“Knowing it and accepting it are two different things.”
“Yep. I think you’ll find they’re not the type to hold grudges, though.”
“Except for the mafia.”
“Except for the mafia,” Anna agreed.
“And people coming after their families.”
“That too.” Anna smiled, then stood and grabbed her cell phone off the counter. “Want some pizza?”
Shelby nodded. “And then what?” she asked, not talking about the food.
“We’ll make ourselves sick on pepperoni,” Anna replied anyway. She leveled a stare at her. “We’ll worry about what happens next later.”
Shelby could get on board with that.
What was that old adage? Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor take warning. Shelby wondered as she drove to the garage, the rising sun turning the sky a dark shade of blood.
She could call her brother, Axle, and ask him. He’d surely know how the saying went. The man wasn’t just a sailor but a SEAL. She reached for her phone out of habit whenever she thought of him, but decided against calling him right now. She needed to be sure to talk to him while he was stateside, but she’d make it to the garage in a few minutes. Axle could wait. The Bang Shift guys couldn’t.
Maybe that’s why the sky looked so ominous. It was foretelling her future. Not just everything going down with Mason, but facing the men she worked beside not that long ago in an effect to gather intel for the government.
There was a disturbing pattern in all of this.
When she pulled into the parking lot and got out, she took one last look at the sky. Red…but beautiful. Dark, but somehow still light. Two contrasts competing for dominance and both winning.
The sound of an impact drill drew her attention to the shop. Someone was already here and working. She hoped it was Blade. He’d come in last night after she and Anna had been too tipsy to talk about anything important, but he’d at least been welcoming. She had no idea what faced her inside this morning. Gathering her strength, Shelby forged ahead. Voices echoed in the closed bay, signaling there was more than one of them in. She tested the front door, which was unlocked.
“…haven’t even had a cup of coffee,” Brody said.
“Quit your bellyachin’,” Roc muttered from underneath an old Pontiac. “None of us wants to be here this fuckin’ early.”
“Roc,” Bear said, exasperated. “Please.”
“Just how the ladies sound,” Roc said suggestively.
It reminded her of all the easy ribbing that had gone on while she’d been stationed here on assignment. Without any conscious effort, she jumped right in. “What?” Shelby quipped. “Full of disappointment?”
Tools dropped.
Roc rolled out into view.
Brody, Hunter, Gauge, and Bear stood from the various cars they were working. Blade stared at her, too, as he wiped grease from his hands, but at least he was smiling. He was the only one sporting anything of the sort.
“Glade to see you finally got outta bed,” Blade said.
“Wasn’t easy,” she muttered before rubbing her head. Looking to the side, she spotted the coffee pot, both a distraction and a blessing. “Feel like shit.”
“You look it, too,” Roc said as she made her way to the carafe. She smirked as she poured a cup.
“Dude,” Gauge said. “Don’t be an ass.”
“Not a lie, though,” Shelby said, and faced the men, cup in hand as a shield. She shrugged. “Too much to drink.”
“And too much bullshit,” Roc continued.
“Roc,” Bear barked.
“Not a lie either.” She sighed. “Look, I want to apologize for what happened—”
“Don’t,” Gauge said. “It was a job. Not a choice.”
She looked at him for a long while. “Still doesn’t feel right. None of this feels right.”
“None of what?” Hunter asked, narrowing his gaze a little.
She took a sip of coffee while she contemplated her response. She could keep hiding behind her badge or she could come clean. She hadn’t wanted to talk much last night, but now, with these men she’d worked so closely with, she felt an odd sense of acceptance no matter what she divulged.
“Working for an institution that makes me lie to people who matter.”
“Even if it’s for the greater good?” Gauge hedged.
“Who defines that?” She certainly wasn’t qualified.
“The government,” Brody said, crossing his arms.
“Even if you know it’s wrong?”
“But do you know that?” Blade asked.
She shook her head. “I didn’t believe for one second you guys were dirty.”
Roc scoffed.
“Okay. You’re shady as hell, but it still doesn’t make what happened right. It was a major breach of trust, and for that I am sorry. The feds never should’ve sent me here on assignment. Or put Anna on Blade. It was wrong.”
“I don’t see it that way,” Blade said. “It brought me and Anna together. I mean, as a shady-as-hell taxpayer, the folks could’ve spent my dollars a little bit more wisely, but that’s on them.”
Blade had a point. If it hadn’t been for that assignment, he and Anna wouldn’t be together now. He had a bright side to this mess. The other guys didn’t have that perk.
“If we agreed with the feds’ methodology on everything, we wouldn’t be contractors. We’d be employees,” Bear said.
She chuckled self-depreciatively. “Guess that means I should just come work for you guys. At least then I wouldn’t be expected to fuck a suspect.”
Bear gaped at her. Brody’s gaze narrowed. Hunter stood taller. Gauge’s smile flattened. Blade’s mouth opened. Roc looked bored with this conversation already.
“Come again?” Bear asked.
“Oh, I came many times.” She half-smiled. “I shouldn’t be too surprised I also got emotionally attached.” That was putting it lightly.
“You need to start from the beginning,” Bear said.
“I don’t know where the beginning is.” She took another drink. “But it ends with Mason Showalter.”
“Jesus,” Blade said. “I don’t think I want to know.”
“Yeah. The SEC is still digging into his connections, and Rick is determined to see this assignment through no matter the cost. He sold Anna out to
