He’d spent the last several minutes blindly scrolling through social media, not reading half of what had rolled past his screen.It was a choice made out of desperation. An attempt to silence the second-guessing thoughts in his head.
From the guilt he felt for leaving Allison and Maddie behind to obsessing over that mind-blowing kiss, Liam couldn’t seem to get his anxious thoughts under control. He hadn’t felt this keyed up in a long damn time, and he wasn’t sure how to deal.
“What crawled into your cornflakes this morning?”
Liam looked away from his phone to the man at his right. “What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, what do I mean?” Jagger looked back at him as if he were insane. “I’ve been sitting here for well-over sixty-seconds, and you haven’t said a word about my clothes or my hair.”
Leaning back in the red leather chair that matched all the rest, Jagger crossed an ankle over one knee and rested both hands behind his head.
“So let me get this straight.” Liam swiveled his chair around so that he was facing the other man head-on. “Someone doesn’t shit about your appearance, that equates to there being something wrong?”
“Someone? No.” Jagger huffed out a laugh. “You? One hundred percent.”
Liam opened his mouth, to say what, he wasn’t sure. Mostly because his teammate was right. Some of the guys on their team were masters at compartmentalizing and keeping their emotions in check.
Not him.
As much as he wished it wasn’t the case, he’d always worn his feelings like a badge of freaking honor. Despite his efforts to the contrary, he apparently still put that shit right out in the open. And as usual, Jagger didn’t miss a thing.
No point in denying it. He’ll just keep at you until you cave.
With that in mind, Liam drew in a deep breath, exhaling slowly before relenting and telling his friend the truth.
“I don’t like that Allison and her daughter are at my place and I’m not there.”
“You afraid she’ll go snooping and stumble upon your porn stash? Tell me where it is, and I can run over there real quick and?—”
“What?” Liam shot his own incredulous look. “No, you idiot. I’m worried something’s going to happen to them while I’m gone.”
“Oooh. Okay. That makes sense.” The other man nodded solemnly. A beat later, Jagger offered his services again. “But seriously” He leaned in closer. “If you tell me where it is, I can make sure it’s never found.”
“You’re an asshole, you know that?” Liam swiveled his chair back to its original position.
“Ah, come on, Cutler. You know I’m just messin’ around.”
Yeah, he did. Of course, he did. But that didn’t change the fact that Liam was on edge with worry for the mother and daughter he’d come to care for a great deal.
“The wives are there, right?” Jagger resumed the conversation a few minutes later.
“Meg, Ro, and Raegan,” he listed off those who’d been available to help.
“Raegan’s there?” The other man waved the concern away. “Anything goes down while you’re gone, that woman will take care of business.”
Meg was married to Christian, and Ro was Brody King’s wife. Meg owned a coffee shop not far from the Delta Team office, and Ro ran her own personal marketing business from home.
Raegan Rockland, however, was a former Army M.P. After helping authorities take down a major terrorist network righthere, in the Windy City, she followed her dream and joined the FBI. Her promotion to Special Agent recently came through.
“It’s not that I’m doubting Raegan’s abilities,” Liam clarified.
“Then what?”
“I don’t know.”Yes, you do.“I mean, it’s been me watching over Allison and Maddie from day one.”
Jagger’s dark brows dipped inward. “Day one? Brother, it’s been like, what…less than aweek?”
“I get that, but I?—”
