I.N.E.T 2

by Brenda Cothern

  Knight’s grip yanked him back and caused Zep to stumble against the side of the driver’s seat. Zep wasn’t even sure when he tried to exit the SUV, but his adrenaline was pumping. Adrenaline or not, Knight’s words penetrated his mind and he realized how halfcocked he was about to go.

  “Fuck!” Zep climbed back into the SUV. He didn’t need to shrug off Knight’s hand because once he slammed his door shut, his teammate released him.

  “Get us back to Hunt,” Knight ordered and as much as Zep wanted to do otherwise, he couldn’t argue Knight’s words.

  ***

  Hunt glanced up when his teammates walked into the house. He frowned at their empty hands. Hunt had worked with Zep long enough to know the man hadn’t planned to only go food shopping. So, he wasn’t surprised by the camera in Knight’s hand. What did surprise him was the lack of shopping bags and the expressions on both of his teammates’ faces.

  “What happened?” Hunt stood up from the dining room table and accepted the digital camera from Knight’s outstretched hand.

  Knight glanced at Zep who was pacing the length of the living room. It was obvious Zep wasn’t about to fill in Hunt. In fact, it looked like Zep was lost in his own world at the moment. Once more, Knight wasn’t sure what to make of the man’s behavior. After Knight filled in Hunter, the man laughed before he sat back down in front of the surveillance equipment that took up almost the entire dining room table.

  “Fucking Slade,” Hunt finally said while he shook his head. “He can’t do anything without stirring up shit.” Hunt chuckled and didn’t seem concerned. Unlike Zep.

  “Guess it’s safe to assume there is no food in the car that needs to be unloaded?” Hunt changed the subject and laughed again when Knight looked at him as if he were crazy. “What? I’m hungry.”

  Knight glanced over his shoulder at Zep before he took a step closer to Hunt. He hated not knowing Zep better, but there wasn’t shit he could do about it other than pick Hunt’s brain about the man.

  “He do this a lot?” Knight echoed the same question he had asked Hunter earlier that day while they were in the SUV.

  “Only when he’s worried about Slade,” Hunt replied without looking toward their other teammate.

  Hunt’s focus was on downloading the pictures from the digital camera and overlaying them on the satellite photos they already had of Hell’s Minions. He didn’t see Knight tense or his anger flair.

  “They have a history together?” Knight growled out. He couldn’t stop the flair of jealousy that boiled within him. It wasn’t until he heard his knuckles crack that he realized his fists were clenched at his sides.

  “Yeah,” Hunt answered absently.

  That was all the confirmation that Knight needed for his anger to go ape shit. Even with his high as hell IQ, he automatically assumed the history between Zep and Slade was sexual. He knew his jealousy over the men fucking in the past was irrational, but that didn’t stop him from turning on his heel. He thundered toward Zep and the man barely stopped and looked up before Knight knocked the shit out of him.

  Zep had no idea why Knight just clocked him in the jaw. He didn’t pause to figure it out or care either. Instead he retaliated. The second he caught his balance, he brought his foot up and planted a kick in the center of Knight’s chest that made his teammate stumble back.

  Knight grunted when Zep’s combat boot connected with his chest, but he was already counterattacking before the breath finished leaving his lungs. He only got in two jabs to Zep’s ribs before the man danced around him and kicked him in the back of his left knee.

  Zep watched Knight go down. Knight had no other choice, but before Zep could follow up the move, his teammate rolled back to his feet. It was obvious Slade had given Knight some training. Zep didn’t care. Slade had trained him too. Not only trained him, but taught him all the tricks to bring down a larger opponent. That was exactly what he planned to do.

  “What the fuck…” Hunt yelled at his teammates who were cage fighting without the cage in the middle of the living room.

  However, before he could finish his question, a loud beeping noise came from one of his computers. Time froze. Knight and Zep didn’t take their eyes off one another, but both were aware that Hunt had moved back to the equipment on the table.

  “What the hell is that?” Knight panted out.

  “Tripwire,” Zep answered equally breathless.

  “It’s the rental car company,” Hunt informed his teammates that were acting like enemies. “One of you asshole’s answer the door and sign for the fucking rental car.”

  However, neither man moved nor relaxed out of their fighting stance. Hunter glared at them both, but knew they didn’t notice. He turned off the perimeter alarm that beeped from his computer and with an irritated sigh, pushed away from the table. Hunt was still glaring at both of them when he walked between them to answer the door.

  “What the fuck is your problem?” Zep asked after he heard the front door close.

  “You.”

  “Me? I haven’t done shit to you!” Zep retorted angrily.

  “No, you did Slade,” Knight growled out and clenched his fists again.

  Knight told himself to calm down, but no matter how intelligent he was, he never had any control over his anger, especially where jealousy was concerned. Getting livid over everyone Slade fucked in the past was ridiculous. He knew Slade wasn’t a virgin or celibate. However, somehow the thought that Slade had fucked around with anyone on their team, never crossed his mind. Perhaps it should have, especially after Zep’s behavior during and after the op Knight unofficially went on while he was in training.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Zep’s anger was turning into confusion. “I haven’t done shit to Slade!”

  “I’m sure he won’t deny it, so you shouldn’t bother,” Knight threw out. He was finally getting some control over his anger, but that didn’t mean he gave any thought to the fact that he could be wrong.

  Zep’s mind worked overtime to figure out what the hell Knight was talking about. It finally latched onto something even if that something was outrageous.

  “You think I’ve slept with Slade?” Zep asked incredulously.

  “Don’t deny it. Hunt already confirmed you two have a history together.”

  “What the fuck, Hunt?” Zep shot daggers at his Irish teammate.

  “I didn’t tell him you two fucked.” Hunt held his hands up as if to ward off Zep’s accusation.

  “So, you’re a liar, too. Never got that vibe from you, Hunt.” Knight glared at the smaller man.

  Hunt stood stock still under the penetrating gazes of his teammates. He knew for damn sure he never said anything about Zep and Slade sleeping together because they never had. He thought hard about what he could’ve said to give Knight that impression.

  “I get lying is part of undercover work, but I can’t work with liars who are supposed to have my back.” Knight continued to glare at both of them for another moment before he turned and stomped out of the house through the door to the backyard.

  Under Zep’s hostile scowl, Hunt finally made the connection to what he had said that Knight misunderstood.

  “Because you were pacing like a caged lion,” Hunt returned Zep’s angry stare with one of his own. “He asked if you and Slade had a history. All I did was say ‘yeah’ so don’t blame me because he made a fucking incorrect assumption.” Hunt mimicked Knight’s pissed off walk and returned to the dining room table before he dropped in his seat.

  “Maybe you should go tell him the history you really have with Slade.” Hunt looked up and pinned Zep with a stare to make it clear Zep not doing so wasn’t an option.

  “He doesn’t need to know,” Zep grumbled.

  “The fuck he doesn’t,” Hunt countered. “He’s part of this fucking team now. We all know. There’s no reason you shouldn’t tell him and letting him believe you and Slade were fuck buddies is not an option.”

  Hunt could feel his anger s
tarting to rise. He and Lita were usually the mellow ones on the team. Hell, even Zep was normally even keeled.

  “Tell him, Zep.” Hunt continued to glare at his teammate. “If you don’t, I will. Then he will go to Slade to get the answers that he could just as easily get from you.” Hunt sighed. “We don’t need this bullshit while we’re in the field.”

  “You should’ve kept your mouth shut, Hunt.” Zep didn’t even bother to look back over his shoulder at Hunt when he walked toward the back door.

  “Humph,” Hunt grunted and didn’t bother to say anything else before he heard Zep leave the house.

  Knight stood in the backyard with his head tilted up to the sky. He knew he was going to have to apologize to Zep over his irrational reaction to learning his lover had slept with the man in the past. Knight hated apologizing. Not because he couldn’t admit when he was wrong, but because he was rarely wrong about anything.

  “Fuck.”

  The curse was exhaled on a breath only a moment before he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. He really didn’t want to talk to Hunt. Knight had a feeling that his small redheaded teammate had the personality of a peacekeeper. That was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now.

  “Knight.”

  Zep knew by Knight’s reaction to his voice that their newest teammate had been expecting Hunter. Knight tensed, but Zep noticed the man’s hands at his sides didn’t fist. He took that as a good sign and stepped up to stand next to Knight.

  Neither man looked at the other. Both just seem to be staring at nothing in particular even though the house behind their rental wasn’t blocked by a fence or a hedge. Silence settled around them for several moments before they both spoke at the same time.

  “Look, I…”

  “You need to know…,” Zep started at the same time as Knight and before he could finish, Knight plowed on.

  “I’m sorry I got pissed. Slade’s past is just that. His past. If you were part of it and as long as it’s over, we’re good.”

  Zep got the impression that Knight struggled with the words of his apology. He didn’t think Knight’s turmoil was because of his incorrect assumption about the relationship he had with Slade. No, Zep had the feeling that apologizing just wasn’t something that Knight was comfortable with or used to doing.

  “My history with Slade was never sexual. It never will be,” Zep’s tone was full of conviction and he knew Knight would hear the truth in his words.

  Zep didn’t let silence settle between them again and it wasn’t because he didn’t want to hear a reply from Knight. No, it was because if he didn’t continue, he likely wouldn’t.

  “Slade is like an older brother to me. He recruited me,” Zep paused and gave himself a mental shake. “No that’s not true. Slade did more than recruit me. He saved me.”

  Zep saw, from the corner of his eye, Knight turn to look at him. He took a deep breath and fought off the memories that threatened to burst the lock on the box he shoved them into deep in his mind.

  Knight could see the struggle on Zep’s face. It was a struggle that Knight was way too familiar with. A struggle to not remember bad shit.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Knight said to give Zep an out from reliving whatever was making the man’s face express fear and sadness.

  Zep keeping his secrets about Spider and the fear Knight clearly saw in his teammate’s eyes when the ATF agent’s name was mentioned was nothing compared to the expression he now witnessed.

  “Everyone on the team already knows, so you might as well know, too”

  Zep glanced at Knight and looked quickly away. He couldn’t look into Knight’s cool blue eyes and see pity once he continued.

  “I was seventeen...,” Zep paused and took a deep breath. “When I first met Slade. Of course that wasn’t the name he used. No, it was Mario.” Zep chuckled hollowly even though he didn’t feel the same level of amusement now as he did then.

  “My mother was the mistress of a mid-level member of a cartel in New York. I didn’t know much more than he was a businessman until he started encouraging my mother to bring me along with her to parties. That’s where I met Slade. I was naïve and had no idea the people my mother associated with were criminals.”

  Zep had to stop in order to push memories of his mother back into the box he forced himself to open for Knight.

  “Slade befriended me and frequently spent time with me at those parties. I originally thought he was interested in me. Had a huge crush on him.” Zep winced at the thought of his foolish behavior back then.

  “He let me down easy and I now know that he was just trying to gather Intel on the cartel,” Zep paused again and never noticed how still Knight became next to him before he continued.

  “Anyway, if it hadn’t been for Slade when INET took down the cartel, there is no telling what would have happened to me. He took me in since I was almost eighteen and somehow convinced Fish to recruit me a week after my birthday.”

  “What happened your mother?” Knight wasn’t sure what prompted him to ask.

  “She died in prison before I turned nineteen and before she could testify as a witness for the state.”

  That was the last thing Zep said before he turned away and walked back into the house. He had shared enough and now Knight knew the bare bones of his history with Slade.

  ##~~##

  Eight

  Knight remained standing in the backyard while his thoughts swirled around what Zep had just shared with him. Their pasts were scary similar and Knight couldn’t stop his own memories from flooding his mind.

  Knight had always known his family was different, but it wasn’t until he was around nine or ten that he realized just how much different they were from everyone else. His father was an important man. An important man in the ‘family’ that Knight never realized wasn’t blood related. His ‘Uncles’ Antonio, Desi, and Sal always treated him and his sister like a little prince and princess.

  To this day, Knight could recall the Italian they spoke more frequently than English. He was sure if it hadn’t been for his mother, he would have had an Italian middle name just like the rest of the members of his family. Not that his mother ever called him Michael, Mikey, or Mike. No, she always called him her ‘Little White Knight.’

  It was his mother’s term of affection which probably was why when the Feds gave him the choice to choose his new name; he went with his middle name and his mother’s endearment. At barely fifteen, it seemed like a great idea. Too bad his sister never had the chance to pick a new name.

  Having Zep tell him about the drug cartel that he was surely being groomed to enter, made Knight envious of his teammates’ naïveté when he was a teenager. From the time Knight turned thirteen, he always knew that he was going to be expected to be part of the ‘family’ that controlled Chicago. There was never any doubt that his father was grooming him to be part of the crime syndicate that most people called the Mob.

  His father was an underboss and when the Feds made their move, their case was airtight. They had so much on his father that there was no chance the man would ever see the light of day again. Still, that didn’t stop the ‘family’ from taking out insurance that his father and his mother wouldn’t talk. Not that his mother would since she was the youngest sister of the head of the ‘family.’

  However, that didn’t stop what happened the day the Feds made their move to shut down his father’s part of the ‘family’ business. Even without his photographic memory, Knight would never forget that day.

  “Papa said I could have a pony for my birthday!”

  Marcelo smiled down at his little sister. She looked so different from him and their parents that it was hard to believe they were related at all. Short light brown hair framed her face and bright mocha eyes looked at him with excitement. She looked like a fairy princess and he loved no one more than he loved her.

  Sophie was light and joy. Always happy and Marcelo would do anything to keep her that way. She never seemed s
ad and her bubbly personality wouldn’t let anyone around her feel anything but happy. The only exception was when she wasn’t sure of something or when she was meeting someone new. Then she became shy. She would blink her pretty brown eyes and become timid.

  “Where is Papa going to put a pony?” Marcelo replied, but quickly countered when he saw his sister frown. “Oh wait! I know. He’ll put it in your bedroom!”

  “A pony can’t go in my bedroom, Marci.” Sophie giggled.

  Marcelo smiled down at his almost nine-year-old sister and draped an arm around her shoulders. She may have been five years younger than he, but she was his world. He would never become tired or frustrated by having to take care of and look after her. No, he would give his life for her even if she wasn’t old enough to realize it yet.

  Marcelo didn’t have a chance to reply before a black car suddenly stopped at the curb next to them. He recognized the car as one of his uncle’s and they gave no thought before walking toward the vehicle.

  The door opened and Uncle Antonio stepped out with two of his friends. He gave them a smile, but that smile wasn’t the one Marcelo was used to seeing on his uncle’s face. It was a smile that made the hairs on the back of Marcelo’s neck stand up even though there was no reason they should.

  “Your papa sent us to pick you up,” Uncle Antonio continued to smile.

  Papa never sent a car to pick them up from school. In fact, Papa said it built character to learn how to get from one place to the other using only their two feet. Marcelo only vaguely had an idea of what that meant, but if his father said something, then it was true and they did it without question.

  “He wouldn’t do that,” Marcelo said and took Sophie’s hand. “Papa wants us to walk. It builds character.” Marcelo puffed up his chest.

  “That it does,” Uncle Antonio grinned and it did nothing to make Marcelo relax. If anything it made those hairs on the back of his neck stand up taller.