Chapter Eight
REX
When we got back to the office, the rest of the team was filing out. “All done with your plannin’?” I asked Mickey as he walked down the hall toward us with Nash at his side.
“Yeah, how’d you make out? Find a place to set up?”
I slapped him on the back. “Yeah. It’s not perfect, but it’ll do in a pinch.”
“’E’ll ‘ave to wear a ghillie suit, but it’ll work,” Mars added.
Both men grinned. “Just like old times, huh, buddy?” Mickey asked.
I grunted then looked past the two as Candy and SAC Bradley came out of the room. They came down the hall and stopped in front of us.
I took Bradley’s hand as he greeted me. “Figure out where you’ll set up?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” I replied.
“Good.” He turned to Candy. “Let me know if you need anything from my end, Sorensen.”
“Will do, sir.”
Bradley looked at all of us. “Good luck, men.” We nodded, then he turned and strolled back down the hall, headed toward his office. I watched him until Candy spoke up.
“How’d it go?”
“Like I was just tellin’ Hampstead and Way, we found a place. There’s no cover but a ghillie suit’ll hide me well enough.”
Candy nodded. “Good.”
Mars chuckled.
“What is it?” Candy asked.
“Nothing,” Mars replied. “’E seems a bit put out, that’s all Captain.”
Candy narrowed his eyes. “Put out by what exactly?”
“The ghillie suit, Captain. It’s been a while,” Mars said.
The glint in Candy’s eyes didn’t bode well for my friend. He should have kept his mouth shut. “Yeah, it has. Still got yours?”
“My what, sir?”
Candy smirked. “Your ghillie suit, Clifford.”
Mars blinked and it really was very cute. I glanced down, biting my lower lip to keep from laughing. He was an idiot.
“I ‘ave it, sir.”
Candy slapped him on the back. “Good. You’ll be up there with Monroe.” Before Mars could object, Candy looked back at me. “Go change into your camo. You too, Clifford. I’ll need you both out there and set up by two.”
“Aw, come on, Captain,” I whined. “Two? I ain’t even ate breakfast.”
“Well, you’d better catch up with the others,” Candy replied, turning to leave. “I think they were planning on IHOP.”
I glanced at Mickey and Nash. “I want pancakes too! Y’all didn’t even invite us.”
“We were getting to it,” Mickey said. “Come on. We’ll bring you and Mars back to change into camo afterward.”
“And your ghillie suits,” Nash said, slapping me on the back again.
“Fuck off.”
He cackled like an idiot as we headed out of the office.
We met the others outside in the parking lot and decided on Du-par’s instead of IHOP because the food was ten times better.
The breakfast crowd would also soon be clearing out, on their way to church, and other normal Sunday things, not to go and lie on the hard ground in the hot sun like the idiots we were.
When we stepped into the restaurant, the hostess looked us over with wide eyes, and I immediately knew we must have been quite a sight.
Our party was made up of seven tall, muscular guys, with the exception of Patsy who stood just over five-seven.
We were used to the stares we got every time we went out together as a team.
“This way,” the hostess said, steering us to a huge booth at the back of the restaurant.
She set down menus and we thanked her, ordering coffee, with tea for Patsy and the two Brits on the team.
It was nice sitting down with everyone together.
Though we often barbequed at my house or just got together to play cards and have a few beers on the weekends, we rarely ate out.
Now that Nash and Patsy were settled down with their own guys, they liked to go home and eat with their men and in Nash’s case, his large family with two kids still in elementary school and another who’d just graduated high school.
It still amazed me that Nash—the man who’d been the biggest player on our team—was settled down with a house, a dog, and his man’s family.
I’d been over to their house in West Hollywood and had adored meeting them.
The kids were great and the dog—Garbanzo—was a sweetheart. Then again, I had a thing for dogs.
After our server delivered our drinks and we’d ordered, I excused myself to the bathroom.
After I got back into the booth, I picked up my coffee and sat back, ready to enjoy my breakfast and laugh with my friends.
I thought of Cachi and pulled out my phone, checking my messages.
When I realized everyone had gone quiet, I looked up to find them all staring at me, wearing grins.
I grunted. “What’s up, assholes?” I turned to Mars who shrugged and grinned at me. “What’d you say?”
“I told them ya ‘ad a new beau when you fucked off to the toilet,” he said.
I picked up my coffee and muttered into the rim. “Jesus, you guys are worse than gossipy old women.”
They all chuckled. “He was telling us ya managed to blow a good thing in…how long was it?” Patsy looked at Mars.
“’E said it took twelve hours,” Mars supplied.
The small Irishman whistled. “Twelve whole hours, mate? That’s a new record.”
I sighed. “It was almost sixteen hours.”
“Top notch, old bean,” Alain drawled.
I glared at Joy which just made everyone laugh a little harder. I ignored them, hiding my smile against the lip of my cup as I thought of Cachi. “I’ll get him back. Just wait and see.”
Nash slapped me on the back. “That’s good, buddy. I like your optimism.”
“Optimism? Huh. In my experience, I find groveling much more effective.” I glared at Mickey, who was trying to look innocent. “What? Groveling is good,” he said.
“Mars has informed us he’s a dancer,” Alain said, grinning at me as he sipped his tea. He glanced at Mars. “What was it? Hula?”
Mars snorted as I sat back muttering under my breath, “He’s a go-go dancer, assholes.”
“And, Mars said he works at Dance Hall Boys,” Nash said, wearing a big grin.
I glared at Mars. “Mars said a lot while I was takin’ a piss.”
“That place is a meat market,” Mickey added.
“Look…every guy deserves—”
“A little slap and tickle?” Napoleon interrupted, trying his best to look sympathetic. “Don’t worry, buddy. We’ve aaalll been there.”
“He’s comin’ back, okay?” I picked up my coffee and drank some more to stop myself from sounding like a kid.
“I’m sure ‘e will, cowboy,” Mars said, looking sympathetic. “It’s just ya seem so down and out about it.”
I pointed at him. “This is all your fault.” I swirled a finger around the booth at all the guys. “You told them all about how Cachi and me had only a few hours together before I had to drag my ass back to the shop to clean the BearCats. It’s all your fault.”
“’Ow do ya work that out, mate?” Mars asked, leaning his elbows on the table and resting his chin in his hands as he batted his eyelashes at me. “I can’t ‘elp it if you can’t keep your man. Then again, maybe if he wasn’t ‘alf your age…”
The others started laughing all at once as I felt myself blushing. “He ain’t half my age,” I said indignantly.
“No? Then what is he?” asked Nash.
“Ten years younger,” I said into my coffee cup as I raised it quickly to my mouth. Coffee sloshed up and burned my top lip. I yanked the cup down, hissing. “Shit!”
“Shhh,” Nash said, pointing to an older couple who was giving all of us the stink eye. “You’re going to turn her hair from blue back to red,” he said under his breath.
I chuckled, despite myself. I sighed again as I picked up a glass of ice water and rested it against my lip.
“Seriously, old boy, how’d you manage to pick up such a sweet, young thing only to lose him in sixteen hours?” Alain asked.
“How’d you know he’s a ‘sweet, young thing’?” I made air quotes.
Alain scoffed. “You’ve already said his age and you told Mars he was sweet, therefore I deduced he was rather a sweet, young thing.”
I grinned. “You’d be right. He’s gorgeous. I can’t deny it.”
“Chewy, is it?”
I looked at Patsy. “No, his name is Cachi. He’s Puerto Rican.” I couldn’t help but smile at the Irishman. “Prettiest little thing I ever did see.”
“And apparently ‘is mum is a great cook,” Mars added.
“Wait a second. You had time to save this chap from three thugs, pick him up, meet his dear old mummy, eat her cooking, and spend half the day in bed with him?” Alain drawled. “I must hand it to you, Rex. You move extraordinarily fast.”
“It ain’t like that,” I grumbled. “Apparently, I’m what they call irresistible.”
“Down on the farm, maybe,” Nash said. When I said nothing, he put his arm around my neck and pulled my head down, rubbing his knuckles on the top of my head.
I tried to pull away and finally stopped squirming as he grabbed both of my cheeks and looked deeply into my eyes.
“I’m only kidding, Rex. You’re a lot better looking than the average farm animal. ”
Our server saved his life when she and a bus boy walked up carrying trays heaped high with our breakfasts.
I laughed as he let go of me and I straightened up to smooth my hair as they began setting plates on the table.
She pulled hot sauce and ketchup out of her apron, smiled, and walked away after refilling our drinks.
They laid off the teasing and we tucked into our meals.
I’d been starving, barely eating since the day before.
I’d rushed out of the house so quickly yesterday afternoon, then worked my ass off in the garage to get to Cachi.
When that had been blown all to shit, I hadn’t felt like eating when I got home.
This morning, I’d just had time to suck down a cup of coffee, eat a banana, and feed Lola before coming to the office, so I guess I’d been hungrier than I realized.