Chapter Six

Eagle

“Sorry for crowding in,” Eagle said, dropping his duffle bag on the spare queen-sized bed in the motel room.

They had spent the rest of the evening at the blown-out building site before heading back to a roadside motel on the edge of town.

Jordan glanced up from the two laptops spread before him on the small desk along the wall. Empty coffee cups and fast-food wrappers littered the tabletop.

“It’s cool. I don’t mind,” the techie said before looking back at his computers.

Jordan had left the blast site shortly after Eagle had arrived, to do some research.

Eagle rubbed his palms together. He could still feel the pup’s small body resting trustingly in his hands while he’d watched Link’s fingers caressing the pup’s fur. He wanted those fingers on him. He wanted to have Link cup his face and tell him everything would be okay. That they were okay and they could keep the puppy and start a fam—

“I thought Link said Ice was coming with you when he called me,” Jordan broke into his thoughts.

Eagle shook off the stupid thoughts of Link and the future and answered Jordan honestly.

“Nah, Ice doesn’t play well with others.”

It was one of the things Eagle thought about where Ice was concerned. If the guy couldn’t work with a team bigger than two, he wasn’t going to fit. On the other hand, Pegasus still employed Fisher and he was an extreme loner…so there was that.

“I kind of suspected.” Jordan cracked a quick smile and turned back to the laptop.

“What are you looking at?” Eagle walked closer and sat on the edge of Jordan’s hotel bed, as it was closest to the desk. He gazed over the younger man’s shoulder at the computer screen.

“I’m looking for the perp’s possible revisit to the crime scene.”

“Find anything interesting?”

“Yeah, look at this.” Jordan pointed to a figure in the crowd of people standing behind yellow tape at the crime scene yesterday. “I swear that’s the same guy we’re chasing.”

“You sure?”

“Mhmm.” Jordan pulled up the photo from where someone was leaving the scene the first time, the one at the bus station, and then his latest one.

“I found out that the guy, Bob Scabb…you know the suspect Link tailed to Arizona last week?”

“What about him?”

“Well, for one, that’s not his real name. And on the bomb site surveillance, he looks like a teenager.”

So, the perp had revisited the crime scene.

“Well, shit.” Eagle grimaced.

“Yeah, that’s what Link said when I texted him.”

Eagle could only imagine what Link had said when Jordan discovered it might be a kid they were chasing, and he doubted it had only been well, shit.

A rap of knuckles jerked Eagle’s head up and Jordan jumped up to open the door before resuming his seat at the desk.

Link stood with a hand on the open frame.

Fuck. Eagle stretched his legs out and crossed his booted feet at his ankles and resisted the urge to adjust himself.

Link’s perfect mouth was flat and irritation shot from his bright blue eyes. His normally cropped facial hair was a bit scruffy, but in no way detracted from his hotness. Link carried his age very well and Eagle wished for half of the man’s gene pool, but he’d gotten his old man’s scruffy hair, face, and build.

“We need to talk.”

Eagle smirked, stood, and advanced to his bed, where he tossed his duffle to the floor. Once done, he sat on the queen bed and leaned back against the headboard, putting his boots on the bedspread.

When Link scowled, Eagle patted the bed. “Come talk.”

“Outside,” Link hissed, a flush mounting high on his cheeks. “Now!” The man whirled with an explosive power that sent Eagle’s gut heating and stalked out, leaving the door open.

Jordan shot him a look and Eagle smirked with a shrug. Damn, Link was a fine ball of fire.

Eagle knew he was going to have trouble when he’d accepted this assignment, and he’d wondered if it was going to be worth Link’s anger. It hadn’t always been that way. In the beginning, Eagle had been gobsmacked by Link’s sleek good looks and lethal skills. He would have hit on Link in a heartbeat if he hadn’t been so fucking tongue-tied. Link thought it was because he didn’t talk much in the beginning. Eagle let the man think that; it was better than having Link know he’d had the hots for him since day one.

The door from the hotel stood wide open and Eagle smirked. He reached up and cupped the back of his head and leaned deeper against the headboard.

Jordan’s eyes grew wide.

“Now, Eagle!”

Frustration was clear in Link’s voice, making him want to laugh. Sure, he could go out there and Link would tell him to leave and he’d say no and then they’d fight, or he could stay right here.

Link appeared in the doorway. There was no way in hell the man could stay still. Anger filled Link’s eyes and Eagle calmly held the man’s fiery gaze.

“I’m not leaving,” Eagle said.

“Well then, do you think you can get off your ass and go back to the crime scene with me?” Link said the words thick with sarcasm before disappearing.

Eagle jackknifed from the bed, grabbing up his jacket and an extra clip from the duffle, before he stepped outside and shut the door on a snickering Jordan. He slipped on his jacket when a slight drizzle picked up. Just before spring in Bakersfield could produce rainstorms, as the rainy season here roughly hit five, and sometime even more, months out of the year. It figured the job would be during this time—he wasn’t a fan of the rain.

Link was already sitting behind the wheel of one of the unit’s XL SUVs.

The unit had multiple tactical vehicles, with most being large or extra-large SUVs that could fit five to eight men with room in the back for gear. The XL vehicles also included electronics and provided room to run an on-the-road command center. The only other one that was bigger than them all was an ATV—a tank-like armored tactical vehicle.

The wipers rhythmically slapped against the windshield as Eagle crossed the asphalt to slide into the passenger seat. Expecting to find Owen and Creed in the back, he was surprised to find it empty.

“Why are we going back?”

“You saw the photo Jordan found of the guy in the crowd? He texted it to me.”

“Yeah.” Eagle nodded.

“I have a hunch,” Link said.

“Don’t you want your team?” he said gruffly, looking out the window instead of at the gorgeous man next to him.

Link sighed and peeled out of the parking lot; he took the corner into the street faster than the SUV could handle. Tires spun and squealed on the asphalt, sending the vehicle flying forward with a burst of speed. Eagle grabbed the “oh shit” handle over the door.

“Where’s Ice?”

“I don’t know.” Eagle squeezed the handle tightly. “Slow down,” he said, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good.

Lately, Link only had one speed and it was supersonic.

With a snort, Link punched the gas again and the SUV flew down the street, took another corner too fast, and then careened into the parking lot of the burned-out site. Link parked and exited the vehicle while Eagle was still trying to get his stomach out of his throat.

It took a full minute to pull open the door and shut it. By the time he did that, Link had already disappeared into the blown-out building. Massive indoor lights had been set up by CSI and Link flipped them on.

Debris crunched beneath Eagle’s boots and the slight sound on the pavement had him missing the sound behind him.

The two-by-four cracked against his back, high up—any higher and it would have hit his neck, but the attacker missed that vital area. Eagle winced because well, it fucking hurt, but in no way would it slow him down.

They’d need a bigger stick. They’d need a fucking gun to take him out.

He spun, years of Special Forces training kicking in, and he put his foot into the fucker, landing a solid kick into the masked man’s side. The slighter figure slammed to the ground with a cry but was up in a split second. Moving in, the guy had the fucking nerve to swing that goddamned stick again—this time like a baseball bat.

Just before the two-by-four reached him, Eagle snapped his hand out and locked it around the piece of wood, easily yanking it out of his attacker’s grip.

The subject cried out. Damn it. The guy was only a kid. One-handed, Eagle tossed the wood aside and the young man dodged in, but instead of taking a swing, he kicked Eagle. Eagle shifted his leg and saved his junk, but the kick landed on his thigh, sending a burn through his leg. He dodged sideways and snatched at the boy, but the teenager nimbly jumped away.

Eagle suspected it was the same teenager Jordan had seen on the video, he was sure of it.

“Little shit,” Eagle growled, but he wouldn’t hurt a child.

“I told you to hurry up!” a voice said, and a darkly clad figure ran out of the darkness.

Taser prongs hit Eagle square in the upper chest. The zap sent pain exploding through his body and he lost his ability to take a breath. The currency highjacked his form, sent volts through his nerves, and locked up his muscles. He lost complete control and fell backward.

Well, fuck.

“Motherfucker!” Link shouted suddenly from behind and caught him.

There was no way in hell he could stop himself from falling and Link wouldn’t be able to take his weight. He fell to the ground, taking Link with him. The attackers got away, but his partner’s body saved his head from smacking the pavement.

Link sat spread-legged on the ground and ripped the taser prongs away. Pulling him closer, Link held him, and all Eagle could do was suck oxygen into his lungs while his brain and body struggled to catch up.

“You’re okay, you’re okay, I’ve got you,” Link whispered over and over, rocking him.

Bending forward, Link placed his cheek against Eagle’s unshaven face and held him tightly with one arm, while Link’s other hand gripped a forty caliber.

“My hero,” Eagle croaked.

“Shut up,” Link rasped against his cheek.

Eagle closed his eyes.