Zane
“If you had a problem being my partner, you should have come to me,” he said.
Stopping just inside the door, he turned on Isaac. The light from his helmet flashed into Isaac’s attractive face. He couldn’t see his expression because of the goggles, but when Isaac furiously yanked them down, he got a good look at those flashing, crystal blues.
Colonel Cobalt put him with Blade, but he knew for a fact that Liam would have put him back with Isaac if Isaac wanted.
“Look.” Isaac poked him in the chest. “This is your fault, not mine,” Isaac snarled and advanced farther into the building.
Fuck! He gnashed his teeth. Yanking his earpiece out to save the unit from the argument that was coming, he stalked after Isaac.
“Wait one goddamned minute!”
“Fuck off, Gannon!”
“I’m tired of you fucking saying that!”
Zane grabbed Isaac’s arm and pulled him around.
Granted, it wasn’t the best place to be having this discussion, but he wasn’t going to take the blame for being separated. He wanted Isaac as his partner. He would have told Isaac that, but he hadn’t had the nerve to talk to him all week.
“I said fuck off,” Isaac said through his teeth.
“Look! I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with you,” he bellowed, completely out of patience.
“Me?” Isaac spat and turned on him so god dammed fast that he stepped back, but that didn’t stop Isaac from shoving him backward. His back hit the wall with a loud crack.
“You’re the one who can’t handle it, so don’t you dare fucking turn this back on me.”
He gaped down at Isaac. “Handle it? Handle fucking what?”
“That kiss!”
He gnashed his teeth and glared into Isaac’s face. “It’s not about that,” he argued.
“You know it is,” Isaac gritted.
“You’re way off base,” he muttered, fisting his hand in Isaac’s vest to keep the guy from turning away from him.
“Then why are you acting so fucking weird around me? You give me dirty looks, and you haven’t said two fucking nice words to me since!” Isaac’s voice was hard and angry, and filled with hurt.
“Have you thought about anything else but yourself for one minute? Or is this all about you? All about the way you feel. What about the way I feel, huh?” he rasped.
“How do you feel, Zane? You never say a fucking word about how you feel!” Isaac got right in his face.
He couldn’t argue because Isaac was right. He sucked at feelings and shit. There was also no denying that he wanted more of what happened in that hallway. Was he ready to come out? Wait, hadn’t he already come out with that kiss?
“I -”
“Gannon, Thorne, take up positions now!” Maddox shouted, cutting him off.
Zane shoved Isaac away at the snapped order from their captain. The shorter man slammed against the wall and almost toppled over. Zane sprinted down the hallway without looking back.
What the fuck was he doing? You’re fucking losing it, that’s what. He’d dropped the fucking ball. His team could be in trouble while he was having a lover’s spat.
Fuck, fuck.
“Coming through the east stairwell, Captain.” He lunged up the stairs.
“You better fucking be,” Maddox angrily responded.
“One more level and we’ll be at your location,” Isaac’s calm voice came over the mic.
Zane paused and let Isaac take the lead. They didn’t look at each other, as if what happened back there hadn’t happened, but it had. And there would surely be hell to pay if anyone found out.
“What the fuck is going on?” Dillon’s snarl came through the mic.
“Report when you reach the top floor,” River followed up.
With gunfire echoing over their heads, Zane continued upward after Isaac. Reaching the top of the stairs, he covered Isaac’s flank. The warehouse floor covered the whole top level of the building, but thankfully, stacks of building supplies lay scattered around. Isaac took cover behind a stack of boxes.
Dodging behind a pallet of wooden crates across from Isaac, Zane crouched and surveyed the area.
Pia and Blade had already entered from above and the rest of the unit was in place.
Only he and Isaac had been late.
“We’re here,” Isaac reported.
They’d never been late before. The impact was immediate when four suspects converged on their location with the rest of the unit on their asses.
Gunfire flashed, lighting up the room. Two suspects dropped to the ground; another reached the crates. Zane lunged upward and took out the fucker with the butt of his rifle to the head.
Isaac tripped the fourth suspect and disarmed him in seconds, face down, hands zip-tied.
By that time, the unit had reached them, all suspects were down.
Zane avoided everyone’s eyes and reached down to zip-tie the perp he’d knocked to the ground.
“No signs of the other two hostages,” Dillon said.
“Ethan, Isaac, Zane, and Pia take the suspects outside. Dillon, Greene, and the rest of you comb the building,” Maddox ordered.
Zane hefted up one of the perps and started the long walk out of the building. Isaac and Pia disappeared briefly and then reappeared with another suspect limping on one leg. Suspects were handed over to local PD and Forest Taylor’s men.
Isaac tore off his helmet and guzzled down water from a flask. The man’s sweat-slicked hair stuck to his temples and Zane couldn’t take his eyes from the sexy sight.
“The Chambers brothers were either not here or escaped,” Ethan said from his side.
“Fuck,” he growled, dragging his eyes from Isaac. He yanked off his head gear and tossed it into the back of one of the two rental vehicles.
Long strides brought Maddox over after speaking to the FBI.
“I want to see both of you in my office when we get back to base,” the captain snarled, pointing to him and Isaac before stalking away.
He stared after Maddox and then caught Ethan’s gaze.
“Isaac’s mic was in,” Ethan whispered. “We heard the whole thing.”
Oh, fuck me. He lost his ability to breathe and turned to Isaac. The look on the man’s face gutted him.
With pure horror on his face, Isaac reached up and yanked out
