Got your back

Chapter 12

Author's note: Hi all! Sorry for the late update- school got crazy busy this week and then of course 8x11 happened :) Anyway, here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy and as always thank you so much for reading! ❤

The dealers were already approaching 45 minutes past the scheduled time, but the team had no choice but to wait. Jay and Kevin were sitting in Jay's truck, just far enough away to avoid being spotted but close enough to quickly intervene if things started to go south. Voight was in his own car somewhere in the opposite direction, and there were a couple of patrol units waiting a few blocks out to help with the arrests and provide backup as needed.

The meet was taking place in an abandoned lot under some L tracks. The ruckus of the occasional passing train provided excellent cover for less than legal conversations and exchanges, and the rundown area meant that there almost certainly wouldn't be any unwanted witnesses. In fact, there wasn't a single person in sight besides the officers.

From the video feed, Jay and Kev could see Kim and Adam leaning against their Jeep, passing time by talking about who knows what while also making sure to keep an eye on both their surroundings and their other teammates. A few yards away, Hailey and Caden were leaning against their own car. But unlike Kim and Adam, they were separated by a few feet and were making no efforts to break their silence.

Normally, the officers would have waited in their cars for the dealers to arrive since the vehicles would provide some protection from any potential ambush or other worst case scenario. Strategically speaking, their current setup was a terrible decision. Even so, Jay was extremely thankful to either Kim or Adam or both, whoever decided that they would wait out in the open. This forced Caden and Hailey to do the same, meaning that Hailey wouldn't have to be alone in a car with him for any longer than absolutely necessary.

The other downfall to this plan, however, was that now the officers had no protection from the chill of the autumn breeze. It wasn't too bad for the guys, but Hailey and Kim's UC outfits didn't exactly allow for sweatshirts or jackets. After standing outside for a few minutes, Adam had given Kim his jacket, an action that went well with their covers but that any of the veteran members knew had nothing to do with that. As they all continued to wait, Jay could tell that the weather was beginning to get to Hailey, her nose and cheeks slowly turning light pink. Every so often she would run her hands over her bare arms, no doubt trying to fight off the cold. Jay wished he was there next to her to give her his own jacket, or better yet, to pull her into his arms to keep her warm. But instead he'd just have to wait until after they made the arrest. Whenever that was.

Finally, the car they had all been waiting on pulled up, and the two dealers got out. By now the officers had all fallen back into their roles, an interesting transition to observe. Although Hailey, as the ranking officer, was technically in charge from an operational standpoint, while undercover she had to pretend to be nothing more than just a pretty face. Instead, Adam was supposed to take the lead during the actual undercover portions. Kim was next in line operationally, but like Hailey, her role was largely superficial. And Caden, even though he had essentially no authority as the rookie, was second to Adam while undercover. An extremely close second in his eyes. He was not supposed to do much more than follow Adam's lead, but he certainly seemed to like pushing the boundaries on that order.

Hailey no longer had the luxury of keeping a few feet between her and Caden. Instead as the guys began to talk, she allowed him to put his arm around her shoulders, playing the role of the loyal girlfriend well. She did her best to ignore his presence next to her and to ignore the sick feeling in her stomach. This was her turf, her operation. He wasn't going to stop her from doing her job and doing it well. She wouldn't let him. No matter how hard it was, she was determined not to let him.

As the men kept talking, Caden dropped his hand to the small of Hailey's back.

Jay knew her well enough to see that she had tensed ever so slightly at his touch. By itself, it was a harmless action. Giving Caden the benefit of the doubt, it was probably an innocent move to keep up the facade of them being a couple. But given everything that had transpired in the past few months and, more importantly, in the past few days, there was a very high possibility that the action was anything but innocent. Jay felt his hand curl into a fist by his side, and it was everything he could do not to blow their cover now and go beat some sense into Caden.

Luckily, Hailey had a better plan than Jay. Maintaining her cover, she giggled and leaned into Caden, clinging to his shoulder. She stood on her tiptoes to whisper seductively in his ear. "You move that hand even a millimeter lower and I swear, I will drop you where you stand," she threatened, the flirtatious tone unable to hide the danger in her words.

"Dang," Kev said with a short laugh and a slight shake of his head, impressed by Hailey's handling of the situation she shouldn't have to be in. Jay stayed silent, his fist still clenched, his gaze never leaving the screen as he counted down the seconds until this op would be over.