Chapter 30

Dix hada bad feeling about this.

One, he couldn't figure out why Doc wanted Chalmers present. Two, the fact that Doc wasn't sharing whatever was on his mind until Chalmers got there?

Thatwas scary as fuck.

As soon as he'd walked into their apartment, Dix had known something was wrong. He felt it, almost like electricity. And when Doc asked him to bring in Chalmers, that nailed it. Once he'd made the call, he'd expected Doc to calm down, but his agitation increased.

This is bad, isn't it?

"Can't you even give me a hint?" Dix asked.

Doc stopped pacing up and down the living room for a second. "I went through Chalmers's boss's files. They know I'm doing it."

"What do you mean?"

Doc sighed. "They left a very obvious trail for me to find, I think. I guess three failed attempts on my life were getting a bit frustrating."

That chilled him to the bone. "Disengage now, Doc."

"Oh, it's too late for that. They already know I'm in. Whoever they are, they're way better than me. The thing is, I think they're so confident in their ability, they're letting me take a peek."

"Why would they do that?"

Doc shrugged. "Two reasons I can think of. First, maybe the person knows what's going on, kind of like I did, and this is how they're helping to stop him. Two, they're so certain they're in control, they figure they can give me a little and then shut me down." He sighed. "But that wasn't why I needed you to call Chalmers, although I do think he needs to watch his ass." A shiver traveled through him. "I just hope I'm wrong."

Dix's phone buzzed, and he clicked Answer. "Has Agent Chalmers arrived?"

"Yes, sir," Grayson replied.

"Send him up here." He ended the call, then peered at Doc. "Show time."

A few minutes later, there was a tap at the door, and he went to open it.

Chalmers stood there, frowning. "Why all the cloak-and-dagger antics?" he demanded as he came into the apartment.

Dix pointed to Doc. "Ask him." He gestured to the dining table. "Let's sit." He needed to know what the fuck was going on.

Doc waited until he and Chalmers were seated before launching into a rapid, babbling stream of words that made little sense.

Dix held his hands up. "Whoa there, Doc. Slow down."

Doc took a breath. "Have either of you heard of Aaron Spencer?"

Dix frowned. "That name rings a bell." He searched his memory. "Yeah. CrossBow was hired to guard him a few times before he created his own security force. Some kind of do-gooder, isn't he? I think there's talk about him wanting to go into politics."

"A do-gooder with his own security force?" Chalmers stared at them. "Why would he even need such a thing?"

"I think I know." Another shiver rippled through Doc. "Here's what I've gleaned so far."

Dix listened, struggling to see where Doc was going with this. "So he's gotten fed up of waiting for action from the government and decided to do what needs to be done. What's wrong with that?"

Doc gaped at him. "You don't see it, do you? Either of you."

"See what?" Chalmers seemed as lost as Dix.

"Okay, let me paint you a picture." Doc took another deep breath. "Spencer decides he wants to go into politics. Nothing wrong with that, right? But suppose he wants to make sure he has a huge following before he sets out on that road. His company makes a name for itself by swooping in and cleaning up a lot of messes. Spencer starts to get noticed. Wins awards. Public acclamation."

"I'm still not seeing what's got you so worried," Dix confessed.

Doc swallowed. "Okay. All these messes…." He stared at them. "What if Spencer was the one to blame for them in the first place?"

Crickets.

Chalmers was the first to break the silence. "Let me see if I've got this right. You think Spencer created incidents primarily for him to swoop in and save the day? Why? The man has more money than God."

"I don't know. Maybe he's got a Messiah complex. Maybe he needs the adulation. Or maybe he just wants to get himself in the public eye before he announces he's gonna run for office. Whatever office he feels suits him. And let's not forget one really important fact." Doc met Chalmers's incredulous gaze. "Aaron Spencer… AS…. Do those initials ring a bell too?"

An icy wave washed over Dix. "Aw fuck."

Doc nodded. "It's him, I'm sure of it. He's the one who's taken over the development of the toxin, and he's using it for his own nefarious ends."

Dix leaned forward, his gaze locked on Doc. "Wow. You could be right." He grinned. "This is Grade-fucking-A detective work, Doc." Then his brow furrowed. "But what if it is him? How does that help us? Knowing it's him doesn't prove anything. Honestly, isn't this just supposition at this point?"

"I can do some digging," Chalmers said. "Let's see if Spencer had two killers on his payroll. In fact, let's take a closer look at his security staff," he air-quoted. He bit his lip. "Listen, with my boss missing, the office is in an uproar. I'd like to talk to… well, someone I used to be close with."

Doc's brows went up. "How close?"

Chalmers pushed out a sigh. "He's my ex. He's a good guy, and we parted amicably. Well… mostly. Let me run this by him so we're proceeding within the lines of the law. From this point on, everything has to be signed off on, especially if we're going to try to bring Spencer down. With the money he has, he could keep this tied up in court for decades. We need ironclad proof."

"And we need to keep this quiet," Dix urged. "No one outside this room, with the exception of Gary and Michael and Chalmers's friend, can know what we're doing."

"And what are we doing?" Doc asked, his eyes wide.

Dixon smiled. "We're going to catch this son of a bitch red-handed." He shrugged. "Or we could just shoot him. My money is on option B."

Chalmers coughed. "Within the lines of the law, remember? We should wait and see what Sam says."

Dix folded his arms. "Then make the call. He needs to meet with us, like, yesterday." He was still reeling from Doc's theories.

What kind of sick bastard does something like this?

The kind of sick bastard who needed to be stopped.

Doc,Dixon, and Chalmers sat at the conference room table, sipping iced water the setup crew had put out for them. Chalmers appeared deep in thought. He'd hardly uttered a word since calling Grady.

Doc twisted his fingers around each other until they were in almost in a knot, and Dix was pretty sure Doc's knee was bouncing in time to a beat only he could hear.

"He'll be here soon," Dixon told him.

Doc frowned. "I know. I'm worried about Coby. It's his first time alone."

That was a lie, but Dix wasn't about to call him on it. "He'll be fine, I promise." He pulled up the app on his phone, which showed Coby napping away on Doc's chair. He turned the phone around. "See? He misses his daddy, but he's fine."

As he was about to put it away, there was a quick beep. Dix swiped a finger over the screen and held the device to his ear. "Meeks."

"Hey, this is Grayson from the desk. I have a man here saying he's a US District Attorney, and he has a meeting with you."

"Which he does. Please send him to Conference Room B on the fifth floor."

"Will do, Dixon."

Dix slid the phone into his pocket again. "Well, time to get this show on the road."

"Fair warning," Chalmers said. "Sam can be… prickly." He rolled his eyes. "Or maybe just a prick. It could go either way, depending on his mood."

"Seeing as how he's meeting with you? I'm guessing we all know which way it will go," Dix snarked.

"Dixon…." Doc's voice held an edge of annoyance, and Dix winced. He didn't need to stress out his man more than he already was.

He held his hands up. "Sorry. I'll play nice."

"Don't do it on my account," Chalmers teased. "I mean, how else could I be sure it's really you if you're not your usual self?"

Dix jerked his head to stare at Doc. "See? He drags it out of me," he protested, pointing at Chalmers.

Doc smirked. "Best friends," he whispered.

As much as Dixon hated to admit it, he could see him and Chalmers becoming buddies. The man had risked his life for Doc on more than one occasion. He'd come to help him when the police accused him of having the poison, and thankfully Chalmers had been able to divert their attention. He'd been there for both of them.

Okay, so he isn't such a bad guy after all.

Bastard.

There was a knock at the door before Dix could reply, and Chalmers got up to answer it. A tall, really good-looking man entered, and Dix's first thought was that he seemed awfully young to be a US District Attorney. He was clean-shaven and dressed in a brown suit that brought out the color of his hair.

It's a good thing Doc can't read minds.Dix would be on the receiving end of some dirty looks. Then from the corner of his eye, he caught Doc giving the guy the once-over. Oh really?

Apparently, he and Doc both had excellent taste.

Grady and Chalmers shook hands. "Hey, Sam. Thanks for coming. We're in a bind, and we need some expert advice." He indicated Dix and Doc. "Dixon Meeks, Josh Malone, meet US District Attorney Sam Grady. Sam, these upstanding men—well, one of them—are Dr. Josh Malone and Dixon Meeks of CrossBow Protection Services."

"It's nice to meet you," Sam said in a perfunctory tone, his gaze locked on Chalmers. "Why did you call me?" he finally asked.

Chalmers blinked. "We need your help. Didn't I just say that?"

Sam sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Of course. It couldn't be because you wanted to meet up for dinner or something. That's how it always is with you. The job takes precedence over everything—and everyone—else. You only seem to care when you want something."

Chalmers grunted. "This from the man who works eighty hours a week and forgot my mother's birthday dinner."

Grady gaped at him. "Oh my God, will you let it go? I apologized to her, bought her a lavish gift she went absolutely crazy over, and you're still busting my chops about it."

Chalmers narrowed his eyes. "Sure, you were great to her. I gotta ask, though. Did you think about how I felt? Sitting there with my brothers and their wives, with an empty chair next to me. You know, the one that was supposed to be yours? You should've seen the looks I got from them, full of pity. And you couldn't even be bothered to answer your phone."

Dix leaned in closer, trying not to smile. This drama was better than dinner and a show. All it needed was popcorn.

"You both lead busy lives, we get it," Doc snarled. "Meanwhile, out here in the real world, people are dying. One of them was almost me." He glared at both men. "Can you two work together or not? If the answer is no, then there's the door. Thanks for stopping by."

Chalmers and Grady jerked their heads in Doc's direction. They appeared as though they'd forgotten where they were.

"Dr. Malone…," Grady began.

"Josh, please. I prefer it."

"Okay, then. Josh, I'm very sorry. That was unprofessional of me. Please accept my apologies. Yes, we can work together." He glanced at Chalmers. "Right, Jeff?"

Chalmers gave a brisk nod. "Yes, we can. I'm sorry too. I'm the one who asked for his help, so I should have been more grateful he could come in the first place. I'm sure you realize we have history."

Dix suppressed a snort. "Naw, never crossed our minds."

"Dixon!" Doc groused. "Stop goofing around."

That voice, a growl crossed with a snarl, was all kinds of hot. Dix hadn't realized Doc had it in him.

Down boy. There was a time and place to play. This wasn't either of them.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Dix smirked at Chalmers. "Later, then."

He got a grin in return. "Deal."

Grady shook his head, then focused his attention on Doc, who seemed to be the adult in the room. "So, tell me what's going on. Remember, this is unofficial only. I can't be giving you advice on something that might or might not be criminal, but I can talk to you in broad terms."

Doc laid out everything they had, holding nothing back, starting with getting caught hacking to being forced to work for the government, then his discovery of the files and his departure from his "service." Through it all, Grady sat, his eyes wide, and listened. When Doc got to the parts about the men who'd tried to kill him, Grady muttered something.

"What was that?" Dix asked.

"This isn't the government. It can't be."

"And yet, it was," Doc argued.

"No, I'm not talking about you being given the option to work for them. That's totally government. I mean what's happening now." He leaned back in his chair. "If the government wanted to get rid of you, they would have grabbed you and tossed you into the deepest, darkest hole they could find. The fact that you were able to essentially blackmail them into stopping was both brilliant and scary." His brow furrowed. "Whoever is doing this now isn't government."

"I think it's Aaron Spencer," Doc said. Then he launched into what he'd proposed earlier.

When he finished, Grady seemed less than impressed. "Spencer's a billionaire many times over. He's spent hundreds of millions cleaning up things that the government fucked up or places that Mother Nature tried to wipe from the map. He's received more Humanitarian awards than anyone else. Why would he do this?"

Doc looked to Dix, who nodded. Doc squared his shoulders. "I think he's using this as a platform to the presidency. I can't say why, but that's the feeling I'm getting."

Grady rubbed his chin. "And there's the problem right there. You can't use feelings as a reason to accuse someone." His lips twitched. "The courts won't allow it as an acceptable excuse to provide a search warrant either."

"Maybe he's right, Doc." As soon as the words slipped from his lips, Dix regretted them. The glance Doc gave him spoke of hurt and betrayal, and Dix hastened to make amends. "I'm not saying you aren't right, but we need proof. Right now, all this would be considered supposition. You can't toss out an accusation like that and not expect retaliation. If what you say is true—and believe me, my faith is in you—then Spencer has the means to hire the best and brightest. Why would he need to try and kill you?"

"Because he… he…." Doc hung his head. "I don't know."

Chalmers leaned in. "I think they're trying to pin something on Josh, hoping it will stick." He told Grady about the alleged poison found in Josh's old place. "They've also tried to kill him multiple times. Even if it's not Spencer, someone is after Josh. The why of it doesn't matter right now. Having him safe does. Being with Dixon is definitely helping, but it's not going to stop until Spencer—or whomever—is caught."

Grady rubbed a hand over his smooth chin, obviously deep in thought. "Okay, listen. I don't agree it's Spencer, but if you bring me proof…."He gave a resigned shrug. "Then I'll go to a judge who owes me a favor and see if we can't get a wiretap or warrant."

That was enough for Dix. He would do whatever he had to in order to protect Doc, and if that meant going up against Spencer, that was cool.

If nothing else, Dix would be able to take "punch a rich man in the face" off his bucket list.