Insubordinate ( Gay ) ( BxB )

Chapter Twenty-Two ✓

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The world is frantic.
I stand still.

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"Aaron." Coen says.

I blink.

Coen takes a step closer to me, his eyes set forwards, poker faced; I stare blankly. He nods his head in Brett's direction, urging me on with the intensity of his eyes. I turn my head, looking to Brett; he watches me too. Muata, standing just to Brett's left, looks between all three of us.

"Cold feet?" Brett cocks a brow at me.

"Come." Coen prompts firmly, slipping his hand behind my back and giving me a gentle nudge forwards. "We've got work to do."

"Do you plan on holding my photographer up even more than you have already, Beckett?" Muata cocks her head.

Move.

"No," I swallow. "No, sorry, I'm going."

One step at a time. I let Coen push me along like a current, his hand flat against my back. Brett shrugs his shoulders and turns to lead us both, walking on a few feet ahead. I press my apartment key into my hand inside my pocket.

It was only inevitable that Neo end up under arrest for violating his terms of his probation. The guy's been doing it the whole time, shamelessly. He mentioned prying off an ankle monitor, even, as unbelievable as it sounds. I expected no less, I never began to; no, it's no surprise, because the surprise is not in that. It's the circumstances, it's here. Here, why is he here? Neo has nothing to do with the Hunter Case, I know that. Person of interest, potential involvement, potential knowledge; potential my fucking ass. That's not true, none of it is true.

They've missed their target.

With every stride, I see my friend clearer and boxed in by three officers. I chew my lip, I continue to jam my key against my skin, my toes curl in my shoes. What does this mean for him?

"Are you okay?" Coen asks me quietly.

"Fine." I say. "I'm fine."

"That's good." Coen breathes. "Before we get to him- what do you want to do about this?"

"Neo?"

"Keep your voice down." He hisses, hunching forwards slightly. "Tonight, he is Niyol Yiska to you. Do you want me to call a cab? I can pass you off as sick."

"No." I say immediately. "No, just..."

"Just?"

"Let me talk to him."

"You can't do that."

"We'll make up an excuse for that instead of my leaving." I say. "What's the harm?"

"Dumbass." Coen curses, reaching up and pinching between his eyes. "Unofficially, you're on this case with me, but a connection with Neo could compromise something."

"So what? I'll follow the next case when I'm official."

"Aaron, if you're not on this case, you're going to be useless to me. Not to mention that you can't afford to have others looking into you even slightly, or else they'll realize that things to quite match up, just like I did."