Page 36 of The Best of Us

“The light on my phone will work just fine if we find ourselves wandering in the dark,” I finished for her, shooting her a lopsided grin.

“The op changed, which is whyyou’reeven going inside with us and not staying in the SUV,” Hudson reminded her, having my back. But that didn’t stop him from sucking up his pride and shoving the sticks in his pocket.

I’d decided earlier we’d watch and learn the gang’s patterns instead of grabbing Daniel’s boss from the rave as initially planned.

Since we didn’t believe Daniel’s immediate boss, Jamie, was in charge of their entire operation, we decided we’d quietly work our way to the top, then strike.

“Fine, oh wise ones,” she finally relented.

Such an actress, but at least she was standing down, returning to mission prep and handing out our wireless comms. We were also already hooked into the security cameras and were aware of the cameras’ blind spots and dead zones.

Aside from the fact I had to attend a rave with a bunch of people half my age rolling their ass off on Molly, I felt good about tonight’s mission. Minimal threat of exposure or danger.

Now if I could just focus on the op instead of worrying about what my teenage son was up to while his mom was at work . . . that’d be great.

“Daniel’s body camera is now active. I think he’s with his boss.” Izzy eyed the small screen on her wrist. It looked like an Apple watch to the outsider, but it was state-of-the-art tech, not yet available to the public. It allowed her to bounce between different camera views, including the CCTV footage within the party and our own body cameras. We had eyes everywhere.

I looked on with her.Too bad we couldn’t get sound.

“Yeah, this has to be our target that Daniel’s talking to,” she said. “At least he’s following through. You two must have put the fear of God into him.”

“I barely touched him.” Hudson held open his palms, and I didn’t miss him winking at her.

“Sure, sure.” She smirked. “Oh, and just out of curiosity . . . what happens if Jamie stays here all night? Can you both handle that? The rave doesn’t end until six in the morning.” She hip-checked Hudson. “Sorry, sorry. Forgot you two only know military time. I mean zero six hundred.”

“Smart-ass.” I shook my head, a grin stealing across my lips. But she also knew me well enough to know I’d never survive being at a rave all night, so the question was warranted. It was only 23:00 now. Seven hours at a rave? Not happening.

Juliette worked until 0700, so I also needed enough time to switch from op mode to dad mode before heading to her place.

“I’ll take that as a no. You won’t survive that long,” she said with a light laugh when I forgot to answer.

“That’s an affirmative.” I checked my phone at the vibration of a text. A weird sensation filled my chest, something akin to hope, and I tried to remember a time in my life when I’d been hopeful about a woman texting me.

The only moment went back to seventeen years ago, when every time an unknown call had come over my cell, I’d hoped it was Juliette.

Full. Fucking. Circle.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t her. Instead, it was my brothers razzing me about attending a rave.Assholes. I sent them back a Go F Yourself message in the form of a middle finger emoji.

“Let’s just hope we don’t have to stay all night,” I said while pocketing my phone, ignoring the buzz of one of them responding. “I have plans I can’t miss later.”

“You have somewhere to go in the middle of the night?” She scrutinized me, knowing I was off, and I didn’t blame her for worrying.

If this weren’t such an easy op, I’d be bailing. My head was more than just off. It was on another planet orbiting around the truth, around the fact I had a son, and I’d missed out on his life. Even worse, he’d missed out on having a father.

“What is it you’re not telling us?” Izzy stepped forward, coming closer. The light overhead began to flicker like a warning sign of some kind.

I’m still processing myself.“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” was all I could give her for now, which was already too much.

My answer had both of them shooting me questioning looks.

I know, I know.But now wasn’t the time for a breakdown, and I’d more than likely have one if I told them the truth. “Don’t press.”

I sidestepped them both to grab my 9mm from my gun box in the backseat. Thankfully, there were no metal detectors we’d have to avoid getting into the rave. No pat downs, either. Really great security. What’d I expect for a rave where gang members attended?

“Constantine.” She employed her soft voice and gave me her puppy-dog eyes.

Why didn’t I keep my back to her? “I’m not Hudson. You can’t get me to bend to your will that easily,” I lied. Then, I tipped my head to the left as if that was where tomorrow was located, letting her know we’d talk then.

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