“The morning Walter collapsed he’d called you into his office to discuss the DEA findings on a place you’d given a positive report.” Keith’s gaze never wavered. “I was scheduled out of the office and wanted to witness the smackdown you were sure to get, so I installed a camera in the corner of Walter’s office.”
“You what?” The little shit had a bruising coming.
Keith waved his hands to stave off any blows Lucky planned to aim his way. “Let me say what I need to, all right? If not for me, then for Walter.”
“Don’t you dare…”
The man in more trouble than he realized stepped back. “I put a camera in his office, and it’s too late to do anything about it.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a flash drive. “I think you need to see this.”
Lucky narrowed his gaze. “What is it?”
“Just watch it, okay?”
Lucky rolled the device over in his hand. Just a flash drive, nothing more, though Lucky ran the wand over it in case. “Is that all?”
“No. Seems I’m missing some equipment. At first I thought you raided me, until I checked my cameras.”
If Lucky raided him, the asshole would never know. “You watch your own folks?”
“How else will I know what they’re up to? Anyway, I found someone wandering around surveillance who shouldn’t be there.”
“Who?”
“One of O’Donoghue’s guys.”
“What’s missing?”
“A necklace fitting.”
Who the hell stole necklaces? “Microphone?”
“Yeah. Designed to fit into something pretty for the female ops. Hadn’t gotten a chance to test it yet.”
The heat of Lucky’s glare should’ve sent Keith up in flames. “Why are you helping me? I thought you hated me.”
Keith let out a snort. “I do hate you, but Walter Smithisthe SNB. If someone’s fucking with either one of them, you’re sonofabitch enough to stop them.”
Damned skippy. “As Bo might say, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’” Lucky and Keith would never be friends.
“No.” Keith shook his head, lips in a thin line. “In this case, the enemy of my enemy is my weapon. By the way, keep Schollenberger out of this as much as possible.”
Lucky bristled at Keith daring to say Bo’s name. “Why?” One wrong word and he’d remove some teeth.
“Think about it, and don’t hit me. As much as I love the man, best case scenario, Walter only has a few more good years with the bureau. Rumor has it the brass has been encouraging him to quit.” Keith leaned in and lowered his voice.
Lucky took an involuntary step back.
Keith scowled. “Rumor also has it that O’Donoghue’s planning to transfer from DEA to SNB. Some of us in the department think he plans to take over permanently.”
“Oh, hell, no,” Lucky growled.
One side of Keith’s mouth lifted. “Believe it or not, for once the entire department except for one or two idiots agrees with you. Sadly, we’re lacking in agents with the proper qualifications and backing to stand a chance at landing the job.”
“Why are we even talking about this? Walter’s gonna be fine. He’ll be back.”
“Would you shut up already? Even you don’t believe that. Not really. Though Schollenberger came to us much like you did, he’s got a clean slate now, holds a PharmD degree, is proven in the field, and is well liked. Although he doesn’t have seniority, he stands the best chance of being Walter’s replacement if they fill the position from within.”
What? Bo? The boss? What would that do to their relationship? If Lucky was Bo’s direct report…
