feelings out in the open and all that shit. It annoys me to no end.
"You don't wanna talk about what happened earlier?"
He keeps staring straight ahead as he answers woodenly.
"No point. I can always tell when you need me to back off for a bit. Soon as you start wearing that damned jacket I know I'm pushed to the side...again."
I pull up short in the middle of the hall and stare at his shadowed profile in the flickering light.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Exactly what I said. As soon as I start getting too close, you bring Sam's ghost between us. Lucky for you I'm a patient guy, Bix."
"Bullshit! It's just a jacket for Pete's sake. Sam's ghost-what a crock of buttered shit."
"Mm-hmm." He throws over his shoulder as he keeps walking. I hurry to catch up, not done with this conversation.
"Mm-hmm? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Usually it's meant as a form of agreement..."
"I know what 'mm-hmm' means, dickwad," I growl at him and he finally stops to look at me.
"Then why you ask?"
"I meant, why you agreeing with me? Because I know you don't agree with me! You're just agreeing to agree, cause you don't want me to be mad about you disagreeing!"
His bark of laughter resonates from deep in his gut.
"What? That doesn't even make sense!"
"Oh, it makes perfect sense. I know you're just playing the dumb blonde again."
"Likeeee totally, fer sure," he says in his best Valley girl impersonation and I can't help it. I start laughing. Hearing that voice come from the 275 plus pound gorilla in front of me, it kills me. I never could stay mad at Luke for long...and dammit, he knew it.
"I love the sound of your laugh," he says quietly. I stop chuckling and glare at him sideways.
"What? I can't even say it about your laugh now?"
Fortunately, Gordon flies up the stairs towards us at that moment nearly tripping over his own damn feet, and interrupts my biting retort.
"Guys, come on." he yells, his red face almost matching his hair with his exertion. "Cooper is asking for the two of you."
We hurry our pace at the boy's words. Cooper is not someone you want to keep waiting. And to be quite honest, I welcome the interruption. I don't want to hash this over again.
"What’s going on Gordo? You know anything?"
"Only that something happened with Kelly's group. Not sure, but if it's enough to have Cooper worried..."
I get the gist. Cooper doesn't get hot under the collar about much; he’s the proverbial cool cucumber. My worry increases, and I take the stairs two at a time, eager to get to command.
***
We ’re the last to arrive. I feel Cooper's bright eyes on us as soon as we enter what had once been one of the many conference rooms in the hotel. It still had the little gold 'B' sign on the door. Someone had written in black marker after the B 'ase command.' Not very elegant, but official enough. Every decision, every move we make, is talked through and planned here in this room. Sam used to say the B stood for Bullshit. He never was one to stand for authority much.
"About time," Cooper growls from behind the metal desk where he normally sat, his arms folded across his chest in impatience. We don't bother to give him an excuse; he doesn't expect one. The unspoken words say it all, "When I say five, I mean five...not fifteen." I look away guiltily from his piercing stare. John Cooper is the reason I’m still alive, and I hated displeasing him; even if it is for something as trivial as being late to a meeting.
The rest of the crew are already here; Badger, Cal and Dom, plus the regular five council members who demand to be privy to everything, including Cookie. Her beady dark eyes stare at us disapprovingly, and I feel myself shrink a little bit more. Damn, I swear that woman could shrivel a grape to a raisin with that look.
I avert my eyes, surprised to see who else is in the room. Kingsley, head of the gate guards and a couple of his people, plus the two responsible for manning the shortwave radios. What are their
"You don't wanna talk about what happened earlier?"
He keeps staring straight ahead as he answers woodenly.
"No point. I can always tell when you need me to back off for a bit. Soon as you start wearing that damned jacket I know I'm pushed to the side...again."
I pull up short in the middle of the hall and stare at his shadowed profile in the flickering light.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Exactly what I said. As soon as I start getting too close, you bring Sam's ghost between us. Lucky for you I'm a patient guy, Bix."
"Bullshit! It's just a jacket for Pete's sake. Sam's ghost-what a crock of buttered shit."
"Mm-hmm." He throws over his shoulder as he keeps walking. I hurry to catch up, not done with this conversation.
"Mm-hmm? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Usually it's meant as a form of agreement..."
"I know what 'mm-hmm' means, dickwad," I growl at him and he finally stops to look at me.
"Then why you ask?"
"I meant, why you agreeing with me? Because I know you don't agree with me! You're just agreeing to agree, cause you don't want me to be mad about you disagreeing!"
His bark of laughter resonates from deep in his gut.
"What? That doesn't even make sense!"
"Oh, it makes perfect sense. I know you're just playing the dumb blonde again."
"Likeeee totally, fer sure," he says in his best Valley girl impersonation and I can't help it. I start laughing. Hearing that voice come from the 275 plus pound gorilla in front of me, it kills me. I never could stay mad at Luke for long...and dammit, he knew it.
"I love the sound of your laugh," he says quietly. I stop chuckling and glare at him sideways.
"What? I can't even say it about your laugh now?"
Fortunately, Gordon flies up the stairs towards us at that moment nearly tripping over his own damn feet, and interrupts my biting retort.
"Guys, come on." he yells, his red face almost matching his hair with his exertion. "Cooper is asking for the two of you."
We hurry our pace at the boy's words. Cooper is not someone you want to keep waiting. And to be quite honest, I welcome the interruption. I don't want to hash this over again.
"What’s going on Gordo? You know anything?"
"Only that something happened with Kelly's group. Not sure, but if it's enough to have Cooper worried..."
I get the gist. Cooper doesn't get hot under the collar about much; he’s the proverbial cool cucumber. My worry increases, and I take the stairs two at a time, eager to get to command.
***
We ’re the last to arrive. I feel Cooper's bright eyes on us as soon as we enter what had once been one of the many conference rooms in the hotel. It still had the little gold 'B' sign on the door. Someone had written in black marker after the B 'ase command.' Not very elegant, but official enough. Every decision, every move we make, is talked through and planned here in this room. Sam used to say the B stood for Bullshit. He never was one to stand for authority much.
"About time," Cooper growls from behind the metal desk where he normally sat, his arms folded across his chest in impatience. We don't bother to give him an excuse; he doesn't expect one. The unspoken words say it all, "When I say five, I mean five...not fifteen." I look away guiltily from his piercing stare. John Cooper is the reason I’m still alive, and I hated displeasing him; even if it is for something as trivial as being late to a meeting.
The rest of the crew are already here; Badger, Cal and Dom, plus the regular five council members who demand to be privy to everything, including Cookie. Her beady dark eyes stare at us disapprovingly, and I feel myself shrink a little bit more. Damn, I swear that woman could shrivel a grape to a raisin with that look.
I avert my eyes, surprised to see who else is in the room. Kingsley, head of the gate guards and a couple of his people, plus the two responsible for manning the shortwave radios. What are their
Similar Books
