Chapter Twelve
CHAPTER TWELVE
SEBASTIAN
W hen Luke and I step back into the suite, we’re immediately met with Leena’s laughter. Stepping around the corner, we find her curled up cross-legged on one side of the couch, hands cupped around her coffee. Colton is facing her, his own cup casually resting on the back of the couch as they talk.
We all know Leena hates the hotel coffee and Colton doesn’t seem to mind the chore. It makes Leena happy, so do their morning chats, so Luke and I are fine with letting him be on coffee duty whenever we’re traveling for jobs.
I step up behind the couch and Leena’s big, adorable eyes look up at me in that way that tugs at my fucking heart. I lean down to kiss her forehead, then ruffle Colton’s hair in an obnoxious way as I walk past him.
“Hey, hey, hey! Not the hair!” he says, brushing it back with one hand before taking another sip of his coffee.
“You guys better get ready, Jace said they’ll be up here in thirty to help us load up,” she says, eyeing how we’re both covered in sweat and knowing that Luke and I taking a shower together isn’t an option with Colton in the room.
“Oh, speaking of which… Seb, catch!” Colton says, reaching for something tucked behind him and tossing it at me. I reach out to catch whatever it is, then chuckle when I see it’s the handcuffs.
Leena’s eyes go wide.
“Where were those?” she asks, looking mortified. Luke and I both chuckle this time, because if there’s anyone on this planet she doesn’t need to feel embarrassed about with that sort of thing, it’s Colton Fisher.
He smiles at her, holding his coffee up and using a finger to point toward the rail above the door. She glances over, the most adorable blush spreading across her face.
“You’re using the real ones too, not that fuzzy gift-shop bullshit. I have to say, boss lady, I’m impressed,” he smirks, before removing the lid to his drink so he can down the rest of it.
“I–” Leena stutters, looking incredibly uncomfortable over the whole situation. It’s kind of adorable, but annoys me all the same, so I slap Colton upside the head.
“Fisher, leave our woman be. Lu, you shower first,” I say.
“Sure thing, boss!” Luke chides.
Asshole.
As he disappears, Leena distracts herself, looking at her phone and pretending that her little coffee friend didn’t just figure out that we like to use police-grade handcuffs when we fuck her.
While she’s occupied, Colton and I exchange a look. One where he’s congratulating me on the perfect woman we managed to find, and my look is a response telling him how I already fucking know.
—
I fucking hate road trips. But with all the equipment and personnel we needed for this particular operation, and seeing as it was less than eight hours from home, this just made sense.
Still. I hate being trapped in a vehicle with other people for this long, even if I’m fucking two of them. It’s only been three hours, and I’m already starting to lose my shit.
And then Colton starts singing.
Fucking singing.
There’s some bullshit pop song on the radio that I’ve never heard, and the man is practically bellowing it at the top of his lungs. So is Leena.
Neither of them can carry a tune.
I look to the man beside me, finding Luke cringing, clearly in just as much pain as I am.
I switch off the radio, ignoring the complaints coming from the back seat, pull the receiver to the CB radio out from under the dash and bark into it so the van behind us can hear me.
“Okay, that’s fucking it. We’re pulling over,” I say.
“What? Colt start singing again?” Jace laughs a response, his voice sounding through the crackle of the speaker. “Wait, can we guess which station?” he adds.
“102.5? 99.9? Oh wait, no! 98.5!” Ava shouts over the music they have blasting.
“Would you guys turn that down?” Ryan adds, more than likely still nursing a hangover. The sound cuts out, and I think we’re finally done listening to them as I pull off at one of the exits.
We’re not.
“Seb, you have to tell us which station. There’s money involved now,” Jace says.
“No,” I reply, my tone clipped as I hang up the receiver.
That’s when I feel Colton’s body intruding on my personal space, leaning between Luke and I to grab the mic and clearing his throat before using that goddamn boat captain announcer voice of his.
“This is Captain Fisher, interrupting this broadcast to confirm it was in fact, 98.5. Over,” he states, then goes back to his seat.
I rub my temple.
“Captain Fisher, that is not what I wanted to hear,” a disappointed Jace says from the other side, an enthusiastic Ava laughing in the background.
“Pay up!” she shouts.
“Guys!” Ryan complains, before the sound cuts out again.
I pull into the very first parking space at the very first diner we come to and get out of the car, resting my hands on the hood to enjoy the fucking peace and quiet of the honking cars traveling on the overpass.
I think I might be getting angrier, until I feel Leena’s small arms loop around my waist. Even though she was one half of my frustration, I could never be mad at her. Deep down, I know that being in a vehicle for this long is the root of my irritation, not the people in it.
I turn around, leaning against the car and pulling her against me. I rest my chin on the top of her head and take a deep breath.
I guess traveling with her isn’t so bad.
Jace pulls into the lot, and the three of them are still fucking arguing over their bet as they make their way inside. I flip Colton the bird when he walks past. He laughs, then continues his singing as he follows after them.
“God help the poor server,” I grumble once our team is inside and it’s fucking quiet again. Leena looks up at me, that sweet smile on her fucking perfect lips. I’ll never get tired of her looking at me like this.
“You good?” Luke asks from behind her, clearly amused by my frustration. I flip him the bird too and he laughs, pulling Leena off me.
Then the man fucking gropes me, hard . He does it so casually, nothing on his face would give away what his hand was just doing.
My eyes widen in shock, looking around to make sure no one saw that, relieved to find that we were hidden well enough behind the SUV for his little stunt.
“Fuck, Lu,” I grumble, tugging at my pants to hide my reaction before following behind the two of them.
Their joined hands swing as they both smile back at me.
I wonder how in the fuck someone as grouchy as me ended up surrounded by so much fucking sunshine.
—
I glance down at the clock, we’re only a few hours from home. It’s late, so the car has been quiet the past hour.
Luke is still awake beside me, and I wonder what he’s thinking as he stares out the window at the road ahead. Normally, he would either be working on his laptop or asleep right now. So I find this a little unsettling.
I guess I could just ask what he’s thinking, but I decide against it. I shouldn’t care what he’s thinking.
Several minutes later, I see a vehicle parked just off to the side of the road. I glance in my mirror as we pass, wondering for a moment if they’re broken down. The headlights turn on, and they slowly make their way out onto the road. Well, that can’t be good.
I watch them carefully, then slow the SUV to just below the speed limit. There are several lanes, so I am giving the vehicle the opportunity to pass. They don’t.
Shit.
I grip the wheel tighter. Luke must notice, because he’s staring at me, then behind us, noticing it too.
“Shit,” he repeats my thought a little too loud, because he wakes up Colton. I glance back at Leena, relieved to see she’s still curled up across the seat, her head resting on Colton’s thigh. I never imagined she would get along with our obnoxious friend, let alone be this comfortable with him.
“What is it?” he says, suddenly alert.
And that does wake Leena. “Guys?” she asks sleepily. But there’s no time to answer her question.
“Fisher, I need you driving the van. Campbell?” I glance at Luke.
“On it,” he says, already pulling up the maps.
“You got it, boss.” Colton salutes, rolls down his window, then starts climbing out of it.
“What the fuck is happening?” Leena demands.
I pull out the receiver from under the dash. “Gray, it’s not that I don’t trust your driving–”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Fisher, can sit in my lap,” Jace says, the van already pulling up close beside our vehicle.
“Guys…” Leena tries again, a warning in her tone.
I smile.
“Try not to miss me, boss lady,” Colton quips. I roll my eyes as I steady our vehicle, guiding us closer to where Ryan has the van door open.
“I’m hungry. Can we get food after this?” Colton asks from where he’s sitting in the window, reaching out for a handhold on the van.
“Colton! What the fuck are you doing?!” Leena shouts.
“I can’t do another burger,” I say, watching in my mirror as Colton expertly steps into the other vehicle beside us. The van pulls away, then slows, moving back in line behind us.
“What about Mexican?” Luke offers.
“Fisher! Get your ass out of my face!” Jace shouts through the radio, the van behind us swerving a little as Colton trades places with him.
“Gray, get your face out of my ass!” The radio clicks off for a moment and I tap the wheel with my thumb, waiting for them to get their shit together. “Okay, hit it!” Colton shouts.
I smile, then step on the gas.
As soon as I do, I hear the unmistakable sound of automatic weapons.