Page 59 of Stolen Goods
Thad laughed too.
Then Jo.
In a split second, all the awkwardness oozed away.
“Jo? Is someone here?” a voice called down the hall.
Jo froze, eyes going wide. The laughter died on Thad’s lips and he sighed. Addy covered her mouth with her hands because she had enough sense to know when to be quiet, but lacked all bodily control at the moment—her synapses were on overdrive. The tension flooded back.
A man turned the corner and stopped dead.
Addy blinked. She had about one second to take in the fact that he was shirtless, with a towel wrapped around his waist and an impressive set of six-pack abs, before he bellowed, “Oh, what the hell?”
He lunged across the room and disappeared from sight, then returned with a handgun outstretched and aimed directly at Thad. “Hands where I can see them, Ryder.”
“Nate,” Jo said gently, stepping forward. A lightbulb went off in the back of Addy’s head.Nate. Agent Nate Parker.He shot a pointed look in Jo’s direction and kept the gun on Thad. Jo cringed. “He’s here to turn himself in.”
“Sure, I’ll believe that when I see it.” Nate snorted and nudged the gun. “I said, hands where I can see them.”
Thad crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Just like that, all his guards were refortified. “Is this how the Feds always treat their star witnesses?”
“It’s how we treat fugitives on the run from the law.”
Thad shrugged. “Am I running?”
Nate blew out an empty puff of air and Jo rolled her eyes.
“You’re not helping,” she said through gritted teeth and then turned back to Nate, stepping closer. “Why don’t we all sit down and talk this out? Okay?”
Love softened Nate’s hard gaze when he looked at Jo. The sight made Addy melt. He dropped the gun an inch, then two, his rigid stature slowly caving in the closer Jo moved. It was working. The tension was ebbing.
Or it was, until Thad chose that moment to open his big mouth and comment, “Hey, Parker? Your, uh, government assets are showing.”
Addy looked.
She couldn’t help it.Of courseshe looked.
And, well…Way to go, Jo.
Nate growled as he clenched his towel shut—and that might have been it, if Thad hadn’t snickered in a totally unnecessary way. Before Jo or Addy could do anything, Nate stormed down the hall, grabbed Thad by the shoulder, and slammed him into the wall. The towel came off for real that time. Addy gasped and spun at the first sign of a white butt cheek, turning to find Jo frozen, jaw dropped, though the edges of her lips curved up in a smile as she stared with disbelief. There was a sound that could’ve been a muffled laugh, or maybe a pained groan. Then thechinkof metal.
“Apologies, ladies,” came Nate’s deep voice.
He pushed against Thad’s back and marched them both down the hall, towel back on this time. Addy noticed handcuffs circling Thad’s wrists before they disappeared around the bend. She raced to follow. So did Jo. By the time they got into the next room, Nate had already pushed Thad into a chair and was pacing. Thad wriggled his shoulders.
“Do you have any idea how uncomfortable these things are, Parker?”
Nate didn’t pause. “Do you have any idea how few fucks I give, Ryder?”
Jo leaned over to Addy, whispering, “One day, they’ll be best friends, and we’ll all look back on this and laugh.” Before Addy could toss a stupefied look in her direction, Jo stepped forward and clapped her hands loudly to grab everyone’s attention. “Thad, stop being an ass. Nate, please go put some clothes on. And then we’ll talk.”
The men stopped and stared at her. Jo crossed her arms. Addy was waiting for her to start tapping her foot like a disciplining mother. Nate stormed past without a glance back, and everyone jolted at the sound of a door slamming shut. The edge of Thad’s lips twitched, but Jo saw it immediately and punched him in the shoulder before taking the seat by his side.
“Don’t even think about it.”
“Or what?” Thad pulled his hands out from behind his back, then rubbed the pinkish skin on one of his wrists as he easily slipped the handcuffs off and stuffed them into his pocket. “You know, it’s almost cute he actually thought those would do anything.”
Jo rolled her eyes and shoved an elbow into his stomach. “Be nice.”
