by Beth Rinyu
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you obviously go to Fairfield, but where are you originally from?”
“California.” I still couldn’t get used to saying that. “What about you?” I asked.
“Born and raised in this uppity town my whole life. Finally got away from it three years ago when I went off to college. Columbia. Pre-law.”
I raised my eyebrows; apparently this girl was a lot smarter, just like I had thought. “So, how long have you known Ashton?”
She rolled her eyes. “Too long. His parents and mine are really good friends. His dad and mine are both in the same medical practice. His parents are such nice people; I just can’t believe they have a son like that.”
And there’s my connection.
She placed her hand over her mouth. “Oops sorry, don’t mean to be talking about your buddy like that.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “Nah, it’s all good. So –”
“There you are!” The other girl that she had come to the party with shouted just as I was about to ask Becca if she wanted to go out sometime.
“Oh hey!” Becca smiled.
The girl looked at Becca and then at me. “Well, I was going to see if you were ready to leave, but if –”
“Nope, I’m ready!” Becca said all too willingly. “It was great talking to you, Drew,” she said while jumping into the passenger’s seat.
“Yeah, you too.” I watched as they drove away. Who would have thought that a beautiful woman just may be the “in” that I needed? For the first time since I started on this case, things were starting to look up.
“Over here!” Liz shouted from the bar area of the restaurant. I sat down next to her and ordered a beer. “Please tell me you’re hungry because I put our name on the wait list for a table….I’m starving.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” I was still feeling a little out of it after running into Becca.
“So, how did everything go at the DA’s office today?”
“Okay, I guess.” I took a swig of my beer and ran my hand through my hair.
“Mason, what’s the matter? You are so not yourself tonight. Have you forgotten that you’re not working undercover anymore?” she joked.
I stared off into space before turning my attention back to Liz. “That female prosecutor….the blind one.”
A smile stretched across Liz’s face as she lifted her wine glass to her lips. “Oh yeah, Becca. She just started about six months ago. Love that girl! She is a sweetheart.” I sighed deeply. “What about her?”
“I slept with her.”
She choked on the sip of wine that she had just taken. “What?! When?”
“Six years ago, when I was working on this case. She had close ties with the source of the investigation and…” I took a deep breath and looked away.
"Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight. You slept with Becca Keeton when you were undercover so she thought you were someone else?" I nodded. "Mason, what the hell is wrong with you?"
"I know. I needed to make a connection and she was my in. She was just so beautiful, Liz. I couldn't help it.
"You fell in love with her, didn't you?"
I nodded. "I thought about coming clean with her and giving up everything for her, but I knew she would never forgive me. She would always think that I had ulterior motives. At first I did, but it didn’t take long for all of that to change."
"So, she has no clue who you are?"
"Nope. When she knew me, I was Drew Bryant from California."
"How did it end?"
"Not good. I got pulled off the case when they got all of the information that they needed for the arrests. I told her I was going back to California. I never gave her a reason why. The last memory I have of her was me breaking her heart. When I asked her how she went blind, she said it was a stupid mistake and she was at a really bad point in her life. God, I hope I had nothing to do with that."
"Wow!" Liz said shaking her head.
"Do you know how many times over the years that I wanted to just look her up to see what she was up to, if she ever graduated law school, or if she was married? But I just couldn't do it. The mere thought of her and what I did to her tore me up inside. So I figured if I pretended that she never existed then maybe that would help me forget about her."
“Did it work?”
I shook my head. “When I saw her today, it just brought back all of the memories of her. She’s even more beautiful than I remembered. I just can’t believe she’s blind.”
“Mason, stay away from her! You work with her on this case and give her whatever information she needs, but DO NOT try and rehash whatever unfinished business you have with her.”
I looked down at the bar and began peeling off the label from my beer bottle. “Liz, you don’t know what I had with this girl.”
“YOU, didn’t have anything with her. Drew Bryant, a man that doesn’t exist, did and I’m telling you now, it’s going to end ten times worse than it did last time, if you try to start something up with her again.”
“Ah, Liz, what the hell do you know about women?” I joked.
“A hell of a lot more than you’ll ever know, smart ass. Come on, let’s go see if our table is ready,” she said, getting up from the bar and smacking me on the back of the head.
“What the hell was that for?”
“For breaking my favorite prosecutor’s heart.” After seeing Becca today and looking into those beautiful empty eyes, I knew that I deserved more than a smack on the head.
I grabbed my ringing cell phone as I jumped into the taxi to head into the office. “Hey Mason, it’s Frank Davis. Do you have some time to stop in this morning and meet with Becca to go over a few things?”
Becca. Just hearing her name ripped me apart. “Yeah, sure.” I looked at my watch. “Is now good?”
“Now would be perfect. I’ll let Becca know that you’re on your way.”
“Okay, thanks.” I stopped off for coffee along the way. I still remembered exactly how she drank hers: Hazelnut, vanilla creamer, and one sweet ‘n’ low.
“Becca, Agent Boudreaux is here,” the receptionist said as she led me back to her office. She took the earplugs out of her ears and looked up.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “Good morning, Agent Boudreaux,” she said, looking right past me and through the door.
“Morning,” I replied while trying to stop myself from staring at her. I placed the coffee cup down on her desk and watched as her mouth began to form a slight smile.
“Is that hazelnut coffee I smell?”
I nodded and then quickly responded, “It is.”
“For me?” Her smile became bigger.
I nodded again. Damn it, I have to remember to stop doing that! “Yup!”
“Well, thank you. Hazelnut is my favorite.”
She picked up the cup and took a sip. “Agent Boudreaux, how did you know exactly how I take my coffee?” She giggled.
“Lucky guess…..I guess.” Damn it, Becca, it’s me! I moved in closer, breathing in the faint scent of her perfume. How I had wished so badly that she knew who I really was. I took a seat in the chair across from her desk and tried my best just to focus on the questions she had for me.
“So, I was listening to some of the recordings from the wire that you wore. That was really risky. Mueller is pretty ruthless. He would have had no problem taking you out if he had found out.”
“It’s all in a day’s work. I’ve been in tighter spots than that.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess it takes a special kind of person to work undercover.” She lifted her coffee to take another sip. I gazed at her perfectly full lips touching the lid of the cup. How I wished I could get the image of her lips on mine out of my mind. “Guess your time in the Marines helped out a lot, too.” How the hell did she know that? “Frank let me in on that little bit of info,” she said as if she was reading my mind. “I know I’d be scared to death. I’m not that brave.”
“What do you mean?” She furrowed her brows.
“You’re a lawyer and you’re –”
“Blind,” she whispered.
"How did you do it?"
"Do what?" she asked while taking another sip of her coffee.
"Get through law school without being able to see. That couldn't have been easy."
"Well, after my accident I went into a horrible depression for three long months. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. Didn’t want to eat. Didn’t want to leave my bedroom. Then one day I finally woke up and realized this was the hand that I was dealt for the rest of my life so I may as well make the most of it. I knew I would never be able to do what I really wanted to do without my sight so I figured I may as well finish what I had started. I learned braille in record time. Finished up my last year of school at a college for the blind and was accepted into a really good law school. Passed the bar exam and here I am."
"What is it that you really wanted to do?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Paint." She smiled. "Now the only pictures I can create are the ones inside my mind."
I felt like I had been kicked in the balls. She had so much talent and it was all taken away in the blink of an eye. Why didn't I tell her the truth back then? Why didn't I tell her that I was really in love with her? Why didn't I just give up everything to be with her? I cleared my throat, trying to pull it together.
"You can still paint," I whispered.
"Umm....I don't think anyone would be interested in any paintings that I would be creating unless they were into that crazy art stuff." She laughed it off.
"You went through law school, passed the bar exam, and have a great job without your sight. Are you telling me that you can't make a stinkin' little painting?"
She raked her hands through her hair. "No, that’s just a dream that will never happen again." I could see her eyes filling with tears. She took a deep breath. “So where were we?" She clicked on her tape recorder and forced a smile.
I sat there listening to her talking, feeling like I was working undercover but in my own life. And for the first time, I wanted to go back and be one of my aliases. I wanted to be Drew Bryant again. I wanted to be that couple that Becca thought we were back then. I wanted to feel her in my arms once again. Taste her lips and her warm soft skin. I wanted to be inside of her and know that I was the only man that had ever been there. I wanted to tell her how I felt for her back then. That all I cared about was her. That I had no choice but to leave her and that keeping her safe became my one and only priority. And most of all, I wanted her to know those three words I never said but felt inside of me every time I was with her…..I love you.
Six Years ago
Becca was definitely the key that I needed into the intricate drug ring that expanded so much further than I had ever imagined. Dr. Barrett and his wife were using their charities as a front for their expansive drug business they had going on and also using Becca as a runner for all the deals. She was clueless as to what they had her doing and the danger that they were putting her in. I made sure that I went along with her to each one of the deliveries they had her going on to keep her company or so she thought. I was able to get a good amount of names of the individuals involved from the spreadsheet that Becca had been working on. Allowing me to piece together just how far this whole operation ran.
The name that stuck out more than any was Carlos Simms, a big time dealer who had his hand in more than just the drug business. The FBI had been watching him for months because of his ties with human trafficking. The thought of Becca going to his house to make deliveries scared me half to death. I knew that once he laid eyes on her, he would have more than drugs in mind. We had gone to his home last week and he wasn’t home, for which I was grateful. I was hoping that was the only time that Becca would have to go there, but this morning when she had told me that she was going again, I jumped right in to let her know that I would be going with her. I knew that she thought it was a little strange that I wanted to go, but I didn’t care; there was no way in hell she was going there by herself. After getting a little pat down by one of his men, I was glad that I had listened to the little voice in my head, telling me not to wear a wire or carry. If he had found either one on me that would’ve been it; my whole cover would have been blown and then who knows what would have happened to Becca. I was trained to remain calm in tense situations so I knew that this would be no different than any other I had been in. I was just a little nervous because I knew Becca was involved in it. I was finding that keeping her safe was more important than anything else about this case. It was quickly becoming my main priority as I was uncovering more information and realizing just how dangerous some of the people they had her delivering to were.
Almost two hours after our visit with Simms, Becca’s nerves were finally settling down. We stopped off at an old stable that she wanted to show me and sat by the water. I couldn’t stop staring at her. She looked like an angel as the sunlight shone through her hair, creating a beautiful silhouette all around her. My head had been consumed with thoughts of her lately and each time I was with her those thoughts were becoming permanently etched in my mind. I knew that I shouldn’t have crossed that line and slept with her, but I just couldn’t help it. She was the most beautiful woman that I ever laid eyes on. She was so sweet and innocent and the thought of that ruthless, heartless monster from earlier today getting his hands on her drove me insane. The look in his eyes when we walked out that door confirmed everything I already knew. He was eyeing up Becca like she was his next meal and I had to let him know that would never happen. I hated putting on an act with the Barretts’ when I was with Ashton, pretending that I didn’t know what was going on. I wanted to kill both of them for putting Becca in these dangerous situations without even blinking an eye, all for their own personal gain.
I listened to Becca reminisce about her horse, Chestnut, and the time they would spend together in this very spot. Sadness filled her eyes when she began to tell me about her father taking him away and I wanted to take away her pain, if only for a second. I moved my head closer to her and placed my lips on hers. She jumped when her phone began beeping.
“Your phone has the worst possible timing ever.”
She laughed that cute little laugh that I loved so much as she pulled her phone from her pocket and read over the text message that had just so rudely interrupted us. “Hey, do you feel like meeting my friend Krista and whoever Brad is for dinner?”
There was something about her friend Krista that I didn’t like from the first time I had met her. That was confirmed after we were done kayaking yesterday, and she showed up at Ashton’s beach party. It was so apparent that she had some deep seeded jealousy issues with Becca. “Yeah, that’s fine, I guess.” I tried putting on my best game face as always.
“Ready?” she asked after she texted Krista back.
“Yup.” I got up and grabbed her hand.
She stood up and silently looked out at the water before turning her attention back to me. “Can I tell you a little secret?”
“What’s that?”
“I liked being here with you just as much as Chestnut, and I got lots of pictures in my mind to put on paper.”
This girl was completely owning me and I knew that wasn’t good, but there was nothing I could do to stop how I was feeling about her. “Oh yeah?” I smiled. She looked up at me and my whole body felt like it was in overdrive just staring into her beautiful eyes. “Is one of those pictures this?” I grabbed her face and let my tongue express to her just how I was feeling. She let out at little sigh once the kiss ended and my lips were gently touching hers.
“I don’t need to paint a picture to remember that, Drew. Some things don’t need to be displayed to see them clearly. Some things are best seen if we just close our eyes and look inside our hearts….
and that kiss will remain in mine for the rest of my life.”
And the memory of you will be in my heart forever, too, Becca.
"I'm starving....dinner?" I asked Liz as I poked my head in her office after a long day of sitting behind a desk, catching up on paperwork and reports from the case that I had just come off.
"I would love to, but Natalie's parents are in town so I have a dinner date with them."
"Ah, I see how I rate," I teased, pulling my ringing phone from my pocket. "Boudreaux," I answered.
"Hi Agent Boudreaux, it’s Becca Keeton." She didn't need to tell me who she was. I knew that voice anywhere. "I know it's kind of late, but I was wondering if you had time to stop by my office just to go over a few questions I have from the tapes that I listened to today."
"Yeah, no problem," I replied, hoping that I didn't sound too eager. "On one condition."
"What's that?"
"Well, I'm starving and no one wants to go out to dinner with me." I looked over at Liz, who was shaking her head at me. "So, if you agree to dinner, then I agree to answer your questions."
She laughed. "Umm....okay, that sounds fair. But only because I'm pretty hungry myself."
"I'll meet you at your office in ten," I said before hanging up the phone.
Liz was staring at me as I placed my phone in my pocket. "What unsuspecting female did you just con into going to dinner with you?"
"Don't you worry about it, Lizzy." I looked away.
"Mason! No! Don't even tell me it's Becca."
"Liz, just calm down. It's work related."
"Mason, I know you better than anyone and I know that you have more than work on your mind when it comes to her. I'm telling you.....don’t!"
"I'm a big boy, Liz. I know what I'm doing."
"I know you are, but have you ever stopped to think how it's going to affect her if you two start something up again?"
I didn't want to think about that at the moment. All I wanted to think about was being with Becca and spending time with her again. I wanted her to be able to see the real me. I wanted her to realize who I was without telling her. "Have fun with your in-laws." I gave her a quick grin and hurriedly exited her office, sparing myself from another lecture.
