Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 82187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Free opened his bag. “I don’t need a gun when I’ve got the keys to the world’s back doors.”
They sat in silence for a while, Free eating his sandwich and guzzling another energy drink, while he just stared at his food.
Since Wes only had eyes for Law, he hadn’t noticed how handsome Free was until now… Or was it his brilliance that made him so hot?
He wore a blue button-up shirt under a lightweight hoodie with the sleeves pushed to his elbows.
His slim black jeans hugged his legs and a pair of polished loafers grounded his unique style. The sides of his hair were faded clean and his light curls were pulled back in a small bun.
“How are you?” Free interrupted his appraisal.
He didn’t answer.
Free gave him a long look before he continued, “I’ve seen that expression before. Like you’re analyzing everything you’ve ever done and said in your life that somehow led you to this exact moment.”
Bingo.
Still, he stayed quiet.
Free sighed. “Can I ask you something?”
Wes flicked his gaze toward him.
“Why do you let him rule your life?”
He swallowed hard.
“You and Law,” Free said gently. “It’s like… he sets the pace, and you just run after him. Why?”
Wes drug his hand down his face.
“Because that’s how it’s always been,” he murmured. “Since we were kids. At first, we were always running together in the same direction. But once we got famous, then notorious, I began to realize I was following him. Even when he was crashing us into concrete walls.”
Free nodded as if he’d heard this kind of story before.
“It’s as if he never grew up.” Wes pfftd. “But I did. And I’m terrified that I’m outgrowing what we have…what we had. But I don’t wanna leave him behind.”
“That’s real,” Free said after a moment. “Green was like that with his partner too. Ruxs was always dragging them into something that led to trouble…big trouble. Shit that nearly got them killed or kicked off the force a few times. But love ain’t about taming someone else. It’s about knowing you and when to step away and grow on your own.”
He stared at Free, seeing the calm wisdom in his brown eyes.
“I break more rules and laws than I can count,” Free said with a wry grin. “But I do it for my team. For Hart. For the people I love. But I also know when to stop covering their asses and let them fix their own mistakes.”
Wes exhaled some of the pressure that’d begun to crack and release.
“I’m around, Wes,” Free said. “If you ever need to talk, scream, or set something on fire without getting arrested.”
Wes snorted.
They finished eating, and Free stood. “Come on. I wanna show you what I’ve been working on.”
Wes followed him out of the breakroom and back to their department.
When the frosted doors closed behind him, Law’s gaze was the first one he connected with.
He could see the regret hanging heavy on Law’s face, a storm of apologies and doubt swimming in his eyes.
Wes didn’t go to him. Instead, he followed Free toward a narrow door in the back of their office. One Wes hadn’t noticed before.
Free pressed his thumb to a scanner, and the door hissed open.
Wes stepped inside and froze, as he took everything in.
It was a hacker’s playground.
Rows of servers. Hanging screens. Digital maps. Weapons blueprints. And an arsenal of tech and miraculousness.
He’d seen dozens of Hollywood special effects labs, government vaults, even the guts of abandoned munitions factories—but nothing like this.
There was a soul inside it, a personality.
Free waved him over as he sat on a stool and pulled up a set of schematics on a flat-screen monitor with a lazy flick of his wrist.
He gave Wes a knowing grin and asked, “You recognize this?”
Wes frowned. “Can’t say that I do.”
Free popped the latches on a slim chrome case.
Inside, nestled in dark foam, was something Wes couldn’t immediately identify—a sleek, compact gadget, gorgeous in design.
“I’ve been messing with this after hours. I kinda stumbled onto it when I was making a forearm holster for Steele’s throwing blades.”
Wes could only gape at it.
“It’s a wrist-mounted ignition rig with a lightweight pressure sensor.”
Holy fuckin’ shit
“I got your micro gas chamber right and the formula for the flame regulator, but I’m a bit stumped on the spark emitter needed to ignite the flame.”
Wes stepped closer and ran his finger along the smooth edge.
“You made this…for me?”
“I make a lot of things for my team…you’re on the team.” Free smiled, soft and sincere.
Feelings hit him hard in the chest.
An offering that came with no strings. Just a gift built for him out of respect for his craft.
“I figured you’d know how to get the flame lit. And when you do, the fire wouldn’t just flare out. This regulator can shape it, make it coil, fan, swirl, or pulse, all on demand.”