Ever since that first night when he’d stayed with RT, Z hadn’t been able to sleep much. Until last night, he’d been plagued by nightmares about RT being shot. Sure, the bullet hadn’t hit anything major, and it had in no way been life threatening, but witnessing it had fucked Z up good. Not that he’d allowed anyone to know that. Instead, he had retreated to the nursing home, sharing his thoughts with his father.
Watching RT now, Z felt his chest expand, the love he felt for the man making it difficult to breathe. Last night had been…perfect. Better than perfect, actually. Never had he thought they’d make it this far, especially not after what had happened between them, but now, all that hope that had filled him remained, this time reinforced by the fact that RT had told him that he was no longer running.
“Yeah,” Clay agreed. “In the fucking arm. You big baby.”
Z didn’t contribute to the conversation. He was still a little overwhelmed. He’d spent the last few days trying to recover from watching RT take a bullet, from spending the night in RT’s bed that same night, wishing like hell he could trust him again, wanting desperately to throw caution to the wind and tell RT how much he loved him. Only to find himself back in RT’s bed, every dream he’d ever had where RT was concerned realized.
Although Z had reluctantly taken the week off, helping RT when he needed it but spending most of the time with his father, as well as Reese and Jensyn, who had both remained in town until yesterday, he had been eager to get back to work. His brother and sister had gone back to their normal lives, leaving Z alone again, which was how he’d woken up that morning, as well. Only he hadn’t been alone. He’d had RT. But still, Z had been expecting to spend a few more days doing as little as possible. If it had been up to him, he would’ve spent most of that time naked with RT.
Except RT had called everyone into the office this morning.
“So, why’re we all here?” Clay stared at his brother, looking like a man ready to bolt from his seat.
“I’ve got some news,” RT answered.
“Well, if it’s about Amit, we know how that ended,” Clay noted.
“It’s not about Amit,” RT said.
Z and the others had already been debriefed about the case. Amit was home safe and sound; he’d returned the money to Thurston that he’d been paid for the stolen painting—the portion he hadn’t spent already, anyway. Jericho had loaned him the rest. Thurston had been arrested but released the same day. He was facing charges for shooting RT, but no one figured he would spend any time in jail considering the circumstances, not to mention how much money the loony bastard had. The original painting had been handed over to DHS, and Z hoped they never had to see the damn thing again. And to top it all off, Max had sworn to Courtney that he wouldn’t retaliate against Thurston for what he’d done—not that anyone necessarily believed him, but whatever.
“Then what’s this about?” Clay grumbled.
Casper cleared his throat. “We wanted to make an announcement.”
All eyes turned to Casper.
“We’re stepping down,” Casper stated, coming to stand at the end of the table and glancing at everyone individually before continuing. “Going forward, Bryce and I will no longer be in charge. We’re officially transitioning the control over to where it belongs.”
“We’d like to say that we won’t be coming into the office,” Bryce added, “but we all know how that usually works out.”
A few chuckles followed.
Z glanced at RT. Although he knew this was what Casper and Bryce had been working toward, he wasn’t as thrilled as he should’ve been. With RT taking over in an official capacity, he would be even more wrapped up in the job, more intent on staying focused and moving the company forward. Not that Z blamed him. This was his legacy. But that meant Z would have even less time with him than he did already.
“Congratulations,” Decker said, nodding toward RT.
“Don’t congratulate him yet,” Bryce chimed in. “We’ve known this day was coming for a long time, and though RT has been groomed to take over, and ultimately will remain in charge, at his request, we’re making a few changes.”
Z’s attention shifted to Bryce.
“Everyone in this room knows that this is not a forty-hour-a-week job,” Casper said. “Never has been, never will be. We work when we’re needed, and we don’t stop until the job is complete. And yes, I know there are some of you who insist on fieldwork and couldn’t imagine sitting behind a computer all day. Luckily for everyone here, that isn’t what Bryce and I have done for the past thirty-five years, either.”
More laughter erupted around the room.
“In case some of you haven’t noticed, RT is still very much hands-on. He wants to be in the field as much as everyone else, but he can’t run this place by himself, and in the coming weeks, Bryce and I will no longer be as available as we once were.”
Z glanced over at RT again, noticing he was staring back at him. Bryce’s hand squeezed Ryan’s shoulder, breaking the moment.
RT got to his feet. “I’ve been told more than once that I work too much, but it wasn’t until someone specific informed me of this that I realized what it meant. Maybe I’ve been selfish in taking on so much responsibility without delegating to some of you who are far more capable of handling certain things than I am. Or perhaps I was simply trying to ensure everyone had the ability to do what they wanted to do at my own expense.
“Either way, the same man who so bluntly informed me that I work too much also told me that there are other people who would be glad to step up to the plate and help out.” RT glanced at Conner briefly, then scanned the room once more. “I’ve taken certain things into consideration when coming to this decision, but in the end, I’m confident that these changes are what’s best for the company. And the reason I brought you all here today is because everyone in this room is a decision maker in some way or another within this company. Your input is crucial to our success.”
“Which means…?” Hunter asked.
“It means that I want your support.”
Z felt the tension in the room as everyone, including him, hung on every word RT said.
“Starting immediately, Conner will be moving into his rightful place within Sniper 1.”
Everyone’s eyes shifted to Conner. Z had expected him to bitch and moan, something he’d gotten good at over the last two years.
“RT’s right,” Conner conceded. “I’ve shirked my responsibilities for long enough. It’s time I do right by him, and you. And I figured if I took over Casper’s office, he wouldn’t be able to hang around so much.”
Z was shocked, but not as shocked as some of the others whose mouths were hanging open at Conner’s admission. Or maybe it was his attempt at a joke. Who knew?
“After a lengthy discussion with Conner,” Ryan continued, “the two of us also agreed that some additional changes were needed. And we’ve decided to implement three teams, all with a team leader, who will be responsible for managing the day-to-day of each person within their organization. Due to the fact we’re continuing to take on more business, we’ll be expanding, hiring more agents and additional office staff.
“This means everyone will be taking on more responsibility, some other positions will be created, some will change to incorporate this additional level. Does anyone have any questions?”
“Who’re the team leaders?” Clay inquired, looking none too happy with this.
RT glanced over at Trace. “Trace will handle one of the teams, another will be managed by Courtney.”
Z glanced over at Trace, smiling. He knew Trace loved being in the field, but now that he was married, it would give him more time with Marissa, allow him to travel less if he chose that route.
“And the third… The third team will be managed by Z.”
The information took a moment to register, and Z’s eyes snapped over to RT but not before seeing Trace smile and point in his direction.
“Wait, what?” Z knew his confusion registered on his face as he stared back at RT, not sure he’d heard him correctly.
But if he thought that announcement was the biggest surprise he would receive that day, he was sorely mistaken. The next words out of RT’s mouth nearly leveled him.