Long Time Gone (Hell or High Water ) (32 page)

“Very comforting.”

“Yeah?”

“No.”

Prophet shrugged, stuck his hands in his jeans pockets. Tom knew he didn’t want to go inside, but he refused to let Tom go in alone.

Now, Prophet opened the door and walked in behind Tom, and the busy office seemed to come to a complete standstill.

“Uh-oh,” Prophet sing-songed under his breath.

“Incoming,” Cope mouthed as he passed them, and Tom swore the ground rumbled under his feet. He looked up to see Phil marching out of his office, his posture Marine rigid. The hallways cleared in seconds as everyone took cover.

Everyone except for Tom.

“You are in so much goddamned trouble,” Phil started as he got close. But before he could take the final steps closing the distance between them, Prophet stepped in between them.

Like a goddamned human shield.

His back was to Tom and the tension was palpable—thick and uncomfortable. Tom wanted to pull Prophet from the line of fire. But he didn’t.

“Leave him alone.” Prophet’s words were calm, but his stance wasn’t.

“You don’t tell me what to do,” Phil said, his voice and stance equal to Prophet’s. Which was really fucking dangerous.

“You don’t tell me either,” Prophet told him. “And this one isn’t his fault.”

“Let me guess, it’s yours.”

“No, it’s not his.” Tom stepped out from behind Prophet to stand next to him.

“Well, look at that—I finally get you two assholes to work together, but it’s against me and my rules.” Phil grimaced, then turned to Prophet. “Are you here to ask if you can come back to work?”

Tom held his breath, but Prophet looked Phil in the eye and said, “No,” without a trace of rancor or regret.

That startled Phil, but Tom wasn’t sure if the head of EE had shown it in his expression, or if Tom just knew. Either way, Phil shook it off quickly and said, “Then wait here, because Tom doesn’t need a bodyguard. Tom, my office, now.”

Tom was surprised that Prophet simply nodded and let him go, but he was glad. He didn’t need any further tension between Phil and Prophet clouding what he needed to do.

He followed Phil down the hall and into his office. Phil shut the door and motioned for him to sit and he did. Faced Phil across the desk. Waited.

“I know why you disobeyed a direct order,” Phil said finally.

“I know why you gave me one. You knew I wouldn’t listen. You knew it, and you did it anyway.” Phil didn’t deny it. “You do that a lot.”

“Not to you.”

Tom blew out a frustrated breath. “If you like it when we don’t follow the rules—”

“I like operatives who can think outside the box. I don’t need people blindly following my orders, Tom.”

“You need to stop fucking with him.” Phil stared him down, but Tom wouldn’t buckle. Not on this. “You want me to work here, I’ll work here. But you need to stop fucking with Prophet.”

“You’re good for him.”

“So were you.”

Phil’s expression tightened. “I know you want to help him with whatever shit he’s got going on. I don’t want to know about it. I can’t. Just go with him. And then bring him back to me, Tom.”

“And what’s he going to think I’m doing if I suddenly have time off from EE to help him?”

Phil pointed to the monstrous pile of folders on the corner of the desk, an evil glint in his eye. “Paperwork. From running roughshod around little things called laws. And bringing two other operatives in on the job. Who, by the way, are still denying everything.”

“That wasn’t all my fault.”

“No, but I’m guessing you’ll take all the blame for your partner, now won’t you?”

Yeah, he would. And Phil had known it before they’d walked back in here. “Yes, sir.”

“Fuck the ‘sir’ shit. And one more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Your boxes and your Harley are here.”

“Why?”

“You were evicted.”

“For what?”

“They were suspicious that you were never there,” Phil said. “You’re welcome to stay in one of the upstairs rooms until you find time to look for another place.”

When he walked out, he noted Prophet’s office—his and Prophet’s—was exactly the way Prophet had left it.

Prophet was sitting in the office chair by the door, where Tom had left him. Except he had two boxes of pencils and a giant bag of red Twizzlers.

“Did you raid the supply closet?”

“Natasha gave them to me. Apparently, they tend to miss people who do shit like fuck with the office supplies.” A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

They walked out to Prophet’s truck together, and once they were on the road, Prophet asked, “Well?”

“I got evicted.”

“No shit?” Prophet asked. “Where’s your stuff?”

“Upstairs in EE’s living quarters.”

Prophet turned and started driving back. Tom didn’t question that, just continued, “He wants me to stay at EE.”

“Work with him, T. Someone needs to keep an eye on the place.”

“And what’re you going to do?”

“What I need to so we can both stay safe.”

“Now you get romantic.”

“That’s romantic?” Prophet asked. “Maybe I’m better at it than I thought.”

“He’s kept your office the exact same way. Looks like no one’s been allowed to touch it.”

“Great. Like I’m dead and it’s my memorial.”

Tom sighed. “It’s not like that.”

“Like I’ve retired.”

“Like that’ll ever happen.” He paused. “Just do me a favor? I’ve been telling you this from the start, but get your eyes checked.”

“I get regular physicals.”

“Okay, but . . .” He stopped, shook his head. “Enough. Let’s go celebrate.”

“The fact that you were evicted?”

“I wasn’t evicted as much as let out of my lease. She thought there’d always be someone there to do stuff like mow the lawn.”

“You were like her houseboy.”

“Shut up.”

“I could use one.”

“A houseboy?”

“Yeah. You’d fit the job well.”

“What’s the pay like?”

“Negotiable. Like always.” Prophet turned to stare at him once he’d pulled back into the EE lot. “You know this isn’t going to be easy, going forward.”

Tom didn’t know if he was talking about them, or the shit with Sadiq, or the fact that Prophet would be working black op jobs, or all of the above. But if and when Prophet went looking for Sadiq, Tom had to follow. He had orders.

And he would’ve done it without them.

Get ready for Mal and Cillian’s adventures!

Coming to Riptide Publishing

January 13, 2014!

These books are such a labor of love, and they’re not created in a vacuum, so, as always, I have many people to thank.

For Sarah Frantz, the most gifted editor I know. For Rachel Haimowitz for all the opportunities she’s given me. For L.C. Chase and the gorgeous covers and layouts. For everyone at Riptide for making my publishing experience insanely wonderful.

Thanks to Nerine Dorman for the Afrikaans translation. And to SC, MN, and JD for their many stories and insights.

As always, thanks to the readers who hang out with me on Tumbler, Facebook, Ask SEJ, and Twitter too. You guys are so awesome—thanks for taking this journey with me, and for loving these guys as much as I do.

Last, but never least, for my family. For everything.

Catch a Ghost (Hell or High Water, #1)

Men of Honor Series:

Bound by Honor

Bound by Law

Ties That Bind

Bound by Danger

Bound for Keeps (EE, Ltd.)

Standalone
:

Free Falling (EE, Ltd.)

Hell or High Water Series Coming Soon:

Daylight Again

If I Ever

Dirty Deeds Series (EE, Ltd.) Coming Soon:

Dirty Deeds

Dirty Lies

Dirty Love

SE Jakes writes m/m romance. She believes in happy endings and fighting for what you want in both fiction and real life. She lives in New York with her family and most days, she can be found happily writing (in bed). No, really . . .

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Edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense!