Page 134 of Lone Star

“Yeah, he’s a real asshole.”

“We’re operatives,” Reese said, numb. “We don’t–”

“Need to be tested? No. No, we don’t. We’re better trained, better equipped, and smarter than all of thesebikers.”

“You almost got yourself killed because you were bored,” Reese reminded.

Tenny flapped a hand dismissively. “Who can blame me?”

“Me.”

“Anyway. We outclass all of them. This isn’t about testing our skills. This is child’s play what we’re doing now.”

Reese stared at him. “You almost died.”

“Because – as we’ve already established – I’m stupid. Had I been treating it like a proper op I never would have put myself, or the op itself, into that kind of jeopardy. There. Are you happy that I’ve admitted it?”

“Yes.”

Tenny showed a moment’s surprise, like he hadn’t thought Reese might agree. “Careful,” he said, and Reese realized that he’d smiled, and when hadthatstarted happening? “Had I treated it like a proper op,” Ten continued, “we’d have landed the shooter, freed the doctor, all of it over and done with in a flash.

“My point is this: Fox is testing us ashuman beings.” His lip curled on the word, making a face as if he’d tasted something foul. “As potentialbrothersin thisclub.”

“I like the club.”

“Of course you do, you simpleton.”

“The club is a family,” Reese insisted.

“Yes, I’m painfully aware.”

“Don’t you want a family?”

More surprise. A blanking of the face and a rounding of the eyes. A beat of silence. A shift in tone. “Do you?”

“I’ve always had a sister.”

“To whom you are related by blood, and with whom your former employers controlled your allegiance. I was briefed on you,” he said. “But these men will never be your brothers. Do you think they care for you? That they love you?”

He thought about his phone call with Mercy earlier, the now-familiar softness and affection in the big man’s voice. Mercy was many things, but never duplicitous. Never subtle.

“What?” Tenny asked, brows lowering, because he must have had another facial malfunction.

“The club is a place for people who don’t fit in anywhere else,” Reese said, repeating what Mercy had once told him. “It’s a family for people like us.”

Ten studied him a moment longer, and then let his head fall back, let his eyes fall shut. Just talking like this had exhausted him. He yawned, and it didn’t seem fake. “Christ,” he murmured.

“You can sleep,” Reese said. “I’ll keep watch.”

“Oh, wonderful. I feel safer already.” But a few moments later, his breathing had evened, and the cruel line of his mouth softened.

Reese settled back in his chair to wait, and watch, an inexplicable kernel of warmth blooming in his chest.

Forty

The coffee might have been decaf, but by the time she’d finished it, Michelle felt properly grounded and ready to tackle the day ahead. She went to wash her face, and put her hair up, and dress for battle: loose sweater, tight jeans, a pair of ridiculous, pointed-toe cowboy boots she’d bought at Jenny’s urging, a faded brown stitched with turquoise whirls and flowers. She woke and dressed TJ, got his breakfast, and realized, as she plucked a stray Cheerio off the floor, that she was humming to herself.

There was a good chance there was something very wrong with her, and doubtless all her relatives would agree – though the same thing was wrong with them. She made a mental note to call Raven soon; that was always an appropriately sobering experience.

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