“Which means we run the very real risk of some of those rescues getting caught up in the middle of a firefight,” Gideon said somberly. “The trackers will provide cover while the runners load up the vans and get those poor rescues the hell out of there. You two,” he said, gesturing to Rae and Jared, “are our liaisons in the middle. Get the rescues out and headed in the right direction.”
"So we're gonna throw the two of them directly into Agent hands?" Reese asked. He glanced at Jared. "I don't like it."
Declan leaned forward, a resigned expression on his face. "It’s not ideal,” he agreed. “But the rescues will trust Jared as one of their own, and Rae can get out of anything if shit goes south. I will be right behind to give cover.”
Gideon nodded at Rae and Jared. “You both have the sweet demeanor that rescues will trust enough to get them in the hands of our runners. Thanks to your work at the shelter, you’re the most experienced of any of us at coordinating rescue efforts amidst agent raids, at least on a smaller scale."
Declan gave his siblings a sad smile. "That was always the part Dad had been good at, when he could do it without being found out."
Jared returned Declan's smile, his eyes fluttering shut at the wisps of hair falling into his face. "It's how he found me." Rae paused the scissors to give his arm a squeeze.
"See, you're a true Cooper. Take after your daddy." Gideon winked at him. “I’ll have your back, provide you some cover while Iris and Reese handle transportation and Declan intercepts any Agents."
"Still not much of a team," Rae commented as she dusted trimmed hair off of Jared’s shoulders. "Declan's a badass, and I’m sure you’re no slouch, but there's no way you and he can cover us all by yourselves."
Iris agreed. "Kip and Tate are meeting us in Jefferson on their way back from Pine Bluff. They can take up position next to Declan. Though Kip is more of a runner."
Gideon grunted. “We’re still short, though. Too many Renegades cut and run after what happened to Johnathan. We’re hitting up everyone in a thousand mile radius that might be able to lend a hand.”
“If those rescues are in the kind of danger you say they’re in, we’ll go in with who we've got,” Declan declared. “This is a huge chance to hit the Agents on their home turf.” He paused. “What about the twins?”
Gideon let out a noise of frustration. “Blaine and Brandt got their own mess up in New York. Said they’d send anyone they could, but they’re up to their eyeballs in overflowed shelters. They lost a lot of protection after…” Gideon softened his tone. “After we lost Johnathan.”
“An Agent compound is no small job.” Declan glanced sideways at Reese. “I don’t suppose you know of any runners that we’ve missed?
Reese unfolded his arms. “I’ll see what I can do. I’ve got at least one more contact that’s already near Jefferson. I’ll see who else we can round up.” Jared found it curious that he didn't mention a name, but Gideon spoke up before Jared could inquire about it.
Gideon marked another spot on the map. “Lara Cassidy lives in Kansas. Best damn runner I’ve ever worked with, besides Reese. I’ll see if she can join up, help Jared and Rae with the extraction."
Reese nodded his agreement. "I've worked with her. Keeps her head under pressure. Good shot, too."
Rae swept a hand over Jared’s hair, then tapped his shoulder to let him know she was done. “If we’re as outnumbered on this job as you say we are, why the hell aren’t we heading out now? The group of us, at least. Can’t we get the extraction started early?”
Gideon shook his head. “We will have a limited time window to make our move. Can’t afford to drag it out.”
“Guard change,” Declan guessed.
Iris nodded. “We will head in just before dawn, when the night time guards are sleepiest and the new shift hasn’t come on yet. Should give us a good window in between to slip inside and get to where we need to be.”
“So when do we leave?” Jared asked, whipping the towel from around his neck and shaking off the loose hairs.
“Tomorrow night, late. We will get into Jefferson around 0600. Meet up with the others, and head inside at 0645.” Gideon said. “That way if we do get caught, the two shifts won’t be able to double team us. Guard change is at 0700 so if we work it right, we will be done just before that and can get out before the fresh shift takes up patrol.”
Iris looked at Reese. “Logan and Lila Brissett, two former trackers, will be stationed at a safe house about ten miles from the compound.” Iris said. “There aren’t any nearby shelters to the training facility, for obvious reasons. Might be a bit of a drive after the raid, to get these rescues far enough away to keep them safe from another Agent round up.”
“You thinking Kansas City?” Reese asked.
Iris nodded. “It’s a huge sanctuary city, one Vivienne hasn’t yet touched.” She and Gideon exchanged a look. “Logan and Lila can keep everyone safe until we are all back in the same place. Depending on how many rescues we get out, some of us might be taking a little road trip to Kansas City, once everyone is accounted for.”
“We also need to supply each vehicle, pick up rations for at least twenty rescues,” Gideon said. “I’ve got a guy downtown who can help us out with that. Two of you can get the blueprints while the other two grab supplies. When we aren’t on a job or at a safe house, I don’t want too many of us in the same place at the same time. No need to draw attention.” He looked around the room. “This is it, kids. Anyone’s got any reservations, speak up now.”
No one said a word.
“Alright then.” Gideon turned to Jared and Rae. “You two head upstairs, take stock of the closet in my bathroom. Inventory the medical and toiletry supplies and let me know what we need to last twenty potentially injured or malnourished rescues for twenty-four hours.”
Rae jumped up. “Finally. About time we got back to work.”
“Don’t get too excited yet,” Gideon cautioned. “This is gonna be a tough one. And from the looks of it, we’re gonna be even more outnumbered there than Reese was down in Salt Lake.” He shared a look with Reese and Declan. “You guys get everyone’s guns cleaned and ready. I’m gonna make some calls.”
“Uh,” Rae raised her hand, then gestured to her brother and Reese. “You sure you want the two of them handling weapons together, unsupervised?”
Gideon paused, a comical expression on his face like he didn't know whether to take her seriously or not. “You might be right.”
“Nah, we’ll be fine, right Slater?” Declan drawled. “Gives us a chance to get to know each other.”
“Sure thing,” Reese agreed, his voice as smooth as silk.
“You remember what I told you,” Iris warned.
“I ain’t cleanin’ up no blood, so keep it civil!” Gideon shouted after Reese and Declan, as they all retreated to the various corners of the house. Jared had barely reached the top of the landing with Rae when he heard Gideon mutter, “Damn kids.”
“So,” Rae said ten minutes later as she and Jared sat on Gideon’s bathroom floor, conducting inventory of the contents of Gideon’s supply closet. “Reese is pretty sexy, huh?”
Jared fumbled with the first aid kit he’d been sorting, dropping a bottle of antiseptic onto the tile.
Rae belted out a laugh. “Oh man. I’ll take that as a yes.” She leaned over and handed Jared bottle cap that had rolled to her side of the bathroom. Gideon’s master bathroom was huge, and the floor to ceiling closet was packed full of weeks worth of medical supplies. Jared was counting antiseptic and antibiotic bottles while Rae put together the list, in preparation of their interception in Jefferson. “That reckless hair, and those brown eyes…”
“They’re blue,” Jared corrected, putting the counted bottles back on the shelf. At Rae’s melodious giggle realized he had been caught. “Dammit.” He smiled and threw a pack of gauze pads at her.
“As the freaking ocean,” Rae agreed. She settled back against the cabinets beneath the sink, proppin
g the notepad on her knees. “He seems to have a hard time taking those eyes off of you,” she observed.
A rush of warmth filled Jared, and his mind flooded with images of Reese; the way his eyes had pierced him the first time Reese had whipped off his sunglasses, the curve of his mouth when he smiled underneath his permanent three-day stubble, the way his broad shoulders filled out the black tee shirts he was so fond of wearing.
The feel of his hard muscles shaking under Jared’s hands when Jared had taken him into his mouth.
Jared shook his head and resumed counting, reciting the products and how many they had out loud so Rae could note it down. He rose to his knees to start on the third shelf up. Tapping his fingers against the lip of the shelf, he blurted, “He kissed me.”
Rae’s mouth dropped open. “What? When?”
Jared counted off five rolls of medical tape. “The day he left for Salt Lake. Uh, and again when he got back.” And then some, Jared thought.
Rae smacked him on the shoulder with her notepad. “And you didn't tell me?”
“I wasn't, I mean...” Jared looked down at the floor. “For awhile I wasn't sure if it was real.”
“Oh, Jare.” Rae put down her pen. “It’s not like he’s the first guy to want you.”
Jared could feel his cheeks heat. “He’s…different.”
Rae studied him, then nodded. “He is.” She turned sideways so she was facing him, her eyes sparkling conspiratorially. “So? How did he do it? The first time I mean.”
Jared laughed. “Come on, RaeRae, it’s not like you haven't been kissed before.” He gave her a saucy look. “And a whole lot more.”
“Well yeah, but not by him.” She grinned. “Besides, talking about him clearly makes you happy. So come on. Spill.”
“He, I don’t know, just kind of went for it. I was asking him about the Salt Lake job and he just kept putting me off, and then he just leaned in and.” Jared moved a hand closer to her face to demonstrate how slowly Reese had kissed him, then pulled it back. “Yeah. And then he kind of, you know, did it again, like that, and then last night, and um, this morning, he…yeah.”
“Well.” Rae clapped her hands together. “Seeing as how you can’t even string together a full sentence, I’m guessing it was pretty damn good.”
It felt good to finally tell someone that Reese had kissed him. Truth be told, Jared had really been missing his sister these last few months. Rae was his best friend, besides Declan, though obviously there were some things Declan was better off not knowing. Rae was different though, her excitement was catching, and it made Jared want to tell her everything.
Jared still couldn't believe how bold he’d been earlier, out on the porch with Reese, and then again in the lake, reaching for him like he actually had a right to take what he wanted. Reese was so sure of himself, so confident, and when Jared was around him and the rest of the world fell away, he felt like he could be confident too.
He wasn’t quite ready to share all of that, though.
Rae picked up her pen, and gestured for him to keep counting. “Wanna know what I think?”
Jared smirked. “Since when do you ask?”
“Shut up.” Rae tossed the gauze pads back at him. “I think since you can’t even be coherent when talking about your time together, you should probably keep spending time together.” Her mouth curved. “You know, for practice.”
Jared took the full bag she handed him and stacked it with the others. “If he even wants to.”
Rae rolled her eyes. “Oh, for shit’s sake, Jare, the two of you were playing freaking footsie at dinner last night.” She grinned and held up a hand. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I’m the only one who noticed. And if his eyes had been his hands, you would have been stripped down naked right there at the table. And don’t think I didn’t notice those looks you two were sharing while Gideon and Iris gave us the low down today. Trust me, he wants to.”
Jared pulled her into a hug, telling her how much he’d missed her with a tight, playful squeeze. He let her go, then said quietly, “Declan doesn’t like him.”
“Declan doesn’t like anybody,” Rae patted his arm. “Now come on, finish up so we can keep our brother from murdering your boyfriend.”
Jared blushed, feeling silly at the way the childish term sounded, and refusing to admit to himself that he liked it. He knew that was far from the truth, he barely even knew the man, but Jared would be lying if he said there wasn't something in him that wanted to learn everything there was to know about Reese Slater.
He rattled off the last few items and then followed his sister downstairs, thinking of nothing but Reese’s hard body and soft touch.
Half an hour into sitting across the table from Declan Cooper, cleaning weapons and taking stock of ammo inventory, and neither he nor Reese had yet to utter a word.
Reese was about to break the silence, poke Declan for his preference for pale ale over stout just to get a rise out of him, when Declan spoke.
“When we go into Jefferson, I’ll take point. Who knows how many Agents will be swarming around there. Jared’s a hell of a shot, but he will do better helping you get the rescues into the vans than he will in a showdown, so I’ll send him out first. Rae and I will cover.”
Reese agreed with his plan, but he couldn't give it to Cooper that easy. He’d been watching them all train since he’d returned from Salt Lake, and he couldn't find any fault with their skills. Loathe as he may be to admit it, Declan was a born leader.
Declan’s overprotectiveness was grating, but damned if Reese didn't feel the same way. There was something different about Jared, something that made Reese want to keep him locked away and safe from anything that could cause him further pain. But he also noticed a strength there, hidden beneath that shaky facade, and Reese wanted to do all he could to prove to Jared he was just as strong as everyone said.
“You don’t seem to think much of your brother,” Reese observed.
“I think the world of my brother.” Declan set the last of the weapons on top of the coffee table and fixed him with a look. “That’s why I don’t want him sleeping with someone like you.”
Reese hummed, appreciating the directness too much to take offense. “You mean that’s why you’ve kept him sheltered his whole life. Why you think you can make better decisions than he can. Why you think he’s safer with you than with me.”
Declan’s eyes glinted. “He is safer with me.”
“I think Jared knows how to stay safe all on his own.”
“Which just shows how much you don’t know about our family.”
“I know stubbornness sure seems to run in it.”
Declan shoved away from the table. “You know what else runs in it? Loyalty. And that’s something I’m not sure you have yet. To the right side, anyway.”
Reese placed his pistol on the table, and leaned back in his seat. “Working with Hatch for ten years isn’t enough of a vouch, I suppose.”
“We lost our dad to the Agents. Since then, there’s been a lot of shakeups. You’ll understand if I’m not jumping to believe you after just a week.”
Reese stood and faced off with Declan. “You can believe what you want. But you might try taking in some other opinions.” He waved a hand. “You know, broaden your world view.”
“My world consists of my brother and sister.”
“Then maybe you should listen to them more often.”
“Don’t tell me-“
“Declan?” They both swung their heads around at Jared’s voice. “Everything okay?” Jared asked, coming into the living room with Rae following close behind.
“Yeah, Jare.” Declan assured him, his posture relaxing. “Everything’s fine.”
Reese snorted.
“Well, the house is still intact and I don’t see any blood, so that’s good.” Rae took in the neat pile of guns and ammo laid out on the side table. She waved a list at Declan. “We’ve got some shit to stock up on. You want to drive, or should I?”
“I’m not done-“
“Declan.”
“Fine.” Reese didn’t budge an inch when Declan got into his face. “Watch it. And remember what I said.”
Reese defensively held up his hands. “Your issues to work through, not mine, brother.”
“Don’t ever call me that again,” Declan replied, pointing a finger at him.
Reese smirked as Declan stalked away, hurrying Rae out the door.
“What was that about?” Jared asked, wandering over to the map on Gideon’s wall.
“Nothing.” Reese finished gathered up the rest of the weapons, packing the extras in their cases. “Your brother is a laugh and a half, isn’t he?”
Traction Page 14