Page 82 of The Chemist

If only she knew.

“So, I think you should continue to explore this newfound friendship and see where it leads. The worst that can happen isthat this experience has taught you how to smile, no matter how terrifying it is.”

Diesel couldn’t help but chuckle.Fuck, this woman was hilarious.

32

ZERO

Rubbing his eyes with his thumb and index finger, Zero still didn’t like what he was seeing. There were too many unknown variables. He didn’t like working a job without having all the information he needed.

Even when pulling cons, he always did his research. The area he chose, the flow of traffic, location of exits, whether or not there was police presence, who were his intended targets? The more he knew, the better his chances of success.

Hey, perhaps that’s why Marc chose him to be part of his team.

“I still don’t like this,” Zero said, folding the large floor plans he had been studying for the past hour. “There are too many things we don’t know about this job.”

Next to him, Jared picked up the floor plans and began scanning them himself like he hadn’t been for the past twenty minutes already.

“It is what it is. When I was in the army, we had to go into buildings and compounds without all the information as well. You do the best that you can with the information that you have.And you need to be able to adapt to the situation as quickly as possible.”

“You were in the army?” Zero asked, surprised by this little tidbit of information.

Jared’s eyebrows scrunched together as if deep in thought. “Uh-huh. Was kicked out after a few years. Was having difficulty… coping with the environment.”

That was code forpulled out before he went all loco on everyone and started doing things the British frowned upon.Zero knew better than to continue asking questions.

“Sorry to hear that,” Zero responded. “I can’t imagine being in a war.”

Jared’s lips thinned, and his jaw tightened. “I went to some scary dark places when I was released. But Matteo found me and helped me work through some of my darker issues. The man literally saved my life. And now, I have my boy, Isaac, to comfort me and hold me when I have one of my nightmares. That man really is the sweetest.”

Zero leaned back on the couch and placed his foot up on the edge of the coffee table.

“You’re lucky to have so many people who care about you.”

Jared placed the floor plan back down on the table and turned to face him. “Yeah, I really lucked out meeting Matteo and the guys. I couldn’t ask for a better family.”

The front door jerked open seconds before Diesel’s face appeared in the living room doorway.

“Oh, hey, guys. What are you up to?” Diesel asked as he toed off his shoes and took a step into the room.

“Not much. Just trying to come up with a plan for this party the doc’s got going on this weekend,” Jared answered.

“Any luck?”

“Not yet. Too many unknowns for my liking,” Zero answered, running his gaze over Diesel’s body.

The man was tall and lean, not in that bodybuilder, hit the gym six days a week type of way, but in anI keep active to stay in shapekind of way.

He still wore his black sweater—even though it was fucking hot outside—but at least his hoodie was down around his shoulders, which meant that Diesel was feeling uncomfortable or didn’t want to be engaged. So it appeared that Diesel was in a half-decent mood this morning.

Good-mood Dieselwas much more pleasant thanstormy-cloud Diesel. While both were fun to be around, Zero much preferredgood-mood Diesel—that one gave him blow jobs.

“Well, you guys will figure it out. You’re both smart blokes.”

Was that a compliment?

“Thanks, man,” Jared responded, kicking back his legs and placing his feet on the coffee table as well. “Where have you been?”

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