When He's Dirty (Walker Security - Adrian's Trilogy 1)

She leans back and meets my stare, shocking me when my law-abiding prosecutor says, “Then kill him before he kills you.”

“I let Waters go,” I say. “I won’t make that mistake with Deleon.”Chapter ThirtyPRI

The restaurant where me, Adrian, and Adam are meeting more of the Walker team is only a few blocks of heavy traffic and stoplights away from the DA’s office in the downtown warehouse district. Appropriately, the bar and grill is a two-story warehouse, with plenty of front door parking thanks to the early hour of just eleven in the morning.

Adam pulls us into a parking spot and kills the engine. Adrian kisses my hand before he exits the SUV and helps me out, but once we’re outside, I don’t miss the fact that he, quite deliberately it seems, isn’t touching me. I’d read into that, but I’m not sure what. Am I a conflict of interest some on his team won’t appreciate?

Whatever the case, we join Adam on the driver’s side of the vehicle, and with Adrian and Adam by my side on the walk to the door, I’d feel pretty darn safe walking toward the entry if one of the two of them wasn’t on a hitlist. Actually, I might be on that same list as well, so overall, we’re just like three ducks lined up to be picked off.

We enter the building through heavy wooden doors, the swoosh of cool air conditioning washing over us, and I breathe a sigh of relief that we are free of any bullet holes. Adam steps forward and greets the hostess, and Adrian’s hand slides to my back, and I decide I imagined his withdrawal outside. “Ready to meet the team?” he asks.

“Ready to run away to somewhere with fall leaves, cool temperatures, and hot cocoa.”

“I know a spot,” he promises. “I can make that happen. Soon.”

I warm with the promise that radiates from his words and reaches his brown eyes. “Not soon enough,” I murmur, but already Adam is motioning us forward.

With Adam in the lead, we track a path through the heavy wooden tables and walls lined with booths, and then up a set of wooden stairs. I glance down at the room below as we travel up, and I’m not oblivious to the fact that this is a planned seating arrangement. From what I can tell, from the balcony area above, we can see anyone coming or going. Once we’re on the upper landing, my suspicions seem confirmed, as there are about eight tables, but only one, the long one by the railing, is occupied, and with three big men.

Soon, we’re joining them, and all three men are on their feet and I’m introduced to Savage, Lucifer, and Jacob. My first impression is that they could not be more unalike. Savage is a huge guy, about six five-ish and solid muscle with a scar down his face. Lucifer reads a bit like a blond, tatted-up rock god persona, and Jacob comes off as straight, clean-cut military. We sit, me and Adrian at the end of the table, with Savage at the opposite end, while Jacob and Lucifer are to my right. I note the fact that on the inner side of the table, I’m the only one who doesn’t have a full bird’s eye view of the lower level. Right now, though, I’m focused on Savage. “Who’s watching Ed?”

“Dude named Dexter.” He hitches back in his chair. “He reckons himself—I talk Texan because I am Texan—he reckons himself a killer.” He smirks as if that’s amusing, but not in a way the rest of us understand.

“Dexter, Lucifer, and Savage all in the house on this one,” Lucifer chimes in. “What could go wrong?”

“Right,” I say, a tightening in my chest. “What could go wrong?”

Adrian squeezes my leg. “Everything for the bad guys,” he assures me.

“Got that right,” Lucifer agrees.

The waitress appears at our table and Savage grabs the basket of bread and lifts it. “We’re going to need about five more of these.” He grins up at her. “There’s a big-ass tip in it for you.” She laughs and gives him flirty eyes that he doesn’t seem to notice because he’s now looking at me. “Really nice to meet the lady that tickles Adrian right under the chin in the right spot and gets him warm all over.”

I groan and cover my face with my hand. Adrian grabs it and kisses it, his eyes brimming with mischief. “Told you he’s crazy, but you do tickle me in all the right places.”

My lips curve. “Really?”

“And apparently,” Savage says, “you even put up with his bad jokes. Or has he kept those to himself? Because, man, Adrian, you have to be real with her. Put that bad joke baggage out there. Let it shine.”

Lucifer snorts. “Adrian can’t help himself. I’ll bet you a hundred bucks she’s heard his jokes.“