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“I know,” I said. “But I’m asking you to do it anyway.”
“I’ll let you know what I find,” she promised, turning back to her computer, her fingers flying over the keyboard.
“So, you’re going to stick with your boyfriend’s hunch?” Merlin teased as we walked toward the coffee machine together.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said. I didn’t know what the hell we were, but I was sure we were in a place to even begin talking about things like labels. For the moment, I wanted to try just being happy and let it go from there.
“Raptor feels it, too,” Merlin reminded me, handing me a paper cup of hot coffee. “This nagging feeling that it can’t all be coincidence. So if Zane blows up, at least you’ll have cover with Rap.”
“I don’t need protection from Everest Marsh,” I snapped, rolling my eyes. “Yeah, Zane is in command, but we’re a team. And if Zane’s not going to listen, then yeah, I’m going to go around him on this one.”
“Ballsy,” Merlin teased.
Probably. But I just wasn’t ready to let the theory go. If I was wrong, then it wasn’t our resources being wasted. If I was right, then maybe we’d take down a domestic terror kingpin and save the world.
Better safe than sorry.
Chapter Twelve
~Max~
When I woke up it took me a second to realize why it felt weird that I was alone. Because Seamus had been next to me when I’d fallen asleep.
I understood why he probably left. I wasn’t ready to answer questions from the squad about what we were, or weren’t, to each other, so most likely he wasn’t either. It would be easier for the moment if we just kept whatever it was that we had to ourselves.
After checking my phone and ensuring I didn’t have any urgent messages, I ran through the shower and got dressed before heading down to the Situation Room, where I assumed the squad would be gathering.
When I reached the bottom of the staircase leading to the Sit Room, I saw Brian standing there waiting to go inside.
“Hey man,” I said, as I walked up next to him. “How’s it going?”
“Fine,” he said, sounding a little distracted. “I’m just getting back from Blake International again.”
“You’ve been spending quite a bit of time at BIH,” I said, trying to keep my voice casual. “Have you found anything yet?”
“Anything like what?” he asked, his gaze narrowing as he turned to look at me.
We were standing in an unsecured hallway, and I didn’t really want to discuss classified information before we went inside, but something felt off about Scout and to be honest…I was a little worried.
“Like where the breaches originated? Or how someone you and Richard Blake were in foster care with ended up behind the wheel of that fuel truck?”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Scout yelled, rounding on me. “You just fucking got here. Don’t act like you know anything about what’s been going on.”
“Hey,” I said, holding my hands up defensively in front of myself. “I’m not—”
“Yes, you are. You and Everest. Fuck, I sit in that room every day and I watch all this shit happening, and I can’t stop it. I can’t protect anybody. Then, when I do something to try to eke out a little happiness, just a tiny fucking bit, for once in my life, there you are, accusing the only person who has always been there for me. Always protected me.” His gaze was fire as he glared at me, his chest heaving and his fingers curling into fists at his side. “You don’t know what you’re fucking talking about.”
“Look,” I said, trying to diffuse the tension between us. He was going off on what felt like multiple tangents there and I really didn’t want to get in the middle of any of it. “We’re all on edge right now. Do you really think that every man on this squad doesn’t feel responsible for what’s happened? Like we enjoy watching the world burn down around us while we chase our fucking tails?”
“Of course not,” Scout insisted. “But I don’t know why you can’t all trust me when I tell you that Ricky is innocent.”
“Ricky?” I felt my eyebrows raise in surprise. Just how close were he and Richard Blake becoming? “Dude, I’m not telling you how to live your life. I’m just asking you to be careful.”
I never even saw it coming, maybe believing that Scout just didn’t have it in him, but when his fist connected with my face, I was knocked backward from the force of the hit and stood staring at him in shock for a minute.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Scout snapped. “I’m not a fucking child.”
“Well you’re fucking acting like one,” I yelled back.
