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Avery laughed, shaking her head. She could get used to this easy camaraderie.
Paul stumbled into the kitchen, hair spiking skyward in a truly impressive example of bedhead. He yawned widely. “Man, that media room is sick. I could live in there.”
Mason slid a mug of coffee toward his brother. “Looks like you tried to. Get any sleep?”
Paul shrugged, sipping the coffee. “Who needs sleep when you’ve got every video game in the known Universe at your fingertips?”
Avery hid a smile behind her own mug, appreciating the way the sharp edges of Mason and Paul’s sibling dynamic seemed to be wearing off.
Mason turned to her, all business now. “We need a plan for today. I say we stake out the warehouse, follow a delivery van, and see where it leads us.”
Avery set her mug down. “We can’t just tail them without probable cause. It’s not legal.”
Mason’s eyes flashed with impatience. “Legal won’t get the job done. We need to act, and fast. Plus, you’re not exactly officially on the case, if I remember.”
“Exactly why I have to do this by the book. The further we color outside the lines, the more we risk tanking the case completely.”
No. It was time for her to make the parameters clear. “I get that you’re used to using force––reaching for the quickest, fastest tools––but we need to be more subtle here.”
His head jerked back. “You think I’m the reckless one here?”
Avery backpedaled, realizing her misstep. “That’s not what I meant. I just meant that you’re quick to reach for your normal tools. The ones that work in your world.”
Mason leaned back, crossing his arms. “You’re just as quick to reach for your FBI playbook.”
The tension in the room was palpable, both of them standing their ground.
Paul choked on a mouthful of coffee. “You guys sound worse than me and Mason.” He leaned forward, a glint of inspiration in his eyes. “In the gaming world, when you’ve got two players with different strengths, you team up. Use the best of both.”
But that only worked if both parties cooperated. Mason didn’t strike her as the compromising type.
“Okay,” she relented, picking up her mug again. “I’ll consider your thoughts. But we stick as close to the law as possible.”
Mason glared down at his cup for a long moment. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. For now.”
Avery nodded, surprised by the concession. “Okay. Let me grab my things, and we’ll head out.” She paused, remembering the small evidence bag of pills in her purse. “We need to locate a lab today and get that sample analyzed.”
Mason tilted back his mug, draining the last of his fancy espresso drink into his mouth and swallowing. “I’m thinking we should wait. Paige will get back to me soon with a contact. After today, we might have more evidence to add to the analysis.”
Anger heated her cheeks. And just when she was starting to trust that he actually heard her. She jammed her fists on her hips. “And why would you think that?”
His expression grew wary. “No reason. Just trying to be efficient. You never know what’ll come of our op today. No need to make multiple trips to a lab.”
“Right. Because more samples are going to fall out of the vans we follow.”
“Could happen.”
With a great deal of help that Mason was probably dying to provide. He’d already made it clear he was ready to get this done.
As was she, to be fair. But how many times did she have to remind him they had to follow procedure?
As she climbed the stairs, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she might have made a mistake hitching her wagon to a man as hardheaded and dangerous as Mason Ortiz.
17
The mist roseoff the surface of Lake Washington, but Mason barely noticed the ethereal beauty as Avery drove away from Bridger’s sprawling mansion. His mind was consumed with thoughts of the woman beside him. He gripped his black backpack tighter, trying to focus on the mission at hand, but his traitorous eyes kept sliding to Avery’s profile, illuminated by the soft, golden glow of the rising sun.
He couldn’t deny the attraction anymore, the magnetic pull he felt toward her. It was more than just physical desire, though that was certainly part of it. No, there was something about Avery’s fierce determination, her unwavering commitment to justice, that called to him on a deeper level. He admired her strength, her intelligence, the way she refused to back down even when the odds were stacked against her.