Against The Grain (THIRDS 5)

He hung up and went to his front door. Just what he didn’t need, a heart-to-heart with his partner. He should have known she’d have something up her sleeve when she’d stayed quiet after Rosa asked if he was dating Cael. Damn it, he really didn’t want to do this. He opened the door and glowered down at her.

“Can we not do this now?”

“Nope.” As expected, she ignored his displeasure and slipped past him into the apartment, where she proceeded to chuck off her boots and leave them by the door. With a growl, he closed the door and followed her into the kitchen.

“Beer or wine?”

“Beer,” Letty said, hopping up onto one of the chairs at the island counter.

He grabbed two beers from the fridge along with the bowl of black olives. His partner loved these things as much as he did. Placing the bowl on the counter, he snatched one and popped it in his mouth before he used his shirt to twist the caps off their beers. He slid one across to her and took a long swig as he waited for her to say whatever it was she came here to say.

“So, you and Cael.”

“What about me and Cael?”

“Is there a you and Cael?” She popped a couple of black olives into her mouth and arched an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t know.”

“Kind of hard not to know if you’re with someone. How long have you been into dudes?”

Ash took another swig of his beer before replying. Maybe he needed to break out the hard stuff for this conversation. He could have sworn he had a bottle of vodka left from Dex’s birthday party. “I’m not. Never have been.”

“Right. Last time I checked, Cael identified as a dude.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Of course it is. Because it’s you. You make everything complicated, Ash.”

“Thanks. That really helps.” Not that she was wrong. After working almost ten years with someone, having their back, always in each other’s hair, you got to know them pretty well.

“You’ve always been different with him. It’s sweet. So when did things change?”

“Letty—”

“No way. You’ve been twisted up inside for months. I’m your partner and your friend. None of this tough suffer-in-silence lion Therian bullshit. Talk to me, Keeler.”

There was no way around it. She wouldn’t let up until she was satisfied. Unlike Rosa, who fussed over everyone on the team, Letty was more reserved, but she was a great shoulder to lean on and had this pain-in-the-ass way of seeing through him. Next to Sloane, she was also the only one who could get away with pushing his buttons without running the risk of a punch in the face. Maybe he wouldn’t punch Rosa, but he wasn’t against swiping her legs out from under her.

“Fine. Nothing changed. It’s more like I couldn’t bury what I felt for him anymore. I’d pushed it down for so long. Since we met, basically. I convinced

myself that I was lucky to have him as a friend. It got harder each year. Then all this shit happened with the Order and the Coalition. When Hogan took him….” The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted it. Shit. It was the first time the incident had been brought up. He took a gulp of his beer, feeling her intense gaze on him. She had this unsettling way of being able to get information out of him just by looking at him. There was no one who could outstare Letty.

“What did happen with Collins? How’d he take your gun?”

Ash had never minced words with his partner. He wasn’t going to start now. “I let him take it.”

“Jesus, Ash.” Letty closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t— Fuck it. Tell me.”

Ash shrugged. “He was going to shoot Dex. I had to take him out.”

“No. You wanted to take him out. Fuck.” Letty jumped off the chair and started pacing. “Do you realize what would happen if Sparks found out?” She spun toward him, her brown eyes blazing. “Damn it, Ash. What were you thinking?”

“That I was doing what I had to do.”

“No.” Letty jutted a finger at him. “You lost control.”

Ash put his beer on the counter and confronted her. “Those sons of bitches tried to kill me and Sloane. They almost succeeded. You really think Hogan was going to let Cael walk out of there alive? What about Dex? That asshole Hogan was going to take down as many of us as he could. You think I don’t know about your little outburst in Dex’s office after Sparks pulled the team?”