by Ana Balen
Fast.
If I didn’t, I was afraid I would do something that was totally out of character and took what I wanted. And what I wanted at that moment was to come between Max’s legs, take his head into my hands to bring him closer to me and kiss him.
“For one game,” Rory countered to Max’s demands.
“Two.”
When Rory’s eyes turned upwards toward the ceiling, I wasn’t sure, but I had a feeling she was praying.
“Deal,” she said, still not looking away from the spot. “Bring him down.”
“You can come down now, Jason,” Max hollered, smiling at his sister.
I realized Rory wasn’t praying, this was obviously a well-practiced dance, and she knew where her boyfriend was.
“Where is Carter?” she asked once we heard the door upstairs opening and footfalls above us.
“Not here.”
“Smart,” she turned once the man started walking down the stairs.
I was back at trying to think how to get away from here and how to clean up the mess that was my life, so I wasn’t paying attention. That was, until Melanie all but squealed.
“That’s Jason Harris!”
The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
“You’re Jason Harris, the quarterback for Denver Thunders,” Melanie accused who I guessed was Jason.
“The one and only,” a deep voice could be heard just beyond my vantage point.
When he came fully into the kitchen, I swooned for the second time that day. Dear God, the man was hot. Brown hair, dark eyes that were aimed at Rory, and a smile that heated up a room in an instant. When he came within touching distance of Rory, his arm flashed around her hips, and he pulled her close. And I mean close. She tried not to let the scowl she had on her face drop, and it was clear by all that happened that he wasn’t so much as kidnapped as he was a willing participant.
“Hi, baby. Did you miss me?”
It was obvious that she could no longer stand on her own two feet. Jason didn’t give Rory a chance to answer. He leaned down and kissed her so passionately I had to look away. My luck would have it that my eyes landed right on Max’s, and from the way he was looking at me, I had to hold on to the table, or my feet wouldn’t be able to hold me up anymore. Still, I didn’t look away.
“Hey, I’m Jason. Nice to meet ya,” I tore my eyes from the captivity of Max’s.
“Hi, I’m Skylar, and that’s Melanie.” I pointed at the now holding-an-empty-bowl woman. It was astonishing how fast she could devour food and still not gain a single pound. “It’s very nice to meet you, but I’m afraid we have to go.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” That came from Max.
I started to walk towards the door, picking up the stuff Melanie brought me, hoping she was following. After a glance back, I saw that she indeed was. Thank God! I was afraid that the sight of Jason would make her forget we had a plan.
“Look, Max,” I stopped and turned, bumping into him. “Sorry. Thank you for everything you did for me today. But I really have to go.”
All the while, I inched backwards in the direction I was hoping was the exit.
“I told you, you have to be careful, Bean.”
“Bean?” I could hear Jason asking.
“And I will be, I promise. But this is not your problem. And I really do have to go,” I was nearly at the door.
“I can help you, and I can protect you.”
“There’s no need,” I was quick to say. “Really.”
“I don’t think you know just how much trouble you’re in.”
“I think I do.”
“No, you don’t. And the best thing is to stay here.”
"This is not your problem, Max!” I started yelling at some point.
It was funny that I was yelling at a man that I met just a few hours before, wasn’t scared of him even if he obviously did have a tendency to kidnap people and was sporting a scowl on his face.
I would never do that in front of Nico. If this were Nico, I would be either in tears or phoning my doctor by now.
“Listen, give me a few days and I’ll-,”
“No, you listen. I have to go. I can’t ask you to get yourself tangled up in the mess that’s my life. Sure, others made it, but I’m the one who just stood by and let them do it. And I did it for years, Max. You were right with what you said before. I would turn a blind eye to everything. I would let them rule me just to belong to someone. But it has to end. And I’m the one who needs to end it!”
I was breathing heavily by the time I finished my little speech. I was so out of it, so focused on the fact I needed to get out, that I didn’t realize that I let more information on just how pathetic I was, slip out.
“Okay, Bean. But if you need me, you got my number,” he was talking softly, and that soft was coupled with the same kind of look.
And that was the softest blow my heart ever got. It warmed me from the center of me right to my very fingertips. At that moment I didn’t want to go anywhere. I didn’t want to go because, for the first time in my life, I asked for something, hell I demanded something, and I got it without hesitation. And he got me out of a bad situation that day.
Twice.
I had a lot to be grateful for. Still. I couldn’t stay. I nodded, turned on my heel, and walked right out to the car. When Melanie got behind the wheel, I was grateful she was quiet. While I watched Max standing on the road, watching our car drive away, I was grateful she took my hand. When she heard me sniff, I was grateful she squeezed it. She drove us in silence, and I cried the whole way with my friend giving me unconditional support, I was grateful for that too.
Chapter Six
Max
I couldn't believe I was back. Sure, I did question my decision, even if it was a reflex to what went down on that last mission. I even toyed with the idea of going back to active duty. I was scared that I would need that adrenaline rush the job gave me.
Judging by the feeling that crept over me as I entered my old squad room, signing those papers was the right call. Besides, I just got a new house to flip, and it took all of my attention. When I first started flipping houses three years ago, it was so I could have something to do and not think about what my brothers did for a living or how Rory would find her footing. Then over time, I got used to the danger that our jobs gave all of us Ryan men, and we figured out a way to keep a constant eye on our baby sister.
Thank fuck that we all had our badges, and the officers found it hilarious that they had three members of various law enforcement branches in their cell at least once a week. Eventually, flipping homes was more about creating a nest egg for the future. With time, each tense situation started to chip away at me, and restoring homes became a form of therapy. Over the last few months, the thought of returning my badge for a life of retirement became more appealing by the day.
After sixteen years of watching people get themselves involved in fucked up situations, I grew tired of the monotony. When it comes to failed relationships, I was the king. It takes a particular type of woman to accept the danger my line of work brought, and unfortunately, many couldn’t handle it.
I also knew Carter was reaching his limit and was toying with the idea of putting up his walls. If I needed that adrenaline kick, I could always go to him. So, fuck yeah, I was okay with my decision. Now, telling my co-workers was another story. I took the coward's way out and decided to wait until the mandatory leave was over and have our captain tell them. Well, that was out of the picture now.
"Yo! Max, my man," Brody was the first to spot me.
He was constantly shadowing either Stone or me. It was like the kid was imprinted on the two of us or something.
"Kid," I extended my hand towards him, palm to the side, and he didn't disappoint. The slap of his palm hit mine, and then his body hit mine too. "How've you been?"
He stepped away, and a giant smile was all I could see. Fuck, I missed smiling like that. Nowadays, not even messing w
ith Rory did that for me.
"I made the cut!" Brody yelled, letting my hand go and spreading his arms wide. "I'm officially part of the team."
Upon closer inspection, I saw that he was in uniform. A uniform that consisted of black laced up boots, black cargo pants and a black T-shirt with our insignia stitched on the right side of his chest. The same uniform that also had a black helmet, a black bulletproof vest, and a rifle. I couldn’t tell which feeling was more prominent. The fear that this kid, the kid I watched grow and mature, was going out on the streets, keeping them safe and running in uncertain situations without a second thought. The same conditions that could mean he wouldn’t walk back out. Or pride that he proved himself, as he said he would, as I had no doubt in my mind he would and got his badge. I went with pride. I knew how much it meant, and I still remember the sense of accomplishment of getting that shield after busting your ass to make it. I reached toward him and pulled him close by the back of his neck, not losing his eyes.
"Congratulations, kid, you deserve it. You busted your ass trying to make it. But you should know, you were always a part of the team."
"Thank you, Max," Brody swallowed hard a couple of times, and I gave him time to collect himself.
I could still taste the feeling when I made it into the team. Brody had come a long way. The sight of the punk kid that was brought in handcuffs to our squad team was still vivid in my memory. He was scared out of his mind, a skinny kid who was all elbows and no muscles but full of anger; he didn’t have a clue how to work it out of his system. He got a five-year stint for some hacking shit he pulled, but the DA got a soft spot for the kids, especially ones that had a history like Brody’s and offered him something he called an internship and what we all called a babysitting duty. The DA’s decision was a good one. Brody proved himself to be more than a useful addition. It didn't take long before he started working out with the rest of the team, and then one day, he came asking how he could become one of the team. It took him three years. But he did it. He became a full member of S.W.A.T.
"And he shows the ugly mug," the good-hearted taunt came from behind Brody, giving him an escape to deal with what he was feeling. I didn't need to look up to know who it was.
"Only so you can drool over the said mug," I winked at Brody then walked slowly toward the only female member of the team, spreading my arms wide. "C'mon, you know you're dying for me to hug you."
She didn't say anything, didn't hurl some comment as to why she wouldn't be caught dead with my hands on her. For the first time since I knew her, Olivia Evans walked to me without giving me shit, then wrapped her arms around my middle.
"Good to have you back, big guy," I didn't correct her.
There was no point.
"Where are the others?"
"The squad room," she indicated with the tilt of her head to the room behind her.
For a second, she just stood there, allowing me to hold her in my arms, her eyes roaming my face. "You're not coming back, are you?"
As ever, she had the uncanny ability to read me.
I just didn’t have the patience to get into it.
"I'm here for information," I sighed. "And a possible case, but we'll see how this goes. Come, we also need a captain here, too."
I could feel Olivia's eyes drilling a hole in the back of my neck, but she followed me.
"You.” Joe pointed at me, a smile on his usually serious face. “Max!"
"Max, my man."
Greetings could be heard bouncing off the walls, and I got a few slaps on my back. Each one pushed the breath from my lungs. Fuck, it felt good to be here and see all of them. It was familiar, and they were family.
"Officer Ryan," I shook the offered hand and looked into the eyes of a man I called my captain for the last ten years. "It's good to have you here, Max."
He tried to smile, but the worry was etched into each of the wrinkles around his eyes. I knew why. He tried to call me ten times, and I refused to answer. He only stopped after I came in and signed the papers. Damn, the man had aged fifteen years in the last six months.
"Good to have you here," he muttered.
"What do you mean here, you're back, right?" Joe, the biggest motherfucker I ever saw, asked.
"No, Joe, I'm here to ask a favor."
"What do you need?"
As ever Olivia was action ready. She had the roughest go of all of us here. She had to work double, train harder and all but forget about having a family one day just to make the cut. Just because she was a woman. It was fucked up, but S.W.A.T. was still considered a man’s occupation. Then came Olivia and proved them all wrong.
“Yesterday morning, I got pulled into an unknown situation,” I started, the taste of the day before still bitter in my mouth. And not because of what happened, but because of who was involved.
“How?”
“What happened?”
“Is everything all right?”
The questions were fired at me from all sides. I didn’t have the energy to answer them all individually since I knew answering would just bring up more questions, so I just raised my hand to stop them all.
“I’m fine, everything’s fine, just listen for a second,” I took a big breath and started talking.
“How I got into it, it’s not important. What's important is that the main player in it is Nico Barone.”
That last statement was met with total and complete silence. I knew it would.
As I said to Bean, almost everyone knew about Nico. And almost everyone did their best to avoid him.
“I got a hold of a file about him,” I continued, tossing the file on the glass table. “It’s not much since the PI who looked into him was shit. Most of it, we already knew.” I looked to my right and clashed eyes with Brody. “I need you to go from what’s in that file and dig up as much dirt as you possibly can.”
The kid instantly nodded. Always ready to do something for us.
“And when you do, I need you to give it to me before you do anything about it.”
“Now, wait a second, Ryan,” the captain spoke up.
I swung my eyes to him. By the look in his, I knew what was coming. In my ten years as a part of S.W.A.T., I watched the man climb the ladder, never once forgetting where he came from. This very room. He was one of us, started at the bottom, and shot his way right to the top. And still to this day, it wasn’t unheard of that in certain situations he suited up and was right with us on the front line. So, fuck yeah, he had my respect. But respect or not, I’m not gonna stand down, no matter who asks.
“You can’t just stroll in here and demand we open up an investigation on a man, no matter the crimes he committed, without giving us any hard evidence. That file there,” he indicated to the thin, manilla folder on the table. “Is not enough. You know that every time DPD went against him, we got jack shit. Somehow, he got that warehouse clean in time, and all we found were couches and whatnot. And you know why that is.”
I jerked my chin up, acknowledging all he said. It was unspoken, but we all thought Nico had someone in DPD that fed him information.
“Not to mention the DEA has an open investigation on him for the past five years. The word on the street is, they’re getting close, and he’ll be where he belongs soon.”
“Not soon enough. And I know damn well the DEA is investigating him.” I fired not able to keep my cool.
Recognition flashed in the captain's eyes, but he said nothing.
“What?” Brody asked.
“Chace,” Olivia whispered.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “Chace.”
“How long is he in?” Joe asked-
“Three years,” I levelled my eyes to each and every person standing around the table so they would know just how much I meant when I said. “I need to get him out. And I need to do it fast.”
No one said anything; they were all wondering what had changed for this urgency to have come about. I didn’t stand down; I couldn’t. My brother’s ass was on the line, and S
kylar's. The determination must have been written all over my face since the captain took his phone out of his suit jacket pocket and walked away.
“I’m going to give a courtesy call to the DEA,” he turned, continued walking backwards, and pointed his finger at me. “Do not make me regret this.”
“I won’t,” I grunted.
I didn’t know if I would or not, all I could do was hope, and for the first time in a long time, I did. But not for him or my brother. I hoped for her. If this went sideways, she was the first to take the brunt of it all. I couldn’t let that happen.
