Code Name: Aries by Janie Crouch

2

Wavy Bollinger

“Honey, are you sure? I don’t like the thought of leaving you here for an evening shift alone. And this is supposed to be your day off to work on your little art project.”

Little art project.

I forced a smile at the woman I’d been working with at the Frontier Diner for ten years and had known my entire life. Leeann didn’t mean any harm. “Little” was her preferred adjective for almost everything.

Still, it made my teeth grind to hear my passion referred to as such.

I kept the smile plastered on my face. “No problem. I can always use more tips.” It wasn’t like my art was going to make me money any time soon.

“Are you sure?” Leeann’s voice dropped to a near whisper. “Those collage people sound dangerous.”

It took me a second. “You mean Mosaic?”

She nodded with way too much enthusiasm. She’d overheard the Linear guys talking about Mosaic but didn’t know the details about the organization. I’d bugged my brother Finn until he’d told me more. Evidently, Mosaic was truly bad news…a main course of terrorism with a side of weapon sales and human trafficking to round out the meal.

Leeann would have a coronary if she knew. She’d watch over me like a mother hen and turn a suspicious eye towards people we’d known for years.

The good thing about a town the size of Oak Creek was that people looked out for one another. That’s why I loved living here.

The bad thing about a town the size of Oak Creek was, good Lord have mercy, people were always up in your business. That’s why the town drove me crazy. It was time for me to get out. I’d been feeling that way more and more. But a lifetime’s worth of ties to one place wasn’t easy to unravel.

I sent Leeann on her way. I’d been looking forward to spending the evening painting, but my art would wait. After all, it had been waiting a decade for me to actually do something productive with it.

The shift went like most any given weeknight at the diner. Leeann had gotten us through the dinner rush, so now it was just a few stragglers for the couple hours until we closed. Some teenagers sitting at separate booths but flirting back and forth. A young family who’d decided to splurge and go out for pie.

And then a man walked in fifteen minutes before closing. Everything about him had me on high alert.

I couldn’t see the color of his eyes but recognized the fierceness in his gaze. Strong chin and carved jaw. Broad shoulders, trim waist. A warrior’s awareness.

Everything about this man screamed danger.

And sex.

But mostly danger.

“Can I get you something?” He had chosen the very back booth and had his back to the wall so he could see the whole restaurant.

He only glanced at me, but I had no doubt he was aware of everything happening in the diner. Brown eyes, I could see them now, with little specks of gold.

“Just coffee. Thanks.”

I nodded and walked to get it. He was probably stopping for coffee before a long road trip or something. No need to turn into Leeann and assume the worst just because he sat in the back booth and was aware of what was going on around him.

To make up for being suspicious, I made a fresh pot before taking a steaming mug over to him. Those brown eyes might be intense, but they were also…tired. Like he’d spent way too long carrying a burden not meant for one person to bear.

I offered him a smile as I set down the coffee. “You need creamer?”

“No, black is fine.”

Of course it was. How could someone who had a jaw that chiseled drink anything but black coffee? Dark and dangerous.

I wanted to paint him. I didn’t normally like to create anything having to do with people, but I’d love to paint this man.

Naked.

No!No, not naked. Regular.

Or…half naked. Which half?

“Um, are you okay?” He was looking at me with one dark eyebrow raised.

I swallowed hard, trying to offer him another smile that didn’t come off as pervy-perv.

“Yeah. Sorry, I’m fine. I—”

His phone lit up on the table, a text message coming in. I couldn’t read the whole thing, but one word very definitely caught my attention.

Mosaic.

Oh shit. All thoughts of painting him flew from my mind as he slid the phone so I couldn’t see the message anymore.

I backed up one step, then another. “I’ll— I’ll be over here if you need anything else.”

“Thanks.”

Dark and Dangerous’s phone chirped behind me as I walked to the kitchen. I couldn’t hear most of his conversation but one word caught my attention once again.

Kendrick.

Shit, shit, shit.

I took out my phone and texted my brother Finn.

Stranger just came in diner. He got a text with word Mosaic, and is talking to someone about Kendrick.

Finn’s response was immediate.

Get out.

No. I wasn’t going to leave like some ninny. I peeked out the kitchen window to see the guy still sitting in the booth. If Linear could get information from him, maybe it would help put those Mosaic criminal people behind bars. Human traffickers were the scum of the earth, and I wanted to do my part to take them down.

But damn it, why did the first guy I’d been attracted to in…way too long have to be a bad guy?

I looked over at Nolan, but the cook had his headphones on. I didn’t want to involve him in all this if I didn’t have to. In a physical altercation, Dark and Dangerous would win. Nolan would be no match. Neither would Matthew, the teenage dishwasher.

I’d have to keep the guy here myself until help arrived. I shot off another text to Finn.

I’ll keep him here, you send someone as backup.

Again, his response was immediate. No. Get out.

Damn it, I was going to do my part. You better hurry.

I slipped my phone back into my apron pocket, ignoring it when it started buzzing a few seconds later, Finn calling rather than texting.

The guy looked like he was fishing for his wallet, so I loaded a tray full of slices of the diner’s different pies and walked it over to him.

I forced myself to smile. “Hi. I know you said you only wanted coffee, but we’re about to close, and I’ve still got all these pies. I’d hate for them to go to waste. We’ll just have to throw them out.” My brothers would have a heart attack if I ever once threw away extra pie from the Frontier. “Can I offer you a free slice?”

The guy was going to turn me down. I could already see it.

So I did what anybody would do—I tripped and dumped the tray in his lap.

“Oh my God! I’m so clumsy. I’m so sorry.” I set down my tray and immediately started wiping at huge chunks of pie flowing all down his front. Chocolate smeared into apple, and lemon meringue covered it all.

It kept him in the booth. So I kept wiping.

But oh God, had I just brushed his crotch? Now my mortification wasn’t acting.

He grabbed my hands, more gently than I would’ve expected given the current circumstances. “I’ve got it.” He set me away from him. “You have a bathroom?”

I pointed to the hall near the back corner. He stood and began walking in that direction. Finn better hurry up. Short of undressing the guy, I was out of ways to keep him here.

Dark and Dangerous’s phone rang again right as he got to the hallway.

“Where the hell are you? I’m going to put a fucking cap in your ass myself. This town is already on my last nerve.”

I was pretty sure my eyes were bugging out of my head. Maybe I should’ve gotten out when Finn told me to.

I pretended to wipe down the table so I could watch him go into the bathroom. I needed to call in more backup while he was in there. But instead of going into the bathroom, he went through the door that led to the side alley outside.

Damn it. That was where some of the customers went when they needed a smoke. It didn’t really lead anywhere, but you could get out if you wound around the side and went through the back.

If I didn’t stop him, he was going to get away.

Knowing I was all sorts of stupid, especially since he’d threatened to put a cap in someone’s ass, I ran for the side employee door. I would cut him off and crack him on the head with my tray. He wouldn’t be expecting anyone coming at him from the opposite direction.

I hoped.

I rushed toward the back door through the kitchen. Nolan saw me, but I didn’t have time to explain.

Out back, the guy was still on the phone, talking about taking whatever opportunity presented itself. He ended the call and muttered something about fucking pie.

He was getting closer. I backed myself against the darkened wall, waiting for him to come around the corner. When he did, I brought my tray down on the side of his head as hard as I could.

He let out a roar. “Mother fuc—”

I moved backward, then brought the tray back up to hit him again, was swinging back down when someone caught it from the side.

“Sorry, lady, I can’t let you beat up my boss, even if he did threaten to put a cap in my ass. Seriously, who says that?”

I waited for a blow or to be shoved to the ground, but it didn’t happen.

Should I scream? Hope that Nolan and Matthew could hear me inside.

Dark and Dangerous turned to me. “What the hell is wrong with you, lady?”

“I don’t like human traffickers. That’s what’s wrong with me.”

“What are you talking about?” The guy was covered in pie and rubbing the side of his head, glaring at me. Now I really expected some sort of violence.

I can take a hit. I grew up with two brothers who roughhoused all the time.

“I’m gonna have to ask you to step away from my sister.”

Baby. Thank God.

My younger brother walked farther into the back alley, the moonlight gleaming off the gun he was pointing at the two men. Dark and Dangerous and the other guy backed up, holding their hands up near their heads.

“Your sister has assaulted me with both pie and her tray in the past three minutes.”

“Yeah, she’s a sassy one,” Baby said. “And although she and I are going to have words about her wasting pie like that, I’m still going to need you to move farther away from her.”

Baby stepped into the light, and both men took another step back.

“Look, I think there is some mistake here,” said the man who’d stopped me from getting my second thwack in. “We don’t mean any harm.”

Dark and Dangerous glared at me and muttered, “Speak for yourself.”

“Waverly doesn’t generally attack her customers without due cause,” Baby said. “Bad for tips.”

I turned to Baby. “This guy was talking about Mosaic and Kendrick. That was enough for me to let Finn know there was trouble.”

“And Finn told you to attack him?” Baby cocked his head. “Using pie?”

I shrugged. “More or less.”

“Can I join the party back here?” Zac Mackay, one of the Linear Tactical guys, came through the same entrance I had used. “Finn called. Asked me to stop by since I was already in town.”

He was slightly breathless. Zac might be acting cool, but he’d rushed to get here.

“Wavy might have caught a couple members of Mosaic,” Baby said.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Dark and Dangerous said. “I’m not—” I held up the tray like I was going to hit him again. He rolled his eyes and turned to Zac. “You going to tell them or let me be assaulted by Killer Waitress again?”

Zac chuckled, and I grimaced. Zac laughing in this situation wasn’t good.

“Wavy and Baby Bollinger, can I introduce Ian DeRose? He owns Zodiac Tactical. We work with them occasionally. He is also the world’s foremost expert on Mosaic and how to stop them.”

Ian DeRose. Shit. I’d heard the guys talk about him and Zodiac before.

Baby lowered his weapon, laughing. “Sorry, man. I got a panicked call that Wavy here had a possible tango, and that I needed to get my ass over to help, stat.”

“Thanks for checking your info before shooting,” Ian said. He stared at me. Message clear: I hadn’t checked.

Boo-hoo. I hadn’t had a real weapon either.

“This is Landon Black, my right hand,” Ian said. “We got a message from Kendrick that he might have an update. He’s not at his place.”

Zac nodded. “Yeah, I can help you with that. He’s at a safe house.”

“I’m getting back home to my fiancée. I’ll let Finn know to stand down.” Baby reached in to hug me and whispered in my ear, “Way to take down the enemy, sis.”

“Piss off.” But I kissed his cheek.

He laughed as he walked away.

“I’m going to grab a slice of pie.” Zac glanced at Ian’s shirt and pants. “If there’s any left.”

“I’ll take some of that action,” Landon said. “I’ve already heard about the pie here.”

That left me and Ian Dark and Dangerous DeRose out here alone.

“I guess I owe you an apology.” Why was that so hard to say? With anyone else, I would’ve already apologized while laughing at how I’d been such a moron, then make a joke about free pie for life.

But somehow, I was too aware of Ian DeRose to laugh like I did with everyone else. Instead, I had this unnerving need to run away from him.

Or step closer.

“You were trying to detain a member of Mosaic, so that justifies a lot.” He looked at me with brown eyes that were way too intense. Like he never let his guard down.

My fingers itched to run through the dark hair behind his ear. A touch to soothe. To connect.

I had no idea why. He didn’t seem like he would accept that sort of touch from anyone, much less a stranger.

“Still, bad guy or not, I’m sorry I hit you.”

He took a step closer, and I couldn’t help but take a step back. His smile turned the slightest bit predatory as he moved toward me again.

My back was to the wall. Literally and figuratively.

He got closer.

He reached down, and I thought he was going to touch me, but he grabbed the tray in my hand instead.

“Next time, come at your enemy’s temple with the edge of the tray where it’s hardest.” He tapped the edge with his knuckles. “You’re a lot more likely to do damage that way, Wavy Bollinger.”

And then he was gone.