“Yeah. I fucked up.”
“Did you really?” JRad focused on her, making her shift. Even Liam felt the waves of intensity radiating off of the dude. They belied his geek vibes. There was far more to him than it appeared. “To me it sounds like you scored big, discovering a huge vulnerability before someone had a chance to truly exploit it fully.”
“Oh. I guess. But they smashed through my security measures like they were nothing and it sounded like they figured out who I was, which shouldn’t be possible. Plus they hacked one of my crypto wallets.”
“They sound like a real problem.”
“Thank God you’re here now to fix this.”
JRad took Ruby by the shoulders and stared into her gaze unflinchingly. “I’m not here to save you. You don’t need me for that. I’m here to support you. And to remind you that you know what you’re fucking doing. You had the best teacher, after all. So show me what you’re working on and tell me what I can do to help. You’re the warrior. I’m your weapon.”
“Maybe he’s not the actual worst,” Liam grudgingly grumbled to Ace.
JRad turned to the guy behind him then. “Ruby, you remember Lucas.”
“Hey.” She smiled and waved at the guy a bit awkwardly. Liam didn’t blame her. He didn’t seem exactly like the huggable sort. Ruby backed up a bit, inviting James, JRad, and Lucas inside. “Let me gather up my equipment and we can move downstairs to the command center. There’s more room there for everyone to work. You’re right. We’re going to take our system back and make sure those fuckers can’t get in again without some nasty surprises of our own. Thenwe’regoing to go afterthem.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” JRad ruffled Ruby’s hair, making her smile for the first time since she’d been attacked.
While she and James started gathering her stuff, JRad and Lucas ambled over to Liam and Ace, each with an arm outstretched. As much as Liam wished he didn’t have to shake, he put his hand out with respect for someone who would drop everything at a moment’s notice and come to help one of their teammates.
JRad grinned as he practically crushed Liam’s hand in an unexpectedly strong grip. When he spied the hellish scar on Ace’s arm, he eased up a bit on the pressure but instead leaned in and said quietly, “You can chill out, guys. I’m not a threat to you. My wife would cut my dick off if I so much as looked at another woman like you’re imagining.”
James peeked over, witnessing their interaction. His eyes twinkled as he assessed their exchange.
Lucas laughed. “You wouldn’t be so lucky, dude. Lily knows far more inventive ways to torture a man than to let you off so easily.”
“Is she on the force too?” Ace asked. “Why would a cop know that?”
“Uh, no.” JRad’s wicked smile only spurred Liam’s curiosity. “She has more specialized experience.”
It was right about then that Liam remembered someone had said JRad and his wife owned a BDSM club.Ohhhhhh.
Ace wasn’t done digging himself a hole with his big mouth, as usual. “Ah, right. I, uh, just assumed…”
“What, that I’m the top? Well, that’s dumb, but you were right.” JRad was enjoying their discomfort a little too much, as was Lucas, who could barely hold back his chortles.
“But your wife…”
“She’s a switch.” JRad turned possessive, finally showing a glimpse of the Dom beneath the nerd. “But only for me. Everyone else…well, she’d really enjoy teaching your fine asses some manners.”
Ace blinked as if imagining what it would be like to try out kneeling for a woman like that. Liam knew he would enjoy it, since Ace did it often enough for Liam and got off hard. Well, that’s not where he’d expected this introduction to go. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, thanks. For coming and for…that info.”
JRad lost every hint of civility and mirth when he leaned in. “For the record, Lily would do far worse to you if you don’t treat Ruby right. And I would let her. We both love that girl.”
“Understood.” Liam nodded once. He had no intention of acting on the strange zing that passed between him and Ace whenever she was around even if it seemed she amplified whatever ill-advised attraction he and his roommate shared. That was problematic enough without involving Ruby or anyone else in their mess.
“Butyouare a cop?” Ace asked Lucas.
“Nah. I used to be an agent for a department that supposedly doesn’t exist. That’s how I met Jordan. But after I lost my leg during a classified op, I was no longer needed, and now I take on private odd jobs from time to time. Like this one.”
Ace’s eyes went wide and though he obviously tried not to stare, his gaze flicked toward the floor as if he could peek through the guy’s jeans. There hadn’t been any hint the man had a disability. Liam understood his partner wasn’t being an insensitive asshole. It had been his worst fear that his own injury could end his career, and nearly had. Even now, they were working hard to get him up to full speed for the field.
Lucas seemed to understand. After all, there was no hiding Ace’s gnarly scar. “You get hurt at work, too?”
Ace nodded, his eyes scrunching shut for a moment. “What was it like the first time you went back out? On assignment, I mean.”
“Rough. Not going to lie. You’re not the same person you were before. You have to learn to adapt.” Lucas paused, then said, “You started practicing shooting with the other hand yet?”