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

“You win,” Adam says. “He hasn’t kept them to himself.”

Jacob smirks slightly and butters his bread. He’s the quiet type, I decide, but in this crowd, someone has to be.

“All right then,” Adrian says. “You all asked for it.” He pretends to roll up his non-existent sleeves. “Since we have a prosecutor in the house, a joke for her. Did you hear about the two thieves who stole a calendar?”

I laugh. “No, I did not. What happened?”

“They each got six months,” he says.

Jacob sets his bread down. “You get worse every day, man.”

I laugh yet again and ease into the table banter that follows, ordering, and enjoying a delicious bowl of macaroni and cheese while Adrian and the rest of the guys all eat burgers. Savage’s is disgustingly rare and my disgust amuses him. It’s a good lunch, and if Adrian wanted me to feel support, I do feel that and more. I feel like I’m a part of a team that’s come together to take down Waters once and for all.

When the plates are clear, Adrian focuses on me, and so does the table. “Let’s talk about the strategy and structure,” he says. “You’ve met everyone, but here’s how they fit into the big picture. Jacob’s cool under pressure and keeps us all in line. Adam’s a master of disguise.”

“And Lucifer,” Adrian adds, “is our tech genius, almost as good as Blake, and—”

“And nobody’s as good as Blake,” Lucifer interjects, “but I can dream.” His attention focuses on me. “I work with Blake and manage the surveillance efforts, which by the way, include cameras on your parents’ work and home.”

“How?” I ask.

He motions to Adam. “He can be anyone and get anywhere. You see a homeless man on a corner, it could be Adam. For a big guy, he can be invisible.”

Adam picks up his glass and toasts me.

“Just call him the Invisible Man,” Savage says. “We do.”

“And last but not least,” Adrian says, “is Savage. Yes, he’s a killer—”

“Was,” Savage says. “I did that shit for the government and now I’m free from them and married. Now, I prefer to call myself a reluctant killer.”

“And,” Adrian says, “a skilled, licensed surgeon.”

I blink. “A surgeon?”

“I’m versatile like that,” Savage says, eating yet another piece of bread, after eating a basketful and a burger and fries.

“He saved my life,” Adam says. “And so did Adrian.”

“As you can tell,” Lucifer says, “Adam’s always trying to get himself killed.”

I inhale on that note and the realization that Adrian was with Adam while Adam was “trying to get himself killed” when he saved Adam’s life.

“Overseas operations,” Adrian supplies, obviously reading my reaction. “We can opt-in or out of those high-risk jobs.”

“This seems pretty high risk right here in Texas,” I comment, looking around the table. “And here you all are.”

“This is family,” Jacob says. “This isn’t a job. This is us having each others’ backs.”

Adrian’s fingers flex on my leg where his hand has settled, and there’s a tic to his jaw. I don’t understand this reaction, but then again, maybe I do. He said the Walker team only knows the Adrian of the past two years. Could he think he’ll lose them after he testifies and tells all his dirty deeds?

I wonder if he thinks the same of me.Chapter Thirty-OnePRI

I don’t want the sins of my past to torment me for a lifetime, but I don’t know how to escape them. Neither does Adrian, I suspect. I squeeze his hand, eager to assure him in any way possible, even silently, that I understand what he’s feeling but he doesn’t look at me. The waitress chooses that moment to appear with the dessert menus, and right beside me for that matter, the interruption stealing the moment I’d intended with Adrian.

“Brownie sundaes around the table,” Savage declares. “We love that shit.”

Adam eyes Adrian and Adrian gives him a nod before capturing my hand. “Let’s go talk.”

I suspect the brownie sundaes are to buy Adrian time for this talk and I give my easy agreement. Adrian stands and takes me with him, leading me toward a glass door. On the other side, the pungent scent of cigars touches my nose. In a quick glance, I decide we’re in what appears to be a private, presently closed, cigar lounge with a private entrance, a bar, and heavy leather chairs paired with thick rugs. I sit on a reddish-brown leather couch and Adrian sits on a coffee table made from a tree trunk.

His hands settle on my knees, just beneath my skirt, his touch intimate, warm, possessive. I have a brief memory of how hard Logan tried to own me and failed. I’m confused at how easily Adrian does it without trying. “What do you think of the guys?” he asks.

“You were right. Meeting them gave me confidence, but I’m still worried about you being bait.”