Page 49 of Jonas (Silver Team #4)

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

“Honest to God, brother, that’s the fifth time I’ve seen you wash your hands in the last hour. Have you developed OCD?” Easton asked.

Cash shot him a scathing look. Derrika looked over at me with big questioning eyes. When I had no answer, she glanced across the table at a smirking Lore.

“Can we just finish this shit up, please?” Cash griped.

“Zane and Nebraska will be down in a few minutes,” Kira reminded him of something she just told to us all not even three minutes ago.

And yeah, in the last ten minutes we’d been in the basement, Cash had gone up twice to wash his hands.

“What’s your problem?” I asked.

Cash’s head snapped in my direction, and he aimed his scowl at me.

“Oh come on, stop being such a baby,” Lore taunted.

Oh fuck, this couldn’t be good if Lore knew or was the source of Cash’s uncharacteristic bad mood.

“Tell me, Stella, how many dicks have you touched in the last twenty-four hours?”

“Not as many as you,” she shot back with a smile.

Cash growled and flipped her off.

“What the fuck?” I half laughed, half choked out.

“That’s why you keep washing your hands?” Easton asked. “You were wearing gloves.”

Derrika sounded a lot like I did when she requested, “I’m sorry. Pause. Rewind. Why was Cash touching penises? No, back up, whose penises was Cash touching, then explain why.”

Cash crashed into a chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and with a ferocious scowl looked at Penny. The poor woman looked like she was going to faint with Cash’s anger aimed her way. “I hate all of these people,” he told her.

“Um. Okay.”

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”

“Cash,” I warned when the woman flinched.

“I don’t know what you want me to say. I could offer you a cup of tea, and you could tell me how touching a penis made you feel if you need to talk about it?” Penny offered.

“No, I don’t want to talk about how touching dick made me feel. Though for the record, it made me feel pissed off, not turned on.”

“No judgment from me.” Penny lifted her hands in surrender. “Personally, I prefer penis, but I totally understand it’s not for everyone.”

Cash’s lips twitched.

I didn’t miss Lore’s eye roll. Derrika’s hand landing on my thigh told me she didn’t, either.

“Well, Penny, I can assure you the Queen of Icy Hot over here loves dick, too.”

Queen of Icy Hot?

Penny’s eyes went wide, and she shook her head. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn’t say I love dick?—”

“Oh c’mon, there’s nothing wrong with liking dick,” Lore defended.

Derrika leaned close and stretched so her mouth was at my ear. “Do you think Zane will hire me?”

I turned to look at her. “What?”

“I mean, so far your briefings are way more entertaining than any I’ve had to sit through. And once you get over Zane’s I’m-going-to-murder-you-in-your-sleep stare, he’s pretty funny.”

My heart rate kicked up. Derrika working at Z Corps? I could totally get behind that.

“Are you serious?”

“I was, but I’m not sure what I’m reading from you.”

“Are you idiots done talking about cock and balls yet?” Zane bellowed from the top of the stairs.

“We haven’t gotten to the balls yet,” Lore yelled back.

“Wait, you were fondling nut sack, too?” I abandoned my chat with Derrika to ask.

Easton, Derrika, and Penny all laughed. Lore didn’t make a sound, but she looked mighty pleased with herself.

“I hate you.” Cash pointed to Easton. “I hate you.” He pointed to me. “I hate you.” That was for Derrika. “I don’t know you, but still I hate you.” That was to Penny, and I watched her face lose a few shades of color when Cash pointed at her. “And I seriously hate you.” He ended with Lore.

“That’s not the first time she’s heard that,” Nebraska said, following Zane into the room.

“I wasn’t sure about you,” Zane said and stopped next to Lore to look down at her. “But that shit last night was inspired. You’re my kind of people.”

“Will someone please tell us what the hell you’re talking about?” I demanded.

“Old Senator Rutte didn’t feel like talking,” Zane explained. “Then Lore opened up her backpack, pulled out a box of Icy Hot patches, and what do you know? About thirty minutes later he had a lot to say.”

Oh fuck .

“You put Icy Hot patches on his dick?” I chuckled.

“Technically, I didn’t. Cash did. Though things got dicey when it was Jun De Chen’s turn.”

“Dicey?” Derrika asked. “Not enough girth or length?”

“No, nothing like that. It was nicely sized, wasn’t it, Cash?”

“Yes, Lore,” Cash returned in a faux prim and proper voice. “Nice and girthy with a perfectly developed bulbous tip.”

“Damn, someone was paying more attention than necessary.”

Derrika leaned into me, rested her head on my shoulder, and smothered a laugh.

Never in my life had I been more grateful for team shit talk.

Yesterday, Derrika had gone through hell.

Now she was sitting next to me smiling and laughing.

I reached over and grabbed her wrist, brought her hand to my mouth, and kissed her palm.

When I was done with that, I slid my hand into hers, laced our fingers together, and dropped our hands to my thigh.

“Chen required more than one patch,” Zane told us. “Three to be exact. Cock. Balls. Taint.”

I tried. I really did, but I couldn’t hold back my roar of laughter, and when Derrika asked in a hilariously horrified voice, “You had to lift the balls and go for the taint?” I had to close my eyes to stop the tears from leaking out.

Cash shoved back from the table.

“I hate all you fucking people. I’m going to wash my hands.”

That only made everyone laugh harder.

“Oh come on, Cashy, you love us,” Lore shouted.

When I finally got my laughter under control, I asked, “Please tell me Cash’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain?”

“First, Kira’s not here because she went back to the office.

Weston Beil will stay with her. But she needs her other computer.

Nixon and his crew, minus Weston, picked up Ryan Clarkson and took him back to their office.

He says his only part in this was to turn a blind eye to encryption being stripped, and if anyone raised an alarm to tell Rutte, and he’d take care of it. ”

“Do we believe that?” Derrika inquired.

“Nixon said he’s inclined to believe him.

He pressed Clarkson about the Secretary of Defense.

He swears the secretary doesn’t know what’s happening.

Clarkson knows he’s screwed. If there was a buck to pass and he had proof, he would’ve played that card.

Especially when Mr. Green and Mr. Black showed up to pick him up. ”

“So the CIA has him now,” I groused.

“Yeah, I didn’t like turning him over, but I had no choice. That also means we’ll get no more intel from him because you know the spooks won’t share.”

“Why are CIA officers called spooks?” Penny inquired.

Easton immediately fielded her question, “It’s from the Dutch, it means ghost. Or as the Germans say, spuk which is a ghost or apparition, but it first showed up in America in the early eighteen-hundreds in German-settled parts of Pennsylvania.

CIA officers in clandestine services work as ghosts—hence spooks. ”

“Are we done with the etymology lesson?” Zane snarked.

“Rude!” Derrika muttered. “But also impressed you know what etymology means.”

“Yeah, that’s me—impressive. And by the way, you’re fired.”

“You can’t fire me before I even apply for a job,” Derrika returned, matching Zane’s sarcasm.

“Rule number one, I can do whatever I want.”

“Incorrect,” Cash rejoined, coming back into the room. “Rule number one is wrap it before you tap it.” He paused to look at me. “You remember rule number one, don’t you, buddy?”

“Actually,” Kira broke in. “Rule number one is, no falling for a woman involved in drama. Rule two is, no falling for a woman who will cost me money. Which is mostly redundant, but whatever. Rule three is, Zane’s in charge of said woman until the mating ritual is complete and she’s claimed.

And rule number four is, no glove, no love. ”

“Kiss ass,” Cash muttered.

“Don’t be a hater, wiener toucher,” Kira said and transferred her gaze to me. “So, rule number four…”

She let that hang, I didn’t bite.

Unfortunately, Derrika’s choking gave us away.

“Great, now I’m gonna have two knocked-up employees,” Zane bitched.

“Can we just get back to the briefing?” I inquired.

“Rutte’s a piece of shit,” Zane continued.

“But not the top of the heap piece of shit. He was promised the Oval if he was a good little boy and followed orders. Lore’s intel was correct, all of it.

The plan was to take out POTUS and the next two in succession, leaving Rutte next in line.

In exchange for the White House, he made a deal with Chen to loosen restrictions on foreign entities purchasing land and the import of Chinese goods.

He knew the attacks were coming, he knew they were meant as a diversion first and as a financial burden second, which would help him when he got the Presidency to make deals with the Chinese to cover the debts incurred, but more importantly there’s nothing like a tragedy to build unity in a common enemy.

The Chinese knew multiple terrorist organizations would take credit and the US would put everything they had behind retaliation while no one looked at the Chinese.

“He was also tasked with keeping Ryan Clarkson in line. Another reason I’m inclined to believe Ryan was nothing more than a low-level pissant.

Rutte was also responsible for keeping the leak at the Pentagon in line, which was pretty fucking easy for him seeing as he’s known the kid since he was in diapers.

We missed the connection because the kid’s not family, but Rutte’s friend’s son.

Only declassified intel was supposed to be transferred to Delcon. ”

I glanced over at Derrika. She was right. She grinned back.

Zane went on. “But here’s where we got it wrong. It’s not the Chinese.”

Derrika looked back at Zane and scoffed, “It’s not the Chinese?”