Page 35 of Anything But Convenient

As if he felt my happiness, he turned to look up at me. “For a man with a bland desk, you sure are handsome.”

I threw my head back, body jolting as I laughed with all my might. It hurt, fuck did it hurt, but it was worth it. A little chuckle every now and then was fine, but full-blown laughter, the kind that made your stomach ache, would always feel like someone was clawing my throat out.

When I looked back at Archie, there was a sad smile on his face. “I don’t like when you do that. You hide your pain from me.”

I froze at his words. How did he know?

“For as much as you watch others, I’ve been watching you, husband. No more keeping things from me. I want it all, ok?” His demand was earnestly whispered between us.

Unable to argue, I nodded to agree. He would get all of me if that’s what he wanted. No holding back. Not anymore.

CHAPTER 13

ARCHIE

I wasn’tsure how much they’d let me in by tagging along with Takeshi to the office. Tank had originally told me he wanted the whole team to learn sign language too. That led me to believe he’d be fine with me coming in.

That, plus it being Takeshi’s first day back, had me up and ready to go far earlier than necessary this morning. I wanted to support my husband through everything by being his first line of defense against whatever he came across.

As the team called the meeting to order, I found a spot next to Takeshi in one of the empty chairs. The whole group sat around a table facing a wall of screens. They lit up as Memphis clicked across a keyboard.

“Heads up, Archie. This might get a bit graphic. You good?” Ronan asked.

I shrugged. “It should be fine. My ex-roommate loves a good true crime show and those investigative stories. I’ve seen enough I can keep up.”

And it was the truth. I wouldn’t flinch at the first sign of a little blood.

Not unless it was Takeshi’s. After going through that binder he made me, I’d learned that the only thing I truly despised was seeing his injuries and knowing the pain he’d suffered.

The screen behind Ronan changed to reveal six headshots. Three of them had a giant red x across the photo.

“We’ve eliminated three of the six Gilded Ones leaders so far. We have three to go. While Tank assures me he has a contact set to take one of them down, that still leaves us with two."

Orion drummed his fingers on the table. “What do we know about the three left?”

Ronan pointed at Memphis. “Tell them what you’ve got.”

“It’s not much. I only have what I’ve pieced together,” he started. “The big guy with the beard is Mordecai. He’s into gun running. There’s nothing on him other than arrests and a number of addresses that are all either falsified or empty.”

Cohen scoffed. “Of course they are.”

Memphis continued as if he didn’t hear the commentary. “Beside him to the right is Ajax Lancaster. Yes, I know it’s fucking weird, but I can’t find anything else on him. He’s who we have to thank for that shipment of women and children we just found. Currently, he’s gone underground, but I have feelers out everywhere looking for him if he shows up again.”

“He wasn’t at the warehouse we raided and emptied?” It was Godric that asked, his deep voice skeptical.

“Nope. There is no footage to place him there. Stabler also mentioned he got a hit on Ajax being in Paris during the raid, so he wouldn’t have been in the group. I’m guessing he had a second-in-command there to handle it all.”

“Probably the asshole who peacocked through the place,” Orion grumbled.

“You’re one to talk about peacocking, pretty boy.”

Orion scowled at Cohen’s teasing tone, though he wound up rolling his eyes. I watched it all with an eagerness I couldn’t explain.

These men were family. I knew it the moment I met them all, yet seeing their dynamic now made it even more clear. That, plus I felt the warmth of Takeshi at my side. Having him this close, being around the people he cared for, made up for the disturbing men on the screen.

“Back to what I was saying,” Memphis said loudly. “The last jerk up there is Diestro Lune. If you guessed he’s just as bad as the other assholes, then you’d be correct. Everyone calls him ‘Looney’ — which is soooo original. They say he likes to shoot first and ask questions later.”

I coughed to cover the laugh that came out at his sarcastic retort. Takeshi smirked at me, his eyes knowing. The others gave me looks too, though they were more amused than anything.

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