Ricochet (17 page)

“I want Renegades intact, which means keeping Rachel happy. You’re going back to
Afghanistan
, for God’s sake.”

“Right. I got it.” He had nothing to offer Rachel. He knew that. And sure as shit didn’t understand why hearing it from Troy knifed at him. “Why the fuck did you bring me into this in the first place? It’s a goddamned train wreck. The least you could have done was
tell
me about all the bullshit involved.”

“And let you turn tail? I knew once you got here, got a taste of the challenge, you wouldn’t be able to turn it down. You’re just like me, Ry. You need something to work toward every day, or you’re lost. You need to be challenged, or you drift.”

“You don’t think I have enough to deal with?”

“You’re not
dealing
with it. You’re
avoiding
it. Every day that goes by with nothing else to focus on makes you stuff it a little deeper so you don’t have to remember. Every time I talk to you, you’ve been drinking a little more. Every chick you tell me about gets a little raunchier. And every morning-after you remember a little less. You’re in a spiral, Ry. If you stayed in New Orleans another month, you very well might not have made it back to that sand pit you love so damn much.”

Ryker turned and started toward the house again. “This is still fucked.”

Rachel’s face ached from forcing this smile. They were almost finished with the main meal, thank God, Lexi and Rubi the only ones still picking at their salmon. Rachel had tried to eat a few pieces of rib eye, a steak she usually devoured faster than the guys, but it wasn’t sitting well in her tense stomach tonight.

Beside her, Josh was talking about a new roasted vegetable recipe he’d tried on his grill that had turned out amazing. Normally, Rachel would have been listening, interested in trying out his suggestions at the next Renegades barbecue, but it was taking all her mental strength just to keep track of his voice inflections and punctuation so she could respond with the requisite noises of interest in the appropriate places.

Across the table, Ryker’s plate was clean—after two rib eyes, three helpings of vegetables, three pieces of bread, and one huge baked potato with all the fixings. He’d pushed it forward and crossed his arms on the table in front of him, leaning into a conversation with Jax, Wes, and Troy. They were talking about explosives, and she understood very little of what they were saying. At the other end of the table, Duke and Keaton caught bits of the conversation between the others and tossed in a comment now and then. Josh ignored everyone but Rachel, and she’d never wanted to be ignored more.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen you leave food on your plate,” Josh said, drawing Rachel’s attention. “Feeling okay?”

She turned her head toward him and smiled. “Yeah. Just tired. It’s been a long week.”

“Amen.” Nathan jumped into the conversation for the first time all night, sitting back in his chair and picking up his fourth…fifth…maybe sixth beer. She’d lost count.

“Rachel,” Jax said, “who do you have lined up for site coordinator?”

She pulled her gaze from warring with Nathan’s lazy grin and looked at her boss. “Jaimie Burke and Tom Campbell.”

“I saw Jaimie last week,” Keaton said. “It sounded like she was going to run long on the
King Arthur
set.”

“Only a week,” Rachel said. “And Tom is wrapping up his latest project now.”

“Hmm.” The troubled hum came from Josh, and Rachel turned to look at him.

“What?”

Josh shook his head. “I don’t think Burke’s lack of experience is a good fit for a stunt with explosives this intense.”

“She’s not inexperienced—” Rachel started.

“She is when it comes to managing explosives, honey.” Josh put his hand on her shoulder, slid it to the back of her neck, and squeezed.

Rachel wanted his hand off her in the worst way. She was pissed he was acting like this for Nathan’s benefit, and after having Nathan’s hands on her just twelve hours ago, Josh’s touch just felt…wrong.

“He’s right, Rach,” Duke added.

“I’ve got enough problems at the moment, Duke,”

Duke just smirked and shrugged.

“And…” Josh said, drawing Rachel’s gaze. “Sorry to tell you this, honey, but…last time I worked with Campbell, he smelled like a still and missed a third of the filming schedule. Unless he’s gone to rehab in the last four months and is part of a regular AA group, Cinematic won’t touch a stunt where he’s site coordinator, especially not where explosives are involved.”

Her stomach dropped. Every time she put a piece of this puzzle in its place, the damn thing popped back out again. And this news was just the last bit she could take tonight. She propped her elbows on the table and rested her face in her hands.

“I want Rachel.”

Nathan’s quiet words shot a tingle of heat through her chest. She parted her fingers and found his gaze directly on hers.

“That’s the stupidest thing you’ve said all night,” Troy bit out.

“Maybe you just need another beer. Round out your night with an even dozen,” Nathan tossed at Troy before turning back to Jax. “She knows exactly how everything works, knows all the people involved, and she’s extremely efficient.

“If I’m going to do this in the time I have, I sure can’t wait a week to start. And I don’t give a shit what Cinematic says about the other guy, but I know a drunk when I see one, and I’ll kick his ass off the site at the first sign.

“I’m going to need someone on site who I can depend on. A go-to person for all my questions, whether it be to ask about ordering supplies, smooth a rift with the city manager, schmooze local law enforcement, or deal with a crazy environmentalist. I need someone who I can count on to do everything, and do it right the first time, so I can focus on design, safety, timing, and rigging.”

His intense gaze turned back to her. “Rachel’s perfect.”

“This is crazy,” Troy broke in again.

Rachel picked up the first thing her hand landed on when it fell to the table—a napkin ring—and threw it at him. The wooden circle hit the side of Troy’s head, bounced onto the table, and dribbled off, hitting the ground. “What the fuck?”

“Exactly,” she said. “You’re the first one to sing my praises to everyone on set, but now I’m suddenly not adequate to coordinate a site? Screw you, Jacobs.”

He tossed the ring back at her, and she ducked it. “You don’t want to do it any more than I want you to do it.”

“None of this matters, anyway.” She crossed her arms. “I couldn’t possibly—”

“Now, wait, wait,” Jax said, then looked at Ryker. “It’s a good idea, I don’t disagree, but parting with her—”

“Baby,” Lexi said as she crossed her arms on the tabletop and leaned forward, gaze on Jax. “You’ve been pushing her to decide where she wants to go with the company next for two months. How can she do that if you never let her out of the office?”

“Score one for Lexi,” Rubi said, grinning. “Beauty
and
brains.”

“True,” Jax said, “on both counts.” His quick smile disappeared as he stared down at his fork, turning it over and over on his empty plate.

“And who’s going to run Renegades?” Rachel asked. “Ordering, scheduling, coordinating, office crap, payroll—”

“You can hire a temp,” Nathan said.

Troy cut a look at Rachel. “Wait, you get pissed at me for saying you’re too valuable to let go, but you don’t throw anything at him for insinuating you’re so easily replaceable?”

“Jesus.” Nathan glared at Troy. “You’re worse off than I realized.”

In a lightning-fast move, Troy gripped the back of Nathan’s neck, bent close, and said, “Don’t make me sorry I brought you here.”

With one smooth, hard upswing of Nathan’s arm, he dislodged Troy’s hand. They both stood, facing off. “That is the third time you’ve laid hands on me in twenty-four hours. And this is the last time I tell you I’m sick of it before you see blood.”

“Would you two grow up already?” Rachel said, pushing to her feet. She was about a millimeter from losing it. She didn’t understand what was going on between these two, but she didn’t need any more complications. “Troy, take off those self-involved blinders. You’re pushing me to lunatic stress levels, and you’re being an inconsiderate ass to your best friend who’s here
doing you a favor
on his very short leave from
war
.”

“It’s not a fucking war anymore—”

“Don’t you dare start with the politics, or I swear you’ll find Monster Bond in your next cup of coffee.”

“That would certainly put a pinch in your attitude, Jacobs.” Rubi’s smooth, cavalier tone slid in and made Rachel realize how frazzled she sounded. “It’s tough to make Rach mad, but once it’s done, you’re pretty much screwed. You two might want to sit down and…” She made a zipper motion across her lips.

Troy yanked out his chair, and the feet scraped against the stone patio. Nathan followed.

“Jax,” Rachel said. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got lots of other options for site coordinators.”

“Like all your other options for blasters?” Nathan asked.

She shot a laser-sharp glare across the table, only to see him smile.

“Lexi’s right,” Jax said. “This is the perfect opportunity for you to go big. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. You would be an amazing site coordinator. And Ryker’s right too, this stunt needs the best.”

“I don’t have any more experience with explosives than Jaime.”

“Not true,” Wes said. “You handled everything perfectly for that train blast last month.”

Troy slumped back in his chair, shaking his head. “Fuckin’ Lawson.”

Rachel turned her glare on Troy, warning him she was about to break into batshit-crazy mode. “Seriously, Troy…”

Jax glanced at Josh. “What about it, Marx?”

Her gaze turned to find Josh watching her, and it was one of those times his assessment felt too sharp, as if he were reading her thoughts. All sorts of thoughts she didn’t want him—or anyone else—to know.

“Wes is right about her great job handling the train blast,” he agreed, and shrugged. “I’d have to put it past Cinematic.”

Nathan looked at Jax. “Whatever you decide, you’ll have to do it fast. After looking at those plans, this is a bigger, more complicated job than I thought. I’ll need every day I’ve got to get it planned and rigged.”

“Can you pull on your contacts and call Cinematic now?” Jax asked.

Josh glanced at his watch, and his mouth twisted in consideration. “Not sure that’s going to win any favors, but if that’s what you want…”

Jax glanced at Rachel, but she could see his mind was busily fitting pieces. He returned his gaze to Josh. “Yeah, that’s what I want. We’re on a tight timeframe here. We need to get this squared away.”

Rachel didn’t miss the look Josh sent Nathan before he pushed away from the table, pulled his phone, and wandered toward the pool. There was a definite and immediate animosity between them—something Rachel absolutely did not need.

“Come on, Rach. Let’s pull out dessert.” Rubi stood and gathered plates. “Sweets always make these men purr.”

Grateful for the break, Rachel picked up as many bowls and platters as she could carry and followed Rubi inside. She blew out a breath once she reached the kitchen counter and set everything down.

Rubi turned Rachel to face her with a deliberate grip, startling her. Rachel looked up and into the other woman’s vibrant green eyes, even brighter now with excitement. “What in the hell is up with you and Ryker?”

Rachel’s body flooded with alarm. She glanced over her shoulder, toward the door, but Rubi pressed one hand to her cheek and brought her gaze back. “They can’t hear us.
Tell
.”

Rachel wished she was as excited about the tension between her and Ryker as Rubi was. Instead, she swore a time bomb ticked in her chest. “What do you mean?”

Rubi’s lids went heavy. “I am oh so too experienced for that. I’m insulted you’d even try.”

Rachel pulled from Rubi’s grip and rubbed both hands down her face. “Shit,” she whispered. How much had she shown out there? How many others had noticed—besides whatever vibes Troy had picked up early on? “I’m in deep, deep shit here.”

“Tell me,” Rubi said again, nearly bouncing.

“God, it’s a long story…”