching the tracker on Carson’s screens. For a moment, Garrett observed him, wondering how he could play the part of a doofus for so long.

It was still a mindfuck to consider everything he thought he knew only a week ago. Garrett never could have predicted anything that happened in the last eight days.

Has it really only been eight days?

Rafe came back into his life and turned it upside down to the point Garrett had lost the concept of time, like a high school student in the middle of summer or an author in the middle of a chaotic book, the days of the week all blended together.

Garrett shook away these thoughts and tried to refocus on the mission. Antsy, he moved his hands under his jean-clad thighs and swung his legs where he sat atop a metal table. He didn’t want to think about what the table was used for when this was a functioning slaughterhouse.

The metal creaked as someone joined him, and he turned to see Anatoly studying him. Suddenly he felt a bit naked despite being fully clothed. He pulled his hands out from under his legs and shoved them in his hoodie pocket, trying to ignore Anatoly’s stares. After another minute, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Can I help you?” Garrett muttered.

“How are you doing, Tovarishch?”

“What does Tovarishch mean?” Garrett asked, likely butchering the pronunciation.

“It means comrade. You are one of us now, yes?”

Garrett couldn’t help squirming in discomfort. He had no idea what his future held after they finished with this fiasco. He knew he wanted to discuss it with Rafe before anyone else. In the meantime, he could try to get to know these guys better.

“We’ll see. I’m doing fine, though.”

“Mm. You look like you believe that. That is good start.”

Anatoly smiled with way too many teeth, and Garrett couldn’t help saying, “Do you know you kinda smile like the Joker?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Jared Leto or Jack Nicholson?

“More like Heath Ledger, actually,” Garrett answered.

Anatoly released a breath, “Oh, thank goodness. That is good thing. Thank you.”

It was impossible not to laugh at the guy. Maybe he was more fun than Garrett first expected.

“How long have you been with these guys?”