Page 12 of Anything But Convenient

Sinclair bobbed his head quickly. “Oh yes, absolutely! He is a sweetheart, and I already talked to him about maybe helping Takeshi as well. And us, you know, with the sign language.”

Tank turned to look at me. His face told me everything I needed to know. He thought Sinclair was amazing and was so glad that my boyfriend was going to be a part of this newfound family we had.

“That's good, Sinclair. I'm happy to know this. I'm going to head to my office for a bit but let me know when everyone gets here. I'll let Jim and Tim know about this Archie fellow.” He left the room before I had a chance to say anything.

Sinclair pulled out his phone again and texted Archie the information.

“Why don't I know about this Archie person?” I asked him as my fingers flew across the keyboard to make sure everything was in place. I was looping the video to make sure our guys' identities were hidden and ensuring that they had the fastest route back to headquarters.

Sinclair ran his hands along the back of my neck until he reached the base of my hairline. His fingers slowly moved through the short hairs there. Heat licked down my spine. It was a very inappropriate response to the work I was doing.

“There's no need to worry, Memphis. Archie is a friend that's going through a tough time. He's a regular customer at the shop. Actually, we never hung out outside of it,” he admitted shyly. “I kind of wanted to, but he was always in and out, rushing to work or talking to his roommate. He comes in sometimes too. This was really the first time he ever shared anything. I didn't even know that he was an interpreter before now.”

I chuckled. “It's okay, little barista. I'm not mad at you. Just making sure you know you're the only one for me, and I'm the only one for you.”

He pressed the quick kiss on my lips. “Of course! Always.”

We went back to watching the feed on the screens. The guys left the warehouse as is, leaving the bodies for Stabler and his team to find. They loaded up in the vehicles, then started moving our way.

The hard part was done. All I had to do was make sure they got enough green lights to get to HQ as quickly as they could.

When I saw the truck turning into the underground parking area, I motioned to Sinclair, "Go get Tank and let him know they're here. And where is this Archie friend of yours?”

“Who's talking about me?” A soft voice said as he rounded the corner.

The guy was young, much like my little barista. He had a cautious smile on his face, and his hair definitely looked as if he was tugging it the entire way here. His clothes were a bit ruffled too, which told me he didn't hesitate to throw something on instead of trying to impress us.

I liked him all the more for it.

I motioned to a chair at the table. "Have a seat. I'll get you all caught up while Sinclair goes to grab my boss."

I printed out an NDA packet and walked over to him. I eased it over, dropping a pen beside them.

“Sign these first, and then I'll talk.”

He nodded, signing blindly without looking at them. When I gave him a questioning look, he shrugged. “I’ve had to interpret for quite a few people in various jobs over the years. A lot of government work. I know far too much is all I'll say, but an NDA is not a new thing to me. Sinclair called me, and I'm here. Just tell me what you need.”

Oh yeah,I thought to myself. This guy was definitely a team player. We were going to bring him into the fold one way or another.

CHAPTER 5

ARCHIE

Sinclair had definitely done wellfor himself when he snagged the hottie computer nerd. I would never try to break up a happy home. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t ogle a man who was clearly blessed with good looks and a functional brain.

There were so few of them on this earth as it was.

“Can you tell me a bit more about what’s needed?” I asked the pair as they stared me down.

My friend was giddy, his body bouncing in the chair as he gave me the widest smile I’d ever seen. His partner was less friendly, though his smirk told me he wasn’t angry at my arrival.

I would think he wouldn’t be since Sinclair made it clear I was going to be helping them.

“The team just arrived. They’ve got several… people who need help. We aren’t sure where they’re from or how long they’ve been gone,” Memphis answered while Sinclair disappeared through the doorway again.

“Several? I’ll do what I can. Hopefully it will be enough.”

I was confident in my abilities. My only concern was over ensuring I got to speak with everyone to the degree they needed me.

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