Page 20 of Doubling Down

“What the fuck, man!” Dane demanded as he stalked forward. Maverick never left his side. Damn, Eric wanted a dog. Did Ezra like pets? This little girl needed a big dog to protect her as she grew up. Hmm, the ideas were forming.

“Language!” Eric admonished. “I’m holding a baby!”

Dane rolled his eyes. “I can see that. Why are you holding a baby?”

Eric tilted his head toward the open door behind him. Dane stepped into the apartment at his heels. Eric grinned.

“Are we questioning a suspect or—”

Eric growled. “He’s not a suspect!”

“Okay.”

Eric would have loved to continue teasing his friend, but he could see Ezra becoming irritated. “Ezra, this is my best friend and teammate, Dane Rawlings. Dane, this is my Ezra.”

Dane’s face lit up.

Uh-oh. Eric hadn’t meant to let themyslip.

“TheEzra?” he asked, way too happy.

Ezra had risen to his feet. Eric didn’t like how pale he was.

“What do you meantheEzra?” Ezra demanded.

Dane chuckled. “And the baby?”

“She’s mine!” Ezra stated, moving closer. He stood in front of Eric like he was going to protect them.

“Feisty,” Dane commented. “But I’m pretty sure whether he’s your Ezra or not that he’s not supposed to know that you're a cop.”

Eric shrugged. “I’m blaming you.”

“Me?” Dane’s eyes widened.

“You did tell me to canvass the neighbors. I was following your order.”

“Bastard!” Dane growled.

“Little ears!” Eric glared as he placed his free hand on the side of Annabelle’s ear. “You need to watch your language.”

“My language.” Dane repeated. “You cuss more than me!”

“Not anymore,” Eric decided. His entire life was going to change. It was more than just Ezra. Ezra was obviously a package deal. Family. Eric had been making a family of his own since bringing Brandon home. It looked like they’d just added to their little group.

“What is going on?” Ezra demanded. He even stomped his foot. Cute. So cute. Not that Eric would ever tell Ezra he thought that.

It was Dane who answered. Eric really needed to decide how to pay his best friend back.

“That guy there”—he pointed at Eric—“has been crushing on a little barista but hasn’t made a move because he is currently on a job,” Dane said. “It turns out that this cute barista has a little girl that we didn’t know about, and my partner is currently holding her inside the smallest apartment I’ve ever seen. I now have to figure out how to explain to our boss why this barista who shouldn’t know Eric is a cop knows that Eric is a cop.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” Ezra told him. He took a step back and Eric wrapped an arm around his waist.

“I know you won’t, but we still have to tell our boss,” Eric said.

“Are you going to get into trouble?” Ezra asked him.

“No, baby, Dane’s going to get into trouble.”

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