"You have to be fucking kidding me," he roared, turning on Mark. "Did you know it was gonna be him? Why didn't you fucking say so? Jesus Christ, I’m going to fucking kill him and send what's left of him to Mitch."
Without waiting for Mark’s response, because he already knew the goddamn answer, he stormed out of the car after the vehicle which had reached the end of the parking lot and was turning round. He caught the exact moment the driver saw him. Oh yeah, he knew Walker was gonna have his balls for breakfast. Walker stormed up to the vehicle and yanked the door open.
"What the fuck are you doing here? Do you know what you've done?”
Raines glared at him. "Protecting your six. That’s what I’m goddamned doing."
Oh no. No way was Raines going to make this Walker’s problem. "I told you to fucking stay away from us. And you just disobeyed my orders. I’m in charge of this mission, not you. I don’t care who you think you are."
Si’s normally pale face reddened with anger and he slammed out of the vehicle to confront Walker. He was a big solid guy, but Walker had six inches on him and he’d gotten Raines to back off before. This was a confrontation he was going to win.
"You're so new, you haven't gotten out of diapers yet, kid. Mark needs someone with experience taking care of his back."
He was not going to be called kid by Raines. It was one thing allowing Mark to call him that, but it was off limits to Raines.
"You’re a bartender now." He winced, because that was the insult they'd flung at Jake during their training. But in this case, it was justified. From the narrowing of Si's eyes, he’d had the same thought. "You are a bartender now," he enunciated slowly. "You're not in the agency and all you are doing is making us obvious."
"You've been driving up and down the goddamn interstate, kid. How much more obvious can you get?”
"One, I’m not a kid. And two, my package is still alive."
Walker turned to look at Mark who still sat in the car. At least he had the sense not to get out. Anyone could be around while they flung insults at each other. Walker rubbed his face with his hand, feeling the whiskers rasp his palm. He was suddenly weary to the core and fed up with all these wannabe action men. Yes, Si had been in action but now he was retired, and the only one here doing the goddamn fucking job was him.
"Was it you tailing us last night?"
Raines shook his head. He had the grace to look embarrassed as he said "I was picking up an order for Howie. I saw you as you drove out of the motel. It was just pure coincidence, but you weren’t where I expected you to be. I wanted to know what you were doing."
A coincidence? Bullshit more like. Walker looked over his shoulder at Mark who didn’t look any more convinced than he was. He turned back to Raines and sighed. "I need food. We need breakfast and you need to explain this to your best friend."
Raines had folded his arms across his chest and jutted out his jaw as if he was expecting a fight. He looked surprised and then relaxed a fraction. "Okay, but I want to know why you are here."
"Need to know, buddy," Walker drawled as patronizingly as he could manage. "You don't need to know."
Raines took a step as if he was about to launch himself at Walker, but Mark joined them at that moment.
"What the hell are you doing here, Si?" Mark asked and his voice was icy cold. He obviously wasn't pleased to see Raines here anymore than Walker was.
“Guarding your back.” Raines folded his arms again.
“Sticking his nose in where it’s not wanted,” Walker snapped.
Mark turned to Walker. "What do you want to do with him?"
The look of betrayal on Si’s face was obvious but Walker was grateful that Mark had chosen to side with him. If he hadn't, he would have undermined Walker's authority and Walker would have died inside.
"Breakfast. Let's eat and then we can get on the road."
Mark nodded. "You've got some explaining to do, Si."
Walker never wanted that icy tone aimed at him, ever. It was enough to shrivel the small hairs off his balls.
Raines pressed his lips together, obviously unhappy at Mark’s tone but he nodded and slammed the door of the Chevy. Mark and Walker did the same for the truck. Walker insisted Mark walk between him and Raines to the diner while he checked the roof for snipers. He hated being out in the open like this, but they needed food. He wanted to cover a lot of ground today before they stopped for the night, and they still had to swap vehicles. He couldn't believe their bad luck at being spotted by Raines. No, he really couldn’t believe it. If he had been driving by as Raines insisted, who else was trawling up and down the Interstate looking for them?
They reached the door without incident and were quickly shown to a booth. Walker could see both the exit door and the door leading to the bathrooms. He made Mark slide in first and he sat next to him. Mark growled at the order, but he obeyed with bad grace. The waitress came with coffee and filled the cups, promising to be back in a jiffy to take their order. Walker's stomach growled, and he blushed as Mark looked at him.
"It was a long time since dinner."
Mark patted his thigh again, his annoyance obviously gone. "You’re a big boy. There's a lot of you to fill."
Raines made a gagging noise and Mark raised an eyebrow. "Have you got something to say?"
"He supposed to be keeping you alive, not groping you."
Walker opened his mouth to respond but Mark got there first. "I am the one doing the groping. And I’m very much alive as you can see, so he's doing his job." He waited a bit before he said, "Unlike you?"
He’d made it an obvious question and expected an answer, but Raines glowered at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Walker held back his exasperated growl at Si’s deflection. "As I said before, it’s a need-to-know basis and you don't need to know."
Two can play at that game, buddy.
He gave Mark a look which he hoped conveyed his desire to keep their worries and concerns about the agency to themselves. Mark gave a quick nod to say he understood.
"Plans change."
Raines looked between them and to give him credit, he didn't push the issue. He sipped his coffee before he said "There’s something going on, isn't there? To do with the agency? I knew something wasn't right yesterday, but I couldn't make a connection."
"What happened with the van and the SUV?" Walker asked, ignoring the question.
"You haven't been in contact with anyone from the agency?" Raines nodded as if answering his own question. "Once they realized they were made they vanished. The van must have been modified because I couldn't catch it and nor could Rees."
"Where is Rees?" Mark asked before Walker could.
"He's gone back to Virginia to coordinate at that end. We're not happy about you going off grid, but Doyle assured Mitch you know what you’re doing. I’m not convinced." Raines fixed him with a steely gaze. “Can you handle this?”
The sudden question took Walker by surprise. “I can," he insisted.
"Quit asking him that," Mark said irritably. "He’s a trained member of the agency. That's all you need to know. Give him fucking respect."