Page 156 of Beyond the Badge: Nox

Nox hit pause on the footage and spun his chair around.

“My favorite time of the year!” cheered Torres.

Rez hooted. “Damn, indictmas is my favorite holiday!”

“Do we have any indictmas carols we can sing as we go door to door?” Finn asked.

“No!” everyone shouted at once.

“Do we at least get elf hats and bells on our boots?” Decker asked on a laugh.

“More like pepper spray, flex-cuffs and tasers,” Crew answered.

“That’ll be festive enough,” Decker said. “The tasers can help light up some of those fuckers like a Christmas tree.”

“Any specific fucker you plan on giving a fright by setting him alight on a starry night?” Torres asked.

Nox groaned under his breath at the lame rhyming. These guys were sure getting pumped about serving warrants. On a good day it was a dangerous activity.

“Unfortunately, the one I’d love to have a crack at is no longer a part of the club.”

Maybe. Maybe not. Even with all the nights he surveilled the motel, Nox still wasn’t sure if the club actually ousted T-Bone or if the fucker was only laying low. “Have you confirmed that with Fletch?” he asked Decker.

All eyes turned toward Nox.

“He told us he hasn’t seen him or even heard his name mentioned,” Crew reminded him.

“You don’t find that suspicious?” Nox asked.

“Not if they made him disappear,” the task force leader answered. “Why bring up his name if they want him to remain a distant memory? My assumption is that they don’t want anyone asking about him. Questions could lead to problems.”

The problem was, the asshole hadn’t disappeared. Now was the perfect time to tell them that discovery since Nox no longer had to hide his relationship with Liyah.

The only issue with letting everyone know T-Bone was still on the loose and up to his asshole ways, Decker, Finn and Rez might personally want to go after that prospect—or former prospect—and that could get them in a jam.

They could lose their jobs, get charged with a crime or worse.

“I can confirm he’s still breathing,” Nox revealed quietly, then waited for the fallout.

The whole room went into a deep freeze for a second or two. Then someone hit it with a flame thrower or something because so many of the guys were speaking at once Nox couldn’t make any sense of it.

“Yo!” Crew yelled over the din. “Yo! Settle down!”

It took a few seconds but eventually, the room quieted.

Crew turned to him. “Explain.”

“I spotted him at a motel?—”

Nox was cut off by a slew ofwheres,whats,whensandwhat the fucks.

Crew lifted a hand to shut everyone else up. “How long ago was that?”

“Just the other night.”

“So, recently.”

“Yes, recently,” Nox confirmed, then reluctantly admitted, “but it wasn’t the first time I’ve spotted him there.”

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