Covered by Bubbles

by Gracie Meadows

  "My child, you need not go further, I understand what you are trying to say.

  What is done between consenting adults is between you and the adult. If adultery isn’t involved then you have nothing to fear, my child. God will still love you even if you have sexual relations with your husband. Now go be at peace, my child.” He was holding on to a thread as he tried to not to laugh at the expression on Bubbles's face.

  “Thank you, Father.” They heard the woman open the door and leave. He couldn’t take it anymore, he bent over laughing and Bubbles started smacking his shoulder.

  “Well that wasn’t what I thought it was going to be like when we came in here. What is wrong with you? It is not like I need any help with the whole going to Hell thing.” She was so serious as she scolded him, he sat back up all humor gone.

  "We had to do something because Trent and those other men were still out there. Not knowing what was going to happen, we couldn't send the nice lady out there into possible danger anymore than we could give our position away."

  "Fine, but I am telling you now that if bad things start happening around you because of this, it will kill me but I will leave you to your fate," she said, winking at him, and he knew then that everything would be alright once they got the case over with and came to an agreement.

  "Come on, baby, we need to try to get out of here and tell Dylan what’s going on. We have a lot to do now.” They both stood and he couldn’t remove the smile on his face, she was the one who put it on there, just being with her made him happy, no matter the situation.

  He moved in front of her and peaked his head out, looking for the suits as Bubbles called them. They weren’t there and he stepped out, pulling her with him. The two of them left the church, heading to her car. They needed to try to figure things out.

  Dylan made it home from the station and was still a little steamed about the situation too. He'd been shocked when the DEA had come in and told him to back off, that they were taking over and he would only be a hindrance to the case. However, the dipshits didn’t say why. It bothered the hell out of him. While he thought over what had taken place in that meeting, which wasn't much, he started cooking dinner for them all. A simple spaghetti that didn’t take long.

  As soon as he heard them pull into the garage, he put the garlic bread in the oven to toast. The garage door opened and both Chance and Brandie walked in. He liked seeing them walking in together and thought it would be nice to have her here permanently. Granted they would need a bigger bed, but that was an easy fix.

  She bound right up to him as Chance walked on into the other room. She kissed him square on the lips, just a small one, but after the day he was having he wanted more. She went to pull away, and he grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her long and deep. The sweet taste of her told him she had had coffee at some point today. Her soft little mewling noises went right to his cock. He wanted to talk and eat before he buried himself deep inside her for the night.

  “Well that was a welcome home kiss, big guy.” She smiled at him before he released her. Still smiling, she jumped up on the counter to sit.

  “Well, I like the idea of you coming come to me.” He stepped between her legs and kissed her softly on her small nose.

  “Good, because I’m starting to like it as well.” He knew she was chewing over something so he just waited for her to tell him as he went and stirred the pot of pasta and brought out a bottle of red wine.

  It didn’t take long before Chance came in and helped set the table up for dinner. Soon the three of them sat down and started to dish up the food, wanting to break the ice because this silent shit was starting to suck.

  “So went into the station and found the DEA was already there. Not sure how they knew. The girls at your office didn’t contact them. Which makes me wonder what you two have been doing all day.”

  He watched as she took a small drink of her wine, looked down, and then right at him. “Well, I ran into Trent today.”

  “What?” Of all the things he could think she would say, he didn’t think that would be it.

  “Actually, he left me a note to meet him somewhere. But wait, don’t freak, Chance went with me and I had my gun with me as well. Anyway, it was at the church downtown. He was alone, but it was what he said that shocked me more.” She took another drink of her wine. “Dylan, Trent is a DEA agent who is undercover. He told me to back off that he was close to finding the bigger fish. He's been undercover for about three years, which is why you didn’t find him before.”

  Dylan shook his head trying to process the idea of his brother being DEA. Well, after all he did know how to work the system and his way around things and people. It was almost a natural choice for him. But shit now what, he had to stop the investigation, or maybe he could help them.

  “What if we brought down the small operation, and act like we got the information from the two idiots who stole the cars to begin with?”

  “I don’t know, Dylan. I didn’t talk to the chief or the DEA to know what information they have, but I mean, I have an issue with letting the small fish go to get the bigger one. I understand the concept of it, but I don’t like it. What if, shit, crap, that won’t work?”

  “What won’t work?”

  “What if we somehow had it that I brought them down, well not me directly, but Heels for Hire, Inc.? Like we found the information and exposed it and stopped them. Then it wouldn’t get you involved with the issue and keeps Trent from being caught too,” she suggested.

  He listened to what she had to say, and she made perfect sense, but it still bothered him. She would be in the line of fire, and that would be the last thing he wanted. He wanted her safe, but she was her own person and she was smart at what she did. He agreed to try to think along those lines. Tomorrow the three of them would go in and hear what the DEA thought about hiring the girls to help keep everything they were working on a secret and at least get answers for the victims of the car thefts.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It had been a two weeks since the sighting of Trent and the suits. She had talked to the DEA and they would look into it, but were more concerned about what would happen if Trent was discovered as an agent and not the crazy person he was portraying. She and the girls had worked hard on finding shipments of car parts and so far came up with nothing. But with one stroke of luck the two punks who stole the cars were caught and behind bars, downfall with that was—they lawyered up and didn’t say a damn word. It sucked big time.

  Brandie was getting more upset by the case and it went on and on. Both Dylan and Chance went back to normal duty and the case was no longer theirs. They weren't too happy about that, but she was able to relieve some tension by staying with them every night. It had been almost like a whirlwind romance that she once read in one of Coffee’s books. But she wasn’t a fool and realized people would look at them and wonder who was who. Both men reassured her over and over again they didn’t care, and to be honest she didn’t either. However, what she cared about was the men getting in trouble at work. She worked for herself, well pretty much herself, but they answered to higher ups.

  While they went to work that day, she went to her apartment to work. She didn’t want to go into the office, well it was more or less Coffee’s house. She set up a special section just for work. When they all needed to meet up she went there, or they went out for drinks, it was a win-win. She wanted some time away and hell, she needed to check on her apartment. Opening the door, she kicked on the air to try to get rid of the musky smell of being closed up. Knowing she needed to do some basic cleaning, she went into her room and stripped her bed. She put the sheets into the wash and then headed into the kitchen. Bracing herself, she went under her sink and pulled the trash can out before she did something she knew she was avoiding. The fridge. With a deep breath she opened the door. Sure enough she had several spoiled items. The milks, well thank god that smell was contained in its own carton. Leftover Chinese had its own green dressing, and then two other i
tems she had no clue what they were. After everything was out, she tied the bag into a knot and set it to the side. She wiped the shelves down with hot soapy water. Once happy with the progress she made in her small apartment she clicked on the radio to finish vacuuming and dusting. Once those were complete she would get some work done. She needed to clear her mind, and instead of going to a gym like most people, she cleaned.

  The music kicked and she started moving and grooving as she went about her task. It wasn’t that much work, but when she was in a mood like this, she became almost OCD about the process. She went and put her sheets into the dryer and felt an unease creep over her. Not wanting to ever forget her training, she reached up to where she kept her small Smith and Wesson handgun. It sat behind her dryer sheets and laundry detergent. As soon as she brought her hand down, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Lifting the gun and swinging it in the direction of the movement, the first shot rang out and not from her gun. The shot missed her arm by an inch, but the wood splintered behind her. She shot twice and hit one man in the chest, but another came right in behind him. She moved forward not wanting to get pinned in a back room and opened fired, showering three bullets more on him. The small gun only had eight rounds, so she needed to keep him down and hope no more men came in. If she could make it to the kitchen she had another gun taped to the inside of the cabinet. She saw the two men were down. The second man was hit in the shoulder and seemed stunned as he held his hand over the hole that was seeping blood down his arm while she could almost guarantee the other one was dead. She kept her back against the far wall and watched the door as she rounded to the kitchen.

  She wanted her other gun before she called someone, thank God her cell was in the kitchen as well. Just as she reached into the cabinet she felt someone grab her from behind and instincts kicked in. She brought her elbow back and hit the person in the gut. She went to spin, not seeing who it was. The man was in a damn ski mask, real original, but he was wearing a damn suit. Shit on a shingle this isn’t good. She fought with the attacker. He held a long syringe in one hand while she kept kicking and fighting with him, avoiding that damn needle from going into her. She threw her head forward making contact with his nose and saw some blood dripping out. Well he’s human, she thought as the attacker brought his arm up, punching her in the side right in her kidney. She bowed enough to slip some. He used that as leverage and kicked her legs out from under her. It was no time and the son of a bitch was on top of her. She had dropped her gun during the struggle and now saw it within reach. But with his damn body pressing into hers made her struggles useless. She kicked her legs out to shift him as she punched him over and over again, but he didn’t move from her and soon a sharp pinch was felt on her right side. Fuck, God help me now. She went to scream and the last thing she saw was a fist on its way to connecting with her jaw, sending her sinking into the blackness that surrounded her.

  Dylan sat at his desk reading his report over again to make sure everything was checked and good to go. It was a simple case of domestic violence, where both parties went on their way. Husband and wife thought they were cheating on each other, turned out they were both working late to try for advancement. But throwing a hot curling iron at someone wasn’t the best way to get your point across. Dylan vowed that if he ever had an issue with Brandie he would just talk with her. He smiled as he thought about the past weeks she had spent with them. She was still working on the drug case with the DEA, but more as a computer person rather than field work. Yes, he would be worried, but he would never stop her from working. She had become so important, and both he and Chance were going to tell her tonight that they loved her, and ask her to move in permanently. He knew it was a big step, but he didn’t take that lightly. He had never felt like this about a woman before, and he knew Chance hadn’t either. He was just about to check his email when his phone rang.

  “Turner,” he snapped.

  “Dylan, its Coffee. Have you heard from Bubbles today?”

  “Umm, yeah, I saw her this morning before she went to her apartment to decontaminate it as she called it. Why, what’s up?”

  “She isn’t answering, and I just cracked the mainframe of one of the guys and it is big. No, I won’t go into specifics right now, but let me say it’s something that could get us in trouble. Dylan you need to know that I caught some chatter. They know who Trent is, and connected her to him. We need to put eyes on her and maybe him. I contacted the DEA and they are trying to find Trent right now. Thought you could check Bubbles out.” He agreed and hung up. Standing, he went to find Chance and the chief to let them know what Coffee just told him. Within fifteen minutes they were in a cruiser heading to Brandie's house.

  As soon as he pulled up he saw her car was still there and both he and Chance headed up the stairs to her apartment, but as soon as the door came in sight, gone was the boyfriend, and the cop came out. Both Chance and he pulled their guns out of their holsters and unsnapped the safety. Walking quietly, they pushed open the door and instantly saw bullet holes in the walls. He nodded to Chance and he ran down the hall and called for backup, while he continued on in the apartment. He saw blood on the floor and followed it to the side where a man in a mask lay dead, and Chance went around to the back rooms and cleared them. As he went to the kitchen area a second masked man lay slumped, and he could see the rise and fall of his chest. He was unconscious. A sinking feeling started to build when Brandie wasn’t in sight. As he entered the kitchen he found more blood, but tiny sprays and drops, but no body. Within minutes the house was cleared.

  “You find her?” Chance asked.

  “Nothing, what the fuck. Damn it, they have her. Is this her blood, son of a bitch, we should have kept her home.” He heard sirens blaring as other were showing up. He looked around her apartment and heard the sound of the dryer going and music playing. Chance switched it off as they looked around for anything that might give them a clue.

  “What the fuck is this?” Chance held up a piece of paper he found on a shattered tabled.

  “I don’t know, what’s it say?”

  “Time to play Hide and Seek. What the hell does that mean?” Chance read it out loud.

  Dylan felt a crushing sense take over and flash backs to his childhood came back in full force. It was something he and Trent use to say. Every time their dad would come home drunker than shit, he would ask him if he wanted to play hide and seek. “Trent, Trent took Brandie, he is keeping her safe. Most people would think it is a messed up message, but to little boys it was a game and for us it meant safety. He is letting me know she is safe. But shit, Chance, they know he is DEA, or an agent of some kind, and he just took her. They are both in trouble. We need to get a hold of Coffee and the girls and see what they found.” Chance agreed and before they could go into a more detailed plan the Calvary was inside and printing everything.

  The other DEA agents showed too, shocking him and Chance. Dylan watched and listened to Coffee talk about the information she found. It seemed they knew they had a leak and one of the punks they had picked up let it slip that he had seen Brandie before, and connected the dots, and when Trent went to the church they pegged him as the mole. Things were looking grim as the information kept pouring in.

  “So what do we do?” he asked the DEA and the girls.

  The damn DEA didn’t have an answer, but it was Rainbow and Smokey Eyes who shocked everyone. “We go get our girl back, and save the guy too.”

  “Let’s do it.” And then they put together a plan.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chance was seething with anger. He was the one who used to joke and flirt, but now all he could see was red. Someone had taken what was his and Dylan’s. But what made matters worse, was the fucking DEA was more concerned about their agent than getting her back. They didn’t want her kidnapping jeopardizing their investigation. Well, fuck that shit. He wasn’t going to have any of it. Leaving her apartment was something he needed and both he and Dylan followed the girls out to the s
mall coffee shop that Bubbles liked so much. It wasn’t that long ago he had joked with her and made her laugh when getting coffee. He loved all when she smiled and laughed, she was so full of life, no—she is full of life. He wanted to get her back and fast.

  Taking a seat, he straddled the chair and watched as Rainbow went to get coffee for them all as Coffee laid out some paperwork. This was the first time he had actually seen the lady and she was cute. Kinda like a little sister, and her pigtails and glasses made her look barely eighteen as she started with various communication lingo.

  “You need to slow down there, princess, we don’t speak geek, I’m just a simple cop, so break it down Barney style for me please. How can we find her and get her back fast without the DEA trying to stop us?”

  “Well it's actually very simple. I have been breaking down small shipments to try to pinpoint locations for them. I had to create an algorithm to try to narrow down the timeframe they are looking at and the amount in which they would be shipping. What I have come up with is two locations, but given their basic need to stay discrete it wouldn't be the first location, so you are looking at a small boat house as the main location they operate out of. It had everything they need to run their operations. Easy to secure, all amenities they need, plus the accessibility to the docking bay is an added bonus. I have been monitoring activity now for two days and they should bring her there. It would be stupid not to, but the downfall is getting in.”