The Soldier and The Spy: Jay Halstead- Episode 6

Chapter 5

"Don't look at her."

Liam's mocking tone got a lot sharper when Hailey's gaze shot to Tess but while it hurt to see the rest of his team giving her the same wary look Jay understood. He almost gave her one, so thrown off by the reference to the first case Hailey had worked with them that he remembered too late it was information that made sense for Liam to have, not just through his connection to Tess but through his own work, something the man reminded everyone of a second later. But that was a second too late for Jay, for Tess whose body had already gone tight by the time his hand made it's way to her knee and for Hailey who noticed immediately where his hand went, who gave him such a stinging look of betrayal that his heart felt like it cleaved in two.

Thank God for Liam because right now he wasn't protecting anyone.

"You've been pretty good at keeping your team out of the media but you've spent the last six years running around this city like a bunch of cowboys- to say you've been noticed would be an understatement." He told Voight dryly but firmly, the polite pretense he'd put on for his friend's sake now gone for the same reason. "Anyone who's anyone knows you and if you still don't know how it is none of their shots ever landed you aren't as intelligent as I've been made to believe."

Their Sergeant straightened at the other man's disparaging tone but he didn't seem angered, or even surprised, in fact he seemed humbled, something that happened rarely if ever and a quick look around the table showed Jay he wasn't the only one. Their unit had a bad habit of thinking they were invincible but while it was one thing to be reminded they weren't it was something else entirely to be told their very reputation didn't just belong to them.

"Now as for your question," Liam said glancing back to Hailey, his distaste replaced with a just as cutting disinterest, "I don't care what you believe. And I have no expectations."

Well shit.

He'd known this wasn't going to be easy but he had hoped it'd go a little smoother than this. And yet... wasn't this what he'd wanted? For his team to understand that Tess was on their side, that she always had been? He didn't know how any of them could doubt that now but it looked like Hailey and Vanessa still wanted to try, but thankfully while he was busy giving them, her, his own betrayed stare someone else was looking after his girl.

"Now I see why you were concerned about people peeing."

Kim spoke softly but with her gaze focused firmly on Tess it was clear she was throwing her friend a lifeline and after a second of stunned silence she took it, bursting out in the most genuine laugh he'd heard from her in the last twenty-four hours. Just like that the tension in the room was broken, most of it anyway but right now Jay was fine to ignore his former partner to focus on his current one, not just Tess who was slowly, slightly relaxing but Kevin and Adam too, his friends both giving them apologetic nods. And Liam and Drew, the men taking them in impassively before Liam shot a wink at Kim, their dismissal biting but fair.

He was starting to hate that word.

"I would never behave so inappropriately."

"You have." Tess and Drew said in unison, sharing matching grins as Liam shrugged them off.

"Not in one of your places."

"Can we get back to that? We still have a murder to solve." Voight cut in, not exactly as brusque as he normally was but definitely done taking a backseat, and done with his teams interruptions judging by the firm look he gave Hailey. "We need to find out who else Hollowell was trying to make deals with-"

"Already done."

Liam gave their Sergeant another slow onceover before he waved his hand at Tess whose phone dinged softly, the subtle dip of her chin telling him that the 'friend' Liam spoke of next was actually Cas.