“And you were there,” Eric went on.
Mace’s jaw got tight. “Yeah”
“Fuck! ” Eric exploded again. “Back off, Mason. I’ve got this covered.”
I watched, stil total y confused as Mace zoomed straight from barely control ing his anger to holding onto his anger by a thread and I knew this was not a good thing.
“You got what covered, exactly?” Mace asked.
“Stel a,” Eric responded.
“Why don’t you explain that to me?” Mace’s thread was unraveling.
“How ‘bout you explain to me why you think you deserve an explanation?” Eric shot back.
This could go on al night.
“Excuse me!” I yel ed. “I am in the room.”
“Quiet, Stel a,” Mace said to me without looking away from Eric.
Oh no.
He was not getting bossy on me again.
“Don’t tel me to be quiet. What’s going on?” I shouted.
“He’s a Fed,” Mace answered.
My breath, which had come back, decided to go on vacation again. My guess, Las Vegas.
My eyes slid to Eric.
“A Fed?” I breathed with the last remnants of breath I had.
I knew something was not right about him, he told me he worked construction.
Eric’s teeth were in a clench.
“That’s right,” he said between them, his eyes reluctantly leaving Mace and coming to me.
“You work for –” I started.
“Yeah,” Eric cut me off.
“He’s on assignment,” Mace shared.
A muscle in Eric’s jaw leaped.
“Assignment?” Now I was sounding stupid but there was no other way to be.
“Sidney Carter,” Eric bit off.
Oh my God. Eric was after Bad Guy Sid too.
Then it hit me, if Eric was after Sid, then he was with me because…
Effing hel .