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“That kid’s ready to shit a brick. I’m thinking the guy next to him is his old man. Probably dragged him into this mess.”
His partner rubbed his jaw then nodded. “Okay.” Sloane turned and signaled Ash over.
“What’s going on?” the surly agent asked, and Dex could tell Sloane was trying hard not to smile when he spoke.
“We’re going with the Deceptive Dash.”
As expected, Ash let out a low groan. “Fuck me.” He glared at Sloane. “I can’t believe you not only allowed him to make this a thing, but you let him name it.”
Sloane shrugged, his eyes lit up with amusement. “You couldn’t come up with anything better.”
“Because I didn’t agree with the stupid idea.”
“Yeah, well, it’s effective, so suck it up.” Sloane gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder, chuckling at their teammate’s pout.
“Who’s the target?” Ash grumbled.
“The kid.” Dex tapped his earpiece. “Cael, drive the BearCat up.”
“Copy that.”
Dex headed toward the approaching BearCat and hopped into the back when his brother opened the doors.
“What’s up?”
“We’re doing the Deceptive Dash.” Dex positioned himself to one side of the truck, hearing Ash cursing and growling as he approached.
“I can’t believe you convinced Sloane to adopt that as an official strategy,” Cael said with a laugh, settling in behind the surveillance console. Guess his brother was going to stick around for the show. “Ash hates it.”
Dex wriggled his brows. “I know.” Though he knew Ash’s disapproval of the maneuver stemmed from it being Dex’s idea and that it worked. His teammate especially didn’t approve of having his name married with Dex’s to form “Dash.” For all his bitching, Ash couldn’t deny their clashing personalities had a way of providing results when it came to interrogations. Ash was the kind of guy who made babies cry just by looking at them. The maneuver was less “bad cop/good cop,” and more “holy fuck get him away from me/I’ll talk to you because you’re not psychotic.” The best part was, there was little acting involved.
“Get the fuck in there.” Ash shoved the wide-eyed teen into the back of the BearCat so rough he stumbled. Dex caught him before he could run headfirst into something and knock himself out.
“Jesus, Keeler, take it easy.” Dex ducked his head to look at the kid. “You okay?”
The kid pressed his lips together, his brows furrowed. Dex motioned to the long bench where the team usually sat.
“Why don’t you take a seat, um…. What’s your name?”
“You gonna sing him a lullaby too, Daley?” Ash snorted.
Dex ignored Ash, his focus on the kid who’d reluctantly taken a seat on the bench. “What’s your name?”
He received no reply. Ash stormed over and grabbed a fistful of the kid’s shirt, hauling him off his feet with a snarl. “He asked you a fucking question. Are you going to cooperate, or am I going to have to shift and pick my teeth with your scrawny ass bones?”
Dex schooled his expression, doing his best not to laugh at Ash’s cheesy lines. The kid’s eyes widened, a squeak escaping him when Ash dropped him roughly onto the seat and loomed over him. “You got five seconds to state your name before I get really pissed. Five.”
“Keeler,” Dex sighed. “That’s not going to help.”
Ash rounded on him, poking him in the vest. “That’s your problem, Daley. Too busy making daisy chains and cracking jokes to get your hands dirty.”
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Dex planted his hands on his hips. Ash stepped closer, his voice a low growl, but Dex wasn’t intimidated.
“It means you don’t got the balls to get in there and do what you gotta do, always trying to be the good guy.”
“I am the good guy. We’re all the good guys! Screw you, man. I know how to do my job, and just because I don’t go around scaring old ladies or trying to make it rain vengeance and wrath, doesn’t mean I’m afraid to get my hands dirty.”
Nostrils flaring, Ash stormed over to the kid and lifted him off his seat again. “Now you listen to me, you little shit. Every minute you spend not talking, is another minute I gotta be in here with that gummy-bear-eating, Cheesy-Doodle-crunching, eighties-music-singing asshole, and that puts me in a bad mood. Do you want to put me in a bad mood?”
