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)
“Not off the clock.”
“If you want to be that way,” Jamison started, rising to a stand, “you do answer to me. I’m not only your sergeant at SVPD, I’m your prez.” He jabbed a finger toward the couch. “Now, sit the fuck down.”
Nox remained by the door to the meeting room with his spine stiff and his chin raised. “You can’t force me to do shit.” He turned and went toe to toe with Cross. “Get the fuck out of my way.”
Cross shook his head. “No, brother, I’m not going to do that.”
“Nox,” Jamison called out. “Do us a favor and give us a few minutes of your time. That’s all we’re asking.”
Nox glanced over at the BAMC prez. “You’re not asking, you’re telling. I don’t like being ambushed.”
Crew kept his voice low and steady. “And we don’t like having to ambush you.”
“But you did it anyway.”
“Because we had no choice,” Finn told him. “C’mon, man, just sit so we can get this over with.”
“You’re family and we all love you like a brother, and you have us all worried,” North said.
Nox pulled at his chin and his gaze circled the group. “What’s this about?”
“Sit and we’ll explain,” Jamison urged. When Nox still didn’t move, he pulled out the card he was hoping he wouldn’t have to play. “If you want to keep your job at SVPD and also stay on the task force,” his eyes slid to Crew and Crew gave him a slight chin lift in approval, “you need to sit.”
“What are you going to do, fire me?”
“I’ll put you on administrative leave,” Jamison stated, “and if you’re on that, you’ll be automatically removed from the task force.”
“For my own good, right?” Nox asked sharply.
“Yes, Nox, for your own good,” Jamison answered. “Now, don’t make me do shit I don’t want to do.”
“Then don’t.”
Crew pinched his nose and dropped his head. This was going just as he thought it would... Nox being too stubborn for his own good.
It was time to play hardball.
Crew surged to his feet. “You’re off the task force!” Silence surrounded them as he met Nox’s eyes across the room. “You made your choice, now you have to live with it. You can go back to SVPD and working patrol.”
Jamison shook his head. “No, he won’t. Like I said, with the way he is right now, I’ll be talking to the captain. He won’t be on patrol, either.”
This tough love was killing Crew—and most likely everyone else—but it was necessary. The last thing any of them wanted was Nox to eat his own service weapon.
And every one of them in that room knew that was where it might be headed if they didn’t do something. If they didn’t take a stand and they lost him, none of them would be able to live with themselves because they didn’t make an effort to stop it.
Nox stared at Crew for a few seconds, then at Jamison, before his gaze dropped to his boots. His chest expanded, stayed that way for a moment or two, then retracted when he released the held breath.
As they waited for him to decide, Crew swore no one else in the room breathed.
When Nox’s head lifted with his mouth nothing but a slash, his eyes appeared shadowed, and his expression had become a blank mask.
“We love you, brother,” Rez said softly. “If you love us, then you’ll hear us out.”
Crew rubbed at the ache in his chest at Rez’s words. He said what everyone else was thinking, but man…
He breathed a little easier when, with a single nod, Nox came over and sat in his assigned spot. He looked as stiff as the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, but at least he cooperated.
“Let’s get this over with,” Nox said with zero emotion, staring straight ahead at the dark TV screen on the wall.
“You’ve fallen down that deep, dark well again,” Jamison started.
Nox’s brow furrowed. “I’m fine.”
“You were getting to that point,” Rez agreed. “Until we found Sadie. Something triggered you when we did.”
“We can guess what,” Decker added, “so we don’t need to discuss those details, but we do need to discuss you.”
“I’m fine,” Nox repeated, not looking at anyone.
Jesus. “I wish that was true,” Crew said under his breath. He knew Nox heard it when the man tugged his baseball cap lower.
An attempt at hiding his eyes and his expression.
Hell, just hiding in general.
The whole reason the man rarely left The Plant. He didn’t want to deal with life.
He felt hollow and alone. Despite the last being farthest from the truth.
They had all been shocked and surprised, even pleased, when he agreed to go undercover with Rez back in January. Of course, that didn’t last long. And what happened during that period of time—finding Sadie dead in that Ohio motel room and in the condition she was—derailed Nox all over again.