“We don’t have a choice. On one hand, we have inexperienced guards learning the right way to do things from us, and on the other hand, we haven’t enough guards. Both are crappy choices, but I’d prefer more of us in place. As I’m sure you would.”
He had a point, and Brett agreed. It was a completely shit choice, but bodies in place were easier to manhandle into therightplace.
“Maybe you should take over my job.”
Dominic waved his hands in front of him. “Not a chance in hell.”
Brett cracked a smile. “I don’t know anyone crazy enough to do this job.”
“Except you.” Dominic raised his eyebrows.
“Stupid, more like.”
“I don’t know. I think crazy fits.” Dominic grinned, and Brett still marvelled at the change in him since he’d met and started a relationship with Randall. They were perfect for each other, and everyone could see it. If Brett had the time, he might’ve been envious of their relationship, but he didn’t have time for anything other than work. Maybe when he retired.
“We all have to be at least a little crazy to work here. How else would we put up with the Sutcliffes?”
Dominic threw his head back and laughed, long and loud. “And don’t they know it.” He settled down again, taking a drink. “Have you ever thought about asking for help?”
Brett snorted. “I wouldn’t know what I could pass on to someone else and what I couldn’t right now. Everything is so intermingled and cross-wired and dependent on each other, it just wouldn’t work.”
“And thinking along those lines, any luck finding a common thread amongst what’s been going on this past year?”
Brett wasn’t sure why he was keeping his thoughts to himself, and he almost opened his mouth and spewed it out. But something was telling him it wasn’t the right time. What, he had no idea. But he always listened, even if he couldn’t explain the reasoning behind it.
“Nothing really. There are potential links, as we all know, but nothing concrete has come to light about them. We can see similarities and possible crossovers between people, but unless we have hard evidence, we can’t prove anything.”
Dominic sighed. “I hate waiting for something bad to happen. It feels…” He shook his head.
“I get it. I really do. But there’s not much else we can do right now. We keep digging. We keep observing. We keep our eyes open, and hopefully, whoever is doing this messes up and we get them before something happens.”
“To you or Felix, you mean.”
Brett met Dominic’s gaze and nodded. “If the one common link we found is right, then yes. When something happens to me or Felix, we’ll know their next step.”
And wasn’t that a wonderful thought.
****
Chapter 3
Felix
“I can’t believe you dragged me here,” Felix said, frowning at their surroundings. The heavy beat of bass vibrated through his feet and every bone in his body. Though the lights were low, he could still experience the swarm of people on the dance floor, a pulsing group of wandering hands, bumping body parts and locked lips.
Jason laughed loud enough for him to hear without much problem. “You were pining—still are—and needed a distraction. What better way than to lose yourself in music and movement?” He lifted his hands above his head and snapped his hips to the side.
Felix shook his head and rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the smile. “Why are we friends again?”
“Because no one else knows the real you and puts up with your mopey ass.”
He wasn’t wrong, despite having known each other for only a few years, it felt like forever. Felix huffed and slammed back the lemonade Jason had bought him. It wasn’t his drink of choice, but anything was better than letting his mouth do the talking Jason so obviously wanted him to do.
“You may as well give in, you know. By the end of the night, I’ll know everything, anyway. You’ve never been able to keep a secret from me.”
Fuck it all.
“I’m in love with my boss,” he blurted.