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Vince nodded. His left leg bounced in an uneasy beat. An audible swallow filled the room as he searched for the right things to say.
“We have to stop him,” Sebastian mused to himself. “Now.”
“I know this is none of my business, sir, and it’s certainly not my place to ask, but when are you going to fill the others in?”
Sebastian tilted his head. His eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. “Is the burden becoming too much for you, Agent Pellagreeni?”
The stocky blond shook his head in adamant denial. “No, sir. Not at all. It’s just we can’t do this on our own, and quite honestly, every time I look at Agent Reevers, I feel guilty. It’s almost like I’m sneaking around his back or something.”
The laugh that escaped him was quiet and humorless. “We aren’t lovers, Vincent. Josh is my partner.”
“I know that, sir. That’s why I feel bad. He should be in on these things as well, and I swear to Christ, it’s like the man knows. The looks he’s been giving me lately are far from friendly.”
“He’s not the warm and cuddly sort,” Sebastian quipped, his patience starting to waver. “All those years spent as my partner have sucked the joy right out of him.”
“Understandable, sir.”
Sebastian’s head snapped up. A heavy flush settled over Vince’s cheeks and his pained expression said he immediately wished he could take the words back. Feeling generous, he decided to let the small quip slide with a warning.
“We aren’t here to make friends, Vincent. If that’s what you are looking for I suggest you reevaluate the situation and take a good look around. I’ve discussed my suspicions with Josh before and it’s my impression that he’s not ready to hear how far this has gone. Not yet. When it’s time, I will let him know. We can’t afford to lose him or anyone else for that matter.”
“And if he does switch sides, sir? What then?”
Sebastian’s jaw jutted as he pursed his lips and cocked his head with a grim shake. “Then we are in for one hell of a difficult fight.”
A sullen look crawled over Vince’s face. His eyes darted to the crystal decanter perched on the desk and lingered long enough that Sebastian decided to put the poor man out of his misery. Snaring a tumbler, he poured his teammate a tall one. His expression remained neutral as he slid it across the smooth surface. Engulfing the glass in his hands, Vincent mumbled a quiet word of thanks before downing its contents in a single gulp.
A knock drew both men’s attention. Swiping the back of his hand across his mouth, Vincent turned in his seat as the door swung open. Not waiting for the guard to announce his arrival or his purpose, Josh strode into the room. His steely gaze settled on the man seated across from Sebastian’s desk before narrowing ever so slightly.
He was hard pressed to contain his amusement when Vince swiveled back to face him with a look of blatant suffering.
“Sorry to interrupt your little powwow,” Josh stated dryly, “but Marx is calling a meeting. He’s got some new recruits he’d like to introduce.”
“So I’ve heard,” Sebastian said. “Thank you for your time, Agent Pellagreeni. You’re free to go. Take your reports with you.”
Vince snatched the mock files he’d brought with him off the corner of the desk and scooted past Josh, careful to give the man a wide berth on his way past.
“What’s with him?”
Sebastian shrugged as his partner jutted a thumb toward the door. “He’s under the impression you think we’re having an affair.”
Josh blinked. A stupefied look crawled across his face as he tried to process that claim. “Wait. Do what now?”
“Nothing. It’s not important.”
“Uh…I’d say it’s pretty damn important if the man thinks I’m…” he trailed off with a mute shake of his head. “At least tell me he thinks I’m the top in this relationship.”
Sebastian leveled him with a pointed look.
Snorting, Josh nodded. “Right. I’ll set him straight later. If he needs a little cuddle from you now and then, I’m okay with that as long as it doesn’t cut into our time.”
“Fuck off.”
“See. There’s the Baas we all know and love. How could anyone resist that?” Josh asked, delivering a needling elbow to his side as they started to make their way down the hall toward the conference room. “Speaking of, how’s Tay holding up?”
“She’s fine.”
“Yeah? You don’t embellish much, do you?”
“There’s nothing to tell. She’s got a concussion and she’s a little banged up, but she’ll be fine.”
“Okay. Sorry I asked,” Josh said, his voice taking on a defensive edge. “How about you, Baas? How are you doing?”
“Tired. I haven’t slept worth a damn in two days and this is the last place I want to be.”
“Yeah. I get that,” Josh muttered.
They let the conversation die as they came to a stop outside the conference room doors. Sucking in a deep breath, Sebastian pushed the heavy barriers open and let his gaze roam across the room. A wave of unease rippled through him as he took in the familiar faces of his teammates along with several new ones belonging to men he’d never met. It was bad enough wondering where each man was going to land before. Now Marx had added several new ones to the fray. It was an unsettling feeling to know that might have been the kind of security the director was banking on.
Marx sat at the head of the table with his arms folded and a stern look of impatience stamped across his features. He offered little more than a curt nod of acknowledgement as Sebastian and Josh took their seats.
“Good. Now that we are all here, we can get this meeting underway. As some of you may have heard, our security crew took a few hits yesterday. I will be bringing in replacements for those men soon, but until then things are going to be tight. To compensate for this strain, I’ve limited the number of people we will be allowing in and out of this building. All necessary inquisitions are to be made at one of our desert facilities.”
A quiet rumble of acceptance rose around the table. Marx rocked back in his chair. His thick fingers tented beneath his chin. The heavy silver rings between his knuckles glinted beneath the dim, golden light.
“As of now, we still have no word on Patrick James or his whereabouts. Would someone care to explain to me why that is?”
“It’s not that we haven’t been trying, Marx. The guy is just slippery as shit.”
The director’s dark gaze landed on Josh. “I don’t care about your excuses, Reevers. I want results. That brings me to you, Sebastian. Whatever efforts your team is making, I expect them doubled. I don’t care if that means you are living, breathing, eating, sleeping, and shitting SKALS twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. Track him down and bring him to me.”
Sebastian’s fists knotted beneath the table. More time away from home. Away from Taylor, at a time when she needed him the most. The short crescents of his nails sank deep into his palms. The time for being nice was quickly ending. Patrick James was starting to become more than a minor annoyance in his life. If the man had any brains at all, he would book one of those tickets to Mars people were raffling off and take his ex-wife with him.
“Is that understood, Agent Baas?”
He glanced up. The tone of Marx’s voice clearly indicated this was a repeated question. Pulling himself from his thoughts, he nodded. “You will have him.”
“Let’s hope so,” the director said flatly. “I’m sure you’ve all noticed the new faces joining us today. You can get introductions out of the way later. For now, all you need to know is I am in the process of putting together a second team. After their training, they will be working in tandem with your efforts to locate Mr. James. Perhaps they will find something you gentlemen missed.”
“Poor fuckers,” Josh muttered beneath his breath.
Marx raised a brow in their direction. “Is there something you wish to share with the room, Agent Reevers?”
“No, sir. Not really. I mean
, unless they’d like to spend some time with Baas. I’m more than willing to share him with someone else for a while.”
“If you want to keep making jokes, you can spend some time alone in a reconditioning cell. Perhaps that will give you the liberation you need,” Marx retorted.
“Uh…no. No thanks, boss. I’m good.” Lips pressed together in a grim line, he offered a comical farce of a smile to the newcomers seated at the table as he lifted his hands in an open spread. “Welcome to the team, boys. I hope you enjoy your stay as much as we have.”
The comment drew several quiet snickers. Even Jackson, who was still relatively wet behind the ears, fought to hide a knowing smile. Seeing that, Sebastian tilted his head in interest. Maybe the new kid would prove himself useful after all. He swung his gaze back to Marx as the director shifted in his seat. Tension thrummed through him, as their commander pinned his partner with a calculating stare. There was a strong measure of truth to the saying “no good deed goes unpunished.” That was the standard with Marx rather than the exception, and the look he leveled on the man seated beside Sebastian warned his attempts to add a little humor and levity to their lives would not go unanswered.
