Anders pipes up. “That’s interesting that he was raised to be, what? His father’s next-in-command? And he rejected that for mid-level pay and an enormous tuition debt? Why?”
Jake flips the river card, and we all groan as Anders pulls the pile of cash to his side of the table. The river has been kicking my ass all night.
Jake hesitates, debating his next words. “Look, a big part of my job is to get all up in people’s Cheerios, but this next bit is mostly speculation…though his spending habits seem to support it. I don’t think he’s out, but I don’t think he’s straight.”
I think about the shirt he had from Differio and am pretty sure Jake has it right, but I’ve already decided to keep that to myself. I don’t think Rafi suspects.
Anders does a little fist pump. “Yes!”
I shake my head. “What makes you think you have a chance with him?”
“He saw me shirtless. Nobody has ever been able to deny my shirtlessness.”
I gesture, circling the table. “Literally a room full of not-straight people who have rejected the very notion of having sex with you, regardless of your lack of clothing. Also, if heisgay, or otherwise on the rainbow spectrum, it’s none of your business. Don’t be dragging the poor guy out of the closet.”
Anders takes a swig of his beer and stands up, kicking his chair back dramatically. He starts undulating his hips and rips his T-shirt off, swinging it above his head before doing a Channing Tatum–style chair hump. “If he sees all of this, he’ll be kicking the door down his damn self.Bet.”
We all hoot and holler, and Thane puts a dollar bill in his waistband.
Even DB is laughing, though he isn’t watching Anders’ antics; he’s watching Odd. Not for the first time, I wonder if he’s interested in the quiet twin. The moment over, he quickly shifts into a more neutral expression and starts laughing with the rest of the team.
I toss a gherkin at Anders. “Dude, put your shirt back on. You’re not special. We’re all strong and pretty here.”
“But not as pretty as me.”
Odd shakes his head. “Uh, sorry to break it to you, brother, but we’re identical twins with the same diet and workout routine. I’m exactly as pretty as you are. Scratch that,” he says, pulling up his T-shirt just enough to give the rest of us a peek at the goods, “I’m prettier.”
DB averts his gaze while everyone else’s eyes are glued to the strip of exposed skin, stunned that he’s made a joke. I’m not as surprised—Odd rarely drinks, so the one lager he’s been nursing all night has loosened his tongue.
“Anyway…” I say, looking at DB again, who rolls his eyes. “Can we trust that Omar won’t rat us out?”
Jake looks at the team and shifts uncomfortably in his chair. “He’s definitely not going to rat us out, but I think there’s an opportunity here. First, he’s taken in his brother-in-law, who he didn’t meet until right before Asadi died. Second, I don’t see that he has much of a social life, much less social media. No Grindr or Tinder subscriptions, no nudie pics on his phone… Guys—I think he needs friends.”
Thane pipes up, “Friends who kill bad guys for pleasure and profit?”
Jake shrugs. “He might be a really good asset for the team. And…and I’m gonna get tossed out of the room for saying this…but Rafi might also bring something to the table.”
I stare daggers at Jake, my eyebrows pinching together. “Inwhatway?”
“You remember how you told me that he once bragged about how he used to be pretty good with a gun?”
“Yeah, used to be, my ass. We went to the shooting range the other day, and he put thirty rounds into the bullseye.” I leave off the VR game, not wanting to imagine him pressing his erection into my stomach.
Jake nods. “Not surprising. He completed his Advanced Designated Marksman training near the top of his class but was also fluent in several Arabic dialects. The Air Force prioritized his language skills over the ability to shoot the butt hairs off a bullfrog, so he never went to sniper school. But he totally could have.”
My mouth drops open. “Sniper school?”
“Yeah. He didn’t get to finish his training, because he knows a particular Arabic dialect they needed at the time.”
“No way. The gun is bigger than him.” Fuck.Don’t say it.
“So? It was a lot safer when we had somebody in blind. Daniels saved a lot of lives that way.”
“Yeah, I know,” I say, my jaw tight.
“Then…why do you look like you hate the idea?”
DB leans over to Jake, whispering in his ear. The others are silent. Jake looks at me, his warm understanding palpable. “Sorry, man. I didn’t…never put that together.”
