Cash
For all theshit Cash got himself tangled up in as a mercenary, the situation he found himself in that afternoon was entirely outside of his realm of experience.
“What do you think of this wig?” Tyler asked, displaying a red beehive, curled up with rolls of toilet paper and accentuated with a few streaming squares of Charmin. “Does it work?”
Cash grinned, then stuck his hand on his hip. “It’s beautiful.”
Tyler smiled, then popped the wig on. “Thank you. Miss Merry Tyler Morehead will be ready in no time.”
Cash laughed warmly. “I’m delighted, of course.”
They were in Lawrence’s apartment, and the space bustled with his friends. Merry Tyler had dragged along four suitcases filled with wigs and dresses and accessories, and Derrick and Mayer were set up together on the couch, each typing furiously into their phones, computers open in their laps. Lawrence busied himself running around the condo and grabbing what seemed to be random kitschy objects, while Raiden stood back near Cash, grinning at the whole production.
Cash had spotted Lawrence’s friends at a brunch, back before their lives got all tangled up. He liked them right away and had spent an evening at home, laughing along with their public facing social media accounts and watching their videos, all of which had healthy and enthusiastic fanbases. It was a different world than the one Cash lived in. He’d always been focused on training himself in the skills he needed, whether that was at school, a martial arts class, or locked up with another technical manual.
Getting lost in the fantasy of something different, the kind of life Lawrence led, felt like riding a wave of pleasure.
He shook his head, his attention returning to Reed. He’d sent the asshole a basic portfolio, a mix of some obvious information about Lawrence and some very incorrect surveillance to throw him off the case. The path out seemed pretty damn easy after that. Lawrence planned to send along the wrong bank files next, then call Reed in the morning a few days in a row, which the man fucking hated. Since he already ignored a phone call from him the night before, Cash was confident he would get fired, just as easily as that.
He turned to Raiden, then smiled softly. That was the part he wasn’t looking forward to. Getting fired would fuck up his reputation in New York, but that hardly mattered anymore. What really sucked was that afterward, he’d have to come clean to Raiden and to Lawrence. Reed would surely send someone else eventually, and if they were going to keep Lawrence safe, Cash was going to have to spill his sneaky little guts and let them know he’d still held onto some unpleasant secrets.
Just not yet. Not when he was having the best time of his damn life and kicking ass against Horizon Zed, too.
Cash turned to Raiden. “You do any of this social media stuff?”
“Nah,” Raiden answered. “A photo of me was in all the magazines one time, but my face was blurred out.”
Cash cocked up an eyebrow. “Is there a story behind that?”
Raiden frowned. “I don’t think I’m allowed to tell it to you yet. Anyway, I don’t need my face all over the internet, you know?” He grinned, flashing his teeth. “It’s way better to be anonymous.”
“I thought so, too,” Cash replied. “But I guess there’s something to be said for clout.”
Lawrence returned with a large pink bowling trophy, which he set by Merry Tyler’s suitcases. He was wearing a simple gray jumpsuit, and he had pushed his curls back with a headband, somehow managing to look all-business and all-Lawrence at the same time.
“What are you two doing?” he asked, turning to face Raiden and Cash.
“Just debating whether I should get you all coffee and donuts,” Cash answered.
Raiden snorted. “I won’t mention what I was thinking of.”
Lawrence laughed, then skipped forward and planted a kiss on both of their cheeks. From the corner of his eyes, Cash noticed all the friends, looking on with approving looks.
“I hope you both know, Lawrence hasn’t seen anyone for so much as a second date since I can remember,” Mayer said from across the room, still typing into her phone.
“Mayer,” Lawrence hissed, spinning on his heel. “You all promised not to humiliate me. We’re not even…” He trailed off.
“Oh no,” Raiden laughed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Please, Mayer. Continue.”
“Yeah, go on,” Cash said with a tease. “We’re not even what, Lawrence?”
“Oh, god,” Lawrence groaned, sitting on the armrest of a floral yellow chair. “What have I done, bringing you all in the same room? Can’t we focus on the audio file drop like we all agreed on?”
Mayer and Derrick both lifted their phones in the air. “We didn’t stop working,” Mayer said.
Merry Tyler stood in front of a full-length mirror on the living room wall, applying lipstick that extended well beyond her lips. “A little gossip never slowed me down.” She turned over her shoulder, then shot Cash an intense glare that almost made him yelp. “Just don’t you two go hurting our Lawrence. He has a beautiful heart, and if you men break it, the three of us will ruin you.”
There was a slight pause, and then Cash and Raiden tripped over each other, swearing they would never.
