Page 9 of Fire and Smoke (Nothing Special #9)
Lawson (Law) Sheppard
The handcuffs bit into Law’s wrists with every minor twitch. This wasn’t the first time he’d been in an interrogation room and probably wouldn’t be the last.
But this one wasn’t in Hollywood, where the overhead lighting seemed to highlight one’s best features and avoided casting harsh shadows on the pristine gray walls.
He remembered sitting at a polished table in a comfortable chair in front of a spotless one-way mirror and being monitored by a single camera built into the wall.
He didn’t even have to stay cuffed and had been offered name-brand coffee and bottled water.
But this was fucking Atlanta, where he was surrounded by sweat-stained walls and more protruding cameras than he could count. He stared at a smudged one-way mirror that practically bled testosterone from the other side, wondering how long the police were going to make them stew in their nerves.
Law sat back in the metal chair with his legs spread wide, shoulders low, and his arms pulled tight behind him, acting as if the position wasn’t killing his muscles.
Across from him, Wes sat coiled tight like a cobra.
The vein in his temple pulsed and that sexy mouth turned up in a fierce scowl as he shot sharp blades of grass at Law’s skull from his piercing green eyes.
“Don’t you dare fuckin’ grin at me, Law,” Wes snapped, his voice deep and angry. “You said we were just gonna see a movie and get some dinner tonight. Not play goddamn superheroes.”
Law gaped. “You’re fuckin blaming me for some gangstas staging a hit on a street I happened to park on.”
“You always drag me into your mess.”
“And like always, we handled it.” Law bit out. “Come on, Wes. We killed a blaze no fire crew could’ve touched and saved the lives of three police officers. We did a good thing.”
Wes’s glare could’ve sliced through titanium.
“ We did nothing. Before I knew it, you were racing toward that damn truck, dodging bullets and shit. What was I supposed to do? Leave you. Run in the opposite direction like every other smart person was doing.”
Law chuckled. Okay, maybe that part had been kinda dumb.
“I thought you were gonna die right in front of me.”
Before Law could apologize, the door flew open, and in walked the most threatening man he’d ever seen. He was danger made flesh.
Well over six foot four, hair like a lion’s mane, aviator glasses still on despite the dim room, a gold badge suspended around his neck, and handguns that could double as sledgehammers tucked in his shoulder holsters.
The officer smelled like two-day-old cologne and intimidation as strong as Polish vodka.
It all hit Law in the stomach like a brutal uppercut.
His presence was so commanding it overshadowed the two men flanking him, though they appeared no less dangerous.
One stood to the left, all calm swagger and quiet authority. Dirty-blond hair, hazel eyes, and a similar badge to the brick wall standing over him. He wore a grin as if he enjoyed being in this room.
The other leaned against the wall near the door and opened a thick file in his hand, his dark eyes quickly scanning the contents. He wore all black, making the badge on his hip a startling contrast to his dark aura. He had a strong but lithe body and a jaw like granite.
“The shit that was thrown on my truck melted clear through the ballistics-grade steel body and disintegrated a twenty-four-hundred-horsepower Iron Knight engine.”
Neither the man nor his backup offered a proper greeting, a name, or an ID. The big one just dominated with an accent thick as molasses and a voice deep enough to rattle bones.
Law blinked. “If that’s your way of calling us heroes and thanking us for saving your lives, then very well, we accept. Can we go now?”
Silence.
The officer’s mouth twitched but never formed a grin. He stood so close his big thighs were grazing the edge of the table. Law did his best to keep his eyes averted from the large bulge at his zipper.
“I wouldn’t go that far, but you two might have a talent I can use.”
“ Use ?” Wes cocked his head.
“Wesley Drake and Lawson Sheppard, your record says you’re special effects geniuses. And you’ve worked on the biggest action movies made in the last ten years.”
Law sat up taller and cleared his throat. “You know us, officer. It’d be nice if you returned the courtesy. Because I’d love to know the man whose dick is almost in my mouth. Do you have a name, or should I call you ass-wrecker?”
“Fuckin’ hell, Law,” Wes grumbled a second before the handsome dirty-blond let out a quick laugh.
The big one shifted, cocked his left hip on the table, and glared down at him.
“You can call me God.”
Law’s mouth dropped open. “Is that a metaphor, a delusion, or are you telling me to say my prayers because I’m fucked?”
The one leaning on the wall slammed the file shut and came toward them.
“God, I know you thrive on chaos, but don’t do this to me,” he grumbled, his voice as gritty as a rusted engine. “I have enough trouble to deal with. Do you have any idea who these two degenerates are and why they’re even here in Atlanta?”
“No way, God is really what you’re called?” Law chuckled. “Do you have an I-control-the-universe complex because—”
“Law, you never know when to shut the fuck up, man. Fuck!” Wes yelled.
The dark one threw the file on the table so hard it sounded like someone getting backslapped as he stared frustratingly at him with eyes as dark as coal.
“His name is Lieutenant Godfrey, dipshit, so yes, he’s called God, for short. And this is his partner, Lieutenant Day. I’m Sergeant Syndney…Syn… for short ,” he sneered.
The ominous man walked around the table, shaking his head.
“God, these two have egos bigger than your department’s budget.
No matter where they go, trouble follows.
They were blocklisted because their personal feuds made working with them a liability more than a benefit.
” Syn pointed at Wes. “This one torched a three million-dollar set, and Lawson Sheppard damn near vaporized a director when he tried to outdo his counterpart here. The list goes on and on. An actress who ended up disfigured and sued the production company was the straw that broke the camel’s back for these two. ”
The other lieutenant quirked a brow, then shrugged. “They sound kinda awesome to me.”
“They would to someone as easily amused as you, Day,” Syn growled. “But honestly. We’re already constantly putting out fires from your enforcers, God. It might not be a good idea to bring on two reckless pyro junkies.”