Page 63 of Lone Star

~*~

Reese had been to Texas once before, on an op. A quick, clean kill, there and gone again. It had been in Dallas. Amarillo looked very different.

There hadn’t been any federal agents around then – or, well, there had been, but long after he’d gone. He’d not sat on a rock, like he did now, and watched them roll in. Just one dusty car and a dustier van. A man in a cheap suit and mirror-lensed shades, face creased with fatigue and unhappiness, and two young people in windbreakers toting cases, cameras swinging from straps around their necks.

He didn’t want to be here, not for this part. Every instinct told him to run; to hide his face, to disappear. He’d pulled his hood up, at least, and wore dark sunglasses. But he was still visible. Was stillhere, when he shouldn’t have been.

He’d been told to stay, though. When the men in charge didn’t run, you didn’t either.

The crunch of gravel announced Fox’s arrival, though that was the only sound. If not for a few loose stones, his approach would have been silent.

“What do you think?” he asked, when he stood beside Reese’s boulder.

“It’s risky being out in the open,” Reese said, more quickly than he’d thought he would. He’d meant to keep quiet, and do as he was told, but, well, the anxiety was getting to him, crawling across his skin like insects. “They can see us.” He nodded toward the FBI agent, currently shaking hands and talking with Candy.

Fox breathed out a little hum that sounded amused. An amusement Reese recognized; his previous master had done that. Usually just before he said, “I’m surprised you know that.” It was for when he said something smart. “They can. But I think that’s alright, in this case.”

“Does this chapter work with the FBI?”

“Not usually.” Fox climbed up to perch beside him, an arm span between them. “Special circumstances, and all that.” A pause. “I meant: what do you think of Tenny’s theory?”

Reese turned to him, surprised, but Fox’s expression gave nothing away. “Ten is your brother.”You’ll trust him more than you’ll trust me, he meant. Friendship he didn’t understand, but blood relation – siblings – he did.

“Technically, he is,” Fox consented, head tilting. “But mostly he’s my charge, and I’m his minder. He’s good at what he does, yeah, but he’s a wild card. I want to know what you think. What’s your read on that?” He pointed to the signs of struggle in the dirt, now being captured on film by the FBI lab techs.

Reese glanced that way again, squinting against the light, even with his shades. It was much brighter here than in Tennessee, like the sun hovered closer to the earth. “I don’t think he’s wrong,” he said, finally.

“But you don’t agree completely.”

He frowned, struggling to find the words.I hate him, he thought. A sentiment that formed inside his head every time he looked at Ten, every time someone mentioned him. But that wasn’t a helpful thought; wasn’t data that he could quantify and use. What use was an emotion like that? Hate? It served no purpose; it clouded his mind and dulled his edge.

Ten’s theory was a viable one. If he closed his eyes, he could clearly envision it playing out just the way he’d said. It was logical, and there was enough physical evidence to back it up to suit his own curiosity.

But…

(He hated that.But… That dangling bit of question. He wasn’t used to feeling this way – the closest he came was when he saw Roman set a hand on his sister’s waist, and read Kristin’s silent plea to let it be,but…anger always surged.)

“He’s too sure,” he said, frowning some more, because he couldn’t explain it. “He doesn’tknow, but he thinks he does.” He glanced over at Fox, and earned a thin smile.

“He’s cocky, yeah.Toococky. I hear you.” He sighed and rested his forearms on his knees, leaned forward with another, deeper sigh as his back stretched. “Shit. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do with him.”

Reese wondered why he was the one being told this. He wasn’t family, or friend, or even club member. He was…himself. And he knew of only one use for himself.

“Ah, well, it’s not your problem.” Fox got to his feet, and flashed him a grin. “Don’t worry about it. And don’t let him push you around, either. He’s a total asshole.”

Reese watched him walk over to join the others, wondering what had just happened.

~*~

Fox wasn’t surprised when, ten paces away from Reese and his rock, a shadow fell across his own, and Tenny slid into step beside him as if from thin air. He shot him a covert glance, and found him walking with his head down, and his shoulders rounded, more of his feigned nonchalance – but he vibrated with tension.

Good.

“What’s up?” Fox asked, lightly.

“You asked him about me.” Tone flat, but woven with a thread of accusation.

Reese didn’t like Ten – he’d suspected, but confirmed it just now. Fox didn’t blame the kid: Tenny was unlikeable. For someone as straightforward and uncomplicated as Reese, Tenny’s wiles and manipulations would be anathema.

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