to stay in the vehicle outside.
“Me, too.” Once inside, Wolfe leaned against the elevator wall as if he could hold the entire contraption together, and his sigh of relief as the doors opened below was heartfelt. “Someday we’re gonna get stuck in this thing.”
“Nah. It’ll just drop and land hard.” She stepped out into the vestibule of the depressing basement space, her gaze immediately caught by the German shepherd bounding her way. “Roscoe.” She dropped to hug his furry neck, discreetly wiping marinara sauce off his coat, since he’d obviously snuck a piece of pizza somehow. Then she stood and moved forward, smiling at the two men in the main room, illuminated by old yellow buzzing lights in the ceiling. “Hi.”
Angus Force, the leader of the ragtag unit, and Malcolm West, their best undercover operative, sat at the four-desk pod in the center of the room with two pizza boxes in front of them. It looked like they’d both healed after the last assignment several weeks ago, in which everyone, including her, had been injured. Neither answered, their gazes squarely on the man behind her.
Force spoke first, his chiseled jaw going slack. “Are you wearing leather pants?”
Malcolm snorted, chuckled, and then shook his head. “Please tell us you were at a costume party.”
Force’s gaze then turned to Dana. “Or is there something kinky going on?” He nudged the pizza box toward her.
Heat flushed her face, but she moved toward the box. So Wolfe’s team had no clue what he was doing. Figured. “The leather pants weren’t my idea, and his phone gets caught in the back pocket, so don’t ask me what he was thinking.”
Malcolm reached down and brought up two beers, tossing one to Wolfe and sliding one across the desk to her.
Force shook his head. “Wolfe? Leather pants?”
Heat suffused Dana’s back as Wolfe moved closer, reaching around her for a piece of pizza, the underside of his arm brushing hers. “The lady at the department store said they made my butt look good. So I bought them,” he drawled, his breath heating the nape of her neck.
“She lied,” Force drawled, his eyes narrowing. The guy was a former FBI profiler, one of the best before he’d gone off the rails, and he could probably see past Wolfe’s good ol’ boy facade. To his credit, he didn’t push. Yet, anyway.
Dana pulled out a chair and sat, munching happily on a slice of pepperoni. Someone had sprung for the good stuff from Palozzi’s.
Wolfe took the only other vacant seat. “Where’s the rest of the team?”
Malcolm took a big swallow of his beer. “Raider and Brigid are up north with her dad for the next few days, and our shrink is—”
“Right here.” Nari Zhang clip-clopped in kitten heels from case room two, her hands full of manila file folders. Her black hair swung around her shoulders, and she’d dressed for the evening meeting in dark jeans and a pale yellow silk shirt, which made her dusky skin glow. “I’ve been going through these and have added notes and profiles where necessary.” She handed the stack to Force and leaned over to secure a piece of veggie pizza. “I think a lot of this is busywork.”
Force nodded, his jaw hardening. “Yeah. We pissed off our Homeland Defense handlers last month, and apparently they’re trying to get even.” He sighed, tossing a couple of folders toward Wolfe. “We all have assignments, and for now, we’re going to have to play nice.”
Wolfe tapped his finger on the top folder. “I don’t play nice.”
“Agreed,” Force said, pushing more folders toward Malcolm. Then he grinned. “The good news is that, with this caseload, I said you needed a research assistant, and we can actually pay Dana to work with you this time. She’s been a valuable asset and hasn’t sold us out, so we’re happy to have her onboard.” He winked at her. “Welcome to the team. Oh. You have to sign a nondisclosure agreement. You know, since you’re a nosy journalist and all.”
Dana sat back, amusement taking her. The desire to belong to the team, just for a little while, caught her off guard. Working alone did get lonely. “I accept. So long as I can write a story once we’re finished, with your approval.”
Malcolm chuckled. “I told you she’d say that.”
Nari nodded, her black eyes twinkling. “Yeah, you did. Also, Dana, everyone who works in the unit has weekly sessions with me. I assume you’re okay with that?”
Dana stiffened. “I don’t need a shrink.”
“Amen, sister,” Force muttered beneath his breath.
Dana caught her words and hastened to add, “Not that there’s anything wrong with counseling. It’s just that I’m fine.”
Nari smiled. “Then our hour a week will go fast and we can just chat. The requirement is nonnegotiable.” Her eyes hardened as she glanced sideways at Force. “For almost everybody, anyway.”
Dana took another bite of pizza, chewing thoughtfully before turning toward Wolfe, who’d just finished his third slice. “Do you attend counseling once a week?”
He tipped back his beer, drinking the entire bottle, his throat moving in a way that was blatantly sexy. Finishing, he set it down and accepted a second one from Malcolm. “Yeah. Since I’m fine and don’t need shrinking, Nari and I talk about fashion, the Kardashians, and sometimes the royal family. I’m betting little Archie will be a fantastic polo player.”
What a smart aleck.
Nari drew a chair over from its perch against the dented yellowed wall and sat. “I took that bet. I’m going to win.”
Okay. Two smart alecks.
Wolfe twisted the cap off the bottle. “Oh, and Dana is moving in with me for a short time while we handle a story that might’ve put her in danger. It’s her story and not a Deep Ops case, and I’ll call you in if we need you. Right now, we don’t. Figured you gossips would like to hear it from me first.”
Nari sat forward. “What kind of story?”
How interesting that Wolfe didn’t mention his own case. Dana cut him a look but didn’t rat him out, as he no doubt trusted her to keep silent. She’d agree for now, but if he didn’t let her in, she wouldn’t cover for him indefinitely with the team. Well, probably. She did feel a sense of loyalty to the guy, considering he’d saved her life from a psycho ex-senator the previous month. “I’m not at liberty to discuss it quite yet,” she said, a little primly.
Force narrowed in on Wolfe. “Does the story explain those ridiculous pants?”
Frankly, they were kind of sexy on the hard-bodied soldier, but Dana didn’t argue.
Wolfe nodded. “Yeah, and get used to them. Dana and I might have to go undercover in a couple of sex clubs for her story. Wait until you see her outfit. Meow, as they say.”
Her jaw dropped open. Plain and simple. She whirled on him, her breath catching. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Tonight was just the beginning.” His eyes gleamed in a way that made her lungs want to stop breathing altogether. “You have another corset, right?
