Page 40 of Mafia Handbook

“A timer,” Slate shook his head. “Either whoever sent it planned down to the second, or they are the luckiest fucker on the planet.”

Bash’s suspicion rested with detailed planning and not luck, but he was far from proving it.

Slate took in the couple on his screen, he could feel the pull between them, despite the distance and Bash’s denial. While his personal experience with committed relationships had left a bad taste in his mouth, Slate would forever be a closet romantic. He believed there was someone for everyone, even a cocky motherfucker like Bash. Slate felt confident, given the right circumstances and the proper environment, his friend just might be able to pull his head out of his ass and see what was sitting in front of him.

“While we’ve been able to close the hole this Gridlock created in our security system, I want each of you to shelter in place until we have a better understanding of who this fucker is.”

* * *

Milena draggedthe baby carrot attached to her fork through her mashed potatoes. An odd tension had impregnated itself in the air between herself and Bash after the video call ended. He’d been nice enough, giving her a detailed tour of the remaining rooms of The Cliffs, however there were no rushed kisses, or soft touches. He’d excused himself once they reached the theatre, encouraging her to watch any movie she wanted, and then excused himself to get some work done. She’d tried to lose herself in the plethora of Hollywood hits, but as the credits for the second movie rolled, her stomach reminded her it had been a while since breakfast. She’d found Bash putting a pan of what turned out to be meatloaf in the oven, mumbled something about dinner in an hour and then disappeared down the hall. She’d spent the hour familiarizing herself with the kitchen, taking inventory of the supplies and making side dishes to compliment the meatloaf. Bash returned a few seconds before the timer went off, appearing slightly put off she’d taken over.

“Why do you call Xander, Boundaries?” Unable to take the silence she’d been gifted from Bash any longer, Milena set her fork down, crossing her arms as she stared hard at the top of Bash’s head.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Bash pushed away his half-eaten dinner, leaning back in his chair. He’d spent the afternoon falling down one rabbit hole after another in the pursuit of uncovering Gridlock’s identity. He’d heard with perfect clarity what Slate said and didn’t say when he handed out the shelter in place order. While he wanted nothing more than to stay here with Milena for the rest of their lives, his team had obligations, contracts they’d signed and missions to complete.

“Because he has none.” Turning toward Milena, “There isn’t a mountain he won’t climb, a plane he won't jump out of, or a mission he’ll turn down. He’s an adrenaline junky to the extreme, and this job allows him to get a fix whenever he wants one. He came to us after leaving the UK’s equivalent of our Special Forces.”

“And Slate?”

“Slate is also a former SEAL. During his last mission, he was shot in the chest. Lucky for him, he had an excellent doc who got him to the hospital in time. After months of recovery, he’d gone home to find his wife had taken everything, their kids, furniture, every dime in his bank account, and left divorce papers in the middle of his empty house. He called in some favors, got his kids back, and landed an interview with the then owner of Keystone. Jamisson wanted a clean slate, so he took the job and adopted a new call sign.”

Standing from his seat at the bar, Bash began transferring the leftovers into storage containers. He felt guilty for pushing Milena away this afternoon, but it was the only way he could think of to get some needed work done.

“Einstein is the only non-military member of the group besides Wizard. He holds a number of patents on classified items and can make any engine purr like a kitten. He’s also a habitual flirt, leaving a path of broken hearts which has gained the attention of more than a few pissed off fathers and older brothers.” Never in the history of being teammates with Bronx had it bothered Bash to have him flirt with a girl he was hooking up with. Today, however, he was ready to jump through the monitor and cut out his fucking tongue.

“Hashtag has a photographic memory and is full of useless trivia. His name came onto our radar after he left Delta Force for an undisclosed reason.”

“What was the reason?”

Shifting his gaze to Milena’s, “That is a story for another time, Sweetness. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a program I need to check on.”

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