Traction

by Autumn McKayne

  “Yeah well, after what happened to your daddy I’m not jumping to put anyone on the inside. Iris has got connections I couldn't even dream up, and Blaine and Brandt can get gossip faster than a bullet from a gun. For now, that’s what we got.” Gideon tossed back a shot of whiskey. “It ain’t just that we lost your eyes and ears on the inside, son, it’s that the Renegades lost their leader. Johnathan was a trailblazer, and a damn strong one. Since he passed, the Agents have been using his death to their advantage. They’re moving far, and they’re moving fast.”

  “And they’re getting bold,” Reese said quietly.

  “I think I’m gonna be sick,” Jared muttered, abruptly standing from the couch. Rae rushed to follow him to the bathroom.

  Declan’s steely gaze landed on Reese. “You sure got out of there pretty fast today.”

  Reese uncrossed his arms. “We still needed to pick up the Jefferson blueprints and I figured Jared was safer riding with you. That’s what you love to tell me all the time, isn't it?”

  Declan grit his teeth, barely able to push the question out between them. “Did you know?”

  “Did I know what?”

  “Don’t fuck with me. Did you know there were Agents downtown today? Did you know about the goddamn checkpoint?”

  Reese stepped forward into Declan’s space. “What part of ‘I’m Team Renegade’ aren’t you understanding, Cooper?”

  Declan grabbed Reese by his smug shoulders and threw him up against the wall. “The part where you seem to show up and disappear at exactly the right times.” Declan fisted his hands in Reese’s shirt. He never should have agreed to let Jared go into town with Reese today, while Declan was on a different run.

  “Declan,” Gideon warned.

  Reese bared his teeth. “You’re forgetting who helped you tie that Agent up and toss his ass into the van. Also, you’ve got two seconds to take your hands off me before I break one.”

  “Declan!” Gideon grabbed him by his shirt collar. “That’s enough.”

  Declan shoved Reese against the wall one more time before backing off. “Gideon may trust you, but I don’t. Stay away from Jared.”

  “If he asks me to, I will.” Reese headed for the front door, shoving Declan with his shoulder as he went. Palming his bike keys, Reese looked back at him. “While I’m gone, maybe consider that you aren’t the only person in the world who thinks Jared is worth protecting.” He slammed the door on his way out.

  “Christ, boy.” Gideon smacked Declan upside his head. “Didn't I just talk about unity and leadership?”

  Declan fumed. “He’s hiding something.” There was a mystery hanging around Slater that Declan couldn’t quite nail down, and it pissed him off.

  Driving his boot into the Agent’s back earlier before wrangling him into zip ties and throwing him in the back of his own vehicle had given Declan a small outlet for all the anger simmering inside him, but it hadn’t been nearly enough. He’d known that killing that bastard William Kingsley wouldn’t bring their dad back, but Declan had expected to feel something- relief, vindication, a semblance of inner peace- anything other than this quiet anger that never seemed to leave his veins.

  Declan tried to not to think of how precarious his tight control over that anger was becoming, just as he pushed away the image of who had been right there beside him helping him disarm those Agents.

  Gideon sighed. “I know you’ve been burned, son, but taking it out on Slater ain’t gonna help anything.”

  Declan smirked. “It helps me feel better.”

  Gideon slapped a hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Go check on your brother.” He walked away, muttering. “And then someone better cook something up for dinner. I need a drink.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Jared came downstairs that evening after his shower to find Reese standing barefoot in Gideon's kitchen, tossing oil into a pan on the stove. The nausea he had felt upon coming home after seeing the dead rescue in the stairwell had mostly abated, but the feeling of uselessness lingered.

  He’d been too late. She’d had a name, a life, even if most people didn’t want to acknowledge it. Jared had been too late to keep her from a fate he knew very well could have been his own, if Johnathan Cooper had never found him.

  Jared took a deep breath before shoving those thoughts away. He was already uncertain about his ability to provide adequate backup when they headed into Jefferson. He would be of use to no one if he couldn’t keep his emotions in check.

  Jared shuffled into the kitchen, a pang of homesickness hitting him as he watched Reese cook. Rae and Declan were on the patio with Gideon, each with a beer in hand. Jared could hear their laughter through the screen door, and a pleasant early summer breeze filtered into the kitchen, mixing scents of fresh air and fragrant spices.

  The domestic scene could have been any evening in the Cooper household, long ago on the nights that their dad was home with them. Jared missed that feeling, one of having a whole family. He'd become fond of Gideon and knew the man had a soft spot for him as well. Iris was intriguing, yet comforting, and her presence calmed him.

  Jared still didn't have the words to try to explain to himself how he felt about Reese.

  But without Johnathan, a piece of Jared’s family was forever missing, a link broken off a chain that would never be anchored together the same way ever again.

  Tears burned at the corner of his eyes and he tangled his fingers together, pressing hard against his leather cuff so the burn of his scar would distract him from his bittersweet memories. Jared took another breath and pushed away the melancholy, edging over closer to Reese. "What are you making?"

  Reese grabbed the pan and gave it an air toss, shuffling its contents with a satisfying sizzle. "Steak fajitas." He gave Jared a self-deprecating smile. "Only thing I know how to make. You guys have been keeping me fed since I've hung around longer than normal. Just trying to repay the favor."

  Jared rested his back against the counter near the stove. "Smells good." And so did Reese, a musky smell of bike leather, shampoo, and Gideon's back woods. Jared fiddled with the fastener on his cuff, snapping and unsnapping the metal. Now that he was within Reese gravitational orbit, he found it hard to move away.

  Not that he even wanted to, despite Reese’s blatant rejection earlier.

  All of that seemed gone though, as Reese casually set down the pan and adjusted the heat on the stove. After being brushed aside after the incident downtown, something deep inside Jared longed to be held by this man, to get back the feeling of safety and security he’d felt in those same arms last night.

  "I still need to chop the veggies, if you want to help." Reese slid him a wry look out of the corner of his eye. "Keep your hands busy."

  Jared startled, snapping his bracelet closed. His cheeks heating, he forced his voice steady. "Uh. Sure.”

  Reese reached around him to grab a knife, his chest brushing up against Jared's back. His hand landed on Jared’s hip, moving Jared slightly to the left so Reese could pull out a cutting board.

  Jared froze, gripping the countertop to keep himself from pushing back against Reese, into denim-clad hips hovering right behind him. He inhaled sharply when Reese gave his hip a squeeze.

  Reese bent his head, his voice low in Jared’s ear. "Do I make you nervous, Jared?"

  Jared lifted his head, his gaze catching on Reese's mouth. "You make me a lot of things,” he breathed.

  The screen door snapped open, and the others poured into the kitchen. Reese gave Jared a knowing smirk, squeezing his hip one more time before letting his hand fall away.

  "It smells delicious in here." Rae proclaimed, crossing over to the fridge to grab some more beers.

  "You're makin' your famous fajitas, ain't cha, boy?" Gideon pulled plates out of the cabinet, handing them off to Rae and Declan. "Best damn ones I've ever tasted."

  “Extra spicy for your portion, old man.”

  “Just like Johnathan used to make.” Gideon said fondly.
<
br />   Everyone froze for a moment. Rae and Declan paused with their hands in midair where they had been setting the table and Jared’s knife stilled halfway through a red pepper.

  “I doubt I can match anything he made,” Reese diffused smoothly, sending a smile in Jared’s direction. “But my steak is pretty damn good.” He tossed the pan’s contents in the air again, the sizzling action sparking movement in the kitchen again.

  “Show off,” Jared teased, tossing his bangs out of his face before gathering up the chopped veggies and tossing them in. Reese just winked at him, and Jared playfully poked him in the side.

  “Less flirtin’, more cookin’,” Gideon ordered.

  Declan slammed the plates in his hand down onto the table. “Jared, you wanna help me get the drinks we left outside?”

  Jared faltered. “Uh, can Rae do it? I’m helping Reese cook. We both know she can’t do that,” he joked, trying to make Declan laugh.

  It didn't work. He frowned as he watched his older brother storm outside.

  “Definitely need another drink,” Gideon muttered.

  “You’re an idiot,” Rae commented as she and Declan gathered empty beer bottles from the patio.

  Declan paused, three bottles hooked between his fingers. “Excuse me?”

  Rae put a hand on her hip. “You can’t stop the inevitable, Declan. And pushing Jared away from Reese is only going to make him want him more. Quit interfering, and let Jared have some fun. He’s not some teenager who needs boundaries and curfew.”

  “Fun? You think messing around with Slater is called fun?”

  Rae grinned. “Oh hell yeah. You do have eyes, right?”

  Declan’s face twisted. “Okay, enough.” He tossed the empties with much more force than necessary into the waste bag Rae held. “He’s a maverick. Too fucking cocky for his own good.”

  “Look who’s talking.”

  Declan scowled at her. “I’m still on the fence as to whether he’s really on our side.”

  “Yeah, he probably shot himself in the leg on that last job, just to throw us off.” Rae rolled her eyes. “News flash, Declan, you can’t control everything.” She handed him the bag full of bottles.

  “He’s going to get hurt.” Declan tied off the bag and turned to follow Rae back inside.

  Rae paused before sliding open the kitchen door. “Maybe. And he will handle it.”

  “Jared has had enough pain thrown his way to last ten lifetimes. The last thing he needs is to be abandoned again.” Declan reached around her to slide open the door, not caring if anyone heard his words. “He’ll get hurt, and we’ll be left to pick up the pieces.”

  Rae wrapped her arms around him in a reassuring hug, halting his progress. “Then we will. Every damn one of them.”

  Declan brought a hand up to squeeze her wrists where they were locked around his chest. “At least let me shoot him. If he breaks Jared’s heart, at least let me shoot him.”

  Rae squeezed. “Only after I shoot him first.”

  They were finishing up dinner, everyone’s plates practically licked clean as they nursed their third round of beers. Unfortunately for Rae, the topic had fallen to her long list of questionable lovers. “And then there was that time you brought home that guy that only ate raw foods.” Declan’s face twisted in a picture of disgust, but he shot Rae a wink.

  “Oh yeah, he was the worst!” Jared doubled over laughing right along with Declan. “Sorry, RaeRae, but he was something else.”

  Rae smacked Jared’s arm, but she started laughing right along with them. “He was, wasn't he? Ugh, what was I thinking?”

  “He had a great smile,” Jared consoled.

  “Dad had no time for him.” Declan grinned and leaned over to flick Rae’s ear. “That hippie kid wasn't even close to good enough for you. You could have laid him out in two seconds flat.”

  “I don’t think Dad liked anyone I brought home,” Rae sulked, taking another sip of her beer.

  Jared leaned over and nudged her side. “Yeah, I hear ya. At least you got to bring them home.”

  “Ain’t no one ever been good enough for Johnathan Cooper’s kids.” Gideon raised his beer in a toast. “Don’t think for one second he wouldn't have wanted you to be happy, though.” He shot Jared a look. Jared’s eyebrows knotted together, trying to figure out what he meant.

  Declan cleared his throat, causing an uncomfortable silence to fall over the table. He looked at Gideon. “We good to go for Jefferson?”

  Gideon matched his look. He took his time answering, but eventually said, “Best as we can be. Haven’t heard from Iris in a bit.”

  Rae stood, starting to clear plates. “You two don’t share intel?”

  “Course we do.” Gideon huffed. “She’ll fill me in tonight.”

  Declan rose, helping Rae gather their dinner dishes. “Maybe she can figure out who the hell has been leaking info. There’s got to be a reason our jobs keep getting fucked up.”

  Jared handed them his half full plate, too nervous about Jefferson to have eaten much. "But as coordinators, Gideon and Iris know all the Renegades. Wouldn’t they know if someone was leaking? I mean, we know the two of them aren’t the ones helping Agents."

  Gideon sat back in his chair and folded his large arms across his chest. "My intel comes from all over, and I hand out lots of jobs. It’d be pretty damn hard to figure out who is feedin’ it back,” he admitted.

  Jared pondered that. He wasn’t sure about Iris’s security, but he had a feeling not much got past her. In fact, she seemed to see more than just what was in front of her. “Okay, but no one else has access to your map, or the jobs you put together. So how could-"

  "No," Declan bit out the word on a humorless laugh. He stepped up to Reese, crowding his space. "Except you."

  Reese gave him a languid once over before abruptly pushing his chair back and drawing himself up to match Declan's cagey stance. "You got a free pass last time you put your hands on me, Cooper. The next round you'll pay for."

  "You said yourself, Gideon's house is your home base," Declan seethed. There was a quiet rage simmering beneath his words. "You may have talked us out of Pine Bluff, but you knew the other Renegades would take it."

  Jared's heart pounded at the sight of his brother and his...well he didn’t know what Reese was, but Jared was sure he wasn’t a traitor. "Reese went to Salt Lake and got shot, Declan. He wouldn't have gone if he thought he might get killed."

  Declan jutted his chin forward. “Unless he knew he’d get out with only a scratch.”

  “I coordinate lots of Renegades, Declan, not just Reese." Gideon cautioned, rising from his seat. "Ease up."

  Declan's arms twitched, his shoulders drawn tight. He and Reese stared at each other, jaws locked, while no one around them said another word.

  Jared fisted his fingers around his cuff. He was as sure of Reese’s loyalty to the Renegades as he had been of his own father’s, but there was no doubt Reese was hiding something, and loathe though Jared was to bring it up now, Declan would keep jumping him at every turn until the air was completely cleared.

  Realizing it could cost him everything he’d had with Reese so far, Jared voiced the thought that he’d finally been able to pin down. “This morning at the lake you said you knew I must be nervous about Jefferson,” Jared forced out. He swallowed hard, looking at Reese. “But no one had even mentioned the job yet.”

  Reese’s eyes went dark as they cut to his. Jared wanted so badly to believe Reese was a true Renegade, but he also felt a pull in his gut, a visceral need not to get hurt again. He couldn’t handle someone else betraying him, the way Corey had when he’d dumped Jared for someone tougher, the way Declan had with his lies of omission regarding meeting with Vivienne, the way his father had when he swore, he swore, he would forever keep Jared safe.

  But he also couldn’t doubt Declan for being suspicious. Jared made himself ask Reese a question about something only he had seen and heard. “Who were you talking to on the phone the
other day? It seemed...” Jared pushed on. “It seemed like you didn’t want me to hear it.”

  Reese’s jaw stayed tight, but something akin to guilt flickered in his stormy eyes.

  “Son?” Gideon fisted large hands over the back of his chair, looking expectantly at Reese. The ensuing silence was heavy, hanging in the air so long that it dared anyone in the room to point it out.