Page 2 of Justified Fear
Ryan glanced at her and found that she was looking at the lanai.Autumn stood next to her brother Ian Smith, aka Mix.He worked for Dillon Security as one of their operatives.Tall, dark-haired, with dark blue eyes, he didn’t look that much like his half-sister.Raised in the UK, he was what his grandmother would call stuffy.Even now, he was wearing a pair of dress pants, and while he had left off the tie, he was still wearing a button-down dress shirt.To complete the former British spy look, he was holding a martini.
Then, his gaze moved to the person who stepped up beside Mix.The diminutive blonde was dressed more casually, with a sleeveless sweater and a pair of shorts.It made sense that she was here since she was Mix’s partner at Dillon Security.
“Fuck me,” Kap said.
“Is that a request?”Nikki asked.“I mean, not from me, but from Eden?”
“Isn’t that your ex?”Rami asked.
“No.”Then a second later.“Sort of.”
Ryan chuckled.“Sort of?”
Kap flipped him off, then stomped off in the direction of another cluster of folks that took him further away from Eden.They had never heard of the woman until she’d worked security for Benedict Kingston, CEO of Kingston Surfing.It had been several months, and they still didn’t know what the real story behind their relationship was.
“Ohhh, I need to talk about this with Charity.”
Their forensics tech was the one person who always ran the bets.TFH did have a gambling problem, but it was minor considering what he’d dealt with back in LA.There, a cop had to be careful that his partner or teammates didn’t shoot him in the back.
Mentally, he slammed that door shut.He didn’t need to go to the dark place, not on such a nice day.
“You know the big boss said not to do that,” Seth said, amusement threading his voice.
Martin “Del” Delano was the head guy in charge of both Alpha and Bravo Teams—not to mention the soon-to-be active Team Charlie.He knew that Del had tried to curb the betting on sex lives within the groups, but he had failed miserably.Especially since his wife, Emma, participated in and sometimes ran the bets.
“So, I know nothing, but make sure to let Autumn know, or shewillbe upset.”
Then he headed back to the grill, where Del was working the burgers and hui hui chicken.Adam Lee, captain of Team Alpha and Del’s best friend, stood next to him, his arm wrapped around his wife Jin.
“So, what’s the bet?”Rami asked.
“I’m asking Emma and Charity,” Nikki said as she texted.
Within a minute, their text alerts went off.Ryan pulled it up, saw the bets, and had to chuckle.They worked hard, played hard, and bet hard.More than likely, Kap was going to throw a fit when he found out they were betting on him.
“You know Kap isn’t gonna like this,” Rami said, even as he was texting what was more than likely a bet.
“Listen,” Nikki said, “if he didn’t like her anymore, he would have no trouble hanging out with her.That reaction is a tell.”
He agreed with Nikki.Ryan was just happy he didn’t have anyone gossiping about him, but it also meant that he had little to no romantic life to talk about.It was the way he wanted it.At least these days.He’d hooked up a time or two with tourists the last few months, but he made sure that was all it was.They worked so much, he didn’t have time to find a bed partner outside of work unless it was just a vacation fling.
So, he thought as he texted his wager, he would bet on his teammates’ love lives because none of that would ever blow back on him.
Hours later,the sun had set, and everyone was stuffed with food.It had been a fun and slightly amusing night.Watching Kap avoid his ex, or rather, not his ex, was entertaining.Two bets were going on at the moment.One dealt with people’s thoughts on what their backstory was.There had to be some kind of backstory that went beyond work.He did know that Kap was a former NCIS agent who had spent time in the Middle East.It was also where he knew Eden had lived for a while.He wasn’t sure how many people had put those facts together, but he had heard both of those stories at different times.When you were naturally quiet, you learned a lot from the people around you.
The second wager had to do with how long it would be before Kap gave in.Or, he guessed, either of them gave him.While Kap was pretending Eden didn’t exist, Eden kept checking Kap out.
“So, what’s your story?”Charity asked Ryan, breaking into his thoughts.
There were other times—when you were that quiet one—that people thought you were hiding something.He glanced at her.Her FBI Agent husband, TJ, was sitting next to her.
“What do you mean?”
She smiled at him.She really was a stunning woman.She tended to capture most everyone’s attention not only for her looks, but also for her brain.
“I mean that you are the only member of Team Bravo that hasn’t had a wager put on him.”
“Wait, there have been wagers put on me?”Nikki demanded.
