Page 39 of Waggs

“Peanut butter on toast.”

Liam flexed his biceps and AJ’s eyes widened. “My favourite. Lots of protein which is good for your muscles.”

Decker shook his head and accepted the coffee Waggs handed him. “Pack that in, Pyro.”

“What? Just giving the boy some inspiration.”

“I’m pretty sure Aiden has more than enough muscle to inspire him.”

Waggs grinned as Willow walked in the room and up to him, turning her head up for a kiss. Since his parents knew about them, they’d sat AJ down when he’d run into the bedroom that morning and caught them in bed.

Willow had explained that she loved Aiden and he loved her, and they both loved him, and when you loved someone it was okay to show them with kisses and hugs. AJ had taken it in stride.

Waggs kissed her, keeping it clean for the eyes on them even though the slightest touch from this woman had him wanting to go caveman on her and drag her back to bed.

Liam waggled his eyebrows. “Nice to see you kids finally got your shit together.”

“What does Taamira see in you?” Waggs asked jokingly.

Liam winked and chuckled. “That’s for me to know.”

“I’m going to take AJ in his room to play puzzles while you talk.”

Waggs watched her walk away, the swing of her hips hypnotising him and smiled.

“You have it bad.”

Waggs glanced at Liam and didn’t bother to deny it. The truth was, he did have it bad, and he could finally do it in the open without having to hide how he felt from either his brother or his family. “Yeah, I do.”

Liam clapped him on the shoulder. “Glad for you, man.”

Decker was watching but made no comment and Waggs wondered why but dismissed it. They had more things to worry about than his love life and the approval he sought.

“I put in a call to Will and Lopez this morning and it turns out Green is in country and at Fort Campbell, so I’m going to try and speak to him. I sent Lopez the pictures so we can try and identify the players from last night and maybe get Costasis to identify them.”

“You’ve been busy.” Waggs was impressed with how fast Decker was moving.

“I think our window is short and the longer it takes, the bigger the risk for Willow and AJ.”

“Do you think I should meet Green?”

“No, my gut says if he sees you, he’ll run. If I meet him and suggest there may be an open investigation and hint at immunity, then he might talk. I can try and find out how he got mixed up in this. The profile I worked up last night suggests he isn’t the brains behind this but the muscle, and that won’t sit well with him for long. He’s used to being in charge. Having his strings pulled won’t be something he allows long term. He’s a bit of a narcissist, so sees himself as somewhat of a hero and that probably played into Edwards being able to manipulate him. Offering him money and power, even though I still believe he’s holding the images we found over him.”

“I agree. He was always grandiose but not cruel. He liked the deference his title gave him and was actually a pretty good sharpshooter, so I’m shocked.”

“Yeah, fucker still needs to go down for being a pervert.”

“And for his part in killing my brother.”

“Absolutely, man.” Liam nodded and looked at his watch. “I need to head to the day job but keep your comms close in case I have hot info.”

“Have a good day, dear.” Waggs mimicked a falsetto and got the middle finger from Liam as he headed out the door.

“What are your plans today?”

Waggs regarded Decker. “I’m going home to see if I can go through my brother’s old room and see if he left any information there. I’ve checked here and honestly, knowing him like I did, I really don’t think we will find anything here. He’d keep Willow out of it.”

“Is this the place she shared with Aaron?” Deck leaned back, and Waggs wondered why he was asking but knew Deck would only tell him when he was ready.