by Bella Juarez
“What else do you want to try, sugar?” JJ asked. He could see the hesitation. Irene was struggling with the fine line of good girl/bad girl. “You know, whatever we do, say, or try is between me and you.” She looked down shyly. “I know I want to try it all with you. I think you’re sexy,” he said slyly.
“You’re a charming rogue, Mr. Jones,” Irene said quietly.
“You’re safe with me, sugar. I know you’re a good woman. I’ll never think any differently. You can reach for me any time you want. Don’t hold back,” JJ said, kissing her lightly.
“Thank you, James. I feel safe with you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Cyril E. King Airport
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
February 20, 2009/1215 Zulu
Irene browsed in the magazine shop while waiting for her return flight with James. She’d changed her return flight to Austin instead of Corpus Christi. They’d fly to Austin and drive to Victoria the next day. She flipped through Scientific American and set it down after finding nothing interesting. James walked into the shop with some coffee for her.
“Here you are, sugar,” James said, handing her the cup.
“Thank you, James,” Irene said, turning. She took a sip and glanced behind him to the rack with weekly news periodicals. She blinked when she saw the cover of Newsweek. “James…” she whispered.
“What’s wrong, sugar?” James asked with a frown.
Irene walked to the newsstand and lifted the magazine. The cover article was about a US humanitarian mission. Costa Rica had suffered an earthquake a month ago and these envoys were there to check on the progress of US aid to the area. Irene stood staring at the picture on the cover.
“The woman on the right, she was the one at the restaurant,” Irene said, staring at the magazine in her hand.
James moved closer and looked at the picture. “Are you sure? Irene, are you absolutely sure?” he demanded lowly.
“Unless she has a twin sister, this was the woman. I’m positive,” Irene said, looking at James’s concerned expression.
James took the magazine from Irene and paid for it. They walked out of the little shop and started walking for their terminal. He found a couple of seats away from the other passengers and directed her to sit next to him. He opened the magazine to the cover article and read. When he finished he looked at her squarely.
“It makes sense now why they’re here. Costa Rica is close and she could make an excuse to be in St. Thomas. Irene, are you absolutely sure this is the woman?” James asked again.
“James, do you still have that description I wrote?”
“Yes.”
“Look at her right hand,” Irene said, pointing to the picture. “There’s the ring I described. When I picked up the magazine, I recognized her face. I studied the picture and saw the ring. It’s her,” she insisted.
“Do not under any circumstances tell anyone unless you’re with me and I tell you it’s okay. This is serious, sugar,” James said sternly.
“You think? I read the cover and saw who she is,” Irene said.
Irene had been a microbiologist before she was teacher. She went into teaching because there were no microbiology jobs when she and David had moved back to Victoria. She had a careful eye for details and small things. She looked at James. He was deep in thought. They had nine hours ahead of them. He stood and made a call on his cell phone. When he was done, he walked back to Irene and picked up her tote bag.
“Come on, Irene,” James said.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going home a different way.”
* * * *
“Are you sure? The minute she sees you she’ll know what’s going on,” Rock said.
“What else can we do?” JJ asked.
“We can send in the CIA. That’s their damn job and you better remember something else, Sergei could know who you are,” Dixie answered.
“Look, they know I’m retired and I want this bitch bad. I think I can cover pretty damn good. Besides, Bakri is all for cutting her out of the deal and me running into Sergei is not much of a gamble. I can just say that I don’t want to deal with anyone but Bakri,” JJ said with a shrug.
Dixie sat back in his chair. It hadn’t taken them very long to come up with a plan to infiltrate the operation even through it was risky as hell. CIA involvement would be run through all sorts of channels and that was riskier yet considering who they were dealing with. JJ had made his case early on that this mission needed to be kept in as tight a circle as possible. They needed to get to the bottom of why Katrina was involved with Sergei and Bakri, and the less people knew about Katrina the better at this point. Dixie nodded.
“All right, JJ. We’ll stick with the plan for now. But I reserve the right to call it off.”
“You lost your balls when you put on those stars, Dixie,” JJ quipped.
“Fuck you!” Dixie snapped.
* * * *
Irene found herself on a private jet with James’s boss, an admiral. James, Captain O’Malley, and Admiral Campbell were huddled together talking and looking over papers. An hour into the flight, they broke. She was seated in a chair that faced the on-board television that played the news continually.
“Sorry we don’t have a better in-flight movie,” Admiral Campbell said.
“It’s fine, Admiral Campbell. I’m a news junkie,” Irene said with a smile.
“Call me Chuck, Irene. We’re not very formal in this outfit. These guys have no manners,” Admiral Campbell said.
James and Captain O’Malley were making drinks. When they were finished, James and Rock took the seats around her. James handed Irene a bottle of water. She liked Captain O’Malley. He reminded her of a younger version of James. Admiral Campbell was friendly with her and seemed to be down-to-earth.
“So, Irene, how long have you known, JJ?” Captain O’Malley asked.
“For a little while, now. We met when Gavin took me and Amy to San Diego one time,” Irene said.
“Has he ever told you about his white pages?” Rock asked, looking at James with a mischievous grin.
“Jesus Christ, Rock! Don’t go there!” James exclaimed.
Admiral Campbell, Irene, and Rock laughed. James looked away, shaking his head and trying to hide a smile.
“Payback’s hell, JJ, and it’s payday!” Admiral Campbell said, raising his glass.
“I would imagine with all your exploits each one of you gentlemen has a long, colorful history,” Irene said, looking at James and smiling.
“Some of us more than others, right, JJ?” Admiral Campbell said, slapping James on the knee.
“Dixie…” James warned through clenched teeth. “Don’t listen to them,” he said as Irene patted his arm reassuringly.
“Oh, Irene, the stories we could tell,” Admiral Campbell said with a smile.
“I’m sure all of you have a few stories to tell. You gentlemen should collaborate on a book,” Irene said.
“Yeah, we’ll all spill our secrets,” James said.
“Why don’t we start with the St. Thomas Airport and that Federal Marshal?” Rock asked with a smile.
“Yeah, JJ, what happened with that?” Admiral Campbell asked with interest.
“Hey, it wasn’t me. I didn’t start it,” James said dismissively.
“You sure as hell finished it when you threw that guy into the hallway,” Rock shot back.
“I told him not to touch me,” James said.
“All right, JJ, I had to justify why I got you a federal permit. The least you can do is tell me what happened,” Admiral Campbell said, winking at Irene.
James was looking wrathfully at the pair seated across from him. Irene’s curiosity was piqued. He started to tell Admiral Campbell what had happened. She realized that was the very same day she’d screamed for Gavin when she found James in her room. Irene had to keep herself from outright laughing with the men seated across from her. Admiral Campbell and Rock didn’t feel th
ey had the same polite obligation. In the middle of the story, Admiral Campbell stopped James.
“Shut the hell up! I can’t breathe!” Admiral Campbell roared, trying to catch his breath. “Grandpa!” he said, laughing.
Rock was almost in tears. Irene was barely able to control herself. James was a very colorful storyteller. He looked at her and winked.
“It’s okay, sugar, you can laugh. Now that I tell it, it’s pretty funny,” James said with a smile.
“Finish, I can breathe again,” Admiral Campbell said.
“Well, he drew his weapon. The idiot didn’t realize the safety was on. I knew he couldn’t handle a gun so for my own safety I took it from him…” James started his story again.
When he finished his story, the trio listening was wiping away tears. Irene was in pain from laughing so hard. Rock and Admiral Campbell stood to refresh their drinks. James looked at her and smiled.
“James, that was a bad day, wasn’t it?” Irene asked.
“It’s all good now, sugar,” James said, lifting her small hand and kissing it.
Irene glanced at the men that had stood. Rock was watching them. She felt herself flush with slight embarrassment. She wanted to pull away from him but couldn’t. She knew it would hurt him. He was so good to her, and he didn’t deserve her rejecting him because she worried about other people.
“What’s wrong?” James asked.
“Nothing,” Irene said.
“You’re not a good liar, sugar.”
“I need to quit worrying about what other people think. It’s a fear that’s kept me from so many things.”
The men returned. This time Rock handed James a glass with his favorite scotch. Irene excused herself.
* * * *
Dixie took a call from the CIC located in the back of the plane. Rock took a seat across from JJ and stared at him for a moment.
“When are you two breaking this to Badass?” Rock asked.
“I’m all for telling him yesterday. Irene’s the one that keeps putting it off,” JJ said.
“You keep letting her do that and he’ll be really pissed when he finds out,” Rock warned.
“Rock, don’t worry about me.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about, it’s Irene and Amy.”
“We’ll tell him when we get there. She’s going to Istanbul with me, remember?”
During the flight the three men crafted a cover story for Irene and JJ. Irene was JJ’s executive assistant and he was a human resources executive for a drug company in the United States. He would be in Europe recruiting scientists for the company. They knew from past history someone would eventually try to kill Irene. They’d tried with other people who’d become directly involved. Fortunately, most of the known killers were locked up or dead. Nevertheless, hired professional assassins were a dime a dozen, and they needed Irene alive because she was the only one who could positively identify Katrina.
Rock looked away. “Are you serious about her, JJ, or are you just playing around?”
“Rock, if anybody else had asked me that question I’d have told them to fuck off,” JJ said, taking a long drink. “I’m serious.”
Rock glanced up and JJ knew that Irene was coming back to her seat. She took her seat next to him.
“Would you like to know what kind of excuse we came up for you being in Istanbul?” Rock asked Irene.
* * * *
Irene and James arrived in Victoria the next day before three in the afternoon. They’d arrived in Texas much faster than their commercial flight would’ve gotten them to Austin. He got out of his truck and went around, opening the door for Irene. They started up the walkway when Gavin charged out of Irene’s house.
“JJ!” Gavin called in a hostile voice.
“What?” James answered, continuing up the path next to Irene.
“We need to talk!” Gavin ordered.
Irene walked ahead of James and stood in between the two men. “Gavin, you and I need to talk first,” Irene said.
Gavin was looking over Irene at James with a very menacing expression.
“I’ll talk to you, Badass,” James countered with a snarl.
Gavin’s angry expression and aggressive stalking left no question there would be a serious problem if someone did or said something stupid. Irene almost felt like she stood between two angry lions as she stepped in between the two men.
“No, Gavin, come on. Let’s go sit on the porch. James, please take my bags inside,” Irene said.
By the way Gavin and James were staring at each other Irene knew the slightest provocation would explode the whole situation. She cupped Gavin’s face and directed his stare at her.
“Come on, mi hijo,” Irene said gently.
Gavin turned and walked with Irene to the porch swing and sat down stiffly. He narrowed his eyes and was staring at James as he entered the house. James never wavered, returning Gavin’s stare in the same hostile fashion. Finally, he closed the door behind him.
“Gavin…” Irene started.
“What the hell is going on?” Gavin demanded from Irene.
“James and I are seeing each other and have been for some time,” Irene said. Gavin’s jaw dropped slightly. “We met when you took me to San Diego and we’ve been seeing each other off and on since then—”
“Are you serious?” Gavin interjected in wide-eyed surprise.
Irene took Gavin’s hand and traced her finger over his new wedding band.
“James and I can’t help how we feel, and I won’t stop seeing him. I’ve tried. I was empty and unhappy without him.”
“Irene…JJ’s kind of wild…”
“I can’t help how I feel, no more than you can help how you feel about Amy. Do you still remember what it was like when you first met her?”
Gavin looked away. Irene knew by the way he acted at the wedding he still felt that way about Amy. It was a stronger bond now because of all the awful things they’d been through and survived together.
“Irene, you can’t go with him to Istanbul. It’s too dangerous,” Gavin said.
“It’ll be even more dangerous if I stay. These people have seen me.”
“Irene, please…”
“Let me go. And you go and be happy with your wife. Let me be happy doing the things I’ve always wanted to do,” Irene said. She watched Gavin’s shoulders drop slightly. She leaned in and kissed him gently on the cheek. “I’m so proud of you. I couldn’t have asked for a better son.”
Gavin took Irene in his arms and held her. “Call me if you need me. I’ll come.”
Irene broke away slightly. “Other than you, can you think of anyone else who could keep me safer?” Gavin smiled slightly. “I know you need to talk to him,” she said, getting up and walking inside the house.
* * * *
JJ walked outside to the front porch after Irene walked inside the house. Gavin was leaning against one of the posts, staring at the street. JJ stood next to him. They stared in the same direction. He could predict the question on Gavin’s mind.
“Five months, JJ? Why didn’t you tell me?” Gavin asked.
“I’ve got no excuse, Gavin,” JJ said quietly.
“What did she see?”
“She saw the woman who was with Bakri.”
“Are you just messing around with her, JJ?”
“I love her, Gavin. I’ve never met anyone like her,” JJ said, looking at Gavin.
“Man, whatever you do, don’t let her get hurt.”
JJ put his hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “I can’t let her get hurt. I can’t live without her.”
“Keep me posted, let me and Amy know she’s okay.”
They walked into the house and found Amy and Irene talking. Irene was packed again and ready to leave. Gavin and Amy said their good-byes and went home. JJ and Irene returned to Austin around seven in the evening. They’d picked up some takeout food because he needed to go to the grocery store after his trip. After eating they relaxed in front of the TV. Th
ey talked off and on as they watched an old movie.
“I need to arrange for someone to do the lawn,” Irene said as JJ changed the channel.
“I saw that. We’ll go back down this weekend and take care of everything before we leave. We probably won’t be leaving for at least another week.”
“James, was Gavin really upset with you?”
JJ leaned over and slid his arm under Irene’s knee. He laid his head on her lap before answering.
“I think he was a little disappointed that I didn’t say anything and kept it a secret. I think he’s okay now. I told you he’s my brooder,” JJ said.
Irene ran her hand over JJ’s shoulder and moved her fingers through his hair as he lay in her lap. They shared so much affection for one another. He didn’t realize how much he liked being touched until he’d met Irene.
“That’s why I hate secrets. They hurt people,” Irene said lowly.
JJ thought with a twinge of the secret he was holding about David. Yes, they do, sugar. He kept going over in his mind what had possessed David to do what he had done. Irene indirectly had told JJ how their marriage had changed before David died. He could tell she was lonely and starved for attention when he met her.
Irene was a strong woman. She had to be to tolerate the uncertain life of a police officer. It was the same kind of woman that was required to tolerate a SEAL’s life. Lucky bastard, but you threw it all away being greedy. I guess I should thank you. He sat up and slid closer to her.
“Let’s go to bed,” JJ said, kissing Irene.
Irene smiled as JJ stood and held out his hand to her. She placed her small hand in his as she stood. They walked down the short hall to his bedroom. JJ spun Irene and captured her in his arms in a little dip making her giggle.
“I love you, sugar,” JJ said as he kissed Irene. He released Irene and sat on the bed. JJ put his hands on the backs of her thighs and pulled her closer. “Take off your clothes, baby.”
Irene pulled the sweater she was wearing over her head and tossed it aside. He ran his hands over her bare skin up to her bra and cupped her breasts. She slid her jeans down her legs and stepped out of them as they pooled at her feet. He shivered watching Irene do her slow striptease. His cock was fighting at being restrained in his jeans.
