Chapter 14
Fourteen
Idling the truck at the freeway exit, Nic drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel, off rhythm from Pearl Jam on the radio and Cam’s off-tune sing-along, but right on rhythm with tomorrow’s opening statement running through his head.
Cam reached out, first turning down the music, then cuffing the back of Nic’s neck and massaging. Nic closed his eyes, savoring the dig of strong fingers into tight, tired muscles. “You’re ready for tomorrow,” Cam said. “You’ve got it.”
A horn blew behind them, and Nic opened his eyes, the light green in front of them. “And you?” he asked Cam, as he turned onto the surface street that led to Gravity.
“I’m ready, though I’m still not convinced it shouldn’t be Aidan.”
“You’re not the only agent testifying. El will be up before you, Lauren after. And you’re the agent running point on this operation. You’ve been present both times we questioned Vaughn.”
“But I wasn’t the first agent on scene at either your father’s death or at Harris’s.”
“You are the agent with the most recent field experience, though.”
“But—”
“No more buts.”
He swung the truck into Gravity’s parking lot, only Eddie’s sand-crusted Wrangler left at this hour.
He parked next to the main entrance, turned off the ignition, and shifted in his seat.
He needed Cam to walk into that grand jury room tomorrow with no doubts about the case they were presenting or about his credibility to present it.
Bowers was right; they didn’t have a smoking gun.
No murder weapon with Vaughn’s prints on it.
What they did have was a growing mountain of evidence that pointed to a pattern of behavior, enough to make a case as long as the whole team sold it.
Especially Cam. Because if Cam was at his best, Nic would be too.
They fed off each other that way. As upside down as the rest of his world was right now, Nic was certain of two things—his place with Cam and his place in the courtroom—the both of them converging tomorrow.
“As well as I know Aidan,” Nic said, “I know you better. I know how you’re going to answer and I know you can follow me—my moves, my thought processes, any curveballs thrown at you—better than anyone. I have to think fast on my feet in a courtroom; you make that easier.”
Cam averted his gaze, one corner of his mouth hitched up in a bashful smile. “Well, okay then.”
For as cocky as Cam was ninety-five percent of the time, Nic lived for the other five percent when he could remind Cam what an amazing man he was. “Don’t be nervous. You’ll be perfect.”
“I’m not nervous. You’re ready. I’m ready. So are Moore and Lauren.” Cam picked at a shredding piece of vinyl on the truck seat. “I just don’t want to compromise this case. I know what it means to you.”
Stretching across the console, Nic covered Cam’s restless hand, then his lips, saying with his kiss how much he appreciated the sentiment and how much he trusted Cam to live up to it.
Nic reluctantly pulled away as breath became necessary, just as the parking lot lights shifted into late-night safety mode.
“We better go. I want to catch Eddie before he leaves for the city.” He’d called his teammate earlier and filled him in on recent developments.
Eddie was scheduled to relieve Mel on Sare guard duty at midnight.
“I’ve gotta sign some checks too and you can grab a stout. ”
Cam stole another quick kiss. “You’re too good to me.”
At the front door, Nic punched in this week’s entry code, and the keypad flipped from red to green.
He opened the door and winced at Eddie’s grunge music, the same that had been playing in the truck, turned way up.
Cam picked up singing right where he’d left off while Nic wondered at what volume he’d blow out an eardrum. This was loud, even for Cam or Eddie.
They entered the tasting area and Nic suddenly understood why.
Behind the bar, Vaughn was pulling himself a pint of stout, and on the other side, his two goons sat sprawled at a table. Between them, Eddie wasn’t nearly so comfortable, his bulging, muscular arms curved behind him, wrists handcuffed to his chair.
A/V remote in hand, one of the guards lowered the volume. Vaughn turned around, grin smug. “Late night, Dom?”
At his side, Cam drew his weapon, sight trained on Vaughn.
“Now, now, Agent Byrne, we’re all friends here, aren’t we?”
“Friends don’t handcuff friends to chairs.”
Nic put a cautious hand on Cam’s firing arm, pushing it down. “Eddie’s not in any danger.”
Vaughn strolled around the bar, taking a long swallow of the beer. “See, Dom knows me well. Of course I wouldn’t hurt his friend and business partner.” The gangster’s photogenic smile turned sharklike. “I’m just using him as leverage.”
“Afraid you’re wrong there,” Nic said before giving Eddie a nod.
A blink later, Eddie was out of the handcuffs and standing, laughing with his arms spread wide. He made a come-at-me gesture to the guards, who foolishly did exactly that. Did these idiots never learn?
Toe under the seat, Eddie flipped the chair up into Goon One’s face, sending him sprawling back, blood pouring from his nose all over his shiny suit.
Eddie caught the chair on the rebound, swinging it against Goon Two’s rising shooting arm.
The pistol went skidding across the brewery’s polished cement floor, and Eddie took a second swing with what was left of the chair, whacking the guy in the exposed ribs and sending him staggering back into his bleeding cohort.
Eddie stood among the chaos, laughing, that little bit of crazy Nic had depended on when they were SEALs.
Eddie tossed the wooden leg at Vaughn’s feet. “You owe me a chair, Blondie.”
Vaughn’s brown eyes flickered down and up. “Noted.”
“Not a pair of handcuffs he can’t get out of,” Nic said as Eddie strode over. “Or a bar fight we ever lost.” He held out a fist to Eddie.
Eddie bumped back. “They had Ang,” he said, referring to their assistant manager. “Traded myself. Figured I’d keep them here for you.”
“You figured right. Thanks for that.”
“You good here?”
Nic nodded.
“Okay, then I’ll go do that errand you asked about.
” The display he’d put on just now . . .
that was why he was on rotating Sare guard duty with Mel.
Only Nic’s best, most loyal, most deadly people.
Eddie clapped his shoulder with a “Hooyah,” then disappeared down the hallway, the front door clicking shut after him.
Vaughn paid no mind to his ineffective muscle hobbling around, bloodying up the fucking bar towels. Instead, he walked right up to Nic and Cam, casually drinking his beer. “I like your friends, Dom. SEALs and FBI agents. Sexy.”
“What are you here to threaten me with now?” Nic cut to the chase. It was late, and he had a big day of nailing this asshole to the wall tomorrow.
“How did it feel to find out you had a sister? Nicolette Sare, right? Or should I say Scott? Or worse yet, Price?”
Nic’s blood ran cold, freezing him where he stood. Same as it had earlier when he’d first seen Victoria and Garrett again, when he’d finally put together who Nicolette Sare was, in Dennis’s office.
Dennis.
Was that how Vaughn knew about Lette? Had Dennis betrayed him again and spilled everything?
While Nic was silent, mind whirring, Cam was practically growling. “You’d really threaten an innocent young woman?”
“Innocent,” Vaughn scoffed. He set his empty pint on the table by Nic’s hip. “She’s been siphoning off my money for a decade now.”
“Wouldn’t you want Victoria’s daughter taken care of?”
Vaughn’s handsome face transformed into something truly ugly. “Victoria made her decision.”
Nic had never seen Vaughn’s face look like that before. It did the trick for startling him out of his panic. “You really are despicable.”
“I may be.” The shrug accompanying the words said I don’t give a fuck. “I’m also first in line for a piece of your father’s assets. I mean to get every penny I’m owed. If you keep delaying the disposition, I will remove the obstacles.”
“Nicolette?” Nic bit out.
Vaughn smirked, retreating and wagging a finger at him. “Nuh-uh-uh, Dom. You want me to say that in front of your pet agent here so he can tell the grand jury tomorrow.”
Nic suspected he got that news from Bowers. He’d made sure to leave the grand jury call request in view of his boss, testing his theory that Bowers was Vaughn’s USAO mole.
“I simply meant I’d take the legal steps necessary to enforce my rights as your father’s primary secured creditor.”
“You couldn’t call him to say that?” Cam said.
“Then I wouldn’t be here to see your handsome faces in person.” He stepped forward again, and Cam moved slightly between them, shoulder blocking Nic from Vaughn’s advance. Nic didn’t object. He wanted Vaughn to understand how united a front he was facing.
Catching on, he raised his hands and backed off. “Let’s go, guys,” he called to his goons. As they staggered up behind him, Vaughn said to Nic, “The imperial is your best yet. Hope it’s around long enough for everyone to enjoy.”
A subtle threat but Nic heard it, loud and clear.
Cam banged on Jamie and Aidan’s front door, careful to avoid the glass panes.
If the doorbell worked, he’d use it—less likely to wake the neighbors this time of night—but the ringer had recently died from overuse and the frantic knocking was a much more accurate indicator of their current situation.
Beside him, Nic shined his phone’s flashlight on their faces so they’d be visible on the security cameras. Wouldn’t want the trained marksmen inside thinking a stranger was trying to break in.
At least that’s why Cam assumed Nic was doing it. He couldn’t ask, though. Someone was listening.