Page 66 of The Team

Rhett rolled his eyes. “That was terrible.”

Jay laughed, then picked up a rather large eggplant. “Oh, this reminds me, we need more lube.”

Rhett sighed. “True.”

They collected some bread, milk, eggs. Enough food for them not to leave the house for two days, all while Jay talked about the sex audio tapes and the possibility of even making a soundtrack. Rhett threw in a notebook anda pack of pens in the stationery aisle, and he paused to leaf through a trashy magazine.

“Company,” Rhett murmured. “Blue coat, three o’clock.”

Great.

They were being tailed in the supermarket. Rhett was right.

“Oh, I forgot the lube,” Jay declared loudly. “Be right back.”

He went to the opposite end of the aisle and doubled back. This guy was a fucking amateur at best. Luckily for Jay, the aisle he went down was the personal hygiene aisle, and he plucked a familiar bottle off the shelf and rounded the corner. Blue coat was still standing there, pretending to look at birthday candles. Jay had seen him before, maybe around HQ at some point. Passed him in a corridor or somewhere.

Jay, ever so casually, leaned against the shelf next to him and held up the lube. “Hey, quick question. Do you prefer silicone-based or water-based? Personally, I much prefer silicone. You can use it in the shower too, which is super handy.”

The man baulked and blinked. “Uh...” He turned away just as Rhett boxed him in. He stumbled back and Jay pushed him forward.

“This your first day on the job?” Rhett asked. “Because you’re either incredibly stupid or a decoy. Which is it?”

“N-n-neither, I just?—”

“You were just leaving,” Rhett said, his voice low. “People are starting to take notice, and causing a scene would be in the top five of basic shit not to do in this game.”

“Top three,” Jay added helpfully. “At least. Literally learned-that-on-day-one kind of shit.”

“Who sent you?” Rhett asked, stepping in closer. “Who gave the order?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “Someone above me. Everyone’s above me. I don’t know names?—”

Christ. This guy was worse than an amateur.

“Now, I’ll tell you what’s gonna happen,” Rhett said, staring at him with that steely stare Jay just loved. “You’re gonna leave. And if I see your face again, I’ll give you a free swimming lesson in the Thames. Are we clear?”

He nodded, his hands trembling. He put the birthday candles back and bolted.

Rhett growled, then met Jay’s gaze. “Still think it’s funny?”

“Well, it would be funny if it wasn’t so bad. That guy had no clue. He was about to piss himself.”

“Decoy.”

Jay nodded. “Yep.” He tossed the lube up into a spin and caught it. “We are gonna need more of this because, my god, I love it when you get all badass. So fucking hot.”

Rhett snatched the lube from him. “I’ll be at the checkout.”

Jay went back for more lube and met Rhett in the self-checkout. He threw in a few bars of chocolates for good measure. Rhett fed cash into the machine, they left the car where it was, and disappeared into the crowded subway and on the Tube.

They checked into a hotel suite, and a few moments later, before they’d even put their groceries on the counter, Yunho called Rhett.

“Not going home was smart,” Yunho said.

“You’re on speaker,” Rhett said, sliding the phone onto the counter. “Jay’s with me.”

“Hello, my darling medic, how are you?” Yunho asked.