Page 14 of Lost (Powertools: The Shields 2)

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Kennedy crossed her legs as she sat at the glossy table in the command room of the Shields’ headquarters. She wished she’d taken five minutes to run up to her apartment and change out of the ridiculous outfit Sola had lent her, or at least to put on new underwear. The air conditioning made her very aware of every breeze passing through the room.

Better not to think about how she’d lost them.

“Good job today, team.” Jordan was wrapping up his debriefing. They’d already contacted an agent for Ransom and Levi to meet up with and transfer the stash they’d confiscated. Liam was at the hospital relaying updates on Ace’s condition after persuading the staff there that his injuries were due to an accidental discharge of his firearm. Knox was hanging out in one of their “waiting rooms” which, though cozy, had no windows and were essentially fancy cells. Meanwhile, Kennedy was trying to ignore the hot mess she’d made of her life by fucking the ex she’d never gotten over while the man she wished she could have a future with watched and listened.

She squirmed in her chair, wondering why that thought made her wish she could do it again. Lying to herself, or to any of the other Shields, would be pointless. They’d all borne witness to exactly how much she’d enjoyed herself.

Shit.

“Last two items...” Jordan looked to her then. “Kennedy, take blood samples from Knox and run a full battery of tests on him. Both for his own health and safety, and for your peace of mind as well.”

“Oh.” She blinked—of course she should have thought of that herself. And likely would have if she wasn’t trying so hard to smother her residual emotions from their exchange. The ramifications of their quickie might ripple through her life for a long time to come. “Sure. Will do.”

“Get him set up with counseling and an addiction specialist to help him stay sober. Maybe Gavyn or Roman can suggest a sponsor who could be discreet if they’re not interested personally.” He referred to their friends, who’d met at rehab. Gavyn owned the Hot Rides motorcycle shop and Roman was a mechanic at its classic car sister garage, Hot Rods. Jordan cleared his throat and added, “I think it would be best if you took some time on the clock to do the same. In fact, I’m going to require you attend five sessions. If you want to keep going beyond those, that’s fine too.”

“Me?” She choked on a reflexive denial. Maybe it wasn’t a horrible idea.

“He’s right, Kennedy. You should do it.” Sola nudged her. As an operative skilled in seduction, she would understand the impact making herself so vulnerable could have. The difference being Sola had never slept with someone she cared about for the job.

“Okay, I will. Thanks.”

Jordan nodded, then turned to Marcus. “We’re going to need to house our guest upstairs somewhere. I realize we have plenty of empty apartments, but—”

“Oh boy.” Aarav whistled low, as if he’d already guessed what was coming next.

“—given the fact that Knox has played for both sides, and is in a pretty bleak situation, we don’t want to take any chances on him contacting a Viper or maybe harming himself.”

Kennedy blinked. Why did that thought bring out the goose bumps on her bare legs when even the arctic AC hadn’t? She didn’t want to give a shit about Knox. Too late.

“Fuck no.” Marcus stiffened. “You want me to babysit him?”

“I’d make the newbies do it, but…” Jordan shrugged. Ace wasn’t going to be in any physical condition to be fending off a man as streetwise and tough as Knox any time soon, and Liam was going to be preoccupied with Ace. If Kennedy wasn’t mistaken, she thought they might be more than simply field partners at the Shields.

“Ransom and Levi?” Marcus never argued with Jordan or turned down an assignment. It raised more than a few brows around the table.

“They already have the exchange set up with the DEA agent, who is familiar with Ransom. We can’t switch our operative now.” Jordan crossed his arms.

“What about Nolan?” Marcus looked around the room. “Aarav? Sola and Ruby?Anyoneelse? Come on, somebody, help me out here.”

“I have a feeling you’ll be properly motivated to keep an extra close watch on our guest.” Jordan smirked while the others chuckled. Kennedy didn’t join in. She noticed Marcus hadn’t mentioned her in his laundry list. Was it because he knew her judgment couldn’t be trusted when Knox was around?

Or was he jealous of them and what they might get up to if left alone?

She shot him a side-eyed glance, but he refused to meet her stare. Great.

“Yeah, fine.” Marcus grumbled. “But don’t blame me if he ends up with another black eye. He’s got a smart mouth and I’m not in the mood for it.”

Kennedy couldn’t argue with that. It also happened to be a mouth capable of imparting a thousand times more potent pleasure than her favorite toy. And now she knew it for sure instead of only suspecting that to be the case, she was never going to stop reliving the moment he’d gone down on her in her fantasies. Damn him.

“It’d be a much better tactic to befriend him, or at least make it seem like you have.” Jordan shrugged one shoulder.

“Now you’re asking for too much.” Marcus sliced a hand through the air.

“All right, that’s it. Everyone get some rest and make sure you’re staying alert both when you’re on duty and when you’re away from headquarters, especially around our friends at Hot Rods, Hot Rides, the Powertools construction sites, and other innocent bystanders. The Vipers aren’t going to slither away once they figure out who has their guy. This isn’t over.” Jordan stood and everyone else followed suit, milling around to discuss plans for dinner or workouts before crashing.

For the first time ever, Kennedy felt out of place in their midst. Probably because she respected the hell out of them but right then she wasn’t sure she could say the same of herself.

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