After a moment, Reese realized that it was a serious question, and not an insult. He was so surprised he didn’t have an answer until they’d reached their bikes.
“We need a trap.”
“What kind of trap?” Tango asked.
Aidan glanced over sharply.
“They have to think they’re meeting with a customer. They deal drugs, yes?”
“Yeah…” Aidan drawled. And then his brows shot up over the rims of his sunglasses. “Holy shit, we need a trap.” He snapped his fingers and aimed one at Reese. “Sometimes, you’re almost smart.”
~*~
“A trap?” Ghost asked, fifteen minutes later.
“They’re dealing to the kids, right?” Aidan asked. He was taking credit for this idea, but Reese didn’t care. He sensed something almost desperate about Aidan’s eagerness to please his father. Without a father of his own, Reese could only observe and imagine what that impulse might feel like.
He did dart a glance across the common room, though, toward Tenny’s sprawled, seemingly indifferent figure. He was wearing his sunglasses indoors, and appeared to be asleep, but Reese knew he was listening attentively.
“So we reach out to the kids – Carter’s got the in,” Aidan explained. “We have the kid text Fred and Ricky, set up a meeting, hell, let’s use the kid, make it look legit, and then, boom, we jump on the guy.”
“Damn,” Ghost murmured, stroking his chin. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Aidan’s grin was wide and blinding.
“Carter, can you get us hooked up with one of the students?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Ghost nodded. And then he turned to Reese. “Get out your face paint.”
~*~
It was twilight, and Carter’s stomach was unpleasantly tight. He was glad he’d forgone lunch.
“You don’t have to do this,” he told Elijah. “You arranged the meeting, and that’s all we need.” When he’d called Elijah to ask about contacting the dealers, he’d hoped and expected Elijah to pass him off to one of his friends, most likely the Tate guy who’d sent Elijah drug pics before. But Elijah had said he would do it himself.
Carter’s guilt gnawed at him.
“Seriously,” he stressed. “Go home and let us handle this.”
Elijah lifted a questioning brow. “Earlier you said you needed it to look real for these guys. They needed to see an actual kid.”
“That’s what Ghost wants, but he’s an asshole,” he said, dropping his voice. His brothers stood a short distance away, and he didn’t want them overhearing. “Please just leave.”
“You think I’ll screw it up.”
“I think it’s not worth risking you getting hurt.”
“Oh,” Elijah said, tone darkening. “So it was cool if one of my buddies got hurt, but not if I do.”
“That’s not what I meant–”
“I’m not asking someone else to do what I’m not willing to do myself. Not on the field, not in life. I’m helping you because you’ve helped me. And I’m gonna do it right.” He sounded like he wouldn’t be swayed.
Carter knew that Mercy could bundle him in a van and they could forcibly remove him from the op. But he had to admire the kid’s bravery and take-charge attitude. Even if fear sat sour on the back of his tongue, threatening his gag reflex.
He blew out a breath that did little to ease the pressure in his lungs. “Okay. Well. Okay. Just. Follow the plan. And the second shit goes sideways, hit the dirt and let us handle it. Okay?”
