"Whoever is ordering these murders is acting strategically. If the Bullen family is unstable then others can try and cut in on them. I need to go and…" his voice trailed off and without another word he left for the comms room.
Josh debated following him but the arrival back of the dog and two laughing men was enough of a distraction.
"You need to check your cell," he blurted out to Nik. Thankfully Nik didn't ask why, and after spending a short while firing quick questions at ops, Nik left the seating area to find Manny.
Morgan went to the kitchen and filled the coffee machine with water. A few flicked switches later and coffee was on its way. Josh hoisted himself up on a
barstool. He couldn't begin to understand what was going on here.
"Whatever you're thinking, it's probably wrong."
Morgan slid a cup of coffee across the counter. "Manny and Nik will get a feel for who is running the Bullen family and it will be an easy in and out. Meanwhile we will be working on the murdered girl and the necklace."
"Don't you worry?"
"About what?"
"About Nik. Going in there whenever we get them in, all guns blazing, maybe not coming home?"
Morgan sipped at the coffee and then pulled out a notebook and some pencils from a laptop case. "Look at this," he said simply.
Taking the book from Morgan, Josh opened it to see sketches of a lake and a house, of Nik sprawled under a tree with a book in his lap, of an otter, of a black lab puppy he assumed was Puck. So many sketches.
"These are good," Josh said without one ounce of guile. He flipped to the end—Puck as a fully grown dog and Nik cleaning his gun.
"Thank you. I'm studying art at school in between major disasters and cases, and of course when Nik thinks it's safe."
"Does Nik ever think you are safe?"
Morgan raised his eyebrows and then huffed a laugh. Josh waited for Morgan to defend Nik but he said nothing; he evidently liked Nik being all protective and worried.
"It's been one hell of a journey, you know," Morgan started. "I used to be this cubicle rat. You know the sort, lunch at one, coffee breaks, office gossip. I was safe and it was normal. When it all changed—when I began to change—Nik was my constant. He protected me, loved me.
Hell, do you believe in love at first sight?"
Josh blinked at the sudden change in conversation.
Love at first sight? Not really. Lust at first sight, maybe.
Watching Manny scramble and leap the wall at the lawyer's house had been enough to send a push of lust through his blood. But then he'd always liked a guy confident in his physical abilities. So, yeah, Josh believed you could meet and fall in lust immediately. Love? Not so much.
"Not really," he said. He decided to be honest.
"I didn't either. Not for me anyway. Nik, on the other hand, said he fell in love with me when he found me on the run and as pale as a ghost. It took me a little while to admit it to myself that I was in love, not Nik though. Still even he had his issues. He said what we had wasn't real love and that it couldn't be sustained past the trial I was heading for. Shows what either of us knew. He's my rock and my world, and if I lost him it would end me. I'm not convinced I am a strong enough person to fall in love again."
"Why are you telling me this?" Josh was confused.
"Well, you asked me if I worried when he's not with me. Yes, I do. Every time he goes and does his thing I wonder if this time the bullet will hit him square on."
Morgan touched the side of his face where there was scarring. Josh wanted to ask why he was scarred but he couldn't bring himself to interrupt this quiet moment. "Not everything they do is dangerous. The big thing, though, is when I fell in love with Nik he was an operative. He'd already done his time at the FBI. You don't get into a relationship with someone like Nik, knowing what he did, and then try to change him. Can you imagine Nik working in an office? Or a shop?"
Josh considered what Morgan had told him. "Not really."
"So while I worry—I signed up for this. I knew what he did and I can worry inside but I don't let him see so much. Oh and the sex when he gets home? Scorching."
Morgan smiled and Josh had to pull himself back to what they were discussing.
"You're saying I shouldn't make it obvious I am worried about the guys."
"About Manny," Morgan corrected.
"Not just Manny," Josh said defensively.
Morgan laughed. "I'm teasing you."
Josh waved away the comment and took his coffee and sat on the sofa. He wanted to be in the office listening to what Manny and Nik were discussing. He wanted on the systems to do more research. Sitting here and waiting was hard. What did the new murders mean for Manny? Did it affect the way he was approaching the Bullens? Who exactly had died tonight? He'd know soon enough. As soon as he got online he would find out. His fingers literally itched with the need to connect to the volumes of information that Sanctuary held. Finishing his coffee and suddenly irritated that he was the one left out here, he stood with every intention of just walking in the comms room.
Before he could move Nik was calling.
"Can we borrow you in here?" he shouted.
Josh looked at Morgan and the other man pushed himself up. He shrugged.
"Could be either of us," he said. They joined the others in the comms room and Josh first noticed Manny perfectly still in the middle of
