by Helene Gadot
Beckett shook his head. She was a little bit crazy, and he liked it.
The man whimpered. "Get her away from me. I'll plead out. I'll give up my bosses. Whatever, man. Just get her out of here. She's crazy. Both of them are. They used powers on me. Can't I make a complaint with the Legion?"
Shit.
Ridley sauntered over and squatted next to him, a lethal smile on her lips. "You could go crying to the Legion like a little bitch. And then spend what's left of your miserable and pathetic days waiting for me to come for you. See, I have friends on the force, so I can get to you in Halawa. So, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and plead guilty since all these nice people are witnesses to your crime. I'm allowed to use my powers in self-defense. But go ahead. Make the call."
"If this guy pisses himself like the last one, I'm out." Cormac held up his hands and took a step back.
The guy didn't piss, but he did start bawling.
Cormac turned and walked right out the door without another word.
Ridley stood with a disgusted shake of her head. "This is just pathetic. I was hoping for at least a small challenge."
Her friend came over. "We should get out of here."
"We can't leave, it'll raise suspicion if they find out we were here and left. We're in enough trouble as it is." Maddox turned to Beckett. "But you can get Ridley out of here. You and Cormac take her back to the house. Reese and I will be there when we can."
Beckett nodded. "Will do."
Ridley refused to move. "Only if Malia leaves too."
Maddox nodded "That's fine. Reese and I can clean this up with minimal questions."
Visible relief shimmered from Ridley's eyes. "Excellent. Lia, I'll call you tomorrow."
Malia jerked her head in a terse nod and clapped Ridley on the shoulder. "I'll let you know what I find." She hurried out the door.
Beckett raised a brow at Ridley. "What's she looking for?"
Her shrug was a little too innocent. "Nothing you need to worry about. It's to do with the dude from last night."
Beckett filed her lie away to think over later and focused on the Legion member he wanted to shoot in the face. "I've looked into him and she isn't the first woman he's done this to. It's just the first woman who lodged a complaint."
Ridley's swagger slipped. "I figured. How many?"
"You don't want to know." He wished he didn't. Everything he'd hacked and found made him sick to his stomach. Especially paired with the knowledge they stopped her from dispensing her dark brand of justice and he was back on the loose. "But believe me when I tell you, we want to help take him down."
She sighed. "I'll consider it."
He wanted to curse her stubbornness. "You know we can just deal with him without your help."
"And here I thought you were desperate to have me on your team."
Beckett laughed and shook his head while he held open the door for her. She was something else.
She grinned over her shoulder at the bartender. "See ya later, Jerry. Sorry for the mess."
The big guy waved and smiled. "No problem, gorgeous. Thanks for keeping us safe."
"Anytime, brah."
Beckett grabbed Cormac by the arm and dragged him towards their vehicle. "Maddox wants us out of here and they'll meet us later."
Cormac grumbled under his breath, but followed along. His scowl deepened when Ridley hopped into the front passenger seat.
Cormac grabbed the door before she could close it. "What the fuck are you doing?"
She smiled sweetly at him. "I'm following orders."
"Get in the backseat." Cormac growled the words, almost trembling with irritation.
"No." Ridley scoffed.
"You're in my seat."
"Too bad." She yanked the door shut, ripping it from Cormac's grip.
Beckett smothered a grin as Cormac stormed to the backseat and slammed the door with a muttered string of curses. Ridley ignored both of them and fiddled with the car stereo until she found a station she liked. He winced at the heavy bass pouring through the speakers from the hard rock song she chose. She scooted around in the seat and propped her foot on the dash, her boot moving to the beat of the music.
She was such a strange person, all rough edges and snark and fury and arrogance and black clothing. Her deep blue eyes were as fathomless as the ocean with as many secrets and shadows. He wanted to peel each layer from her until he finally reached the inferno raging inside her, not caring if it burned, if the flames consumed him.
Beckett had no time or real interest in women, his team and his job taking up most of his time. But something about Ridley intrigued him, drew him. It was similar to what he felt when he met the rest of his team, just more lustful.
He peeked at Cormac in the rear-view mirror who glared at Ridley, but a reluctant smile twitched on his lips. Beckett wasn't the only one who was interested.
They all were.
Beckett sighed. He didn't like personal complications. He loved solving puzzles, but not people.
And Ridley was a massive complication.
17-Ridley
Cormac disappeared as soon as they walked inside their house.
Beckett shook his head with a sigh. "Come on. I'll show you to the room you can use while you stay here."
"All right." She was too tired to snark at him and she had a harder time getting a read on Beckett than the others.
Maddox was the stubborn alpha leader. Cormac was the bad boy asshole. Reese was the guy who used charm and smiles to keep the peace and cover up the darkness inside. But Beckett barely looked up from his phone or joined the conversation for her to figure out his place. He was an enigma. She hated how much figuring him out intrigued her.
He led her down the hallway, past six doors until he reached the last one on the left. "This is yours. Sorry, it's not very nice. We didn't have a lot of time to set it up."
Ridley pushed open the door, barely keeping her jaw closed. Not very nice? It was lovely, like a gorgeous beach hotel room decorated in the colors of dawn—peaches, light blues, whites, yellows. It wasn't how she'd decorate, but it was perfect for a short getaway.
Beckett shifted his weight. "We didn't know what sort of style you'd like, so we just went with what matched the rest of the house. Cormac said we should have done red and black, but Maddox vetoed that idea."
"Cormac wasn't wrong." Ridley snorted. "But this is fine. I'm not going to be here long enough for it to matter what my room looks like."
"We wanted you to be comfortable."
What did her comfort matter to them? "Why? Are you guys trying bribery after blackmail?"
Beckett winced. "A little, yeah."
"It won't work." She wouldn't let it.
He played with the gauge in his left ear. "Probably not."
"Why is Maddox so intent on me joining you? Your team has all the powers it could possibly need. Are you trying to impress the Legion by bringing in a new member?" She didn't think they really cared about her joining. They wanted her secrets. They wanted to know if they could allow her to go back to their life or if she was some sort of master knave they needed to get off the streets.
She should probably have been grateful they were giving her a chance, but she doubted they were going to let her go until they knew everything. And that was not going to happen. They were stuck at a stalemate.
Beckett crossed his arms, giving her a great view of his muscular forearms. "No. We don't give a shit what the Legion thinks. We go after enough major targets to keep them happy and choose the rest ourselves."
Interesting. These guys certainly weren't the usual Legion soldiers. "How do you manage that? I would think they'd kick you out."
Beckett shrugged. "We're good at what we do and have one of the highest closure rates in the state. Unless we fuck up big time, they leave us alone as long as we keep bringing in bad guys."
"Decent gig."
"It pays the bills."
"Is that why you do it? The money?" Clearly,
they made a lot if they could afford such a nice place.
Beckett let out a soft chuckle. "The money doesn't hurt. We like the freedom it gives us. But no."
"Then what? Patriotism? You want to be heroes?" She needed to know what kind of people she was dealing with, what kind of people were going to have her back in the coming mission.
"No. But that's a story for another day. Maybe after a few stiff drinks."
Ridley glared at him, frustrated at his shitty and unhelpful answers. "You all expect me to give up my secrets, but you won't give up your own?"
"We aren't the criminals." Beckett grimaced. "Sorry. It's a sore subject for most of us. And we just met. I'm no more likely to tell you my life story than you are to tell me yours."
She probably couldn't expect them to spill when she refused to, but they weren't the only ones who liked to uncover secrets. "Fair enough. But don't expect me to show you mine before I see yours."
Beckett smirked, a twinkle in his amber eyes. "Whenever you're ready for that, you let me know."
Ridley snorted and shoved him towards the door. "Very funny. Now go away. I need sleep."
He stopped at the doorway. "If you're hungry or thirsty, help yourself. Towels are in the closet in the bathroom. And just to warn you, we aren't spying, but I do have a few cameras set up around the outside perimeter. So don't do anything you wouldn't want us to see."
Damn. It made sneaking out of there a lot more difficult. "Do you expect me to go wandering around outside naked?"
"I hoped." He winked and closed the door.
She did not appreciate him getting the last word. She also didn't expect it from the quiet techhead. He was a sneaky fucker.
With a sigh, she sat on the edge of the bed, her shoulders slumped. The room was nice, but she missed her own place. She liked it, the scents of the metal and grease from the garage mixing with the scents from the beach drifting up to her apartment. Sure, it was a bit on the depressing side, but it was hers. She didn't give a shit about surrounding herself with pretty things.
His words about security cameras worried her, so she went over every inch of the room, checking for bugs or signs of surveillance. She found nothing, but it didn't reassure her as much as she wished. It meant they were sneaky and smart and would be much harder to fool.
She shot off a text to Malia, asking her to send her everything she found on this team and on their target. Reese still had her bag, so she couldn't change clothes, but she showered the grease off and wrapped herself in a robe before crawling into the bed.
Damn, it was soft. Way better than her mattress. The assholes were totally trying to bribe her.
Her phone chimed, and she poured through the information Malia sent. Once she had her computer it'd be easier, but it was enough for now.
Beckett wasn't the only one good at digging up information.
And those four hadn't lied when they said they weren't very popular with the Legion. Dozens of complaints had been filed against them, everything from stealing targets to their haircuts and tattoos. Her lips ticked up in a grin. Maybe these guys weren't so bad.
She certainly didn't trust the bastards, but working with them could be fun.
18-Ridley
The first light of the sun streaming through the thin, peach curtains woke Ridley early the next morning. Her bag was on the end of the bed, which concerned her. She should have woken up the moment someone turned the knob. She was not a deep sleeper.
She cracked open the door and listened, but heard no signs of life in the rest of the house. She tiptoed back to her bag, rustling through it until she found her bikini and board shorts. Once she changed and grabbed a towel from the bathroom, she wandered out back, taking in the morning sun glittering across the ocean.
She tossed the towel and her hoodie onto one of the lawn chairs and toed off her sneakers and socks. After a few stretches, she waded out into the water, diving beneath the waves, losing herself to the soft rocking of the ocean, the steady movements of her arms and legs, the slow, deep breaths she took each time she came up for air.
She'd always loved the water. It was the main reason she chose Hawaii to hide in. Alaska was another option, but she hated the cold and there weren't enough people to lose herself in, she'd have been forced to lose herself in the forests instead. No, thank you.
Gross.
With her heart rate pumping and her limbs shaking, she swam for shore. Reese waited on the sand holding a surfboard. She eyed him while she twisted her hair to release some of the water weighing it down. Now she could see just how far his tattoos went. He had more tribal designs on his ripped chest dipping past his blue swim trunks.
"Might want to close your mouth." Reese grinned, but he didn't hide the way his eyes roamed down her body just like hers were doing to his.
She smirked. "You're the one with drool on your chin."
He laughed and threw her towel at her. "Want a surf lesson?"
She rolled her eyes at the pathetic line. "You think I don't already know how? I don't need lessons."
"I didn't see a board at your place."
She dried herself off with the towel, paying close attention to her chest, smiling internally at the heat in his eyes. "Malia borrowed it when she fucked up hers. She goes more than I do."
"I've got another one if you want to go out there with me."
"No thanks. I'm headed out for a run."
He gaped in horror. "It's Sunday morning. Why the hell aren't you sleeping in and relaxing?"
Ridley shrugged. "Exercising is relaxing."
"Oh hell." Reese groaned.
Her brow furrowed as she put her hoodie on. "What?"
"Another one of you. Cormac is the same and Maddox isn't much better. They're always forcing us to train, then train more."
"Considering your job, it's probably a smart move."
"I was hoping after watching you scarf down fried food and beer last night it meant you were a woman after my own heart. But you're one of them."
Ridley couldn't stop the laugh. "I exercise so I can eat like that. You're the one who loves asparagus." She tied her shoes. "Now, I have to go before my heart rate slows. See ya later."
She took off through the path leading into the woods, her sneakers pounding the dirt trail in time with her pulse. She ran two-and-a-half miles before she turned around and headed back to the house, her thoughts clear, her mood calm.
The rest of the team were awake when she walked inside. They looked up at her sweaty form still breathing hard with raised brows and smirks. She kept a tight grip on her good mood, refusing to allow them to ruin it.
"Want some breakfast?" Maddox asked. "We have coffee too. No coco puffs, but we've got fruit and bacon and eggs."
"I'll take fruit and bacon and coffee."
"No eggs?"
Ew, no. "Nope. Can't stand them unless it's part of loco moco."
Maddox filled a plate with meat, pineapple, mango, and cherries and slid it over to her. She sat at one of the available seats and tucked into the food, ignoring them. The bacon was perfect, still the slightest bit rubbery in places but mostly crispy.
She'd tell them they didn't need to feed her, but since they were forcing her to stay, the least they could do was wait hand and foot on her. She planned to make it as obnoxious as possible too, and act like the worst house guest slash prisoner they'd ever seen.
Beckett handed her a coffee, somehow getting the exact amount of creamer she preferred. She eyed him with suspicion. "Did you pull up my Starbucks receipts or something?"
He met her accusing gaze evenly. "No. You don't go to Starbucks. You prefer the shop on the corner."
Irritation vibrated up her spine. "And how do you know that?"
"Security cameras around your street."
"How big is the file you're building on me?" Ridley asked around a mouthful of bacon.
"Pretty thin so far."
"Good." She planned to keep it that way.
Maddox pulled a folder o
ff the counter behind him. "Ready to look at this now?"
She held her hand out to take it and flipped through. It was nothing she didn't already know from what Malia sent. She closed it and sat back with her coffee cradled in her hands. "What's the plan to handle him?"
Maddox speared a piece of pineapple with his fork. "For now, we're focusing on recon. We need as much proof of his activities as possible or the Legion won't do shit about it and the cops aren't equipped to handle him since he has so many powers at his disposal."
"You want to spy and photograph him doing illegal things?" It could work. If they were extremely lucky.
"Yes."
"How are you hoping to get close enough?" Ridley asked.
"That is where you come in." Reese grinned.
She set her mug on the table. "Explain."
Maddox frowned across the table at her. "Look, usually the four of us handle our targets and jobs with no problems. But sometimes, it would make things a lot simpler if we had a female."
She sucked in a sharp breath. "Dude, I'm not playing the seductress for you guys. That's not something I can or will do. Forget it."
Maddox held up his hands. "That's not what we need."
"I won't play the damsel either."
Cormac snorted into his coffee. "You'd make a horrible damsel."
Ridley flipped him off.
Maddox continued like Cormac hadn't spoken. "Again. Not what we're looking for."
"Then, what are you looking for?"
"Someone who can sit at a bar with one of us, looking harmless while casting a strong illusion to hide the rest while we get close to him." Maddox gestures at himself and then the others. "We unfortunately stand out a little, so the bouncers keep their eyes on us, expecting trouble."
"Are you saying you need me because I'm not scary looking?" She didn't know whether to be flattered or offended. She was leaning towards offended.
Reese grimaced. "Well, right now you're rather terrifying. But this asshole underestimates women. He sees them as his own personal punching bag."
"What is the deal with male villains almost always been misogynists?" It was a common thread she'd come up against.