Stacking the Deck - Charlie Cochet Page 0,3

mouth open and tongue lolling out as he trotted over, tail wagging happily. Mr. Stevenson gave him some ear scratches that had Chip thumping his tail with glee.

With the coin and currency show over, the guys exchanged some more pleasantries with Mr. Stevenson before turning to leave the alley. Jack’s pocket vibrated, and he took out his phone, glanced at the screen, then did a double take. He tapped to open the text and stared at it as Chip barked. Jack’s head shot up in time to see Chip dash in front of Joker, stopping him from getting mowed down by a woman rounding the corner on a motorcycle just as Joker and Ace had been about to emerge from the alley.

“Shit.” They were counting on him to monitor the situation with the drone. Jack should have seen that bike, dammit.

Joker praised Chip for a job well done and scratched him behind the ear before securing his leash. Now the excitement was over and Chip had done his duty, he was at ease. Shame the same couldn’t be said about his person. “What the hell, Jack?” Joker growled.

Jack cringed. “Sorry.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing.” He loved how his team were all suddenly fixated on their screens like they weren’t eavesdropping.

“Bullshit.”

Jack didn’t respond because Joker and Ace were already on their way to the surveillance van. He groaned and recalled the drone, opening the van’s roof door so it could return to its docking station. Spinning in his chair, he faced his team. “What?”

Maury shook his head, floppy blond curls falling over his eyes from the movement, his green gaze on his monitor as he feigned innocence. “Nothing, boss.”

Megan as usual didn’t bother with pretenses. “Maybe you should call him?”

“If the guy was interested, he would have called sometime in the last two years,” Sil reminded them oh-so helpfully.

“Thanks,” Jack muttered, itching to look at his phone again. It was stupid. Just a text. A short text. Barely a text.

“Am I wrong?” Sil asked him, dark eyes studying Jack. “Personally, I think you deserve better. He had his chance and he blew it.”

“Is there a reason everyone is so interested in my love life?”

“It’s been a while,” Maury offered, glancing at him.

Jack’s scowl had the guy whipping his attention back to his monitor. “It hasn’t been that long.” He’d dated. Sort of. Okay, so maybe they’d been hookups more than dates, but still. There’d been a few guys who’d lasted a few months. At least a few weeks.

Megan arched an auburn eyebrow at him. “It’s been ages.”

Just because the rest of his friends had found their soul mates didn’t mean the same would happen to Jack, no matter how much he secretly wanted it. Relationships never seemed to work out for him, regardless of how hard he tried. Joker, on the other hand, refused to be tied down, which of course meant he had men and women throwing themselves at him, all desperate to stake their claim on him, much to Joker’s annoyance.

The back door to the surveillance truck flew open, and Joker marched inside. Jack swiveled his chair around, a cheerful smile on his face.

“Sorry about that. But hey, good to know Chip’s always ready to save the day.”

“Of course he is. My boy’s a badass. You, on the other hand, what the fuck? You couldn’t have warned me? What happened?”

Jack shrugged. “Nothing.” As if Joker was about to buy that.

“Really?”

“I got distracted for a second. Not a big deal.”

“First of all, you don’t get distracted. And since when is a second not a big deal?”

Joker was right. They all knew too well how a second could mean the difference between life and death. Jack made the rookie mistake of glancing at his phone, which he’d stupidly left on the console. With lightning-speed reflexes, Joker swiped it up.

“Hey! What the fuck, Sacha. Give it back!”

“Don’t call me that. Now let’s see what’s got you blushing like a schoolgirl.”

“Come on, man.”

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

Oh God. Jack covered his face with his hands. Just what he didn’t need.

“What is it?” Ace asked, no doubt peeking over Joker’s shoulder, because although Joker was nosy, no one beat him in the meddling department like Ace. Anston Sharpe was worse than the granny living next door who knew more about you than your family did.

“A text from Fitz.”

Jack ignored the smile in Joker’s voice. He moved his hands and sighed. The two were grinning like idiots.

“It’s nothing. Just a reminder about my upcoming hair