I scoffed a laugh. "Of course he did. Is he down here somewhere?"
Lucas nodded toward the courtyard doors. "Out there on the phone. Has Cass gone already?"
"Yeah, before dawn." I wrinkled my nose and shook my head before I could start worrying about the big grump again. "I'm going to make coffee. You want one?"
He grinned wide and nodded. "Please. You're the best."
I smiled back and kissed him before heading into the kitchen in search of liquid energy. The machine was still warm, so it didn't take long at all to make lattes for both Lucas and me. I delivered his, then took mine with me out to the courtyard where Zed was pacing with his phone to his ear.
He looked up when I approached, his eyes meeting mine with a flash of hot, raw desire, making my stomach tighten and my pulse race.
"I don't fucking care what it takes, D'Ath," Zed barked down the phone. "Just sort it out. You're more than capable." He paused while Archer responded to him, and whatever was said made Zed scrub a hand over his face in frustration. He hadn't shaved, and the shadow of stubble on his face was all kinds of sexy.
I arched a brow in question, perching my ass on the outdoor lounge and sipping my coffee.
"Believe me," Zed snarled in reply to whatever Archer had said, "you do not want to end up on Hades’s bad side. Or did you fucking forget what she's capable of when Seph's in danger?"
Both my brows shot up, but Zed ignored me, continuing to threaten one of our closest allies.
"What happened to Cass was business. Nothing more. You know the rules with Timberwolves, just like he did. Don't like the consequences? Don't play the fucking game." His voice was hard and low, all business. It shouldn't have been such a damn turn on... yet here we were.
Taking another sip of my coffee, I folded my legs and tightened my thighs in an effort to stop thinking about fucking my best friend. I needed my head firmly screwed on my shoulders for work today, not fantasizing about group sex.
Zed stalked closer to where I sat, listening to Archer speak again. Then he grunted and gave me a pained look. "Just keep Seph safe, D'Ath. That's it. Pull your head in and stay out of shit that doesn't concern you."
Without waiting for a reply, he ended the call and tossed his phone onto the table. With a long groan, he sat heavily on the seat beside me and held his hand out for my coffee.
I handed it to him and waited for him to fill me in on his phone call. He took his sweet-ass time, though, holding my gaze as he brought the mug to his lips and took a long sip. Prick. He was deliberately playing up the sexual tension now.
"Everything okay in Italy?" I finally asked, cracking under his pressure like no one else could make me do.
His lips curled in victory. "Yeah, all good. D'Ath is being a little bitch about you shooting Cass. Apparently, Madison Kate was pretty fond of the grumpy shit and is taking it hard."
I wrinkled my nose. "She'll get over it."
Zed gave me a skeptical look. "Sure, when she finds out he's not dead. But will Seph get over the many, many secrets we’ve kept from her?"
I drew a long breath, hearing the vague accusation in his voice. Zed still wasn't over the fact that I hadn't included him in my plan with Cass.
"She will hopefully understand that in situations like this the fewer people who know, the better. If she's mature, she'll realize it had nothing to do with her ego and let it fucking drop. What's done is done, after all." I gave him a hard glare as I said that, letting him read between those wide open lines.
He just scowled back at me and took another sip of my coffee. "Whatever," he muttered. "We should get over to Copper Wolf. Hannah called your phone this morning and said there's FBI sniffing around. Gen's on her way, but no one invokes the fear of Hades like Hades herself."
Grimacing, I stood up from my seat and reached for the last of my coffee in Zed's hand. "Wait, why the fuck were you answering my phone?"
He stood as well, ending up so close that my breath caught involuntarily. "Because you were passed out cold and drooling on my pillow, boss. Figured you needed the sleep."
He had a point; evidently, I did need the sleep if I was so deep in it I didn't hear my phone ring or notice him get up. But I sure as fuck wasn't thanking him for blurring the lines of our professional relationship, so I just scowled and stalked back inside to drop my coffee cup in the sink.
"Have a good day, you guys!" Lucas called out as I paused to strap on my gun and slide my feet into my Louboutin pumps.
Zed tossed his jacket over his own weaponry and jerked his head in acknowledgement to Lucas. "Remember what I fucking told you, Gumdrop."
"Yeah, yeah," Lucas replied, waving his hand dismissively as he turned his attention back to the laptop screen.
Zed gave me an exasperated look, and we made our way through to the garage. He went straight for the Shelby that Lucas and I had borrowed the day before and slid into the driver's seat. Then he scowled at me when I got in.
"Did you let Gumdrop drive my car?"
My brows hitched. "What? Uh... why would you even ask that?" Because apparently I wasn't capable of lying this morning. Dammit. I needed more coffee.
Zed's glare flattened. "I can tell. Does he even have a driver's license?"
I covered my smirk with a fake cough and looked out the window as Zed drove us out of his fortress. "Of course he does. He's nineteen, not nine." Then, before Zed could diss Lucas for his age any more, I changed the subject. "Any chance we can grab more coffee on the way?"
He gave a slight nod. "Yes, sir."
I gave him a sidelong look, letting amusement play over my lips. "And a bagel. I'm starved."
He shot me a quick look back. "Anything you want, boss. Literally. Anything." As if we needed more sexual tension in a small, confined space. Thanks a lot, Zeddy Bear.
12
En route to the Copper Wolf office, we stopped for coffee and bagels, then made another stop to drop off our DNA samples at the pathology lab that the Timberwolves funded. So by the time we got into Cloudcroft to the Copper Wolf headquarters, it was mid-morning.
That hadn’t deterred my pet FBI agent, though. She was seated on one of the lobby couches, waiting, and popped to her feet when Zed and I entered the building.
"Ms. Timber," she snapped as we approached.
I raised a cool brow at her and tilted my head. "I'm sure you're mistaken, Dorothy. It's Ms. Wolff."
Her jaw tightened with anger, but she jerked a nod. "My mistake, Ms. Wolff. I've been trying to get an appointment to meet with you, but your secretary has been more than difficult on the matter of your schedule."
Amusement rippled through me. Hannah needed a promotion. My company accountant was going to have to forgive me for stealing her assistant, but she was just too good at this.
"Well, I'm a busy woman, Dorothy. I'm sure Hannah did her best." I made as though to walk past the enraged agent, but she grabbed my arm to stop me and I stiffened.
Agent Hanson snatched her hand back off my arm again before I could say anything, and her cheeks reddened.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Sorry, I shouldn't have... Look, I need to speak with you, and this won't wait for an appointment next April."