Page 64 of Love at First Rep

While Riley worked, Garrett pulled out his phone to send two text messages with the same question. He should have turned it off, but his head was all over the place at the moment.

GARRETT: Are you available to cause some trouble this afternoon after work?

He didn’t expect immediate responses since his contacts couldn’t access their phones during class. Luckily, it was still morning, so he had plenty of time to hear back from them.

Minutes later, Riley handed him a portable hard drive ready to copy everything from McHugh’s computer. After thanking Riley and saying goodbye to him and Josh, Garrett made his way to work.

When he got to his desk, his phone buzzed with his first response.

LUCAS: Gee, I’m not sure. Let me think for a sec—fuck yes!

LUCAS: I’ll be home by three, unless you want me to meet you somewhere else. Let me know what you need!

A smile took over Garrett’s face. He could always count on Lucas, and Garrett rarely suggested they get into trouble together. Lucas would never miss the opportunity.

One down, one to go.

While he waited for the next message, he killed time by taking care of some paperwork, grabbing a cup of coffee with Campisi in the break room and keeping his eye on McHugh.

There was a chance McHugh had some brains and wasn’t keeping anything else about Rafe’s case on his work computer, but it was worth a shot. He needed to know if McHugh and Rafe were connected. While Garrett reported to work today, Rafe said he’d be trying to run down leads on the shipments coming through Philly, but at this point, Garrett didn’t know if he could trust him. Rafe may have owned Garrett’s heart, but his brain was another story. And his brain was also a freaking mess trying to decide if he could trust Rafe or not.

When his phone buzzed during his lunch break, he did his best to nonchalantly check the notification. The response didn’t surprise him.

COLE: Uh, is this really Garrett? This doesn’t sound like something he’d say. Or maybe it’s a test. No, Garrett. I am a well-behaved citizen and would never do anything along the lines of causing trouble. ::smile emoji::

Garrett rolled his eyes as he typed out his response.

GARRETT: It’s really Garrett, and this isn’t a test. The trouble I need you to cause isn’t illegal. Can I stop by when you get home from school? I also need Elena’s help translating something. I’d owe you one.

Regret hit him as he reread his words. Who knew what kind of favor Cole would ask for one day? Garrett winced thinking about it. That man was chaos personified.

Garrett probably could’ve tried to use the internet to translate Rafe’s words from the night before, but he didn’t have the skill to separate unfamiliar words, and he didn’t trust Google Translate. Luckily, Cole’s girlfriend, Elena, spoke fluent Spanish.

COLE: Ah, I get it. Sure, come by and we’ll help you with your totally legal problem. Wink, wink!

He really hoped he wouldn’t regret this.

————————

“You look like a man on a mission. The balloons in the back seat make me think otherwise, but is this about hiding a body?” Lucas asked as he climbed into Garrett’s car, holding a folder to his chest.

“If it is, would you help me?”

Lucas cringed as he put on his seat belt. “Only if I don’t have to dig any holes. I just got a manicure, and I don’t want to ruin it.”

Garrett chuckled, pulling out of Lucas’ driveway and turning in the direction of Cole and Elena’s place.

“Don’t worry. You won’t have to deal with anything dirty. No dead bodies or anything. I need you to help me with a diversion. I’ll explain everything when we get to Cole’s house.”

“Well, I can be a damn good diversion. I printed out the flyers like you said.”

“Perfect. Thanks for doing this.”

Lucas didn’t respond. Garrett shot a glance toward him and caught the suspicion clear on his face.

“How come Rafe isn’t helping you with this?” he asked.

“I’m, uh, making sure I can trust him.”