Jake and Luke are already there.
Jake's leaning back in one of the chairs, arms crossed, watching a feed from the Turner Ranch with the kind of focus that means he's been at it for hours. Luke is tipped back in a chair, coffee mug in hand, staring out at nothing.
They both turn as I walk in.
Luke grins immediately. “Well, well. Look who decided to join us.”
I ignore the jab and move to the table, scanning the monitor. “What've we got?”
“You’re glowing. Warden, doesn’t he look like he’s glowing?” Luke grins at me.
I shoot him a look. “Fuck off.”
“I didn’t, but it looks like you did.” Luke takes a sip of his coffee, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
Jake snorts.
Luke shakes his head. “If someone had told me two years ago that you two would be scoring and I’d be the chaste one, I’d have asked them to share whatever they were smoking.”
“I’m not scoring,” I mumble, reaching for a cup and the coffee thermos.
Jake studies me for a long moment. “You care about her.”
“Yeah,” I say quietly. “I do.”
Luke whistles low. “Damn. And you admitted it.”
“Shut up, Luke.”
“Make me.”
Jake holds up a hand. “Alright, children, that’s enough.”
Luke points at me. “He started it.”
Jake ignores him. “We're not here to give Mason shit about his love life?—”
“Could've fooled me,” I mutter, lifting my cup.
“—we're here to figure out next steps.” Jake turns back to the monitor. “Kelly's been running perimeter checks every two hours since Lily left. They're on high alert.”
“Any sign of Turner?” I pull up a chair and sit.
“Nope.” Luke props his feet on the table. “I would have thought Turner would have booked it home after finding out about Lily. Unless they’re trying to get us to lower our guard.”
“Something isn’t right.” The cold weight of that feeling settles in my gut. “We need to be ready.”
“We are.” Jake gestures to the monitors. “Perimeter's locked down. Motion sensors are active. Luke and I are rotating shifts. You're primary on Lily.”
I nod. “Copy.”
“Primary on Lily.” Luke smirks. “That's one way to put it.”
I ignore him.
Jake leans back in his chair, his expression thoughtful. “You know what's different about you, Mason?”
“What?”