7. Edu

7

EDU

"She's totally into you. You should go for it," Fox said conversationally as we drove back to OPS with a trunk full of party supplies, half a million avocados, and every bag of Funyuns the store had in stock.

"She's a lunatic," I corrected. "She spaces out in the middle of ringing up groceries."

"So, she's imaginative," he shrugged. "What's wrong with that?"

"Other than the fact that she can't seem to hold down a job without royally screwing it up? Nothing. But pardon me for wanting to set my standards a little higher than that."

"Harsh, man. You don't know her. She could be on the run from an abusive boyfriend. Or maybe she's got ADHD. Ooh, or maybe…maybe she's got cats that run all over her at night and keep her awake. That's why she spaces out. She's tired from all the cats."

I slowly turned to face the man who was now staring at me with excitement. "And you think I should go for a woman like that," I deadpanned.

"Totally. Cats are awesome. Mean as fuck and better than any guard dog."

"What cats do you know that are mean? "

"Uh…about any one in existence," he snorted.

"And you want me to date a woman based solely on the fact that she might like mean cats."

"Well, not just because of that. Did you see her? She's fucking beautiful."

"Yeah, the red vest really did it for me," I deadpanned.

"Red vest aside, did you see her eyes? I've never seen anything quite like them. And what about that hair? And her nose? Cute as a button."

How was it that Fox—a married man—noticed how this random woman in the grocery store looked, but me—a single man in desperate need of a good fucking—didn't notice a single thing about her? Maybe there was something wrong with me.

"You know, I don't think Anna would appreciate you checking out other women," I said, going on the defensive.

"I'm not checking her out for me. You know there's only one woman who could make my world spin around."

I shook my head. "You're so weird."

"I'm in love. Something you should consider trying."

"No thanks. I'm not looking for love or anything like it."

"It's much easier to find a woman who will sleep with you when she's dating you. Women have a code, too."

He was right, and I hated that. Whatever happened to the women who wanted a fun night in the sack without all the trappings of a relationship? Where were those women?

Oh, that's right. They were back in California. I sometimes forgot that I was in Kansas now and women were more morally upstanding. Not that all women in California were willing to jump in the sack, but there was a larger population than out here in the sticks. There was a greater possibility I would walk into the bar and find someone willing.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not looking for a woman to spend my life with."

"What do you have against monogamy?"

My parents, for one. They were a great example of how you could outlive a relationship and ruin not only your marriage, but your child's life. Growing up in that house not only caused arguments between my parents, but between me and my father. He was the reason I went into the military. By the time I was a senior in high school, I would have done anything to get away from him.

"It's great for some, but I'm not interested," I answered, pulling down the long driveway. It was odd to see an empty space where the building once stood. I felt slightly bad for starting the fire, but it was really IRIS's fault.

Slamming the door, I looked around for the boss, but he was nowhere in sight. Lock had a handle on things, like he always did, and was jabbering on about making sure the silo was still in good order. I waited a good ten minutes, and after multiple confirmations from the department that the silo hadn't been damaged, we were clear to enter through the tunnels and get to work.

"I really appreciate it," Lock said, holding out his hand to the chief.

"Sure. Next time, just make sure your explosives aren't near the building," he grumbled, shaking his head.

"What was that about?" I asked as he walked away.

"I had to lie to the chief and tell him it was an accidental explosion."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because insurance doesn't cover blowing up your own building," he retorted. "Where have you been?"

"Cash sent me out to get food for the gathering."

Lock's brows twitched in confusion. "What gathering?"

"To celebrate Rafe's life."

"There's no gathering."

"Uh, yeah, there is. I told him he needed to stop ignoring the facts and he agreed. It took some persuading, but?—"

I stopped the minute Lock's lips twitched in amusement.

"Fuck, he was messing with me."

"Of course he was. He's fucking pissed at you and IRIS."

That fucking burned. "I really thought I was getting through to him."

"If Eva can't get through to him, what made you think you had the magic touch?"

I rubbed the back of my neck uncomfortably. I hated when people didn't get along, but I despised when someone went down the road of self-sabotage and knew destruction was ahead, yet did nothing to change course. That's what Cash was doing right now. And if he wasn't careful, he wasn't only going to lose Eva, he was going to fucking burn his company to the ground.

No pun intended.

"Where did he go?"

"I'm guessing he's chasing down a lead."

"And he didn't take anyone with him?"

"Actually, I think he's meeting IKE."

Fucking IKE. That guy didn't even work for the company. Not really. "What about the three J's?"

"Hunting, as far as I know."

"So, half the company is off chasing down the bad guys, and we're left here to hold down the fort."

"It's not half the company," he huffed. "What's your problem, anyway? So what if he went to IKE. This is his area."

"And the J's? Why them?"

He shrugged casually. "They knew Rafe better than any of us. If anyone would want revenge besides Cash, it would be them."

"So…we're just supposed to sit here twiddling our thumbs?"

"Well, now we have to rebuild since you had the brilliant idea to blow up the building."

"I didn't blow it up! That was all IRIS."

"With your guidance," he jeered.