Page 53 of Castling the Rook (Checkmate 3)

My superior officers bicker as I pocket my cell and walk away, but I don’t stop and listen. Oz is doing what he should do for his ‘familia’, he’s making sure Dee doesn’t get hurt. If he pays this much attention to every man that walks through her life, then I won’t have to worry so much.

Stepping into the dark garage and sliding my hand over the light switch, the lights flicker on as I take my phone out of my pocket and unlock it to my messages.

I open Andi’s name and shoot off a fast text:I’m at work. Safe flight. Be prepared for nasty calls from Oz tonight; he knows about us.

Pocketing my cell again, I glance at the wall of girl scout cookies and laugh.Who the fuck ordered fifty boxes of these?

* * *

I stayedon the dock for more than an hour, because I didn’t feel like seeing Oz again, then I moved into the station’s homemade gym and put in another hour. I should’ve gone straight to the Rollin On gym in the first place, not here, but I can’t leave now and have the guys think they scared me off. So I work with the shit Alex set the place up with, and I still manage to sweat enough to need a shower and a change of clothes.

At close to three, I step out of the locker room and stop at Oz’s contrite smile while he waits against the wall and bounces his knuckles with nerves.

I look up and down the empty hall, then back to him. “What?”

“I’m sorry for being a dick. I apologize for saying mean things.” He looks to the ceiling and sighs. “And I hope you can forgive my terrible behavior.”

My eyes narrow. “Who told you to say that?”

“Andi’s flight landed.” His eyes come back to mine. “Allegedly, she received a text from you thatimpliedI was in a less than favorable mood, so she called Lindsi. Lindsi called me and tore my asshole apart for being a jerk. Now I gotta apologize and sound like I mean it, or Lindsi will volunteer me for night shift.” He nervously reseats his hat. “I’m a newlywed, Cruz. I don’t want to be apart from her, which means you get immunity for now.”

“For now?”

He grins. “For now. But if you hurt Andi, I get free reign, and I promise, I won’t go easy.”

Chuckling, I step forward and extend my hand. “Truce? I’m not gonna hurt her. She’s already gone, and she’s the one that wants freedom to date other people.”

His nose scrunches. “Really? You’re putting up with that?”

“I don’t get a choice. We’re just friends that hooked up a few times. It doesn’t matter a damn that I wish she lived here and not there.”

He accepts my hand and shakes. “She break your heart, Rook? She’s the type, so I really should’ve warned you.”

“Yeah, well… it’s whatever. She’s gone, and you said she landed safe. I told her to text me, but she didn’t, so I guess that says what it needs to say.”

“Don’t lose heart, kid.” He slaps my shoulder and moves me through the hall. “These Conner women are prickly, so you gotta be sneaky about making them fall in love. Spin your web and drag them in, then eat their heads and don’t let them out.”

I laugh when he pushes me toward the office. “Spin a web, drag her in, eat her head… Really? Not so long ago, I wasn’t allowed to touch.”

“That was before I remembered you were the baby-faced junior, and she’s the webmaster. I’m not your enemy, Cruz. You already have massive fucking problems; apparently her name is Dee. And once you crack that one, you gotta deal with Ben. You need all the friends you can get.”

“You assholes kiss and make up, yet?” Alex sits at his desk with a goofy grin on his lips and Thin Mints pinched between his fingers. “Because I don’t like fighting within our squad. Sometimes we gotta shoot people, sometimes we gotta save each other’s lives, and I’d be mad if you mixed that shit up. Save each other, don’t shoot each other.”

“We’re good.” Hungry, and unwilling to blow my macros on cookies, I turn toward the lunch room and wave him off. “Don’t worry about us, X. We’re fine, and no one’s gonna get shot today.” I push the lunch room door open and catch a glimpse of Libby Tate bustling out through the other door. With narrowed eyes, I snatch the fridge open and grab my lunchbox. Knowing it in my gut, but living in denial until I have no choice, I tear the lid off and roar. “Who took my fucking lunch?” I stomp toward the back door and push it open to find my lunch thief.Gone!Turning around, I head back to the main office wielding a brownie-less lunchbox. “Someone took my fuckin’ lunch again, X! It was Libby. I saw her dart out the back door.”

Alex’s eyes pop wide with surprise. “Some motherfucker took your lunch again?”

“Yes! It was Libby. I saw her.”

“Excuse me?” Following the noise into the office, my only female coworker slams her hands to her hips. “Repeat that accusation again, Rook! Then step up and take your beating.”

“You’re the lunch thief! I keep going hungry because you keep stealing my food!”

“The lunch thief? Are you insane? I didn’t take a damn thing.”

I shake my head and point like my swinging arms will help. “X and I ran the whole squad. You’re theonlyone who was on shift every single time my lunch went missing. Look at this! Dee made me brownies, and now it’s gone!” It’s insane how much that hurts my heart. We didn’t touch the tray last night. We ate our chicken, our salad, consumed our wine, then each other. I cut a fresh slice for today, licked my fingers, and almost moaned at how good it was. “I was saving that brownie! I was saving it, because she’s gone.”

“I didn’t take it!” She points toward Alex. “Tell him, X. I didn’t take shit!”

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