Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 109640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
And that was fucked up since he didn’t need her approval.
Just as they were heading back inside, Rez opened the rear door and stepped out, his eyes immediately landing on Cabrera. As soon as Rez’s dark eyes began to twinkle, Crew steeled himself for what was to come.
“Jamison’s looking for you.”
“We’re heading back inside now,” Crew told him.
“This her?”
Crew swallowed down his normal smart-ass comment and instead answered, “Cabrera, you haven’t met Antonio Alvarez yet.”
“Llámame Rez. Torres me dijo que hablas español con fluidez.”
“Llámame Cami o Cabrera.”
Of fucking course. “English!” Crew barked.
“Cami, huh?” Rez laughed. “Well, Cami, don’t mind J. Crew. He gets paranoid because he thinks when we speak Spanish we’re talking about him.” Rez curved a hand around the side of his mouth and whispered, “We tell him we’re not but we really are.”
Crew sucked on his teeth.
Rez continued, “My parents came here from Venezuela. You?”
“Both sets of grandparents immigrated from Columbia,” she answered with a huge smile.
“Damn. Será agradable tener a alguien más con quien hablar español.”
Rez mentioned something about speaking Spanish but that was all Crew could pick up.
“Same. With my parents back in Virginia, I was worried I’d get rusty.”
He should get a language tutor and not tell any of them. Then, when they had conversations in Spanish, he’d know everything they said.
No more secrets.
“No worries around here. Frasier knows a little, too, but not enough to have a full-blown conversation.”
“Maybe I can help teach him.”
She could do what? No. “You’ll be busy with the task force.”
Rez barked out a laugh, hooked a thumb toward Crew and shook his head. “If you start learning now, Crewella, you might understand what we’re saying in ten years or so.”
“Probably a waste of time for him, because by then he’ll have old timer’s and will forget everything he learned.”
Rez released a low whistle. “Damn. It’ll be nice to have someone on the team who can give as good as she gets.”
“Thick skin is one thing I developed in the Navy,” she replied.
“Navy, huh?” Rez glanced at Crew. “Good choice.”
He didn’t have a damn choice. “We’re lucky to have her.” His response was as dry as burnt toast.
Rez laughed and whacked him on the back. “Jamison has his panties in a twist. He’s getting impatient to get this intervention started.”
“Intervention?” Cabrera asked. “Like for drug addiction?”
“Depression and grief,” Crew answered as he followed her and Rez inside.
“PTSD, basically,” Rez added. “Nox is an Army vet but when his wife died, it really hit him harder than anything else did when he served.”
“Oh shit. I noticed that he’s really quiet and broody. Did his wife die recently?” she asked, moving down the back hallway.
“A little over a year and a half ago.”
“So, what’s the intervention for? Usually they’re done to get someone into therapy or rehab. Oh… He needs professional help to get out of his funk. Got it.”
“She’s astute, too, Motley Crew. She’ll be a great addition to the task force.”
“Mmm hmm,” Crew murmured as they reached the common area of the BAMC church.
“Podemos hablar más tarde,” Rez said before peeling off from them and heading over to the couches where they planned on sitting Nox down to have a serious conversation with him.
Crew dipped his head close to her ear. “What did he say?”
“That we’d speak later.”
“I bet.”
She stopped in her tracks and spun on him. “Why would I lie?”
“To cover for him.”
“I don’t know him well enough to cover for him. Maybe I should teach you Spanish instead.”
“I’m good.”
“No, you’re not,” she said simply. “Should I go now and leave you all to do your thing? I’m sure you don’t want me here.”
“I have one more person for you to meet first.” He reached out to put his hand on the small of her back to steer her toward Axel Jamison. When he realized that wouldn’t be appropriate, he caught himself before he made contact and curled his fingers into a fist.
An important rule to remember: if he wouldn’t do it to any of the male members of his team, he shouldn’t do it to a female member.
A lot of men forgot that rule. Uninvited touching was usually unwelcomed.
“This way.” He tipped his head toward the BAMC president where he stood at the front of the building, surveying everything.
Jamison looked a bit anxious.
Everyone did.
Crew only hoped this intervention didn’t backfire on them and made more of a mess. “We waiting on anyone? Monty or Miller?”
“Neither can make it. And as you know, Fletch won’t be here,” Jamison answered.
He nodded and flipped a hand toward Cabrera. “Jamison, this is Camila Cabrera, DEA special agent and the newest member of the task force. She’s taking Butler’s spot. Cabrera, this is Axel Jamison, a sergeant at Shadow Valley PD and also our MC president.”
They shook hands and exchanged the normal niceties.