19
“Do you want something for the pain?” Kennedy hesitated before asking as she checked Knox over for at least the seventh time since they’d made it back to Shields headquarters and started the debrief process.
“It’s better if I don’t.” Knox waved off the thought of even legal drugs despite aching in most every part of his body.
“I checked with resources at the hospital and they said that inadequate pain management is also a risk factor for relapse. So if you change your mind before the end of your debrief, have someone come get me. I can also text Gavyn or Roman and ask them to visit if you need them.”
“I’m fine, Kennedy.” Knox wouldn’t have believed himself either, not given his current toasted marshmallow aesthetic. He wondered how long it would take his eyebrows to grow back.
“You two are done.” Jordan spoke firmly though kindly to Marcus and Kennedy. “Go on. Get cleaned up, find something to eat, and relax. I’ll send your guy up when I’m done with him.”
Knox doubted that was going to be how this played out, but he wasn’t dumb enough to contradict the head of the Shields. Kennedy glanced back at Knox one last time before Marcus took her elbow and ushered her from the room. Even now, he was still looking out for them like it was some sort of gentlemanly instinct he couldn’t turn off.
“Marcus saved my life. I hope he gets a bonus for that,” Knox said to Jordan when the door closed behind them.
“Good idea.” Jordan turned to James, who was taking notes of the wrap-up interviews. “Take care of that, huh?”
“I’m going to be extra generous if you don’t tell me otherwise.” James grinned.
From the corner, Ruby chuckled as she clicked away on one of the three laptops perched on her main computer desk. “He can afford it.”
“Did you just hack his bank account?” Knox gaped.
“Can’t help myself.” Ruby cracked her knuckles.
“Have at it, James.” Jordan waved away the details, knowing their manager would handle it. Jordan treated his agents like peers, not peons.
Ruby flipped back to one of her other screens, the one with security cameras. “Uh-oh.”
“No. No more uh-ohs today.” James spun in his chair to stare at her.
Ruby pointed at the feed for Marcus and Kennedy’s floor, where Kennedy was disappearing inside her own apartment and Marcus hung his head for a moment, defeated, before entering his own place across the hall. Oh, shit.
“Maybe she just needs some time to decompress. Take a shower. Whatever.” Ruby didn’t even sound like she believed her own statement.
“Send Sola to check on her in a bit,” Jordan ordered, then focused on Knox. “And you? What are you going to do now? Where are you going to go?”
Knox shrugged. He hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“The Vipers are in disarray. Scattered without a clear leader and no one to supply them given their very poor reputation.” Jordan nodded. “You did really well back there. Especially by not looking at that formula and making sure it never got on camera. There’s no way it survived and not even anyone on our team knows the full thing.”
“I didn’t trust myself.” Knox hated to admit it.
“Well, I do,” Jordan was quick to respond. “That’s why I’m offering you a job on our team. And a place to stay if you don’t end up moving in with Marcus and Kennedy.”
“What?” Knox blinked a few times, wondering if the blast had wrecked his hearing.
“I’ll kick your ass myself if you ever try to hide something this crucial from me again. However, I get why you felt you had to handle it yourself, and obviously I agreed with you that it was better for the rest of the team not to know in advance so there was no risk of blowing your cover or one of your lovers interfering to protect you. Overall, you’ve proven yourself to me.” Jordan shrugged. “We could use you.”
“Oh. Wow. Thanks.” Knox would have loved to have finally had a chance to do the work he’d thought he was signing up for all those years ago, when the cops had fucked him over. “But I’m not sure everyone else will be so welcoming.”
“For the record…” James adjusted the thick-framed glasses Knox was pretty sure were purely for style and not improving his eyesight. “Do you believe that because you almost got the entire team killed or because you think things are going to be heavy with Marcus and Kennedy?”
Knox winced. “All of the above. How could any of them trust me? I heard Kennedy’s reaction when she thought I was double-crossing you all. She believed it. Immediately.”
“Only because she’s still wounded from the last time she thought she was wrong about you,” Jordan replied.
James hummed before he scrunched his nose. “In my case, I just thought you were a fuckface, sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted Jordan. Or you.”