O’Donoghue paused long enough to make Lucky want to squirm. He managed not to. “And I told them that with your knowledge of the case and stellar record as an agent, I could think of no one better suited for this job.”
Should Lucky be flattered or offended that O’Donoghue thought him the perfect man to deal with lowlife scum?
“And Harrison?”
There had to be a “but” or insult coming. No love lost between them. “Yeah?”
The man who might or might not be a mortal enemy gave Lucky a long, appraising look. “Be careful. We’ve had our differences, but you’re going into the lion’s den. Watch your back. I want you back here in one piece.”
“Don’t I always?” Not really. At one time he hadn’t cared if he saw another day. Times had changed since Bo came into his life and made him want to be a better man.
“This time, I’ll be watching too. I volunteered to be your handler.” O’Donoghue stalked off before Lucky could form an answer.
Oh, fuck. If the drug dealers didn’t get him, his own “team” might.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
“Lucky, you don’t have to do this.” Bo placed his hands on the back of Lucky’s chair from hell, capturing Lucky between his arms.
“Yes, I do.”
“There’s plenty others capable of this operation. You’re a trainer now, not assigned to undercover ops.”
Lucky turned his head enough to kiss the inside of Bo’s wrist. “These assholes are going down. I wanna be the one to take them there.” For Yolanda. For Alejandro.
Bo planted a kiss on Lucky’s forehead. “I know. I didn’t think I’d talk you out of it. But that’s one of the things I love about you. You’re stubborn, but occasionally you’re stubborn about things that really matter. I hear O’Donoghue volunteered to be your handler.”
“Yeah.” Good thing or bad, Lucky saw no way to get out of the situation without passing the case to someone else. The only ones he trusted in the role were Bo and Walter. Bo’s involvement might be seen as a conflict of interest, due to his and Lucky’s relationship, and Walter needed to stay the hell off the streets.
“Well, I think they’re waiting for us in the conference room. But before we go…” Bo wrapped a firm hand around the back of Lucky’s neck, pulled him into another kiss, and sauntered away, smoothing his hands down his suit jacket.
The tease.
In one simple gesture he conveyed Walter’s famous words,“Do what you do.”
One more chance to make up for past ills.
If he tried hard enough, maybe he’d someday feel worthy of the life he now lived.
***
Another day, another assignment. Lucky stood, arms out to his side, sweating lightly under his bulletproof jacket and allowing Keith’s team to wire him for sound and run through checks.
Although technically a newbie with the Atlanta division of the SNB, Salters, the red-haired annoyance, had a fewyears in with the Richmond, Virginia office, and now entered the field with Lucky for the first time in Atlanta on an important, and complicated, case.
How long since Lucky’d stood in his newbie shoes? Seemed like forever. He’d rather have Loretta Johnson on the inside with him, but Salters needed to get his feet wet sometime, and Johnson and Bo knowing the building’s layout meant they were needed on the outside.
As much as he’d like to deny the facts, Salters had managed one hell of a good record in Virginia, and even Walter declared him up to this task.
Besides, no matter how hard he’d tried, he’d not found a single negative on Salters’ record with the bureau.
“Now remember,” O’Donoghue said, standing close under the guise of checking Lucky’s microphone, “if things start going to shit, use your code words and get the hell out of there.” Jeez, the guy sounded almost like he cared. “I’d rather these assholes get away tonight than lose an agent.”
“Not my first rodeo.” Lucky fought back the rising tension and faked calm.
O’Donoghue met his eyes and held his gaze for one long moment. “No, I guess not. Don’t get cocky. You know as well as I do you can’t let your guard down for a minute. And keep an eye on your partner. He’s ready for the field. He had a good teacher.” In this instance, Lucky didn’t think O’Donoghue meant himself and classroom training.
Yes, Lucky did know. “Willyou quit fussing over me and let me go do what I do?” As an afterthought, he added, “Mom.”
