12. Nicholas

12

NICHOLAS

She was getting ready for something big, that much was clear. I followed her to the rooftop yesterday and watched as she talked with that scumbag. She was staying with him too, and I was tempted to break into their hotel room and fuck him up just to be sure he couldn't get it up for her. But then she would know I was following her.

It was a close call outside the salon. She turned to face me just as a bus passed. I got up and ran, making sure she wouldn't see me. But I still had the issue of figuring out what she was up to. From what I gathered, she was planning something in the area, but without seeing any plans, it was a guess as to what they were casing.

I needed help, and there was one person who was very eager to assist me in any way. Okay, there were three people, but I only needed assistance from one.

Me: Check events in my location for the night.

Rae: I thought you didn't need any help?

Me: Just do it.

Rae: What are you going to give me?

Me: The knowledge of knowing you got to help out.

The phone went silent as I waited for a response. I picked up the scope and looked into their hotel room from the rooftop across the street. Everything was pretty quiet over there. They were both getting ready for whatever was going down tonight. I zoomed in as I watched her slip into a skintight dress. It was modest by all standards, but fit her beautifully. She shifted the slit in her dress, then raised the fabric to attach a thigh strap. She sheathed a knife on the outside of her thigh, which was just fucking sexy.

My phone pinged with a new message listing all the possible events in the area.

Rae: This doesn't mean I enjoyed helping you out. I'm curious.

Me: You get a thrill out of this shit.

Rae: I get a thrill out of watching you fall apart over a woman. There are too many mysteries surrounding you.

I said nothing.

Rae: I know what happened while you were a SEAL. Did you really think a classified document would stop me?

Shit. If she went digging through my records, there was a lot she could find. A lot of shit she could use against me. But I wasn't an idiot. I wasn't going to give her a thing.

Rae: This explains so much about why you stay away from Fox.

Again, that didn't prove she knew anything. Everyone knew I tried to stay away from Fox. I distracted myself by scrolling through the list of events this evening. Something about baseball, a gallery opening, some theater shit…a private party. That had to be it. She wouldn't be dressed as she was for a gallery opening. It had to be the party.

And Rae thought so too. She included the information and…an invitation.

Me: How did you get the invitation?

Rae: I know a guy.

Me: You know lots of guys.

Rae: One of these days, you won't question my skills. You might even invite me along as a plus one.

I spun, shaking my head as I saw Rae approach wearing a killer dress that should only be worn to a party. I sighed and stood, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"You followed me."

"Obviously," she grinned. She held out a garment bag for me. "Are you going to get dressed or should we catch the next party?"

I strode forward and grabbed the bag from her. "How did you even know she would attend this?"

"I have my ways." She walked around me and grabbed the scope off the ledge of the building, looking into the apartment I had just been spying on. "She looks nice. I hope you remember to compliment her." She turned and faced me. "So, what's the plan? Are we breaking them up?"

"They're here to steal something."

"Well, clearly," she deadpanned. "Are we stopping them?"

I headed for the exit, yanking the door open. "Why would we stop them?"

"Because your girlfriend is a thief."

"I don't discriminate."

"She could get in trouble."

I stayed silent. I wasn't interested in stopping her from doing anything. I wanted to see her in action. I already knew from our first meeting that she was fully capable of taking care of herself. But I hadn't seen her in a setting like this. It was intriguing.

"You want her to steal whatever she's here for," Rae grinned. "Wow, I didn't see that coming. I thought a man like you would want to stop her."

I descended the stairs, making my way to my hotel room. "A man like me?"

"Former Navy SEAL. A lawman. You were a detective. How could you want her to go through with it?"

Again, I stayed quiet. Rae wouldn't understand. She was all morally upstanding, whereas I…I didn't mind straying from the law when it suited me. I had lines I wouldn't cross, but like Fox, there was always a reason to work around the law. I had been on the straight and narrow during my time as a detective. But those days were over. I was trying to find out how I fit in this new life, and now that I met this woman, my mind was all fucked up and my morals were out the window.

I hadn't even really met her yet.

I didn't consider her kicking my ass to be a formal meeting.

Nor the time I sat across the diner from her. I gave her my napkin, but again, that didn't count.

I slid the card through the reader and opened my door. I was able to get a room facing hers, but I didn't have a direct line of sight into her room. I hung the tux on the door to the bathroom and stepped inside, shucking my clothes.

"Are you going to answer me?"

"Already forgot the question."

"Why do you want her to go through with it?" she called out. I could hear her wandering around my room. "Is this some weird handcuff fantasy? You want to arrest her and have your way with her?"

I pulled the door open slightly, staring at her grinning face. "No."

I showered quickly, but that didn't stop Rae from interrogating me. The door was open and she shouted through it.

"Where do you see this going? Do you think she's going to give up her ways and go straight for you?"

"I don't think anything."

"You have to have a plan," she chuckled. "Nobody drives across the country to follow another person without a plan. Unless you want to kill her." The curtain was jerked open slightly and she narrowed her eyes at me. "Is this some weird serial killer thing? Are you following her so you can kill her?"

"I'm taking a shower."

"Answer the question."

"I'm naked," I pointed out. "I doubt Duke would be happy to know that you were standing there staring at me."

"Like I haven't seen it before. Are you going to kill her?"

"Why would I kill her?"

"Why would you follow her across the country?"

I stared at her for a moment, then figured out how to get her out of the bathroom. "Your hair is getting frizzy from the steam."

She pursed her lips, pissed that I was winning. "Fine, but this isn't over."

I heard her stomp out of the bathroom, but then I realized she was probably going through my things. I hurried through the rest of my shower and slung a towel around my waist. Jerking the door open, I caught her just as she was about to open the bag.

I stalked up behind her and snatched it out of her hands. I went to the closet and opened the safe, sticking it inside, then spun the dial. It wouldn't keep her out indefinitely. This was Rae, after all. But it would slow her down slightly.

She smirked at me as I stood there in only my towel, dripping wet and pissed. "So, whatever you don't want me to see is in that bag."

"Or maybe I just don't want you snooping through my shit."

Neither of us budged as we faced each other down.

"What's in the bag?"

"Why the fuck are you here?"

"Tell me what's in the bag and I'll tell you."

I clenched my jaw but didn't say a word. I had no intention of telling her about the bag. I didn't really care why she was here. Anyway, it was a terrible bargaining chip, considering what was in the bag.

"I'm taking off my towel."

"Ooh, I'm really scared," she said mockingly. "Why did you pick such a small room?"

"I'm the only one here."

"And me. And?—"

The door opened and Fox walked in, decked out in a tux, followed by FNG. Rolling my eyes, I turned back to her. "Why did you bring them along?"

She shrugged. "I didn't. They just followed the scent of desperation."

"I had no idea you needed adventure so badly."

"I'm already married. You're the one stalking a woman. You don't even know her name."

"It's Raven."

"Ah, yes," she grinned. "But you haven't called her that once since I've been here. You don't want to call her that."

"Probably because he needs to know her real name," Fox interjected.

"Or maybe I just haven't said her name," I argued.

Fox shoved past me, his yellow fingers leaving prints on my freshly washed skin. Grimacing, I stripped my towel off and brushed away the yellow dust.

"Whoa, warn a guy," FNG said from behind me. "I nearly poked an eye out!"

Grabbing my boxers, I pulled them on and began to dress. The rest of them stood around talking as if this were any other job. I was just buttoning my shirt when Fox turned to me.

"Tate, you gotta settle this for me. In a battle, who would win—me or the Hulk?"

I stopped in my tracks and slowly looked up at him. "The Hulk isn't real."

"Right, but if he were. Who do you really think would win?"

He waggled his eyebrows, pointing at himself behind their backs.

"Fox."

"See? I told you!"

"Why would he win?" FNG asked. "Seriously, The Hulk is indestructible."

"One, because he eats Funyuns. They're like his source of power. Two, have you ever seen someone Fox couldn't defeat? And three, it was the fastest way to end this discussion."

FNG pointed at me with wide eyes. "You don't believe he could!"

"I'm not doing this."

"You just admitted The Hulk was stronger!"

"No, what I said was I didn't want to discuss this."

Rae came over and helped me with my tie, fashioning the small thing around my neck until it felt like a choker. I winced as she pulled it just a tad too tight. When she was done, I looked in the mirror. I thought I looked pretty damn good.

"You need gel in your hair."

"What? I do not."

"It's a party. You can't have it flying all over the place."

She already had it in her hands and was slicking it through my hair, not even flinching at the deadly glare I shot her way. When I was done, I sighed. I hated wearing a tux.

"Don't forget the shoes."

I took them from her outstretched hands, wincing at the Argyle socks she gave me. "They don't really match."

"You're quirky."

"No, Fox is quirky. I'm just dangerous."

"I wore them too," Fox grinned, pulling up his pant leg. "I got red because…you know, murder and torture. I got you green to match your lady's eyes."

"Why did you get me blue?" FNG asked excitedly.

"Because you like to swim in the ocean."

He frowned. "That's not nearly as exciting."

"So, the plan is?—"

"Wait," I said, stopping Rae before she could go any further. "There's no plan. This isn't a mission. In fact, there's really no reason for you to be there."

"But…we got the tuxes," Fox frowned, holding out one side of his jacket.

"Yeah, and I actually did my hair," FNG added.

"You didn't do your hair. You hardly have any hair to do," I snapped. "And this is not about you. This is about?—"

"Your lady love," Fox grinned. "The team is back together. Just me and The Termin-tator!"

"Termin-tator?" FNG asked. "Why not Termi-tator?"

"Because that's not what I call him," Fox bit out.

"Yeah, but the second T takes the place of the n in Terminator. Having the N and the T is pointless. It's like…doubling up on letters just for the sake of doing it."

"I've always called him that?—"

"No, he hasn't," I corrected.

"—and I'm not going to stop just because you think I should call him something different."

"Well, I'm calling him the Termi-tator, and you can't stop me."

"They're both ridiculous names!" I snapped, getting pissed off more and more with every second that passed.

"Clearly, you don't understand the beauty of the name," Fox grinned.

"Obviously, he does. That's why he's pissed."

"Are we really going to do this again?" Fox asked. "You know, I searched for you. I was the only one who didn't think you were dead, and this is how you repay me?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose as the arguing continued. The number of clearly and obviously sentences thrown out was too much to take. I slipped into my shoes, tying them in record time, then grabbed my wallet and shoved it in my pocket. Rae handed me my gun and holster, and they were still arguing.

"Should we just leave?"

Rae nodded. "This could go on for another hour."

" Clearly , you've never spent a whole day with them in the ocean."