9
“Hey, Morrissey! How are you doing?”
Joe glanced up from his locker to see Jason Hekili waving at him from near the door of the room. The big Hawaiian bodyguard walked over, and Joe smiled, pleasantly surprised. “Thunder! What are you doing on the East Coast? Is Pixel with you?”
Jason nodded. “Yeah, we’re out here for the environmental summit thing. Herc requested Red to send him anyone who was between assignments to help out, and it was a bonus that Pixel was free to help with coordination.” Pixel was Chris Hardison, Jason’s husband and the chief computer geek for all of Hercules Security. Normally the two of them worked out of Alec “Red” Davis’s Los Angeles office, but Jason had spent several months in Raleigh and Joe had been one of his main trainers when he’d first started with the company.
“Great. Finn and I are in charge of the summit, but I haven’t gotten the updated personnel list yet.” Joe closed his locker. “I was about to work out. If you want to hit the gym with me, I can update you on the planning.”
“Sounds good.” Jason looked around. “Where is Finn, anyway? I swear when I first started working here, I thought the two of you were Siamese twins, since I never saw one of you without the other.”
Joe barely managed to keep himself from wincing. A lot of people had begun to notice that he and Finn weren’t arriving and leaving together every day the way they used to. Joe had merely shrugged off the comments, since it wasn’t anyone’s business. No doubt after their very public exchange of declarations, people expected them to act like Herc and his husband Jude, who had been caught making out more than once in Herc’s office. But both Joe and Finn had tried to act professional toward each other at work since the beginning, though in the end it hadn’t fooled anyone. Joe had no idea what the gossip was going to be if and when it got out that Finn was sleeping with another of the mercs.
“I don’t think he’s here yet,” he replied, giving a slight shrug. “And we aren’t attached at the hip, despite rumors to the contrary.”
Jason laughed. “Okay, I get it. Sure, give me two minutes to change and we can hit weights. I’m definitely interested in the summit, since Hawaii is so vulnerable to the changing environment.”
Joe waited, chatting with Jason about Red Davis and the other mercs in California while Jason donned shorts and a tank top. The two of them made their way to the gym, where several of their cadre were already hard at work.
Jason had just gotten set up on a bench to do presses, with Joe spotting him, when Joe heard his name called once again. Tyson Briggs, also known as Dead-eye for his crack sniper abilities, came toward him, and following along behind him was Joker. Drew. The last person in the world Joe wanted to see.
“Hey, Joe! I wanted you to meet my new partner.” Dead-eye’s dark face was split with a wide grin. “He’s an army grunt, but he’s almost tough enough to make the cut.”
Joe glanced at Drew, but immediately turned his gaze down to Jason, adjusting his grip on the bar. “Hello.”
“Joe Morrissey, right? I’ve heard a lot about you,” Drew said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Joe glanced up. He narrowed his eyes as he caught the innocent expression on Drew’s face. There was no way Joe could say the same; he’d choke on the words, and that would cause a lot of questions. As it would if he cut the man dead, so he decided on a comprise. “And I’ve heard a lot about you.” Too much.
Tyson’s grin faded, replaced by a look of puzzlement. “Did we catch you at a bad time?”
Joe couldn’t possibly explain the situation, not even to his fellow Seal. “Sorry, Jason and I were just about to go over our mission. Jason and Pixel are assigned under Finn and me for the NC State environmental summit.”
“So are we,” Tyson said, and he smiled again, this time at Jason. “Good to see you, Thunder. This is Joker, also known as Drew Martin. Drew was XO for Bravo Company at Lawson & Greer. Drew, this is Jason Hekili, one of our West Coast brothers. He came to us via Hollywood, but don’t hold that against him. He’s been through a couple of shitstorms and earned his way just like the rest of us.”
Drew’s smile became more natural as he extended his hand to Jason. “Hollywood, eh? Were you an actor?”
“Mostly bit parts and B-grade horror,” Jason replied, sitting up on the bench and shaking Drew’s hand. “I had a commercial or two, but I think I’ve gotten more exposure from the “Men of Hercules Security” calendar we did for charity.” Jason laughed. “I was certainly moreexposed, at least.”
“We wereallexposed.” Tyson punched Joe lightly on the shoulder. “Even our quiet one here. Finn stripped down without even being asked, big surprise. I understand Joe took some convincing.”
Joe felt his face heating. “But I did it. For charity.”
“There’s a calendar?” Drew’s face lit up with interest. “Is it for this year?”
“Two years ago,” Dead-eye said. “It sold out, then had a second printing. I bet Herc still has copies somewhere, if you want one.”
Joe looked away. He didn’t care for the thought of Drew having one of the calendars. Not that he was ashamed of his picture, not at all, but it made him feel oddly vulnerable. Like Drew would be judging him. He muttered in Russian, an epithet, wishing Jason had kept his damned mouth shut.
“I may ask him about it,” Drew said, giving Joe a shrewd look. “I’d like to see how you guys were posed. I bet Joe here had thesexy innocentthing going. Am I right?”
Joe glanced up, unable to keep himself from shooting Drew a Glare of Messy Death. Fortunately no one else caught it, and Joe looked away again, with another muttered Russian profanity calling Drew’s parentage into question.
“Hey, guys!” A new voice entered the conversation, and Joe spotted Finn approaching. He was smiling, but Joe could practically see the “oh shit” thought balloon over his head. “What are we talking about?”
“The hot Herc’s calendar,” Drew said. “They got my curiosity up about it.”
“I’ve still got mine, even though it’s years out of date,” Finn said, moving to stand next to Joe. “All I’m saying is, Lee’s a damned good photographer.”
