“You’re an idiot,” I told him.
His eyes narrowed and that scary muscle jumped in his cheek.
“What did you just say?”
“You… are… an… idiot,” I repeated. “Think about it and when you’re ready to apologize, I’ll listen. But I’ll accept an apology now for the insult you just dished out.”
“How about you explain,” he suggested in a way that was clear it wasn’t a suggestion.
“No explanation, but I’ll give you a hint. In all my vast experience of men through what you consider was India’s Decade of Slutdom, I’ve never, not once, even so much as had a toothbrush at another man’s house.”
He just stared at me, he didn’t get it or was too angry to process it. And he wasn’t moving and still had me pinned to the lockers. I was forced to explain further and I got a little carried away.
“I had one at yours after the first night I stayed there. Okay so it was in your stash, but it’s a toothbrush, Lee! One use and it’s mine. And we hadn’t even done it yet! Not to mention undies in your drawer and wearing your t-shirts.” I put my hands on my hips. “And sleeping at your house, like, all the time. None of that, never with another guy, never, never, never. Huh! Get it now?”
Something changed in his eyes but whatever it was just intensified the feeling already there. It went from scary-but-under-control to totally-out-of-control.
My stomach did a clench because I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next.
His hands went to my hips and pulled mine against his, then his arms wrapped around me, one hand going into my hair. He tugged it, not gentle but as if he couldn’t control his strength.
My head went back and I let out a little cry but it was cut off when his mouth came down on mine and he kissed me. It was not like any kiss he’d given me before, it was hard and wild.
Somehow he’d lost control and I had to admit that I liked that I could make him lose it.
I liked it a lot.
When his head came up, he immediately dropped his forehead to mine, his eyes closed and he didn’t say a word. We were both breathing heavily and my hands were at his waist, clutching the t-shirt there. He was having an internal battle, I could tell, and when his eyes opened I realized whatever battle he was waging, he’d won.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked when he lifted his head.
I shook mine.
“Fuck, Indy, you turn me inside out.”
I stood there a beat and then said, very quietly, “Lee, I’m not doing anything to you. You’re doing it to yourself. I’m beginning to think you don’t know me either. There were guys but…” I was going to stay “none of them was you” but I stopped myself just in time and said, “it was just fun, half of them didn’t even get to second base. I’m not the slut you think I am.”
“I don’t think you’re a slut.”
“That’s not the way you make it sound.”
“I’ve been watchin’ men sittin’ in what I considered my position for a long time and I didn’t like it. I should have done something about this a long time ago, that’s my problem. I’m taking it out on you.”
I stared at him and realized that I’d spent years throwing myself at him and being rebuffed and watching him go off with every other girl who caught his eye. Each time it tore at my heart and each new time it hurt more.
What I didn’t realize was, for years he’d been experiencing the same thing.
“My flirting is harmless, you don’t have anything to worry about,” I told him.
“I’m still gonna ask you not to do it,” Lee replied.
I looked into his eyes for several seconds and then sighed. “All right. I’ll quit flirting.”
His arms were still around me and they pulled me deeper into him.
“That’s my girl,” he murmured and my heart stopped beating.
This was it, I was Lee’s girl.
And it felt great.
Holy shit, shit, shit.
I pulled back a little to hide my reaction and said, “Can I bring Marianne here? Just to meet Vance and Matt… er, and maybe Bobby?” Lee stared at me and I continued., “Also, Tod wouldn’t mind popping by.”
“No,” Lee answered but he was grinning his “Isn’t-Indy-cute?” grin.
“I didn’t think so,” I muttered to myself. “Can we go find Rosie now?”
* * * * *
After I tamed the wild, broody Lee Beast in the locker room, Lee finished his tour.
There were three more doors to discover.
Room one was a blandly decorated room with a double bed, a reclining chair, a TV, DVD player and bookshelf full of books and DVDs. It had a private bath and was called the safe room. To get into it, you needed a fob for one pad and you had to put your thumb to another pad and you had to use an old-fashioned key.
Room two was a room with four work cubicles in it, all complete with chairs, desks, computers and filing cabinets underneath the desks. Brody, Ally and my computer nerd friend, popped up from one of the cubicles.
“Indy!” he shouted.
“Holy shit, Brody, what’re you doing here?” I asked, walking toward him and smiling.When I got to him, I gave him a hug. He was a total slob, black shirt, black jeans, black Doc Martens, wild dark hair and Buddy Holly glasses. His body had no shape, defined, as it was, by sitting in a chair in front of a computer all the time.
“Ally told me I needed to get out of my house so she got me a part-time job with Lee. What are you doing here?” He looked between me and Lee. “Oh yeah, I forgot, Ally told me you and Lee hooked up. Finally. Cool. Bet you’re happy.”
I glanced at Lee, the Lee Beast had disappeared and Cocky Lee had taken his place.
I ignored it and turned back to Brody. “You do programming?”
“Nope, hacking, usually tracing embezzlement stuff but sometimes…”
“Brody,” Lee cut in and Brody stopped talking, his eyes got wide and he stared at Lee.
“Yeah, sorry, yeah, yeah, yeah,” Brody said and looked at me. “Confidentiality,” he whispered. “I keep forgetting.”
I looked around the room, fascinated by what Lee had built in a short period of time. It was a huge-ass operation.
“The other cubbies are for searches and stuff.” Brody started pointing. “That’s Kim’s cubbie, she’s hilarious, you’d like her. Her husband is a paramedic so she likes to work when he’s on shift, sometimes seven to three, sometimes three to eleven. Then there’s Pablo but he’s part-time, like me. I do morning, he does afternoons. The other one is for the boys when they need to do computer work we can’t see.”
“Ah,” I said.
Brody looked to Lee. “See, I told her the whole thing without talking about the job we’re doing.”
Lee stared at Brody, obviously re-evaluating doing a favor for his sister.
“That’s good, Brody,” I said to him like he was a lovable dog, which, in a way, he was.
Lee put his hand at my back again, indication it was time to go.
“When we leave, lock the door and don’t open it for fifteen minutes unless you get a knock, three, two, two. Got that?” Lee said to Brody.
“Three, two, two. Got it.” He turned to me. “Lots of codes around here. Three quicks then a long. Three short, three long, three short. Shit, what’s this new code again?” he asked Lee.
Lee sighed. “Three, two, two.”
“Yeah, okay. Three, two, two. Later, Indy. By the way, really dug the El Salvador e-mail, that was hilarious. Where do you come up with that shit?” Brody asked but didn’t expect an answer and then walked back to his desk chanting, “Three two two, three two two…”
Lee guided me out of the room and back to the reception area. Dawn was behind her desk and she schooled her features into a benign smile at our approach. Her immaculate desk top was marred by a gunbelt which Lee picked up with the barest hint of a nod of thanks to Dawn.
He pulled out a flat black thing with two prongs at the top.
“Stun gun,” he said, “you have to be close to use this, take down is half a second so it’s quick. Don’t touch the prongs or you’ll get cranked with 625,000 volts.”
Holy crap!
Is that what happened to me?
625,000 volts?
That seemed like a lot.
A lot, a lot.
Lee was still talking. “Batteries are new, switch it on and touch the prongs to your target and he’ll go down.”
“You should know about those, considering,” Dawn chimed in sweetly. “They’re not pretty but they work!”
Lee’s eyes cut to her and she immediately turned her attention to the computer and I just stopped myself from sticking my tongue out at her and giving her a “nanny nanny foo foo” head wag.
Lee shoved the stun gun back into the belt and pulled out something that looked somewhat like a real gun.
“Taser,” he said, “you can use this from a distance, point and shoot, same result as a stun gun. Prongs come out and juice him. Don’t worry about clothes, these prongs will even go through a vest.”
“That’s a bulletproof vest,” Dawn cut in again.
“Thanks,” I snapped sharply on a saccharin smile with a bitch glare, a combination better known as the Bitch Triple Threat.
When I looked back to Lee, his eyes were crinkled and he was shoving the taser back into the belt.
He thought we were the funny.
I decided not to go into bitch smackdown mode. I’d been giving Lee’s employees enough entertainment for a week.
Lee pulled out a canister.
“Pepper spray. Shake it to make it live, make sure you point it correctly. This one sprays at distance, you’ve got up to fifteen feet. Aim at his face. Don’t do it in an enclosed area or you’ll get it too.”
“Okey dokey,” I said quickly before Dawn could give any helpful hints.
Lee turned to Dawn. “You’re goin’ to lunch.”
Without a word, she grabbed her purse and walked that long-legged, one foot in front of the other, ass-swaying catwalk out the door.
Lee and I watched and I changed my mind again about Dawn.
I turned to Lee. “I’m just gonna say, she’s a problem.”
Lee put the belt on me, shook his head and caught my eye.
His eyes were serious and Dawn was a distant memory.
“The fun part of the day is over,” he said in a no-nonsense voice, securing the belt at my waist.
Uh-oh.
“You’re gonna see and hear shit that you might not like. This is my work and you have to remember, whatever it is, there’s an explanation behind it or it’s being controlled. Talk to me before you react and listen to me. Pay attention and be smart. If something gets too much, too intense, you just say, no matter where we are or what we’re doin’, I’ll take you away. Yeah?”
That didn’t sound good.
Lee watched me closely and waited for me to respond.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“We’re goin’ to the holding room. If we capture a skip and for some reason can’t get him to the station, we use the holding room. You’ll see now it has other purposes.”
Yikes.
“Keep your mouth shut, your eyes open and know where your weapons are. Do not use the pepper spray. We’ve got someone in there and we’re lettin’ him go. I don’t know how he’ll react.”
“Letting him go?” I asked. I didn’t know who he was but whoever he was, he was in a holding room and letting him go didn’t sound like a good idea.
“He’s part of a bigger picture. We’ve been workin’ with him for a few days, tryin’ to get him to talk. He hasn’t felt up to it. Now, it serves the higher purpose to let him loose.”
I had questions to ask but I had no time to ask them, Lee was already moving away and I had no choice but follow… or run away.
Chapter Eighteen
Naked Gratitude
For better or worse, I followed Lee down the hall.
He knocked twice on the surveillance room door, used his fob and went in.
“It’s time,” he announced.
Vance got up and walked to a desk. Monty leaned forward and flipped some switches and some monitors came on. On the monitors, I could now see Brody working, the empty hall and a room with a bed, a toilet and a sink, a guy lying on his side on the bed. I couldn’t see much of the guy and then Vance was in my way. He had a gunbelt doubled up in one hand, he put it behind his back, opened it and strapped it on. It had the same stuff mine had, plus a real gun and cuffs.
He lifted his hand, his dark eyes locked on mine and flirty look was gone. He pointed to the door.
I walked out behind Lee, Vance followed me and closed the door.
Lee walked down to the end of the hall to the last door, the only door Lee hadn’t opened to show me what was inside.
“You know where your weapons are?” Lee asked.
I felt around my belt and nodded. I felt like Super Idiot with the belt on, not Super Cool like Vance looked. Lee wore no gunbelt, just the killer dark brown leather one holding up his faded brown cargo pants.
Lee jerked his head at Vance. Vance used a fob and a light went green.
“Follow me in,” Lee said to me, opened the door and walked in.
I did as I was told and, once I was in the room, I saw Terrible Teddy, Coxy’s goon who hit me what seemed like years ago. He turned in the bed and stood.
I sucked in air.
He had a bandage across his nose and a wicked black eye, both nose and eye were grotesquely swollen to almost Rocky-Balboa-post-Apollo-Creed-fight size.
Teddy spared me only a glance, then he turned cautious eyes to Lee.
Vance stood in the door, one hand resting on his taser.
“You’re free to go. Vance’ll escort you from the building,” Lee declared.
Teddy’s glance swung to Vance. Vance had unholstered the taser and was gesturing with it for Teddy to leave the room.
My mind was reeling. I was trying to count the days since I’d had my brief encounter with Teddy, remembering that Lee told his boys to pick him up. Had he been in this little room that long? And furthermore, how did his face get like that?
“Free to go?” Teddy asked.
“Yep,” Lee answered.
“Just like that?” Teddy went on.
No one said anything. Teddy looked at me. I didn’t say anything either. Lee told me to keep my mouth shut but even if he hadn’t, I was too shocked to speak.
“I don’t get it,” Teddy said.
“Rumor’s spreading that you talked,” Lee told him. “I don’t know how that happened.”
Lee looked at Vance, Vance shrugged.
They were playing with him.
Lee kept talking. “Coxy’s at war with me and he’s tryin’ to impress Indy. You remember Rick?” Teddy nodded slowly. “Coxy put a bullet in Rick’s brain. He fucked with Indy and hurt her. Yesterday, Coxy gave Indy Rick’s body as a present, half his head blown off. You hit her and marked her. Now you’re out. Good luck.”
“Fuck,” Teddy cursed, looking at me like I could help him out. He hit me and I was pretty sure he was a bad guy, but I had to say I felt sorry for him.
“Let’s go,” Vance put in.
Teddy turned to Lee.
“I talk, he kills me, I don’t talk, he kills me,” he said as if trying to explain.
“Life’s a bitch,” Lee replied, turned his back on Teddy, jerked his head to me and I walked out of the room, followed by Lee. Vance went into the room after we left it. I kept walking until I got to Lee’s office and he stopped me, opened the door, pushed me in and lifted his fingers, stared me in the eyes giving me a three, two, two. I nodded and he closed the door.
I locked it.
Holy shit, shit, shit.
Not five minute later, the knock came. Three, two, two.
I opened it and Lee walked in “He’s gone, time for lunch. Let’s roll.”
* * * * *
I waited unt
il we were rounding the Brown Palace when I asked, “How did Terrible Teddy’s face get like that?”
“Me.”
“You hit him?”
“He touched you, you said it hurt. I found him and beat the shit out of him.”
Oh… my… God.
“Please tell me you didn’t do it in that little room,” I said quietly.
“It was before he was put in the holding room.”
At least that was something.
I was silent while Lee drove. I’d taken off the gunbelt and put it in the trunk with the one Lee took from a drawer in his desk. His was stocked like Vance’s.
Lee parallel parked the Crossfire in a choice spot in front of Las Delicias.
I loved Las Delicias, it was the best Mexican restaurant in Denver if you didn’t count El Tejado. Though, I really didn’t have to choose since El Tejado was officially in Englewood.
I was also silent while they sat us in a booth and Lee slid in beside me rather than across from me.
I turned to him, looked down at the seat then up at him.
“Let me guess, you aren’t much of a booth sharer?” he remarked.
I shook my head.
“Me either but I’m attempting to control the environment.”
I looked beyond him. He was turned toward me, his back to the restaurant.
“Wild Bill Hickock got shot with his back to the door,” I informed him.
“I’m not controlling the room, I’m going to attempt to control you.”
Uh-oh.
The waitress came and slid a basket of chips and a bowl of salsa on our table.
Neither of us had opened our menus. We didn’t need to.
Ally and I went to Las Delicias or El Tejado at least twice a month, sometimes more. Dad joined us on occasion. Hank joined us most of the time, even when he was on duty, he’d come in for a dinner break. Every once in awhile, and looking back, much more often in the last year or two, Lee came. He was with us so often, I could order for him. He’d have three chicken burritos, smothered with lettuce and cheese, a beer if it was evening, iced tea during the day.
Lee looked up at the waitress and ordered a diet pop for me, an iced tea for him, his burritos and my bean tostada and burrito chicharrone smothered with lettuce and cheese.
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