Page 1 of Beta Team-The Saviors: Part One
1
ARI
I’ve given a lot of thought to how I would die. Gunned down trying to take down a drug kingpin, blown up while on a stakeout, hit by a fucking bus, but never by a pissed-off guy half my size holding a gun on me thinking I’m fucking his wife.
I hold up my hands, placating him even though I know I can quickly disarm him. “Man, I don’t know what you think is going on here, but I’m not sleeping with her.” The ‘her’ in question is an operative I had on a case with me from a few years back. She called saying she had news that the case we worked on may not be over, so I came to check it out. Now I have this dude pointing a gun at my face with shaky hands. “We were just talking.”
“I knew you were cheating on me!” he yells at Michaela, and she sighs. “You’re always gone and won’t ever tell me where you are! Is this him?”
I glance at her from the corner of my eye and can tell she’s struggling with what to say. He obviously doesn’t know who she really is, and I’m not going to be the asshole that he finds out from. “Put the gun down,” she says quietly. “I’m not sleeping with him.”
“Liar!” He pushes the gun into my face, and that snaps me into action. I grab his wrist and twist it while grabbing the gun. I’m already releasing the clip before he realizes what happened. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m the guy that’s going to give you some advice. First, talk to your wife. Second, never hold a gun like that. It makes you look like a douche. Third, the next time you pull a gun on me, I won’t be as gentle.” I turn to Michaela and hand her the gun. “I’m going to go. Call me if you hear anything else.”
I leave the living room, and when I walk past him, he gives me a wide berth, making me smile. I have to give him points for pulling the gun on me in the first place, though. I slide into my truck and shut the door. As soon as I pull onto the main road, my phone rings, Tyler’s name rolling across the screen. I never know what I’m getting into when he calls, so with a sigh, I slide to answer.
“What?” I bark.
“Where are you? We’re supposed to go to High Flyer tonight.”
“Do you need me to hold your goddamn hand? I can meet you there.”
“No, because you’ll be a little bitch and won’t show up. Where did you go anyway?”
“None of your damn business.”
“Holy shit, you need to get laid, you grumpy fucker.”
“I’m really not in the mood for your shit, Tyler.”
“You never are. What the hell is wrong with you?”Everything.
“Nothing. I’ll see you at High Flyer.”
I disconnect the call and roll my neck to relieve some tension. Since Axel and his team found Chelsea over a year ago, most of the work was left to my crew and me. I'm not blaming them for lying low; I’m happy as hell for them. But it means we’re alwayson the road, fighting the bad guys, never knowing if we’ll make it home or not. The last couple of missions have worn on my guys, and we just need a fucking break, especially Gavin. He’s new to the team and damn good, but this last mission messed with his head.
We were working on a human trafficking case and thought it was just a rescue mission of three adult women. What we found was twelve women and six kids. Most of them were severely ill, and the condition they were left in will be ingrained in our minds. Gavin took it the hardest, and he hasn’t been right since we got back. He refuses to talk about it, swearing that he’s fine, but I know that haunted look in his eye. It means he has nightmares about it every night and thinks about it all day. I was there once, too.
I pull into the parking lot at High Flyer and shove my truck into park. Tyler, Keon, and Gavin are already here, waiting for me, and all I want to do is turn around and go home. Knowing Tyler will just come to track me down, I shove my door open and walk into the bar. They’re sitting at the bar talking to the bartender, Jason.
I slide onto the stool beside Keon, and Jason is already filling my scotch. When he slides it to me, I wink, making him blush. It’s become my favorite game to play.
“You actually decided to show up, Gramps?” Tyler asks, leaning around Gavin’s arm.
“Eat shit and die, Tyler.” I down my drink and set it back on the bar. Jason refills it and leans his hip against the side of the bar.
“Everything okay?” he asks. “You haven’t been around much.”
“Did you miss me, Sweet cheeks?” Just like I suspected, his blush deepens.
Jason runs a hand through his dark blond hair and licks his lips nervously. “I was just worried.”
I tilt my head to the side, studying him. Ever since we found this place because of Chelsea, we have hung out a lot. Which means we’ve gotten to know Jason. He’s always smiling, knows our order before we say a word, and he’s easy to talk to. And if I quit lying to myself, he’s also easy to look at. He’s small for a guy but not overly skinny. His green eyes stand out against his pale skin, and his lips are full. I’ve always been secure enough to admit a man was attractive, but that’s as far as it’s ever gone. The closest I’ve ever been to another man was watching Keon fuck one, but that was after too many scotches.
I cross my arms on the bar, putting me closer to him. “You were worried, huh? Is that it?”
His eyes flash down to my lips and back to my face. “Yeah.” His voice cracks, and I grin.
