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CHAPTER TWENTY
Jeremy tried to focus on work, but his mind kept drifting to thoughts of D. Now that they'd both agreed that ongoing casual sex was good for both of them, the flirting had escalated. It had been near impossible to get breakfast cooked after they showered because they couldn't keep their hands off of each other, and now, even though it had only been hours since they'd last had sex, he wanted more.
There was work to do, and he needed to focus on that. He'd been watching the media for reports of the sting, but even more, he'd been hacking into the police department's system to follow up on the investigation. So far, it didn't look like they had any leads, but they had contacted California authorities about common factors in their cases. It wasn't anything to panic about, but it was something to keep an eye on.
He'd finished a thorough background check on the man who had stabbed the coach and followed up on his charges. Jeremy wasn't sure the man would serve any jail time, but the local district attorney was looking to at least charge him with assault. It didn't seem like enough to draw the man into the team, but he'd leave that call up to D to decide. One thing in their favor was the man had lost his job due to the case and was now looking for something new.
Jeremy sighed as he realized he needed to focus on making sure the team members were paid. Carter had spent more time on how to hide the money trail than he had on any other part of Jeremy's training. It wasn't hard to do, but it was detailed, and one missed step could leave evidence of what was done. It was the one area that Jeremy was most nervous about.
He needed to work out a schedule so he took time to focus on everything he needed to do each day. He was finding that once he started digging into the dark web, he'd get caught in the rabbit holes and be stuck there for hours. This was where having someone else helping on the computer would come in handy. The trouble was finding someone they could trust. He thought about all his old co-workers at the CIA, but most of them were too honest and law-abiding. He needed to find someone who didn't mind breaking the law a bit, who didn't scare at the thought of illegal hacking, and most importantly, someone who could stomach the content they would have to weed through in order to put the cases together. Finding someone like that wasn't going to be easy.
With D focusing on finding more people to go out and do the actual stings, Jeremy wanted to do his part and at least try to find one or two guys to help with the technical side of things. There had to be people out there who would put their freedom on the line to do this job, weren't there?
It was something else to add to his list of things to do.
"Jer?"
He turned as D walked into the room. "What's up?"
"I need to order some more stuff, but it would be best to not have it sent here. Do you have the address to that post office box you set up?"
"Sure, just a sec." Jeremy flipped through a stack of papers beside him. "Here ya go." He pulled it out. "Need me to order it?"
"Nah, I got it. What are you up to?"
"Debating on if I should look for new team members on the dark web." He shrugged. "The hacker community is huge. A lot of people would probably love this job, but it's finding the right ones. It's not like I can just ask anyone. But I'm starting to see why Carter said this was a two to three person job."
"Don't stress yourself out trying to do it all. That's the last thing we want. Do what you can and leave it at that. Right now, as hard as it is to wait, we really shouldn't do any stings unless we find something really severe. We really need to get set up before going out. I know I'm contradicting myself, but we both know it's best to wait."
"It is, but it's so hard when I start piecing things together. One link leads to another and before I know it, I've got a huge file on one guy. It's sad how busy we could be if we wanted to be."
"Yeah, it is. When I started this years ago, we'd go out maybe once a week or less, now we are going almost nightly. The problem is growing. Still, we need to be safe. Let's focus on getting everything in order, finding new team members, then once we have a good base, we can start hunting again. At least that way, it forces me to focus on other things, and keeps you from getting bogged down looking for evidence for the time being." D put his hands on Jeremy's shoulders and started to massage them.
"Fuck, that feels good." Jeremy let his head fall forward.
"My friend, Xander, is married to a guy who spends all day on a computer. He said Matt's shoulders really get tense. Consider this part of my job to keep you healthy and out of pain."
"Your hands on me bring me another kind of pain." Jeremy smiled, his eyes closed as D's fingers worked his muscles.
"I'll take care of that pain too when it arises." D laughed, then sighed as his cell phone rang and he had to cut the massage short. "It's Beau."
Jeremy sat up straight and swiveled around to listen as D talked to his old team doctor. As much as he hoped that Rani would join the team, Jeremy was nervous. Telling anyone about what they did was a risk, and even though he trusted the others, it only took one wrong miscalculation to bring it all to an end.
D talked for a moment, then hung up. He sat down, setting his phone on the desk. "Well, Rani is in if we want him. Beau explained everything to him, explaining what we do, what kind of injuries are possible, and even the risk of arrest. He said Rani is excited to get started, and would happily take us up on the offer of staying here until he could get his own place. Of course, this is all pending on what we decide."
Jeremy nodded. "So when do we meet him?"
"He's willing to meet tonight. We can have them come here or meet them somewhere. Rani flew in today and hasn't got a hotel room yet. Beau's waiting to see what we decide before helping him find one. If we hire him, then he can just stay here." D took a deep breath. "Makes me so nervous anytime someone new comes on a team."
"Yeah, me too, but if we don't trust someone, then it will just be us."
D grinned. "At times, that might not be so bad."
"Stop thinking with your cock." Jeremy laughed.
D smirked.
"Anyway, what do you think? Do you trust Beau's judgment enough to bring him here? I mean, I think we're already sold on the guy being part of the team. We're not going to find another doctor this easily. Like I said, unless he's a total jerk, I think he's in." Jeremy stared at D.
