For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,198

balls on this case," Bradley assured him. "Robert Hunter is also a family friend. His wife and mine work for the same company, and I promised them I'd take care of this. Jason, I knew this case was impossible from the start. I figured we'd stick our noses in it, scare the hackers off, and that would be it. I never expected things to escalate to you shooting a guy - let alone everything that's come after. I brought you onto this because I needed your tech skills."

"And got stuck with me because of it," Jason reminded him.

"Not sorry for that part," Bradley promised. "You're a good agent, Jason. A damned good one. No, you don't play by the rules. You make the rules play for you, and believe it or not, I'm ok with that. The truth is that I wish I could think that way, and I've been trying to learn a bit from you. I also know that if it wasn't for you, I'd be working on Nigerian scammers or something equally boring." He paused, and for a moment, Jason was sure Bradley was done talking, until he added, "I want to catch these fuckers too."

"They released a list," Jason said.

"Thought you didn't know about the drama going on," Bradley teased.

"I don't watch the news," Jason explained. "This is still my case, though, and Dez sent me the post. The IP leads to Moscow, so that's a dead end, but I have a feeling he's stalking Rhaven."

"Why her?" Bradley asked.

"Because she's a traitor," Jason explained. "These men have issues with women. The idea of a woman who was born a boy? That's going to offend every sensibility they have. The fact that she's a developer now? Doubly whammy. Riley pissed them off - intentionally, I might add. Dez pissed them off accidentally. She dared to speak her mind. Rhaven? Her mere existence has them in a rage, and that's going to be how we finally catch them."

"You think she's up for it?"

Jason nodded. "I think Rhaven is a lot stronger than she knows. She's had to fight for everything in her life. She'll fight for this."

"Hope you're right," Bradley said.

Slowly but surely, the traffic crawled from where they'd been to a beautiful high rise. It was the kind of place that most FBI agents couldn't afford, but this was what Bradley called home thanks to his wife's lucrative day job. Once again, Bradley headed into a parking garage and the pair made their way inside and to an elevator. The security here was almost as impressive as the FBI's.

They came out onto a floor halfway up the building and Bradley led Jason and Crysis to his apartment. The door was barely opened before Crysis began wagging his tail. From inside, the sound of the television could be heard, proving someone was home.

"Kyle?" Bradley called out.

"He's with his friends," Bradley's wife answered, sounding like she was headed toward them. Jason had barely closed the door behind him when Bethany walked into view. "Jason!" she greeted him.

"Hi," he said, walking over to give her a light hug. "Sorry to drop in unannounced."

"Staying for dinner?" she asked.

"No," Bradley told her. "I have to go back to Ohio for a week at least. Could be more. Figured I could pack some things and then crash at Jason's place tonight. We head out in the morning."

Bethany just lifted a finger at him. "You stay out of their way, Brad. Those two are still in the cute phase."

"You two are still in the cute phase," Jason countered. "Besides, Zara likes having my partner over for dinner. Doesn't happen enough."

"Now that we made up," Bradley grumbled.

"That goes the other way around too," Bethany told Jason. "One day, the pair of you will come here for the weekend. Ideally before your wedding, because I intend to spoil that girl as much as possible. Want to make sure she doesn't back out, you know."

Jason laughed. "Same. The last thing I need to do is scare her off."

"Let me grab some things real fast," Bradley said. "Baby, get Crysis some water? He's been in the truck awhile."

Bethany waved for Jason and his dog to follow her, then headed straight for the kitchen. There, Bethany found a bowl for him, Jason filled it with tap water and put it on the floor for his dog. While Crysis sucked that back, Jason leaned against the counter. Bethany matched him.

"How long do you really think you'll be gone this time?"