Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Nox ignored the task force leader by taking another sip of his coffee.
“Who made these, anyway?” Crew’s eyes narrowed on Nox. “They didn’t come from a bakery.”
“Maybe I bought them from a bakery and only put them in the container to keep them fresh.”
Rez coughed out a “Bullshit.” He lifted the container high enough so everyone could see the bottom. “Who’s James?”
Fuck. Aaliyah had used a black marker to write her last name on the bottom.
Nox kept his expression neutral. “You don’t know Jim?”
“Know plenty of people named Jim, but none of them bake cookies.”
“Then you don’t know the right Jims,” Nox told Rez.
“Did you,” Decker started carefully, making Nox brace, “switch teams? I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it, if you did.”
“We won’t hold it against you,” Finn assured him with a smirk.
“Yeah, everyone deserves to be loved,” Rez added, also with a damn smirk.
“Cross can give you some pointers, if you need them,” Crew suggested, definitely wearing a smirk.
“Fuck you all. Are we having a meeting or not?”
Finn plopped his ass in a chair at the conference table, cradled his chin in his palms and batted his eyelashes. “Once you tell us all about James. He sounds dreamy if he can bake like that.”
“Why? So you all can ride my ass?”
“Is that what James does? Are you the bottom in the relationship?” Torres asked.
“When you’re coming, do you cry out James, Jim or Jimmy?” Decker asked, now also wearing a smirk.
Crew took his seat at the head of the table. “Or Jam Jam?”
“Is Nox taking some Jam Jam up the yam yam?” Luke Rodgers dropped into the seat next to Finn.
“This is putting a new meaning to the nickname Hard Nox.” Decker took the chair next to Cabrera.
Nox scowled at Crew. “Do I need to be here for this meeting?”
“Yes. Everyone does. Anyone not here physically is calling in.”
“Tell us… Is he tall, dark and handsome?” Rez wiggled his eyebrows.
No, but she was tall, dark and gorgeous.
“How about we stop busting on Equi-Nox and get this meeting started?” came from the phone in the center of the table.
“Wilder with you, Fletch?” Crew asked the undercover task force member.
“I’m here,” Wilder answered, “but I agree with Fletch. Let’s get this meeting started because the ol’ ladies expect me to meet up with them later to help clean the Wolf Den.”
Finn snorted. “That has to be a shitty job.”
“It could be,” Wilder said, “if they didn’t make the sweet butts scrub the bathrooms.”
“Yeah, they’re so fucking gag-worthy,” Fletch confirmed. “Showers, toilets… everything. They’re a bunch of filthy pigs.”
“No, according to them, we’re a bunch of pigs,” Rez said on a laugh.
A bunch of oinking circled the table.
“That licked-clean cookie container and decimated donut box kind of proves they’re right,” Nox muttered.
Finn slapped the table. “Oh, look at that… Fort Nox told a joke.”
“Isn’t a joke if it’s true,” Nox responded.
Crew rapped his knuckles on the table. “Okay, let’s get started.”
“Thank fuck,” Ken Proctor mumbled under his breath.
“Proctologist, you’re stuck here all fucking day transcribing wiretaps. Are you in a fucking rush to get back to it?” Torres asked him.
Proctor shot a grimace at Nox. “Tell more jokes, Annie Lennox.”
“Comedy hour is over,” Crew announced. “Time for serious business…”
A few of them booed or hissed.
“It’s all fun and games until a Sicilian puts out a hit on an outlaw biker,” Crew reminded them. “Okay, if you’ve been keeping up with the meetings, you know that we—by we, I mean the group leaders—have been submitting our reports to the Assistant US Attorney. In turn, she has pulled together a grand jury and has begun to introduce the evidence to them.”
“Holy shit. This is good news,” Fletch said. “I finally see the light at the end of this long damn tunnel.”
Nox glanced over at Cabrera since she was currently living in Fletch’s house. As soon as Fletch and Wilder were finished with their undercover assignment, they’d be moving back into his home, and she’d have to find a new place.
Nox’s eyes slid from Crew to Cabrera and back.
Though… something was off between those two.
Or something was on, more like it.
They could pretend that they annoyed each other, but to Nox it couldn’t be clearer…
Crew and Cabrera were fucking.
Even though those two were pretending nothing was happening between them, Nox had a feeling Cabrera wouldn’t have a problem finding a new place to live. In Crew’s condo.
“For those a bit dense,” Crew hesitated and cocked his eyebrow at Rez, “let me explain how this will work and our part in it. That means, pay attention. This grand jury can last weeks or even months, depending on how much evidence the prosecutor decides to present. Even though Pam, the AUSA, is starting the proceedings, we’re still not done collecting evidence and won’t be until we’re told to shut things down.”