“And which of us is the dog in this scenario?”he asked as he reached for his shirt.
The plastic stuck to his fingers as he pulled it off.The paper envelope on the hanger that advertised the “Plenty of Starch” dry cleaners crinkled.
“I don’t know,” Kincaid said.“Which of you comes when told to?”
Javi’s fingers briefly fumbled.He gave Kincaid a quick, suspicious look as he tried to work out what had made the man be that overt.It wasn’t like him.Back in Phoenix, they’d fucked before Javi had even been sure that Kincaid swung that way.
It was deliberate provocation.Javi just wasn’t sure what way he was meant to jump.
“None of your business,” he said.
“Fair,” Kincaid said as he hit the flush.“Although I’m not sure Deputy Witte would be so…discreet.He doesn’t seem like a man who’s good with boundaries.It’s refreshing in a way, but I’m not sure it’s healthy.Of course, with his childhood, how much can you expect?”
Research?Javi wondered grimly.Or did he need to have a word with Cloister about open lines of communication being in both their best interests?
“He’s not your business either,” Javi said shortly as he shrugged the shirt over his shoulders.
“Don’t be childish, Javier,” Kincaid said as he turned around.He paused as he considered Javi’s face, glanced at the bloody shirt, and gave a mildly disapproving sigh.“Any more childish than you’ve already been today, anyhow.You know perfectly well that my business is what I make it.And you put the good deputy right in the middle of my business.”
That made Javi’s stomach tense up, a wet, cold clutch of anxiety.He didn’t know why caring about Cloister felt easier when he suffered with it instead of benefited.It was probably something to do with the Sunday masses he’d gone to with his grandmother, contact Catholicism.
“I won’t let you—”
Kincaid turned abruptly and leveled a cold, sharp smile at Javi.It was almost honest, stripped of at least a couple of layers of socially acceptable behaviors.
“Don’t pretend you’d protect him,” Kincaid said.“It’s beneath both of us.Now, tell me, did you get anything useful out of jumping the gun with Limehouse?Or should you have left it to me?”
Javi took a deep breath through his nose.The sharp bleach smell stung the abused interior, mixing sickly with the smell of his own blood and fluids.
“He thought she was cheating on him,” he said.
Kincaid sneered.“Him and every other TSA agent I’ve ever met,” he said dryly.“I could have left him in Canada and assumedthat.”
“With me,” Javi said as he buttoned his cuffs.That made Kincaid snort with genuine amusement.Javi could see his point, but still… “He hired a private investigator to prove it.So if anything was going on with Joel before she disappeared, that’s who’d know.”
Kincaid considered that for a second.He finally pursed his lips and gave a mildly dismissive sniff.
“I think I could have found out myself,” he said as he grabbed a paper towel to fastidiously dry his hands.“Still.Useful.You’ve already got Joel’s financials.Follow up and get Limehouse’s too.Find who he hired, get them in.I want to talk to them.”
Javi’s eyes twitched at the casual reveal that Kincaid knew he’d intercepted the report from the bank.Mentally, he scrambled as he tried to work out howmuchKincaid knew, and how to react to it.
“I’ll do that,” Javi said.
Kincaid balled the towel up in his hands, tucking in the corners and compressing it down, before he tossed it at the bin.
“See?It’s not so hard to work together.Just like old times.”
It was.That’s what worried Javi.He wasn’t about to admit that out loud, so he just pulled a vaguely agreeable face as he flipped his collar to get his tie back on.That was good enough for Kincaid, who smirked and glanced at his watch.
“Well, I have a meeting with the sheriff’s department in the morning,” he said.“I’m going to get some shut-eye.Call me if anything comes up…and remember, if you don’t, someone else will.”
He winked and left before Javi could ask what the meeting was about.The door swung shut behind him with a thunk, and irritation made Javi knot his tie too tight.He muttered a curse word under his breath as he yanked it loose to try again.
Just like old times.Kincaid was making moves that Javi didn’t understand, and someone Javi cared about was in the blast radius.
Javi stared at his battered reflection as he grimly reknotted his tie, letting muscle memory run his fingers.
His career had survived last time, but if something happened to Cloister…
