"Are you going to tell us?" Cormac asked.
"You haven't given me a chance. You keep guessing." Ridley rolled her eyes. "I'm looking into places to set up a safe house."
Beckett nodded, looking impressed. "Smart. Cheaper than all the plane tickets."
She scowled. "I've only done that a couple times."
"Can I come with you?" Beckett asked.
"Why?" She didn’t expect any danger while she checked out a couple houses.
"I'm pretty good at finding gems in the center of a pile of crap."
Maddox nodded. "He's the one who found our place. For over a hundred thousand less than it was worth. You should take him."
She didn’t love the idea, but figured she could use another pair of eyes. She’d never bought a house before. "All right. We can go after Cormac and Reese relieve us."
"You shouldn’t have to cast illusions to hide your identities tomorrow since you did it today." Maddox shot her a glance brimming with concerns.
Nope. They weren’t going to come in here and treat her like she was made of glass. She knew her limits.
"It’s better to do it again since we’ll be so close to the Legion HQ." Ridley smirked. "We can be two girlfriends out for lunch and shopping."
Beckett shrugged. "Can I have smaller boobs this time?"
Chapter 12
Ridley
BECKETT AND RIDLEY were on hour three in the same cafe she came to with Maddox the day before. Beckett had the idea to bring their computers so it would look like they were hanging out to work. Their empty breakfast plates were abandoned at the edge of the table, only the smears of jam and egg yolk remaining. Egg on Beckett's plate, jam on hers.
"Show me the places you're looking into."
Ridley was already browsing through them, so she spun her computer and pushed it across the table. Beckett clicked through the photos and information, his eyes darting back and forth in the head of the cute girl she made him look like.
Beckett tapped his bottom lip with his pointer finger. "There are some good options here. I think my favorite is this yellow one with all the trees. It provides nice extra privacy and cover and it has the best set up for security. You can see the rest of the road from there. I can help you set up cameras and an alarm system once you decide on a place."
She considered declining, but it wasn’t about her. It was about the safety of the women who would be staying there. "That's sweet of you. Thanks."
"We told you we wanted to help you with all this. We believe in your mission or calling or whatever you want to call it."
She softened. "I know."
"Maddox told us what you guys talked about the other day."
Her eyes widened. "Oh yeah?" Which part?
"The rest of us feel the same way."
Ah. They were still on her joining or dating them or both. "Really? Even Reese and Cormac?"
Beckett reached across the table like he wanted to take her hand, but he pulled back, remembering he currently looked like a woman instead of his usual gorgeous self. "Especially Reese and yes, even Cormac."
"And did he tell you my response to it?" Ridley sipped her lemonade.
"He said you didn't really have one, but were willing to see where things led during the investigation."
"Yep. So why bring it up?" She didn’t want to discuss it. She didn’t really even want to think about it.
"I'm curious why you're fighting it."
"Who said I'm fighting it? Maybe I just haven't been able to decide what I want yet."
Beckett snorted. "You know exactly what you want. I just can't figure out if it's because there's four of us and it's not exactly very socially acceptable or if you are running scared or you're worried you'll end up being the one thing that can break us all up."
"I was talking about joining your team."
Beckett eyed her with skepticism. "Sure, you were. You don't seem like the sort of person who gives a shit what other people think, so I don't think it's that. Let me reassure you, the four of us have been through hell and back and are very good at sharing. You won't break us. If you're running scared, I can only tell you that we'll be here once you get tired of running."
Relief washed over her as she spotted their target exiting the building across the street. "Speaking of running, our boy is leaving work early. Should we follow and see what shady dealings he's up to?"
Beckett threw money on the table. "This conversation isn't over."
"I didn't think it was." Ridley shoved her computer into her bag. "Ugh. I hope we aren't following him to watch him do more errands."
"At least we aren't perched on a rooftop or shoved in an alley and could watch inside in the air condition." He followed her towards the exit.
Ridley kept up a steady change of illusions so Misner wouldn't notice the same people behind him constantly. Beckett texted Cormac and Reese in the group chat, making Ridley's phone chime. She ignored it, focused on Misner and their illusions.
"They're at your place, ready to go wherever we end up."
Ridley frowned as they followed him up another block. "Why isn't he grabbing a taxi?"
"Maybe he doesn’t want to leave a paper trail."
"That's a good sign, then."
"Definitely suspicious. Though I'm a bit suspicious he's acting suspicious. The timing is..."
"Suspicious?" Ridley snickered.
"Yeah."
Misner turned the corner and went into a small restaurant. One Ridley recognized. It was involved in the mob, cliché as that was. An Italian restaurant run by the Russians.
They waited a moment before following, Ridley released the illusion around Beckett in case they needed to split up. and changed hers so they looked like two unassuming businessmen there for lunch before heading back to work. She didn’t like it when the guys were disguised behind her power. And since Beckett and Misner didn’t know each other, they should be fine.
The restaurant was busy, keeping them from standing out. Ridley noticed Misner greeting the owner personally and being taken to a table in the back.
The hostess smiled at Ridley and Beckett. "Lunch for two?"
Beckett shook his head. "We're waiting on the rest of our party. Do you mind if we hang out here till they arrive?"
"That's fine. Or you could sit at the bar and order yourselves a drink while you wait."
Ridley nodded. "We'll do that. Thank you."
The hostess smiled again. "Just let me know when you're ready to be seated."
Ridley really couldn't afford to drink on top of using her powers so much, so she asked for a soda water with lime. Beckett did the same. They turned to each other and pretended to chat, watching Misner in the mirror behind the bar. Another man joined him at the table and they exchanged packets before the shady looking guy turned and left.
"I'll follow him. You stay with Misner." Ridley hopped from the seat and spoke louder for anyone paying attention. "I'm going to go call them. Maybe they got lost."
Beckett played along, and shook his head in disgust. "Tourists."
Ridley nodded in agreement and rushed outside, looking both ways for the guy who just met with Misner. She caught a glimpse of him turning down the next street and she hurried after him, changing her disguise into a plain and haggard looking woman.
They needed to know what was in the packet, but she didn't want Misner catching on to that he was being watched, so she needed to get it in a way that wouldn’t make him suspect anything.
She morphed herself into a large, tatted up man with a hoodie and a gun, and cornered him in the alley he slithered down. Before he even had a chance to realize what was going on, Ridley punched him hard in the face and he crumbled to the ground like a bag of rocks. She took the packet and dug in his pockets, taking his wallet and his watch to make it look like a robbery.
She kept the cash and tossed the rest in a dumpster a few blocks away, hurrying back to the restaurant, the packet hidden in her invisible bag as she returned to the guy who went to eat wit
h Beckett.
Her phone chimed and she pulled it out to see a text from Beckett saying it looked like Misner was headed back to work and Cormac and Reese were on the way to relieve them. He'd meet her at the car in the parking garage.
She made herself look like she was part of a group of trees and peeked inside the packet, her eyes widening at what she found. There was at least ten thousand dollars in there.
What. The. Hell.
Chapter 13
Ridley
RIDLEY BEAT BECKETT to the SUV, so she leaned against it, watching the entrance of the garage. Cormac's fancy ass car slid into the spot across from her, the engine purring to a halt.
They climbed from the car and crossed over to her. "Where's Beckett?"
"Back at the cafe waiting for you two." Ridley held up the envelope. "Something you guys might want to see."
"What is it?" Cormac asked.
"Money. A lot of it. Misner paid some skeevy looking dude for something and he's way too friendly with the owner of a restaurant that has ties to the Russian mob."
Cormac caught the envelope she tossed at him and whistled when he checked inside. "Bloke may not be the one who killed Maddox's brother, but he's definitely involved in something ugly."
"It doesn't look good. Beckett couldn't find any open cases he's working on either. Looks like he hasn't worked an active investigation in a few months."
Reese frowned. "So, what the hell is he doing?"
Ridley shrugged. "No idea. From everything Beckett could find, it looks like he's brought in on major fights and arrests. He's not much of an investigator. He's more of an interrogator."
"Of course. With his power, he'd have people talking fast."
"So, what's he going into the office every day for?” Ridley asked. “You guys don't go in there that often."
"We only go in for new assignments and the occasional meeting,” Reese explained. “But we're part of a squad and Misner isn't."
"We'll discuss all this later. We need to get to the cafe and relieve Beckett." Cormac handed Ridley the envelope. "Take this with you. We'll meet up later at your place and you can give it to Maddox."
Reese pulled a key from his pocket and threw it to her. "Here. It's Beckett's spare key."
"Thanks."
He shrugged. "It's better you aren't standing around here looking suspicious."
Ridley flipped him off. "I hope you get your head out of your ass soon. Or I'll do it for you."
Cormac dragged Reese off, cutting of his reply with an amused smirk. Ridley ignored them both and plopped herself into Beckett's car, turning it on to blast the air. One thing she missed about Northern Virginia where she grew up was the seasons, the fall, the snow. Even on the coldest day here, she barely needed a sweater. But it meant she got to surf all year long, so it was a decent trade.
Beckett slid into the passenger seat. "Sorry. Cormac and Reese were late."
"It's okay. I talked to them."
"So, what's the plan? Are we meeting the realtor straight away?"
"No. She's meeting me at my place and I want to change and drop off this money. I'm not exactly comfortable carrying around this kind of cash."
"Did you count it?"
She slid the envelope over to him. "Go ahead."
Beckett's slender fingers flipped through the bills, his rings flashing. He really had a thing for jewelry and it was hot as hell. She hadn't forgotten what Cormac told her about the piercings they both had on their dicks. The reminder made her shift in her seat as she drove Beckett's car through the crowded streets.
"It's fifteen thousand." Beckett ran a hand through his hair. "I hate how little info I can find on this asshole. Wallace too. It's like they're ghosts. No social media. They aren't even tagged in posts or photos. That damn black file is driving me crazy."
"You got into mine easily enough."
Beckett smirked. "Not easily at all. I had to create a whole new program to crack it. I'm using the same one on his, but it must be bigger because it's taking longer."
"And you don't have to actively work on it?" Ridley was impressed at his genius and creativity.
"No. I plug it into the decryption program and it does all the work for me."
"That's brilliant."
He shrugged. "I've always had a thing for code. Powers can't do everything."
"No. They can't." For years her powers couldn't save her, couldn't save her mother. Half of the time when she went up against abusive dickheads, she used hand to hand and combat training instead of her powers.
"My powers can't do shit against most illnesses."
"Who'd you lose?" Something in the tone of his voice made her ask.
Beckett swallowed audibly. "My mother."
There were no words to take away the pain in his voice, in his eyes, nothing she could say. Just like there was nothing anyone could say to her to banish her demons.
She reached over and took his hand, threading their fingers together. He squeezed back and covered their joined hands with his other one. They finished the drive in silence, riding the waves of pain together, thankful they didn't have to face this moment alone.
She pulled up in front of her place and she and Beckett got out.
Ridley frowned at him following her. "You don't have to come with me. I'll just be a minute."
Beckett shrugged. "We still have half an hour before your realtor comes, right? I was going to run the photos I took of that guy Misner met with through my facial recognition program to see if I get a hit. I need your internet to do it. My hotspot isn't fast enough."
"All right, then. Come on. I don't want to hear the same shit I heard from Reese about my home." She wasn't ashamed of where or how she lived, but she hated seeing the shock and pity in people's eyes when they saw her raggedy couch and thrift store furniture.
Maddox and Reese had both already seen it and she'd overheard them discussing it before. She couldn't even imagine Cormac's response with his snobby attitude.
"Why would I insult your home?"
"You'll see." She unlocked and opened her door with a shove.
Beckett followed her inside. "Do you think I grew up in luxury or something?"
"I have no idea. But you certainly live in it now. I grew up in it. None of it means a fucking thing." The fancy home, the nice cars, the designer clothes -—none of it banished the horror she lived through.
"It doesn't. Money makes things easier sometimes and gives us some freedom, but it's not necessary. Our house wouldn't look near so nice if Cormac hadn't demanded it."
Ridley snorted. "Sounds like him."
Beckett chuckled. "It was easier to go with it. He grew up with dirty money paying for everything he had. I think he likes being able to pay for nice things with money he made on his own. Legally. Most of my money goes into my computer shit. Maddox gives the majority of his away. Reese saves everything. He grew up poor since his dad drank away most of his paychecks, so he's a little paranoid of being without money."
Poor Reese. Poor all of them. And poor her too. "Did you grow up with money?"
Beckett spun the ring on his middle finger. "At first. Not a lot, but we were comfortable. Then my mother's medical bills wiped us out. Then my father killed himself and I ended up bouncing around foster homes until the Legion took me."
Her chest tightened. "Shit. We really are all a mess, aren't we?"
"Pain calls to pain."
"That it does." Ridley wasn't sure it was a good thing, a healthy thing. Maybe it would be better to surround herself with unbroken, whole people instead of trying to glue jagged edges together.
But would someone who hadn't lived through horror and trauma ever be able to understand her? Because these four men understood her more than anyone ever had other than Malia. And unfortunately, Ridley preferred men and Malia had never looked at her like that anyway.
Beckett cleared his throat. "I did a little more research into the homes you're looking into while I was waiting for Cormac and Reese
to relieve me at the cafe."
Ridley was grateful for the subject change. "Oh? What did you find?"
Beckett sat at her kitchen table and pulled his computer from his bag, setting it down and hooking his phone up to it. "I looked up the histories of them. The yellow house is your best bet. The larger one with the nice deck was flipped a few years ago and the company who flipped it are known for doing a shitty job. And the green house has had a high turnover rate."
"Ghosts?" Ghosts she could handle. She was used to them.
"Probably. Or something else. I couldn't find out what the problem is. I even checked to see if it was listed in any police reports, but I didn't find anything."
"Guess we'll check out the yellow house first."
Chapter 14
Beckett
AS HE TOOK IN THE YELLOW house before him, Beckett was half tempted to buy the place out from under Ridley. The way she looked at it made him want her to have it. For herself.
Her eyes sparkled like sapphires. "This will be perfect. I can fit more than one at a time in here."
"It looks more like a halfway house than a safehouse."
She nodded. "That's the point. I want them to have a safe place to stay until they can get back on their feet, not just a shitty motel room to hide in."
Beckett had to admit this was a perfect house for something like that. It was hidden behind a long driveway and surrounded by trees. He could easily add cameras and motion detectors and alarms to add an extra layer. And the place itself was in good shape, just needed a hard scrubbing and new furniture.
Would she let them help?
If he told the others about this, they'd make her let them. But he'd prefer having her want it instead of running roughshod over her.
"You should let Cormac decorate."
Her nose wrinkled. "I don't think I can afford his taste."
"You won't have to."
She scowled. "I have the money to buy and furnish this place."
"So?"
"What do you mean so?" She fisted her hands on her hips, looking pissed and adorable.
Boom (Aces and Knaves, #2) Page 6