Parker’s mouth opens, looking at my brother as she raises her hands in defeat. Odd just laughs, shaking his head at me. He brings his hands to my face. “You’ve been thinking about him since the whole Halloween thing, right?”
I tilt my head at Parker, twin-speak for “Does she know about the whole Halloween thing?”
He shakes his head, but I’ve got a hunch Parker knows more than she’s letting on.
I push out a big breath, letting my lips motorboat. “Before then, actually.”
“Welp, brother, congratulations. You’ve got your first adult crush.”
What a nightmare.
Not only am Ithatguy, I’m also that guy with potentialfeelings?
The horror.
Parker looks up at me and crosses her arms, her lip curling in judgment. “You need to get it together.”
I nod, mildly queasy. “Got it. Message received.”
Parker chucks my shoulder and starts walking toward the door. “Good. Now let’s go see what the hell has Thane in such a tizzy.”
We walk back in to the PTN, and everyone is waiting for us. I sit next to Omar and give him a sheepish grin. His eye twitches and he refocuses on DB.
Yeah, this is gonna take some baby steps.
Now that we’re settled, DB jumps right in.
“As many of y’all know, there is an ongoing problem with sex workers ending up dead in the Pineywoods of East Texas. We’d already voted as a team to investigate and move on these assholes.”
Everyone on the team nods and leans in.
“Jake was able to track down the guys who are doing it, and it’s a helluva lot more complicated than any of us would really like. Wanted to reconvene with y’all to make sure we still want to take on this case.”
Thane says something under his breath that sounds suspiciously likenot really. I want to razz him about it, but I am out of points with DB today.
Rafi snorts. “I thought complicated was our middle name.”
DB shakes his head. “Notthiscomplicated. The two men who are killing sex workers are in the Federal Witness Protection Program for an active FBI case.” Everyone in the room shifts uncomfortably. Pausing, DB pops his cane and points to me and Odd. “The Wimberley team is also involved.”
Odd and I share a look. We’re familiar with the FBI case. While the Guardians are great at individual takedowns, the Wimberley team is better equipped for removing criminal organizations from the board.
Parker drums the table. “So, that’s two government agencies and a top secret black ops organization already involved.”
DB confirms with a nod and continues. “The target of the FBI investigation is Joshua Tremaine. He’s running for office in Shreveport, and he’s got ties to an organized crime syndicate. The FBI has been on this particular case for six months.”
Rafi cocks his head to the side. “And their entire investigation rests on a couple of serial killers?”
DB sighs. “Yes, it does. We know the US marshal assigned to protect these two, and he’s been trying to bring attention to what they’re doing. We’re going to get him on video chat to see if he’ll play ball, then we’ll talk to Hedy and see what we’ve got.” Directing his attention to the rest of us, he continues. “Stay out of frame and keep your traps shut. Fair warning, Ronan thinks I’m offering him a job with my Houston team.”His legitimate business.
Ronan.That name sounds awfully familiar.
Thane shakes his head as he pulls up the chat window on the flat-screen. After a few seconds, a vaguely familiar guy with a pretty face, perfectly styled black hair, and smart glasses comes into focus. He’s seated at a desk with a cheap motel room as his backdrop.
“DB! It’s nice to see you. How’s business? Did you get my resume? I think Jake was going to send you a letter of recommendation.”
DB grimaces. “I did receive your resume, but that is not why I’m calling today.”
“Oh?”
