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“Cheeky doesn’t begin to cover it.” Reuben slapped his hand away. “It’s bad enough dealing with you, but her? No.”
Emerson glanced up. “The decision has already been made, Reuben. Deal with it.”
Reuben shut his mouth, but he still seemed agitated. Steel shook his head at him. “Relax. I’ve got my eye on her.”
That produced a snort from Reuben. “Cass kicked you to the curb already?”
“No.” Steel’s face hardened into a deadly look. “We’re fine.”
Julia rolled her eyes. “Man, you people are so touchy when it comes to women.” She walked over to the other woman and smiled at her, clapping her on the back. “How do you deal with it, Gabby?”
Gabby, a pretty girl with long brown hair and body armor covering just about all of her, grinned. “I tune them out. It’s not bad unless he’s around.” Her eyes went to Steel, who winked at her.
Emerson stood up, breaking back into the conversation. “Enough. Reuben, get Steel a manifest of the crew and gather up the men. He and Carter will be conducting interviews regarding our missing shipment. Ethan and I are going to check out a few fences across town.”
Reuben blinked, looking shocked. “Interviews? Captain, is that necessary?”
“Someone knew exactly where we would be and when. You’ve ruled out the suppliers, so that leaves this crew and Archuleta’s men. We’ll make it to them soon enough. For now, I want to rule out as many possibilities as we can. So yes, we’re doing interviews.”
Reuben looked from the captain to Steel and then to Julia. “Are you sure having them both do that is wise?”
“Are you questioning me?” Emerson’s voice turned cold. I suppressed a sigh. I didn’t want to listen to his posturing. Emerson had to assert himself as the captain, I understood that, but I didn’t like listening to it.
Reuben’s jaw tightened. “No, sir.”
“Then do as I ordered.”
Without another word, Reuben stalked away. Julia watched him go, looking faintly pained. “Now he’s going to be in a bad mood and a real butt to deal with.”
“Too much for you to handle, Carter?” Emerson eyed her, still looking annoyed.
“No.” She walked back over to our group. “It just sucks.”
“Then quit complaining. I have enough to deal with without having to listen to everyone around me gripe.”
She sniffed but said nothing. Emerson turned to Steel. “Be thorough. Go get a room setup.”
Steel nodded and looked at Julia, motioning towards the door. “After you.”
She snorted. “As if. Lead the way.”
“Have it your way.” Steel headed for the door. Julia glanced hesitantly at me. I nodded at her, and she nodded back. I didn’t necessarily like separating from her, but Emerson was the one calling the shots. Neither of us had a say. She followed Steel out the door.
Emerson gave me an assessing look. “How good are you in a fight?”
“I can hold my own.”
That answer didn’t seem to satisfy him, but he nodded. “Fine. I guess you’ll do. Let’s get going.” His dismissal of my capabilities annoyed me, but I didn’t say anything. Let him figure out my uses on his own. I didn’t need to prove myself to him.
“Where are we going first?”
“Downtown. There’s a little place on 43rdstreet that might be able to help us. Let me do all the talking.” His eyes roved around the room. “Gabby, how are the repairs coming?”
“Almost complete, Captain.”
“Good. Keep everything moving. We’ll be back soon.”
“Yes, sir.”
