Page 2 of Watch Over Me

She got out as soon as James and Ryan bid her goodbyes as well, but her husband hesitated in the backseat. James waited for him to say something—with his wife right outside the damn car—but apparently the man's brain kicked in at last and he left without a word.

James watched the pair walk up to their door and get inside before letting himself relax in the driver's seat.

"That was fun," he said with a grimace.

"Well, no one got shot," Ryan offered. "So at least there's that."

"Small comfort," James muttered, but then winced at Eddie clearing his throat over the comms.

Ryan sent him a look that clearly expressed how stupid he thought James was.

"You know how our mother hen reacts when there's so much as a scratch on us."

"I'm not a mother hen," Eddie protested loudly, and both James and Ryan chuckled as they exchanged smiles.

"I didn't say it was you, so I guess—"

"Don't finish that sentence if you really want to get out of this assignment scratch-free."

Ryan grinned. "I didn't take you for a scratcher."

James coughed, but Eddie didn't even pause.

"Who did you take me—"

"All right, all right," James cut him off. He didn't want to listen to the two of them get into it. It wasn't that he was a prude—far from it. He definitely had his share of conversations with Eddie in the same vein. But it didn't sit right when it was Ryan or someone else from the company. "Job's done for tonight, how about we call it a day?" He glanced towards Ryan. "I can drop you home on my way back to the office."

"Perfect."

Ryan had long ago stopped arguing that he could be the one to sign them off at the HQ after they were out in the field, because James truly enjoyed this part. He liked the finality of it, the clear line between an assignment and his free time.

"See you soon, then," Eddie said. "Night, Ryan."

"Night, Eddie. Have a good weekend. Ryan Dawson, signing off," he added automatically before disabling his earpiece and pulling it off.

James muted his own mike but left the earpiece in. After dropping Ryan off, he would unmute it and probably talk to Eddie the rest of the way.

"Here." Ryan put his share of equipment in the bag James would drop off at the HQ, then leaned back in his seat with asigh. "I want to sleep for a month."

"That's a no-go, but at least you can sleep in tomorrow. We don't have to be at their house before four, so I can pick you up at three thirty."

Ryan hummed his agreement. With his eyes closed, he seemed half-asleep already, but then he opened them and turned to James.

"You know you could ask him out any time and he'd say yes in a heartbeat, right?"

James tightened his hands on the steering wheel.

"No, I don't."

There was no use pretending he didn't know who they were talking about. He wished he was better at hiding his interest, but Ryan was with him on a daily basis, and with their observational skills being a big part of their job, maybe it was always going to be a matter of time before his partner figured it out.

"No, you don't know or no, you don't think he'd say yes?" he pressed James now.

"How about, no, I don't want to have this conversation?"

"That's not an option."

"Is this about me stopping your flirting just now?"

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