“How did he grab her?” Kai asked, fascinated.
“Sneaked up behind the nanny in a crowded mall. Nanny let go of the stroller, turned away, and he walked away with her. Store cameras captured a full headshot so they knew, immediately, who’d done it and where the kid was. Grandfather is connected, he calls me, I go over and enter his house. Situation resolved.” Axl shrugged.
“Big paycheck and that little girl is restored to the loving arms of her nanny,” Axl cynically added. “Why the fuck do people have kids if they’re just going to hand them over to someone else to look after?”
Kai didn’t have an answer, so he just shrugged. He looked at Axl and curbed his smile. His warrior friend was a sucker for kids and wanted a bunch of his own. It was just finding, and living with, the provider of said kids that he found a tad problematic.
“Speaking of hostage rescues, is Reagan serious about wanting to do missions with us?” Axl asked, thunderclouds forming on his face. Kai lifted his eyebrows as Axl’s hand tightened around his beer bottle. He hoped that the damn thing didn’t shatter under the pressure.
“How did she find out anyway?” Axl wondered.
“Reagan isn’t a fool.”
“She’s crazy to think that I would ever let her anywhere near one of my missions,” Axl growled.
“Fight with her, not me,” Kai suggested, glancing at his watch. “She’ll be joining us soon.”
Axl groaned. “Thanks so fucking much, Manning. Like I haven’t had enough nagging from her already today. If I wanted my ear burned off, I would marry the woman!”
Kai’s lips twitched. That wasn’t a bad idea, actually. Not that he could see them married—he couldn’t see any of them married—but he could see them together. Reagan was about the only woman who had a strong enough personality to deal with Axl. And Axl had a big enough set of balls to deal with the craziness that was Reagan.
“You suck,” Axl said. “I should wipe the floor with your face.”
“Get in line.”
Kai looked up to see Jack standing over them. Jack followed up his statement by placing his hands on the bar and leaning forward, a gesture that immediately pissed Kai off.
Flick’s brother, he reminded himself.Don’t punch the guy.
Kai saw Axl tense and noticed that his right fist was clenched. He shook his head and felt, rather than saw, Axl relax. His partner didn’t need any encouragement to throw a punch but it wasn’t necessary. Besides, Kai was a big boy, and the last time he checked, he could still fight his own battles. This was a bartender in Mercy after all, not a soldier at war.
“Want to explain what’s got your panties in a bunch?” Kai asked.
He thought he was being moderately polite, but Jack’s pissed-off expression suggested otherwise. “I told you that I would rearrange your face if you hurt my sister.”
Hurt his sister? What?Kai lifted up his hands. “Whoa, hold on, Jack. What the hell are you talking about?”
Jack jerked his head in the direction of the staff door. “My sister is sitting in my office and I can see that she’s been crying.”
“Who’s crying?” Axl demanded. When Kai didn’t answer him, he looked at Jack. “Kai made a woman cry? Who?”
“Shut up, Axe,” Kai snapped. He’d made lots of woman cry over the years, but this time he wasn’t at fault. And, more importantly, Flick was crying? Why? When he left her they’d been laughing at Rufus, he’d kissed her cheek, and they’d parted ways, both wishing they were going home together.
“Where is she?” Kai demanded, banging his beer bottle onto the bar counter.
“As I said, my office. But I don’t want you going anywhere near her. She’s upset enough already.” Jack told him, following him as he walked to the end of the bar. Jack tried to stop him from walking behind the bar and through the door marked Staff Only by placing his hand on Kai’s chest.
“Take your hand off me before I break your fingers,” Kai growled.
Jack held both his hands up as his gaze turned speculative. “She’s not crying over you?”
“Not this time,” Kai said as he pushed open the door and walked into the busy kitchen. The kitchen was so busy none of the staff spared him a glance. “Where’s your office?”
Jack pointed to a door on the other side of the room. “Next to the back door. If she’s not crying about you, then why is she crying?” Jack asked, sounding perplexed.
Kai’s face tightened with determination. “That’s what I intend to find out.”
“Your brother is ready to rearrange my face.”