“We should have gotten into cheerleading,” Kreed mumbled, getting out of the car. Cody got out of the passenger side and gave a chuckle as he slammed the door.
“Mitch says that every single time we come by here,” Cody said. Mitch was already several steps ahead of them, so they followed him up the walkway to the front doors. Mitch opened the unlocked door then led them along the back wall while he lifted a hand toward a glass wall where Jace and his staff sat talking.
“He said the first door on the left down this hall would be quiet and unused.” Mitch shot back over his shoulder, never slowing the pace.
“He’s kind of freaking me out,” Aaron whispered to Kreed as they walked side by side down the trophy-lined corridor.
“Yeah, he’s not good,” Kreed confirmed as they neared the room.
“I hope you have some sort of magic plan.” Aaron nudged him playfully with his shoulder.
“It felt like a good idea. Now I’m not so sure. Maybe I should’ve just called Skinner.”
Mitch flipped on the light and took a seat at the opposite side of the table. Cody followed. This quiet thing his partner did was just too weird. Kreed might not have ever seen Mitch this deep in a funk before. As the last one into the room, Kreed shut the door behind him before taking his seat. He figured the best way to handle the situation at this point would be to just dive right in.
“How’d they take the news you were quittin’?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a little surprised, but they’re hard to read. You know how they are. Skinner called me last night then again this morning, but it was just to talk me into their shitty plan,” Mitch said, shaking his head. “I’m not interested in that.”
“What are your thoughts on what to do next?” Kreed asked, watching Mitch’s facial expressions for any tells. Mitch’s sunglasses still covered his eyes, making it nearly impossible to get a full read.
“I don’t have a backup plan. I never thought I’d need one,” Mitch answered, shrugging.
If possible, his partner got smaller in that moment, looked a little more lost. Man, it sucked. Just two weeks ago, they were hugging each other in a show of solidarity and a job well done. Now the government beat the shit out of the very man who saved so many lives. Kreed would never have seen Skinner pulling this kind of move.
“Well, I figured they’d wanna move you when Cody took that bullet. I knew it was a certainty when they wouldn’t let you back on the case, and I’m trying real hard to put a spin on it that they want you safe and away from ground zero, which, to them, is Texas. But listen, man, I’ve been thinking about something for a little while now. I don’t know the logistics. It can be talked out, but I think the idea has merit and we should give it a try.”
“All right, I’m listening,” Mitch said, sliding out of his coat and letting it hang over the back of the chair. He could hear in Knox’s voice that he’d sparked his friend’s interest.
Mitch’s black, cotton shirt grabbed Kreed’s attention and distracted him from the conversation for a moment. He just shook his head and laughed at the picture of a strong, masculine fist filling the expanse of Mitch’s broad chest, under which the words “Nothing Says ‘I Love You’ Quite Like Fisting” were emblazoned in bold purple and silver lettering.
“Nice shirt.” Kreed nodded toward the object in question, and Mitch just grinned and slid the glasses off his face, set them on the table, then scooted up a little in his seat.
“Cody thought so too,” Mitch replied, giving Cody a wink. Cody’s eyes narrowed, even though his gaze stayed trained on Mitch, but his face brightened. Knox turned back to Kreed with his dark brows lifted. “So what’s your big plan, Sinacola?” The guy looked almost willing to take any carrot Kreed might dangle.
“I think we should get into private corporate security.” He just laid it out there as plainly as he could.
“What do you mean…we?” Mitch asked, his brow furrowed, confusion twisting his face.
“You and I have connections. I think we could make a partnership work in the private sector. Our backgrounds are solid, so the corporate world might trust us. If we can land some contracts, we know more than enough guys who are always looking for part-time work. They’re trained, so whatever we couldn’t handle, we’d have backup. We could have an office in Austin, keep you close to Turner, keep me closer to my parents. They need me around more.”
“Are you saying you’d leave the Marshals Service to start this business with me?” Mitch studied him, and Kreed could tell he’d gotten stuck on those few first words and hadn’t necessarily processed anything else he might have heard yet.
“Yeah. I can put my notice in today. I got nothin’ keeping me there, especially now.” Kreed didn’t hesitate, not even needing to think twice before he’d spoken. No way would he ever give Aaron up or haul him in. Kreed lived by a code of conduct. He was loyal and tried for honorable to the best of his ability. Every day he continued to work for the justice department, knowing what he was hiding in his relationship, would be a day he lived a lie and that just wasn’t who he was as a man.
“Why would you do that?” Mitch countered.
“I have no ties to them at all. I’ve been sticking around because of you. Besides, I really do need to be closer to my parents, and if this works out with me and Stuart, I have a better chance of talking him into moving to Austin than I do to Camp Beauregard.”
Mitch just stared at him, and Kreed held back the smile that threatened. He’d left his friend speechless. Good, he wanted Mitch to digest everything he’d said.
“I have a decent savings. You have one too. There’s a lot of shit we need to figure out in starting a business. I’ve never done anything like that before, but I’ll invest everything I’ve got into making this work. You and I work well together. It seems like a no-brainer.” Kreed shifted in his chair, placing both elbows on the table and leaning toward Mitch. His buddy mirrored his pose, and that caused Kreed’s heart to lighten. No matter what was said from that point forward, he could tell Mitch was in.