Page 78 of Love at First Rep

“Yes, they’re perfectly fine,” McHugh said. “We haven’t bothered them since our own malware master gave him that message to stay out of it.”

Their resident IT geek chose that moment to wheel in on his chair.

Fuck, they were about to hit Garrett with yet another lie.

“Um, hi,” Carson said, waving a hand meekly at Garrett. Carson had incredible computer skills but no talent whatsoever when it came to subterfuge. It was so hard to keep from laughing when Garrett introduced Rafe to him at the gym and he had to pretend they were strangers. Carson was far better off behind a computer than in the field.

“Carson?” Garrett shouted. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Uh, well, I, um, maybe have understated my job as an IT specialist,” he said apologetically.

Garrett closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he turned to Rafe. “Tell me right now. I can’t be blindsided again today. Was anything about us a lie?” He waved a hand between them, his eyes watery. “Is this real?”

Rafe tsked and settled his hands on Garrett’s cheeks.

“Baby, nothing about us is a lie. Everything that happened between us was real. It is real. This was the only way I could let you back into my life, unless I left the team altogether.” He dropped his forehead against Garrett’s. “I was ready to quit if they made me wait any longer. You’re it for me. You’ve always been my endgame.”

Garrett’s entire body relaxed against Rafe’s, and they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Rafe pulled back and gazed into his blue eyes, shiny with unshed tears. “Do you believe me?”

Garrett took a deep breath while Rafe held his own.

“Yeah, I believe you. You’ve always sucked at lying to me.”

Everything in Rafe settled. If he had Garrett, he was the richest man in the world. Garrett was worth more than Rafe’s whole life, and he’d spend the rest of it proving that to him.

Finally, he could be honest about everything.

“It’s about time we told you everything,” Rafe said, his voice a rasp. “Are you ready to meet the rest of the team?”

Garrett widened his eyes. “There’s more of you? As ready as I can be, I guess. Lay it all on me.”

The rest of his team had been hanging back, not wanting to overwhelm Garrett with too much at once, but now they all gathered on the couches together, McHugh still standing like a sentinel over the group.

Rafe went around the room introducing everyone.

“You’ve met Anatoly Pavlov, usually goes by Cru. He’s our interrogation specialist. He sucks at boundaries,” Rafe said, leveling a glare at Anatoly. “What the fuck was that about rumors I’m bad in bed?”

Anatoly shrugged and grinned wide. “I had to make sure you treat Garrett right, is all. Have to look out for new guy.” He threw a wink at Garrett.

Garrett exhaled beneath him and muttered, “That interrogation makes so much sense now.”

Rafe rolled his eyes and turned back to Garrett. “He’s also trained Brookie to be a huge help to us when we need it.”

Garrett nodded. He seemed confused by the sweet murmurings and kisses Anatoly shared with his dog.

“Get a room, dude,” Rafe said, earning a chuckle from the others, but Anatoly ignored him. Rafe continued, introducing Garrett to Babs and Robin before moving on to the others.

“You know Carson and McHugh. Miguel is our medic and is there to take care of us if we need it. And I will be calling him Fake-Ass Zorro from now on, so thank you for that.”

Garrett snorted, and Miguel flipped him off.

“And last but not least, Thea Durbin,” Rafe said, wondering if Garrett’s eyes were getting sore from widening them so much. “She’s got a license to drive, well, everything. She could probably outrace Jeff Gordon or get a second job as a stunt driver. She’s also, um, Cole’s sister.”

Rafe had been overjoyed to finally meet Cole in real life after hearing about him for so long from Thea. He did not disappoint.

“What does Cole think you’re doing?” Garrett asked Thea warily.