Page 90 of Tied Over

“Yeah. He’d just gotten back from a mission in Dakar where the team lost a couple of guys,” he said solemnly. “He’s good now.”

“So tell me what happened with Brodie.”

He shook his head. “It was stupid. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Just tell me,” I prodded him.

“I went to grab some lunch and saw him across the street, and I thought, the fuck is he doing here today of all days, you know?”

“Because of what happened to Eli.”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “The timing was odd.”

“And so you did what?”

“I crossed the street to talk to him, and I called his name, but he didn’t turn around.”

“And you thought he couldn’t hear you.”

“I did, so I followed him, and when I was close enough, he turned so fast. Like one second everything was normal and the next he’s shooting fuckin’ mace at me.”

“Ours, or the cheap shit people buy at gun shops?”

“Ours. Standard fuckin’ issue, and of course I can’t see, and then he hit me with a baton.”

“He could have killed you.”

“Yeah, he could’ve, but I still broke his goddamn nose on the way down.”

I grinned at him. “You’re so mad.”

“Hell yes, I’m mad! Years of training, and fuckin’ douchebag Brodie gets the drop on me? I won’t be able to face any of the guys on my old team. I won’t be able to face Hunt the next time I see him.”

“You realize you never expected him to attack you.”

“But I should have known better. We did not part well.”

“Sure, but really, none of us saw this coming.”

“I know, I get it, but still, that would have never happened in the field.”

“You’ve been lulled into a false sense of security.”

“I have. I’ve lost my edge, and I need to reacquire it.”

I shook my head.

“No?” He was indignant. “Why would you say that?”

“Because you don’t need to be on a hair trigger all the time. You’re the deputy director. You’re the boss now. You have to find the diplomatic solution to the guy with a hammer.”

He growled, I laughed, and everyone got quiet as Ian crossed his arms.

“Right?”

“Yeah,” he said like it was painful.

And then everyone was a bit loud again, but not nearly at the decibel level I knew they could be.