“Free country,” he grumbled, realizing too late that regardless ofwhathe said, it sounded juvenile.
Decker Bromwell was the only member of the team Evan knew very little about. Most of the task force members tended to overshare, a trait he associated with small towns. Since Deck wasn’t from Coyote Ridge like most of the others, he hadn’t inherited the gene. For that reason, Evan hadn’t interacted much with the man since he came on board a few weeks after Evan did.
“So, who’re you pining over?” Deck jerked his chin in the direction of the others currently seated at tables scattered throughout the minuscule bar section.
“What?”
“I’m guessin’ it’s the cute little redhead,” Deck noted.
Rather than answer, Evan tossed back what was left of his cheap vodka.
“Yep, it is,” Deck concluded.
“Did you need something?” Evan wasn’t about to talk about his personal life with this guy.
Deck exhaled heavily, leaning back in the chair. “It doesn’t make sense to get mixed up with people you work with.”
Evan narrowed his gaze. “Are you giving me dating advice? I didn’t realize we were friends.”
“Since everyone sees me as the enemy, I wasn’t under that illusion either,” Deck countered.
Evan detected a note of … well, he wasn’t sure what it was he detected in Deck’s tone. Could’ve been disdain or even hurt. The guy wasn’t great with relaying emotions.
“No one sees you as the enemy,” Evan told him, setting his empty glass on the table in front of him.
“A leper, then?” Deck sounded genuinely interested in an answer.
Curious as to what prompted this man to open up, Evan focused on him. “I think it’s more like you don’t give anyone a chance to know you.”
“I show up every day. That doesn’t count?”
Evan leaned back, studied him for a moment. “Do you even want to be part of this task force?”
“I didn’t have much choice in the matter.”
That was news to Evan. He’d honestly thought he heard someone mention that Deck had signed on for the job. “How’d you end up here?”
“Like I said, getting mixed up with people you work with doesn’t make sense.”
It almost sounded like deflection, but Evan sensed it was actually an explanation, so he went with it. “Bad blood between you and a co-worker?”
Deck snorted. “More like bad blood between me and the guy who wants that co-worker.” Deck nodded his chin toward the group. “It’s similar to Slade’s situation with Holly.”
Evan glanced over his shoulder at the others. “What about Slade and Holly?”
“It’s obvious she’s into him, but her brother’s pretty damn adamant that not be the case.”
Evan slowly turned in his chair, surveying Slade and Holly more closely. She was into him? How the hell had he missed that one?
“I don’t think the feelin’s mutual,” Deck said, as though gossiping about the team was their new ritual. “But it doesn’t matter. With Luca cock-blocking them at every turn, it’s inevitable somethin’s gonna happen.”
“He’s still hung up on his ex-wife,” Evan noted, hating himself for revealing that fact when it was none of his fucking business.
“Yeah. That’s a given. Guy’s phone goes off all damn day. Only someone important in your life can keep you from turnin’ the damn thing off or throwin’ it into traffic.”
Evan relaxed, watching Becs as she laughed at something Luca said.
“Same goes for her and him,” Deck said. “She’s into him, but he doesn’t know she exists. Not in the way she wants him to.”
