Page 25 of Risky Taste
“Sebastian, it’s nearly midnight,” he says, his voice rough with sleep, but his eyes sharpen as they land on my ruffled clothes. I always show up in full uniform, giving this man the respect he deserves but I wasn’t about to talk myself out of this.
Or have Declan catch on.
He takes one look at my face and the laughter dies, his mouth flattening into a grim line. He ushers me inside to the kitchen table, the room dim save for a flickering bulb overhead. “Must be a special occasion,” he mutters, pulling out a chair. The mass of paperwork across the surface tells me that Ranier was probably working the midnight oil.
“It is. I have a report to make.”
“And I’m assuming you want this anonymous.” His gaze narrows, reading me, and I nod, my throat tight as I take a seat next to him. “You’ve never once just dropped in. Not once. In the nearly ten years I’ve known you, you’re punctual, predictable, maybe a little unhinged but never—anonymous in the middle ofthe night type of guy. The funny thing is, I have a feeling it has to do with why I’m up, pouring over these pages, looking for some kind of clue.” He leans in, folding his hands on the table. “Tell me, Sebastian, what brought you here.”
There’s no fucking way that my sergeant could already be investigating this shit, could he? Then again, this is a big operation that’s obviously more tangled than anything we were ready for. I sigh, my shoulders falling as the breath leaves me before I give Ranier a cliff notes version of everything Declan found. I should have brought some of that shit but not all of it was legal. Declan has his tricks but that’s not something I want to let Ranier know. By the time I finish, Ranier has this devilish smile on his lips as if most, if not all of what I just said isn’t a surprise.
“Sebastian, I’m not going to lie to you. We’ve been looking into this for a long time. Had no idea where the weak link was, but your squad came up a few times. Thought we’d get some answers when you guys returned.” He leans back in his chair, threading his hands behind his head. “I knew you couldn't be involved but didn’t imagine in a million years that you’d be bringing this shit to me. However, as close as you are to all of this, they’ll reach out to you at some point for an interview.” I nod, not at all surprised at that step. It’s just a relief that Ranier didn’t think I was part of this bullshit. “It’s a welcome relief that it’s not the man I call my son.”
But I haven’t given him everything. I’ve held back Kurt’s name, dangling Heath as the sole thread, a calculated omission to shield Noah for now. It’ll drag him into this mess eventually—his ex, his past—but it buys us time, keeps the investigation’s claws from sinking too deep too fast.
However, Ranier isn’t stupid. “Before you go, I need a name. The inside man. I know you have something,” he muses. “Look, Sebastian, I’m grateful that you’ve given me what you have butwe both know the name you’re holding back might be what I need. I also know that because you haven’t yet told me, it’s not going to be pretty.”
“I need you to swear that my name is not going to be in the same pot.” It’s going to be impossible to separate us but I need at least his words that he’ll try.
“You’re serious. This hits home for you. Which means it’s one of your squad. Declan? Logan? Kurt? That boy’s one of the star pupils.” His voice trails, searching, and I stay silent but I know he picks out justwhoit is. “And it would make sense. The boy went from Casanova to a star soldier in such a short time. This makes shit complicated, Sebastian. Really complicated.”
“I’m aware.”
“I’m not sure you are. However, I need you to stay as far away from this shit as possible. I mean it. It’s going to get ugly. In fact, I might have something.” He rises, his chair scraping, and shuffles to a corner stacked with papers. I expected him to pull me and the others out at my request, keep us Stateside, put us on something at the clinic or the training base, to shield me from the fallout, but the folder sliding across the table is unexpected. “This is coming from a selfish place but I also need to know that you’re out of harm’s way. I’m compiling all of this to present tomorrow and the first place they’re going to look is you four. I’ll make some calls, get your appointments changed around. All you have to do is show up.”
I throw open the folder, skimming what looks like security detail. It’s easy work except for the suit we’ll be required to wear. Even that, though, is better than staying by Kurt’s side.
Ranier stands, throwing his hand out for me to clasp and I take it. “I can see the turmoil in your eyes, son but I know you wouldn’t have come through here if you didn’t think there was some merit to the information you gave me. I’ll be as discreet as I can but for now, I need you not to push any buttons.”
“Kurt isn’t stupid.”
“No, he’s not. But you’ve been around him long enough that you can bullshit your way out of a paper bag. Tell him you got bored, needed something different. Whatever it takes to remove you from his side. Because after tomorrow, things are going to go south very fast. Interrogations, interviews, and don’t think I’m blind to Kurt’s brother.” My reaction has Ranier glaring at me. “Don’t do that, Sebastian. I know for a fact Noah Strong is not involved. But that doesn’t mean everyone else will see it that way. He’s the brother that stayed Stateside, under the radar. To someone trying to write a story, they’re going to target him.”
I can see what Ranier is pointing at but I refuse to leave Noah’s side. “I’m not leaving him alone, Sarge. I’ll do just about anything else but not that.”
“You’ve always been the complicated one, son. See that it doesn’t ruin you.”
“Noah’s worth it,” I tell him and it’s the truth. Noah is worth absolutely every pain we’re about to be pushed through. I say my goodbyes and head back out to the jeep, wondering how much worse things are about to get.
Once our superiors start pressing buttons, Kurt is going to retaliate. So is Heath. I’d say all we need to do is be ready but they’re just as unpredictable and complicated as I am.
There’s no telling what they’ll do if their operation starts to fall apart.
And yet, some part of me is hoping that Kurt isn’t actually tied up in this shit.
Chapter seventeen
NOAH
I wake to Declan’s cock pressed firmly against the seam of my ass, his heat seeping through the thin fabric of my boxers, and Logan’s breath warm on my face, his lips brushing the bridge of my nose in a soft kiss. Some part of me wants to curl into the warmth but something’s wrong. Off? I’m not sure.
I sit up and immediately frown at the image across the room. Sebastian’s there, perched on the opposite bed in a suit, looking like he just walked out of a goddamn magazine. He doesn’t look like he’s slept and I vaguely remember the door opening at some obscene hour. “What are you doing?” I whisper, trying to understand what I’m staring at.
He should be in a uniform, not a suit.
Declan groans behind me, his arm tightening around my waist but I slap it away, needing to understand what I’m staring at. Sebastian exhales, a deep heavy sound falling from his lips and then smiles, something that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Ifound a better way to do things. Something that will drag us out of the limelight when all of this shit goes south.”
I’m fully on board with that but I don’t understand why Sebastian is being so ominous about it. “Like what?” My gaze moves to the alarm clock on the nightstand, 4:30 am glaring back at me.The fuck?I climb from the bed, the other two groaning at the loss but I’m more focused on Sebastian.
