Page 51 of Beyond the Badge: Nox

No, butshewas tall, dark and gorgeous.

“How about we stop busting on Equi-Nox and get this meeting started?” came from the phone in the center of the table.

“Wilder with you, Fletch?” Crew asked the undercover task force member.

“I’m here,” Wilder answered, “but I agree with Fletch. Let’s get this meeting started because the ol’ ladies expect me to meet up with them later to help clean the Wolf Den.”

Finn snorted. “That has to be a shitty job.”

“It could be,” Wilder said, “if they didn’t make the sweet butts scrub the bathrooms.”

“Yeah, they’re so fucking gag-worthy,” Fletch confirmed. “Showers, toilets… everything. They’re a bunch of filthy pigs.”

“No, according to them,we’rea bunch of pigs,” Rez said on a laugh.

A bunch of oinking circled the table.

“That licked-clean cookie container and decimated donut box kind of proves they’re right,” Nox muttered.

Finn slapped the table. “Oh, look at that… Fort Nox told a joke.”

“Isn’t a joke if it’s true,” Nox responded.

Crew rapped his knuckles on the table. “Okay, let’s get started.”

“Thank fuck,” Ken Proctor mumbled under his breath.

“Proctologist, you’re stuck here all fucking day transcribing wiretaps. Are you in a fucking rush to get back to it?” Torres asked him.

Proctor shot a grimace at Nox. “Tell more jokes, Annie Lennox.”

“Comedy hour is over,” Crew announced. “Time for serious business…”

A few of them booed or hissed.

“It’s all fun and games until a Sicilian puts out a hit on an outlaw biker,” Crew reminded them. “Okay, if you’ve been keeping up with the meetings, you know that we—by we, I mean the group leaders—have been submitting our reports to the Assistant US Attorney. In turn, she has pulled together a grand jury and has begun to introduce the evidence to them.”

“Holy shit. This is good news,” Fletch said. “I finally see the light at the end of this long damn tunnel.”

Nox glanced over at Cabrera since she was currently living in Fletch’s house. As soon as Fletch and Wilder were finished with their undercover assignment, they’d be moving back into his home, and she’d have to find a new place.

Nox’s eyes slid from Crew to Cabrera and back.

Though… something was off between those two.

Or something was on, more like it.

They could pretend that they annoyed each other, but to Nox it couldn’t be clearer…

Crew and Cabrera were fucking.

Even though those two were pretending nothing was happening between them, Nox had a feeling Cabrera wouldn’t have a problem finding a new place to live. In Crew’s condo.

“For those a bit dense,” Crew hesitated and cocked his eyebrow at Rez, “let me explain how this will work and our part in it. That means, pay attention. This grand jury can last weeks or even months, depending on how much evidence the prosecutor decides to present. Even though Pam, the AUSA, is starting the proceedings, we’re still not done collecting evidence and won’t be until we’re told to shut things down.”

“Soon?”

“Yeah, Fletch, my guess is soon,” Crew answered with a shake of his head. “Pam?—”

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