What the hell did I just agree to?
LUKE
My eyes narrow, watching Dean and Kitty as they stand near Evan’s desk. He shifts closer to it, and my hands clench tighter. After Ty said there was a listening device planted in the warehouse, my gut told me it was him. My gut never fails me; it’s instinct; instinct that’s saved my life many times over.
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Being a medic in the Marines meant I had to act quick, rely on my instincts or someone could die on my watch. I was the one person on our team who always had a feeling about a situation or mission we were on. And I was never wrong.
I earned my reputation, not only as a good shot and a great medic but also for being able to feel out a certain situation. I became the person on my team people would look to when out on patrol. The thing is with instinct, the more you use it, the better you become at listening to it.
And right now, I’m listening to it more than ever, and it doesn’t want to sit and wait for the danger to find us, it wants to take it out before it gets that far.
Ty walks out of the office, his gaze flicking to Dean and then me as he comes closer. I read the unspoken signal in his eyes, knowing whatever is about to happen I’m not gonna like, but when it comes to the job, it doesn’t matter.
What we do saves lives, saves people from themselves, and gets the bad guys off the streets. I’m not naive, I know for every one we put away, another five pop up. But locking up that one means they can cause less damage.
When everyone is sitting around the table, they start talking about Darrell Le’Fraine; different ideas and theories thrown back and forth.
I stay silent, analyzing like I always do. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t talk often, but when I do, it means people listen. I don’t wanna spout a load of bullshit just to hear my own goddamn voice. Sitting back and watching how people talk, how they communicate, what their bodies are saying, tells me more than anything else ever could.
Ty pushes a folder toward me and then one toward Dean, leaning back in his seat before he says, “New job, came in this morning.”
Grunting, I open the folder and scan the contents, looking at the photos before closing it again.
“Goal?” I ask, looking over at Ty.
“Surveillance. Charlie can’t get approval.” I nod, crossing my arms over my chest as Ty continues, “Charlie said to go to the precinct and he’ll fill you in.”
“Wait.” Dean sits forward, a frown on his face. “We’re working for Charlie now?”
Ty raises a brow, mimicking Dean’s action as he sits forward. “You’re not working for him; you’re helping him out.”
“But you’re not gonna get paid,” Dean says, but I can hear the undertone in his voice. He’s baffled.
“That’s right,” Ty confirms, waiting a beat before standing up and looking at me. “Seven days to get the intel to pass onto Charlie.”
“Got it.” I don’t wait any longer, standing up and walking out of the warehouse.
Pulling my keys out, I then press the button to unlock my SUV as Evan shouts, “Luke!”
Turning my head, I raise a brow, silently asking him what he wants. He jogs over to me, pushing a small box toward me.
“What’s this?”
“The device you asked—”
“Thanks,” I say, cutting him off and pocketing it when Dean comes out of the warehouse.
Evan turns, seeing Dean and giving him a head nod before turning back to me. “Do you need—”
“No. I’m good.”
Spinning around, I pull open my car door and jump into the driver’s seat before starting the engine. Pantera blasts through the speakers, but instead of turning the volume down, I keep it turned up high as Dean gets into the passenger side. Anything to block him out.
Not saying a word, I reverse before driving out of the compound. I can feel him watching me the whole damn ride to the precinct, and I really want to ask him what the fuck he’s staring at, but I don’t. I play stupid, acting as if I can’t sense him.
Pulling into the precinct, I turn the engine off and get out before walking toward the main doors with Dean on my tail.