AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Cookie,” I answered, tilting my head back at him.
I hadn’t seen Seamus in almost three years, and I was less than thrilled at how my heart, and my cock, swelled a little when our gazes met. I’d been obsessed with that man since the first moment I’d ever laid eyes on him, and time hadn’t seemed to dull the infatuation.
When I’d gotten the call to drop my assignment and join the Phoenix Squad, I’d almost begged off. Not that I didn’t want the opportunity to work with them again, but I’d made such a mess of things with Seamus, that I was scared to come back.
The worst part was that I knew every ounce of animosity between us was completely my fault. And his open disdain for me wasn’t unwarranted. In my desperation to impress him, I’d swung too far into grandstanding, and he just thought I was a showoff. And by time I’d realized my mistake, it had been too late to fix what I’d broken.
“Did Jack catch you up?” Zane asked, walking over and gripping my hand tightly in his.
“He did,” I assured Zane. Jack Sinclair, the head of JSOC, had sent over the most absurd collection of nonsense I’d ever read in my life, but at least he’d sent me something. “I mean, as much as he knew. I was kind of hoping you had more direct information.”
“Sorry.” Zane shook his head. “The last few weeks have been fucking crazy and the information we have is about as broken as you probably heard.”
“We’re still waiting on the autopsy for the truck driver that Diesel took out,” Everest added. “And we’re hopeful that will point us in some kind of direction, but so far we don’t have much to go on about where this threat is really coming from.”
That was disheartening. From what I understood, GPS systems had been knocked out for multiple U.S. military facilities around the world, cell towers were being hijacked and shut down around the country, and everything that Phoenix Squad had thought they’d discovered, had actually been planted for them to find.
“But you’re confident that whatever’s going on is focused on the United States?” I asked, turning to look back at Brian.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’ve been in and out of Blake International Holdings for days, trying to find weaknesses in their systems, an access point for someone to exploit, but they’re the best cyber security company in the world for a reason.”
That part had been in my dossier, too. That every system that had been compromised was operated by the same government contractor, and that Scout had been personally overseeing the investigation with their full cooperation.
It didn’t sit right with me, but I was coming in fresh, and they didn’t need me rehashing leads they’d already vetted. If Scout was comfortable with BIH, I’d keep my mouth shut and try to remain objective.
“The last couple of days have been quiet,” Everest said. “No more cell disruptions, no GPS tampering and no sign of the fifth stolen fuel truck. We don’t know if the organizer has figured out that we know about the planted evidence or if they’re regrouping after the failed attempt on the stadium or what.”
“And now you’re caught up,” Merlin said. “We know fuck all, same as you. Welcome to the team.”
Seamus kicked out the seat next to him for me and I settled into it, trying desperately not to stare at the man, but it was difficult. I hadn’t seen him in so long, but I was pretty sure he’d gotten even more attractive in the three years we’d worked separately.
“What are we working on now?” I asked, turning back to Zane again.
“Scout and Raptor are going server by server to see if they can tell who or what else might have been compromised,” Zane explained. “I’m working with the FBI, the NSA and the CIA, along with Spencer…I mean…President Thomas, to try to locate the final missing fuel truck.”
“And Merlin and I were going to go trolling for guys,” Seamus said.
“What do you want to do?” Zane snapped.
“Fucking anything,” Michael answered with a shrug. “We’re like the red headed step kids…or, Cookie is, anyway. And what’s Shooter McGavin going to do without a target to hit?” Merlin pointed at me but kept his gaze locked on our commanding officer.
This felt like an old argument that I’d somehow wandered into, so I kept my mouth shut and dropped my gaze to my hands which were folded on the table.
Seamus’ leg bumped against mine and when I turned to glance at him I could see a smile tugging at his lip before he winked at me.
For the first time since I’d walked into the room, I felt myself relax a little. Maybe this time would be different between us. I know I’d grown up a lot after three years of active ops duty. And I no longer felt the need to prove myself to anyone. If Seamus could forgive me for how I’d behaved in the past, maybe we’d even manage to be friends.
I wasn’t naïve enough to hope for more, not yet anyway. But I’d been crazy about Seamus O’Malley since the first time I’d laid eyes on him, and time hadn’t done anything to stop that feeling.
“I could use someone at the Pentagon,” Brian said loudly, drawing everyone’s attention over to him. “I can’t access their files remotely and I need to stay here while I’m sifting through this shit. Merlin could get the fuck out of here and go be busy elsewhere.”
“That sounds delightful,” Michael agreed, already getting to his feet. “I just walk in and ask to talk to the mainframe?”
“Exactly,” Brian said. “Just like that.”
“I’m not completely stupid,” Michael snapped. “Who’s the…you, over there I need to talk to?”
“Tabitha Crane,” Brian answered. “She’ll help you with anything you need.”
