by Anna Scott
"Nooo," I moaned into the phone. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was just after one in the morning.
"Yep, get your ass in here. Shit's going down with DeMarco." The sound of my partner, Tyler's voice on the line irritated me more than usual. He was a good guy, but I was tired. Tyler had been with the ATF for fifteen years and had seen some serious shit. Since I was still green, according to him, I had a lot to learn. Of course, to Tyler, the four years I had been an agent was nothing.
"Up and at 'em," I called to Blazer as I climbed out of bed. I disabled the alarm and opened the back door so that my dog could go out before being stuck in the house for the next few hours. If I was at work too long, my mom would come and take care of him for me. I hated to ask her, there had been something off about her lately, but with Aurora pregnant and everyone else busy I didn't have much choice.
Picking up my phone, I shot my mom a quick e-mail to let her know that I was going into work and asking her to come deal with my boy if she didn't hear from me by nine. I knew the e-mail wouldn't wake her like a text or a call would. Even though I had done my level best growing up to not worry her, my career choices most certainly did. She was hypersensitive to late night phone notifications. A few months ago when I was visiting her, I went into her phone and disabled all the non-urgent notifications so that she could sleep through the night.
By the time I was dressed and ready to roll out, I called Blazer, fed him and gave his head a quick pet before I set the alarm again and headed out. My plans with Gilli for later in the day hadn't escaped my memory either. I was concerned that whatever the hell DeMarco was doing to fuck with my sleep was going to take longer than I wanted. Unfortunately, I didn't have Gillian's e-mail address and I didn't want to call her or send her a text in the middle of the night. Would it be worse to wake her by mistake or to stand her up? I wasn't sure. Deciding to set a reminder on my calendar to text her once the sun rose, I tried to push thoughts of Gillian Young out of my mind and focus on work.
Antonio DeMarco was an illegal arms dealer, providing half the shit that wound up in the hands of the worst people in the south. He was a slippery bastard, regardless of how many of his underlings we were able to pick up, they wouldn't roll over on their boss. We had one hell of a time getting much of anything on the man. We had staked out a couple of his known residences and were following some of his favorite pieces of ass. Either he was on to us, or he was finished with those women, because we hadn't seen hide nor hair of him in weeks. He was one serious bastard and someone we desperately needed to shut down.
Tyler Blevins waited for me at the reception desk of the Dallas ATF office. He was about six-two, well muscled and good looking for a dude. His wife certainly thought he was, as was evident by the existence of their five children. He kept his black hair neatly shaved close to his head, he told me once that it was one less thing for people to grab onto a use against him. Since I kept my hair short too, though not quite as short, I understood that benefit. After my stint in the Marine Corps, I was so used to having short hair, I couldn't imagine having it longer and having one more thing to fuss with.
Tyler's golden green eyes were a striking contrast to his deep mocha colored skin. I knew that his parents were living in South Africa when they met and much to the dismay of her aristocratic English family, they fell in love and married.
Tyler's father Demetri worked as a history professor and as he told it, the moment he saw the twenty-year-old woman walk into his classroom, an electric spark filled the room and he couldn't get her out of his mind. Apparently, he tried to deny his longing for the beautiful young woman, but at the end of the term she admitted her strong desire for him as well. Though Demetri was fired from the university where he had been working, nothing was going to stop the couple from finding their way in a world that was set against them.
They fled to the United States to seek the refuge of understanding and peace that our country embodied. South Africa had still been in terrible turmoil and the couple didn't feel safe living together there. Their fears escalated, especially as Amelia, Tyler's mother, became pregnant with their first of four children. Their family grew rapidly once they settled in the US. Demetri was welcomed at a school in Oklahoma, so the couple found their way in their new homeland. Amelia never spoke to her parents again, but her sisters found her again once they became of age and out from under the previously hidden bigoted views and tyrannical rule of their father.
When Tyler told me their story late one night, my respect for the couple I'd met a few times, grew exponentially. A love like that was one for the ages. It should be shared with the youth of every country, their strength and courage when everyone was against them were admirable in my eyes.
"What's the deal with DeMarco?" I asked Tyler once I got to my desk and picked up the file.
He explained that there had been some movement at the second residence. The woman who had been living there was seen moving several large boxes into her car.
"Nelly Parks?" I questioned, confirming that we were talking about the same person.
"Yeah," he confirmed, dropping her photograph onto my desk.
The tiny Puerto Rican woman reminded me so much of an actress I'd seen years before, it was uncanny.
"Do we have new intel on her involvement?"
"No, but the movement of boxes in the middle of the night is definitely worth a closer look."
"Agreed, what's the plan?"
Tyler spent the next fifteen minutes, bringing me up to speed on exactly what Nelson, the agent in the field, had seen and what we were going to do. We brainstormed several scenarios and tried to figure out some loose ends.
Tyler and I had become close friends over the past couple of years, he and his wife Katrina had invited me to supper a few times and I'd gone. It was a loud and boisterous home, but the chaos of five children was closely monitored by Katrina, or Kiki, as Tyler called her. Working together as much as we did, we had occasion to share life ambitions, fears, hopes and numerous stories while on never ending surveillance detail. Those nights could be long and extremely boring - until they weren't. We were in the business of hurry up and wait. Every lead was immediate and critical, but all too often would turn into a pointless dead end.
I had told Tyler about Sandy, about my parents and even about my sister. When I met Gillian, I told him about her too, and he'd taken every opportunity to needle me about that situation.
"So, wasn't tonight your date with Gillian?" Tyler asked after thirty minutes of silence. We were sitting in one of the ATF SUVs just down from DeMarco's house. We were watching and waiting. Since we'd arrived, there hadn't been any movement in the house. Nelly Parks' car was still in the driveway, but since it was behind a locked gate, we couldn't get closer. We had a clear view from our parking spot on the street and hadn't seen so much as a light on anywhere.
"It was." I responded hesitantly.
"So, did I get you out of your bed or hers?"
"Seriously? It was a first date. I'm not an asshole."
"I know, but you've been pining for that girl for a year. Thought you might be itching to break your drought."
"Shut up." God, I hoped he gives it up soon. I was not going to talk about Gillian that way.
"Really, how did it go?"
I told him a little bit about the night. It had been great. If I were to be honest, it was perfect. A few more jabs were tossed my way, but everything Tyler said was good natured and not derogatory to Gilli in any way, so I didn't have to kick his scrawny ass.
"What's up?" I asked, after Tyler took a call, giving someone the little - or no - information we had gleaned over the past six hours of watching a dark house.
"Miller and Johnson are coming out to relieve us."
Glancing at the clock on the dash, I noted that it was almost eight in the morning. I wondered if Gillian was up yet.
Reed: Hey - you up?
Gillian: Yeah, slept in until almost seven. I think that's a record for me.
&nb
sp; Reed: Want to grab some breakfast in a bit?
Gillian: Sure, Stuckey's?
Reed: A woman after my own heart. Pick you up in about an hour.
After returning to the office and a very quick debriefing, since we hadn't seen anything, I was on my way home. I sent my mom a quick text to let her know that I would take care of Blazer. One quick shower and change and I was headed toward Gillian's house.
"Good morning," I greeted as Gillian answered the door. She was stunning, standing before me in a pair of faded denim shorts, a red Harley tee and red flip flops. She had pulled her beautiful long dark hair into a pony tail and no make up. This woman was perfect. She was small, rounded in all the right places and normal. There were no ridiculous attempts at being someone she wasn't. She didn't get overly made up to go to breakfast early on a Sunday morning. I was glad too, since I was wearing an old Bob Seger concert tee that was so old and faded that the black fabric had turned to gray and a pair of faded Levis. I didn't wear sandals, except at the beach because I thought my feet looked stupid in them and they were really hard to find in my size. I was wearing an old pair of black ropers that were so worn in that the leather was soft and molded perfectly to my feet.
Gillian's smile was wide and welcoming when she greeted me in return, "Good morning. Sleep well?"
"Sadly, no. I had to go to work at one. I just got home."
Her brows rose in surprise and she examined my face more closely. What was she looking for? I wondered if this was when I would find out that she couldn't handle my job. Would she say 'yeah, sorry, this isn't going to work' and slam the door in my face?
"Is everything okay?" She asked instead of dumping my sorry ass. Was she worried for me?
"Yeah, it's all good. Something happened on a case, so we rushed out there and found nothing. Par of the course," I smiled at the reminder of our date the night before.
She frowned and asked, "Are you too tired to go to breakfast? I can just whip something up instead."
Fucking hell, I think I'm in love with her. "I'm good. You can cook breakfast for me some other time." My response was suggestive, I knew it, and by her blush she knew it too.
"In that case, let me just close up and I'm ready to go." Gillian backed out of the doorway and motioned for me to follow. As was habit for me, I wiped my feet on the mat and ducked my head slightly. Her doorway wasn't overly low, but you only had to hit your head a few times like that before ducking became a habit. My hand automatically went to my head to remove my hat, also a long-standing habit, but I wasn't wearing one. I heard Gillian giggle and I crooked a brow in question.
"My dad does the same thing."
"What?"
"He wipes his feet and takes off his hat, even if he isn't wearing one, his hand goes up to his head like he's going to take one off. He doesn't duck though. He isn't more than six feet tall, so I assume he doesn't need to." Her smile and little shrugged explanation was cute. We may just have some things in common.
"I think it's a farm life kind of thing. The feet and hat thing I mean."
"Probably, though, didn't you grow up on a ranch?"
"I did." I answered, wondering what her point was.
"Did you ever watch the movie Oklahoma? It's one of the old Rogers and Hammerstein musicals?"
"No, can't say that I have." Gillian laughed a little and shook her head, but didn't explain.
Instead of taking twenty minutes to get a fancy purse and put on lipstick or whatever some of my previous dates did when they were "ready," Gillian shoved a small wallet into her back pocket, locked up and was ready to walk out the door within ninety seconds. I was impressed. I had a thing for uncomplicated women.
I reached for her hand as we walked down the front walkway and led her to my truck, where I took the opportunity to lift her onto the seat. I probably didn't need to lift her, but I enjoyed the feel of her body against mine as I did so. The way Gilli smiled and flushed, I thought that she liked it too. A quick kiss on her soft lips and we were headed out.
Breakfast was a simple affair, Gilli ordered grits without butter, a fruit plate and bacon. I almost commented on the lack of butter, thinking that the butter and cheese were my favorite part of grits, but thankfully remembered her issue with dairy before I stuck my foot firmly in my mouth. I had a huge plate of biscuits and gravy, three eggs, bacon, sausage and toast.
"It must take a lot of calories every day to maintain your..."
"My what? My body? My muscles? What were you going to say?" I teased her. With the pink back on her cheeks, she must have been about to say something interesting.
"I was going to say your body - but I realized that it might sound inappropriate."
"Inappropriate?" I was being mischievous, but I couldn't seem to help playing with her, it was flirtatious, and fun.
"I just meant because you're so big, I mean tall. You're so tall."
"That, I am. Big and tall." Her face turned from slightly pink cheeks to bright red down to her neck. Had I gone too far? She did have that air of innocence I liked so much, but she was twenty-three after all. She certainly couldn't be that innocent.
"So, you said your mom still lives nearby?" Gillian asked, desperately trying to change the subject.
"She does, not far from you actually."
"What about your parents? Did I hear they moved away after retiring?"
"They did, my dad had a heart attack and had to have by-pass surgery a couple of years ago. It was kind of a wake up call to them I guess. They moved to Galveston to be closer to my brother Adam." Her expression changed just slightly when she mentioned her brother, there was a story there and in time, I'd find out what it was.
"I didn't realize you had a brother. Are you close?"
A sad look crossed Gillian's face and she broke eye contact with me for almost an entire minute before she responded. "No, not really. He's quite a bit older than I am." Again, that look, I really wanted to ask, but we weren't at that place, unless she volunteered, I wouldn't pry - yet.
"More coffee?" The waitress offered, just as Gillian's cell phone rang. Glancing down at the screen, a worried, almost terrified expression came over her face.
"Everything okay?" I asked as she just stared at the phone. What the hell was going on?
"Yeah, sorry. I need to grab this. I'll just be a minute." She rushed, then stood and walked outside of the restaurant.
Thanking the waitress for the coffee refill, my gaze stayed on the door, no matter how many times the bottle blond standing too close to me tried to talk to me. I considered tossing some money on the table and going outside to investigate, but decided not to. If she wanted me to know who she was talking to she would tell me - right?
I started to fidget after about five minutes. I finished my meal and stared at hers. I wasn't sure that lukewarm grits would taste very good. The waitress had been back twice, again, trying to chat me up while Gillian was outside. Apparently, the woman had some idea that I would be interested in whatever she was offering since my date was absent. She was dead wrong.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to take that long," Gillian exclaimed as she made it back to our table seven minutes and forty-five seconds after she left. Yeah, I noticed. It wasn't that I was some controlling jerk that minded her taking a call, I was concerned about the look she had on her face just before answering it. Her face was now radiant, the stark fear was gone, replaced with excitement.
"What was that?" Okay, I asked. Maybe I shouldn't have been nosey, but I was too curious to control my tongue. I was just enough of a protective guy to let it come out sometimes and sometimes it wasn't well received.
"That was my cousin, she's been a bit off lately. I've been really worried about her and her little girl but she sounded so much better. Missy - that's my cousin, said that she has a new job and things are looking up for them."
"That sounds promising." I wanted to know more. I remembered hearing little snippets about some shit with her family before, but I didn't know the details.
"It is, she struggled with drugs and stuff a few years ago, but when she found out that she was pregnant with Kelly she stopped. We were all so proud of her; you know? She really turned things around. Her parents both passed within a few months of each other last year and since then things have seemed off with her. I was really afraid that she'd gone back to drugs or something."
I didn't reply, sadly, I saw that kind of thing far too often. Instead, I just smiled and watched her dig into her breakfast once more.
We laughed and talked for another twenty minutes or so. Gillian argued with me about the bill - again. She didn't win. My mother would pull out her wooden spoon and use it on my backside if I let a lady pay when I was on a date.
"My mama raised me better than that," I told her, a smirk on my face. I was taught to open doors, carry bags and be a gentleman with women. Mama explained to me when I was growing up that it wasn't because women were less than men, or men were less than women, it was just a polite thing to do. Too often I witnessed the worst in the world, I wanted to do my mama proud. She worked hard to raise me after my dad died and I wanted to be a good man, one that she could respect.
"What's on your agenda for the rest of the day?" I asked, hoping that she wasn't slammed with stuff to do.
"Not much, I have some homework, bookkeeping for the cafe, stuff like that. You?"
"Homework?" I asked as I led Gillian back out to my truck.
"I had to quit school when my parents retired. I worked in the cafe already and took afternoon and night classes, but stopped for a while when I took over."
"What are you taking now?" I had turned my truck in the direction of my house, but glanced her direction to see if she was going to mention it.
"Are you lost?"
Chuckling, I shook my head and pointed as I pulled up into my driveway. "Nope, needed to let out my dog." I didn't, or rather, he could have waited the five minutes it would have taken to drop her home first but I wasn't ready to leave her yet.
