Grabbing the handle of her bag, Briar rolled the travel case into the guest room. A double bed covered with a basic blue comforter took up most of the space, and the closet was bare except for a few hangers and three moving boxes stashed on the floor. She could hear Royce’s voice, but his words were muffled. Quickly, she unzipped her bag and hung up the necessaries before using the bathroom and then going to find her—Royce.
Damn libido, why did it choose here and now? Why couldn’t she be attracted to someone who lived in LA? Someone not from her past.
When she returned to the living room, Royce was in the kitchen, leaning back against the kitchen counter and still talking on the phone. She wandered in. The kitchen was utilitarian, and it looked to Briar like it hadn’t been updated since the house was built. She was so used to seeing stainless steel and chrome, the Formica countertops and plain white-fronted appliances were kind of refreshing.
While Royce finished up negotiations about what takeout Bishop and Caleb were going to pick up from the Crown, Briar checked her phone for the tenth time. Still no response from Jakes, which didn’t surprise her. They’d taken an immediate dislike to each other even before everything had gone down, but Briar never allowed personal feelings to interfere with her professional work and had gone into the op with the full intention of bringing the Spiders MC down.
She was considering texting Jakes for the third time when her phone buzzed and SAC Klay’s name appeared. At least someone was returning her calls.
Stepping back into the living room, she answered, “Nilson here.”
As much as Briar had always been ATF, she appreciated and respected Agent Klay. He was a gruff straight shooter, and she knew from water cooler talk that there were two camps: those who wanted to work for his team and the ones who didn’t. So far, Briar’s interactions had been positive, and if for some reason she had to leave the ATF, she thought she could work for Adam Klay.
“Agent Nilson, fill me in.”