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His face falls and he looks at me deadpan, “Fuck off, Wolf.”
I chuckle and focus on the TV. The silence is eaten up by the sound of Madd shooting zombies while Seb chugs his beer. This right here is what I live for. I don’t need one-night stands or release with another person. My right-hand does a perfectly good job.
I never really understood hookup culture. Sure, the idea of sleeping with someone and having no strings attached soundsgreat. But it never works out that way…example tonight. All I need are my friends to sit beside me, drinking and playing video games, while we have zero worries.
Seb’s phone buzzes on the side table at the same time as mine goes off. All three of us tense. We know exactly what it means when all of us get a message and it always ends up with us packing our bags and heading out to babysit.
Spencer:0900 at HQ. I have a new assignment for you assholes. Don't be late.
I groan and chuck my phone onto the table. So much for a fucking break.
???
It’s only a fifteen-minute drive from our shitty apartment in Brooklyn to the fancy U.S. Marshal Headquarters right in the center of the city. The entire drive is eerily quiet as the three of us get into the right mindset.
I might complain about some of our jobs being boring but that doesn’t mean we take it any less seriously. We have had hard jobs too, where the person we were protecting was being chased by their demons. We learned real fast that you have to be on your game at all times.
When the tall shiny glass skyscraper comes into view I prepare myself mentally for the next hour. It’ll be a whole tidal wave of information about our assignment and we are expectedto memorize it all. I’m sure some of the Marshals might think that it’s not that serious but those little details can be life or death.
Madd navigates our SUV down into the underground parking garage, scanning his ID to lift the barrier. Once we park, all three of us exit without a word and head straight for the elevator.
Spencer Daniel’s office is on the very top floor. He’s been our case manager since we started on two years ago and I’ve grown fond of the bastard. I used to get tense and anxious coming in here, thinking he was going to be like most bureaucratic cock suckers, but he’s down to earth. I joke that he’s an old man but really he’s only about ten or so years older than us.
His secretary, Lacey, waves us in without a word. She scares me more than he ever did. She’s like ninety-something years old and still going strong. I highly doubt this building would run without her saying so.
We don’t bother knocking, just heading straight in and going to our usual places. Madd against the window, facing the door. Seb is on the couch, lounging back with his legs manspreading. And me, leaning against the wall near the door so I can bolt if necessary.
Spencer is sitting behind his desk, not even bothering to look up as he types away. After a few minutes of overwhelming silence, Spence turns to us with a serious look.
“Boys,” He greets with a stiff nod, “I know you just got back but this is an important one.”
Aren't they all though? Spencer is a lot like us. He believes that every person in witness protection is important. They all deserve top-notch care, even if they aren’t top-notch people. And trust me, some of the scumbags we watch over are the lowest of the low…but they tend to also be the only ones with the ability to rat on the head honchos of the world.
“Why is this one so important, Spencer?” Maddox asks from his perch across the room, his gaze fixed on Spence.
Spencer sighs, some of the tense sternness fading away, “I’ve had this case for the last nine years. I was one of the original watchers and I’m fond of the protectee.”
Well, that’s a little surprising. Sure, some of our clients stay on for years but usually once we get them settled into their new lives we can quietly step back. They get their fresh start, we get the info we need, and everyone walks away happy. For someone to be in the program for nine years with constant watchers means the threat is still aliveandthe program finds them important.
“Nine years is a long time,” Sebastian says casually. He must have caught onto the same thing I did…thisclientis important.
Spence gives a sharp nod, “She’s been through a lot and she hasn’t once caused any issues. I haven’t had one single watcherwantto leave that detail.”
I tilt my head to the side and try to understand his words. None of us like long-term jobs. It uproots everything. Instead of sitting here and trying to guess the reasons I just ask, “Then why is she getting new watchers? If her current ones are happy, then we aren’t needed.”
Spence grimaces and glances down at his desk, shuffling through some folders before finding the one he wants. “Dakota Blackwood was the only witness to the murders that Rodrigo Sandoval committed nine years ago. She’s the only reason he’s in prison. Two days ago, he managed to message her and outright told her that he knew she was in Maine.”
My brows furrow. We haveallheard about the Sandoval case. The guy is a fucking psychopath. He went on a whole killing spree nine years ago. Started taking out the higher-ups in his organization out of nowhere. He was the head of the cartel up until that night. His second in command and his family werebutchered by him right before he went to the Blackwood Estate and killed Charles Blackwood. The rumor was that Charles was caught up in the financial side of the cartel and managed to piss off Rodrigo but that was never verified. His daughter was found beaten pretty badly, and then no one heard from her again. I didn’t know she was in the program. I just figured she gave her statement and then chose to disappear. No one would have blamed her.
“How did he find her?” Maddox asks, his posture tense and ready. He fuckinghatesthe cartel so I already know that we are taking this job.
“We have no idea,” Spencer replies, running a hand through his salt and pepper hair, “We can’t even trace where it originated. He’s still up in max.”
“But that doesn’t answer why her watchers are being replaced,” I restate my original observation. I get that Madd wants this case but I need all the details.
“Lucas Sanderson and Dave Moore don’t believe that they are equipped to handle this,” Spence states, matter-of-fact, “Neither of themwantsto give up the post but ultimately, they want to keep Dakota and Aiden safe. Plus both of them are looking at retirement within the next year.”
“Aiden?” Seb inquires, brows furrowed.
