Page 77 of Love at First Rep

“GARRETT! STAY WITH ME!”

Rafe held Garrett upright when his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

“I got him,” Cru said as he approached them, pulling a familiar paper tube of smelling salts out of his pocket. Anatoly went by Cru, short for Cruella, thanks to his obsession with dogs. He waved it under Garrett’s nose, and Garrett immediately sprang forward, Rafe holding him in place before he could run away.

“Hey, hey, I got you,” Rafe said in Garrett’s ear. “You’re safe.”

“Holy shit,” Garrett said. He took a deep breath and faced McHugh. “What’s going on? Who are you people?”

“We are a team with the skills, time and funding to take care of the people that governments and bureaucracies can’t take care of on their own. We operate in the shadows and utilize our skills to protect the innocent and take down the villains living among society.”

Garrett stared at his captain, confusion in his gaze. Shit, this must have been throwing Garrett for a loop.

“Who the fuck are you?”

The people around him chuckled. Rafe couldn’t help snickering. The Graham McHugh Rafe knew was a far cry from the buffoon he played as Cherrywood PD’s captain.

“By the way,” McHugh continued, “McUseless? Genius. I know you came up with that. I’m glad you’ll add some creativity to the team.”

McHugh held out a hand to shake, and Garrett took it warily.

“I swear this man has only ever given me a fist bump,” Garrett muttered in disbelief.

“You played your part a little too well, Boss,” Miguel said as he plopped onto the couch across from them. Cru sat against the couch on the plush area rug, Brookie settling across his lap. They may have been mercs, but they made comfortable seating a priority when they traveled.

Garrett gaped at the scene in front of him and turned to Rafe, hurt in his eyes. Rafe prayed Garrett could forgive him for lying and hoped Garrett would believe him now. “I wasn’t the only one who got burned by the CIA. McHugh led our team, and since then we’ve been working to fight back, to right the wrongs we couldn’t when our hands were tied, and to take care of other messes that need our expertise.

“When we got burned, the first thing I wanted to do was run right to you, but we had too many loose ends to tie up before I could do that. I’ve been begging McHugh to let you in on it, to let you maybe join us. Join me.” Garrett softened a bit, but still exhibited a deep hurt. “They wouldn’t let me just call you and ask if you wanted to join a secret team of mercenaries. They insisted on a tryout. I tried to fight it, but there was… a problem with one of the guys we brought in before. He betrayed us and almost got us killed. I needed to prove to them how trustworthy you are.”

“He’s right,” McHugh added. “Working as your captain gave me pretty good insight into your work ethic and reliability. And what you’d do if faced with obstacles. Bringing in Riley Hanson to help you when you weren’t sure if you could trust Rafe showed me that you wouldn’t let your emotions cloud your judgment. Even when it came to someone as close to you as Rafe.”

Rafe snapped. “You had Riley look into me?”

Annoyance in his gaze, Garrett threw the accusation right back at Rafe. “You had a whole team looking into me!”

Rafe winced. That was fair.

“Call it even?” Rafe asked, striving for innocence. Based on Garrett’s face, he didn’t succeed.

“Not quite.”

“Yeah, Garrett, don’t let him get away with shit,” Miguel interrupted.

“You motherfucker,” Rafe roared as he jumped off Garrett’s lap and lunged for Miguel, ready to pound his face in for his teasing. McHugh stepped into his path, blocking him. If he lost Garrett over this, the first thing he’d do was kick his brother’s ass.

“Sit back down. We’re not done explaining things,” McHugh barked.

Rafe glared daggers at Miguel and went back to his spot on Garrett’s lap, pulling him close.

“That’s it, go sit with your emotional support cop,” Miguel teased.

Rafe seethed and murmured to Garrett, “I bet you didn’t realize how big of an asshole my brother is.”

He ignored the middle finger Miguel threw his way.

Rafe could feel the frustration in Garrett’s body.

“Are Riley and Josh safe?” Garrett asked.