Close To Danger (Westen #4)(52)

“And the second reason?”

“Well, a certain part of his anatomy was built like a cannon.” Wes lifted a knowing eyebrow her direction.

It was Chloe’s turn to choke on laughter. “I should’ve known. Put young guys together and you start measuring your manhoods—literally.”

A cheeky smile lifted the corners of Wes’s mouth. He pointed to the lanky redhead next in line in the picture. “The man next to him is Isaac Bridger, aka Snake.”

“Let me guess, he’s built like a snake?” She shook her head, returning the grin.

“Nah. He got the name because he could slither into and out of tight spots without anyone knowing.” Wes scooted out his chair and began gathering up the plates.

She studied Snake’s picture a moment.

“What?” Wes asked.

“Nothing really. It’s just he looks familiar. You know, like I might’ve run across him.”

A dark look crossed Wes’s features. “Impossible.”

“Why?” she asked, already knowing his answer.

“Because he’s buried in the jungles of South America.” Wes’s face had hardened and his mouth pressed into a thin line.

The last mission. And she knew he was done talking about it—for now.

She looked at the photo again and pointed to the next man, taller than the others, built like a football player and holding a dog. “And him?”

“Bruno Carpachio.”

“What was his nick name? Lasagna?”

He shook his head. “No. With a name like Bruno he didn’t need one. Guy was great at breaking down walls when we needed him, too.”

“And the dog?”

The corner of Wes’s lip lifted. “We found him in an empty house one day. Bruno gave him some of his MRE and the little guy followed us back to camp.”

“Did he get to bring the dog home?”

The whisper of a smile disappeared from Wes’s mouth. “Bruno couldn’t care for him, as he was going into another assignment. Before we returned state side, he gave him to a group of kids. Hopefully they didn’t make him into stew.”

“I hope not, too.” She took another drink of her wine as she watched Wes move about the kitchen, pulling out a box of graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows. The man kept his promise. Apparently, they were having s’mores for desert. “So this new assignment of Bruno’s, was it part of your special operations group?”

“You can’t help being a lawyer, can you?” Wes said, carrying the tray of s’mores ingredients along with two long wire skewers over to the fireplace.

“I’ve always been full of questions. I figure if you want to know something, you should ask.”

Chloe brought both their glasses of wine and settled down beside him on the rug in front of the fire. He handed her the marshmallows and skewers then picked up the poker to stir the fire. Without waiting for instructions, she loaded two marshmallows on the skewers.

“Did you think your curiosity might’ve been what got you into this predicament?” he asked as he set another log onto the fire.

“The old curiosity killed the cat theory Bobby always warned me about as a kid?” she asked, handing him the skewers to toast the marshmallows over the fire. Not wanting to really address his question, she focused on opening the crackers and chocolate bars, layering them on the plate to await the hot marshmallows.

“Your rebellion against an older sister aside. You’ve pushed the limits a few times in these cases. Turning information over to the DA about one of your firm’s clients. Taking on a big conglomerate for your client by investigating their finances and not accepting their offer without question. Finding out about the sporting goods guy to make sure he pays? Yeah, I’d say your questions could’ve landed you in this mess.”

“You left out the domestic abuse case,” she said through nearly clenched teeth. How dare he say she brought this upon herself by doing what was right?

“That would be your crusader gene going wild.”

“My what?” She looked at him with incredulity.

“That gene where you know what’s right and by God you’re going to be sure that justice is done. Bobby has it, too. Don’t know Dylan well enough, but I suspect she shares it with you two,” he said as he pulled the skewer back and blew out the fire on the toasted to near perfection marshmallows.

“You don’t believe people should do what’s right?” She settled graham crackers on top of the marshmallows as he slid them on top of the chocolate bars, sandwiching them together.

“Despite what you and your sisters believe, the world isn’t so cut and dried, black and white. There’s a whole lot of gray out there.” Without further comment, he picked up a s’more and took a big bite, his eyes lit up as if he was in heaven.

As much as she’d love to inform him that she was well aware of the gray areas both in the law and people’s moral compasses, his enjoyment of the dessert and her own sweet tooth won out. She’d indulge in one s’more, then she’d give him her opinion on his opinion on her.

Picking up one of the gooey treats, she sank her teeth into it, letting her eyes close in pure bliss.

A warm breath caressed her cheeks.

Opening her eyes he gaze locked on his, his face mere centimeters from hers, the flame of the fire mirrored in his blue eyes.