Thane:Fuck. Thank you.
Ronan:Yeah, that German place we stopped at on the way home was not very good.
Thane:Oh.
Ronan:Kidding, my Giant Wall of Cock and Muscle. My bed was so goddamn lonely.
Thane:Sorry, my Heavenly Slice of Tiny Porn Star Ass. I slept for shit last night.
Ronan:I’m not tiny. You’re just huge. EVERYWHERE
Ronan:Also, I may have over-masturbated. My hand is cramping like a mothertrucker.
Thane:You win. All I did was pushups.
Thane:And one lonely wank. Seriously. I cried and everything.
Ronan:My sweet baby! If you pick me up on the way to the shop today, I’ll give you another pgbj to make it all better.
Thane:??
Ronan:Parking garage blowjob.
Thane:On my way.
13
Ronan
You’d think deepthroating a man till he shouts himself hoarse would have netted a better assignment, butnooo.
Which is how I find myself in Georgetown, in the middle of a field on a Tuesday afternoon. There’s also intermittent rain, a darkened, overcast sky, and stifling mugginess, a goddamn layer cake of misery.
I don’t know why DB approved me to go on this op if he knew Thane wasn’t going to actually let me be a part of the action. I mean, didn’t I prove myself out in East Texas? By putting Thane in charge of the mission, he was all but ensuring that I’d be up to my ankles in mud and rain, standing next to our new recruit with my thumb up my ass.
I shouldn’t complain; he was going to have me wait at the women’s resource center with one of the guys from Wimberley, but DB put his foot down and put Omar out there instead. Heh.
That said, Abigail was the one who suggested during our planning session that a women’s resource center would be the best place for them to go for extensive counseling, shelter, and a job while they rebuild their lives. We had to assume that a man like Blake was already familiar with the locations of the centers in Williamson County, so we made arrangements in Hays County, south of Austin. Jake also sent local law enforcement to all the safehouses in the area.
Thane, Everett, and the twins are busting into the house as we speak, so I pull up my binoculars and keep a running chatter about what I’m seeing in the bigger picture. Rain begins to fall again, and a few droplets quickly become a downpour. I shouldn’t complain; Rafi’s lying on the ground in a small ditch about a quarter of a mile away, and he’s probably got mud in his underwear by now.
Still. This isbullshit.
The lights flip on, and I hit my comms, relaying everything. “For the folks on the party line, there’s muted shouting and…shit, shots fired. Shots fired.”
My heart races as I wonder if any of those shots were aimed at Thane.
Just as I’m worrying over him, Thane’s voice comes across the line, ragged and spotty. “…six assholes…”
I let out a relieved breath. Okay. He’s okay. Except…that’s double the number of people we’d seen in our intelligence.Fuck.
“Need assistance?” I ask, moving in his direction.
“Negative. Stand down. We can take them.”
I spit out curses and rainwater but stand my ground. My breathing is loud in my ears and I shake out my arms, shifting on my feet to satisfy my need to dosomething.
More shots ring out and a window is shattered. Abigail starts at the sudden noise, moving forward, but I put my hand on her arm. We still need eyes on the house, and if we go in without waiting for the go-ahead from Thane, I’ll hear about it from DB. She practically growls, but gives me a thumbs-up.
