Page 19 of Noble Hops

Lorton clasped his hands in front of him.“Mostly naked.”

So much for wholesome.“Porn?”

Lorton did the jazz hands thing again.“No, stock footage for ads, book covers, and the like.”

Aidan closed the file.“Which someone could identify you by.You’re trained for undercover work, Lorton.That’s why we don’t allow it.”

“Look...”He yanked out his phone, tapped at the screen, then handed it across the table.“I never show my face, and I have no distinguishing marks.”

Cam smirked.“Just a sick set of abs.”

Lorton shrugged, gaze averted again.“If it pays the bills...”

“He’s clear,” Lauren reported through the comm.“He’s telling the truth.”

“Dude, my mom read romance novels to me as a kid,” Cam said, taking the tension down again.“Nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“I’m not,” Lorton said.“That extra income—which is a year’s worth, by the way, so really, it’s not that much—is the only reason I’m getting by out here.But I know it’s technically not allowed.”

“If all of them are like that”—Aidan nodded at the phone—“if you can’t be identified, then it’s technically not a violation.”

Lorton slumped in relief, letting out a big breath.“If at some point it does become an issue, I’ll stop.”

“Hopefully it won’t.That’ll be all, Agent Lorton.”

Standing, Lorton retrieved his phone and turned toward the door.

“Hey, Rick,” Cam called, stopping him before he opened the door.“Get me a signed one with you on the cover, and I’ll send it to my mom.”

He nodded, flashing a model-worthy smile.“Sure, man.”

“And you’re on the next K&R case that comes in the door.”

His smile grew wider, into a genuine one.“Thank you.”He opened the door, and Lauren met him outside, the two of them strolling across the bullpen together.

Cam popped out his earbud.

Aidan did the same.“Well, that was the last thing I expected.”

“But he’s eliminated.”

“Which leaves Cole.Bring him in for questioning?”

Cam’s first instinct was to answer yes.He wanted to nail the traitor’s ass as much as Aidan, especially if he’d been manipulating all of them, worming his way on to their cases and flirting with Lauren.But then his learned instincts kicked in.Maybe they could use Cole’s efforts to their advantage.

“No,” he told Aidan, a plan coming together in his head.“We might be able to use him.”

Six

“Who the hell authorized warrants against Duncan Vaughn?”Bowers slammed Nic’s office door shut, rattling the walls.

Nic didn’t startle or jump.He was honestly surprised it had taken Bowers this long to charge in.Probably because the US Attorney had had to come all the way from his club, the wrinkled golf polo and waft of cigar smoke giving away where he’d been.

He did find Bowers’s word choice—against—interesting.Nic set aside his pen and laced his fingers together on his desk blotter.“I don’t need authorization to ask the grand jury for warrants on the target of an ongoing investigation.”Bowers opened his mouth to protest; Nic talked over him.“But I did get it from them and the Deputy AG.”

Bowers’s round face flamed red.“You and Jack Hayward are awfully cozy.”

“What exactly are you implying?”