by Matt Lincoln
I heard the sliding glass door open behind me and turned to see Tessa step out onto the concrete pad. She looked over at the small table and chairs that were set up off to the side but opted to walk over and stand beside me instead of taking a seat.
“How are you holding up?” I asked, trying to read her blank expression. She shrugged casually.
“As well as could be expected, I guess,” she replied as she took a sip of coffee. “I feel safe here, on base. Part of me wants to be involved, to capture this all on camera.” She noticed my raised eyebrow and quickly amended her statement. “A larger part of me wants to curl up in the living room and patiently wait for the danger to pass so I can get back to my life.”
“That sounds like the better option,” I advised, smiling down at her. She giggled slightly and looked up at me through her eyelashes. Damn, she knew how to pull me in.
“I know I’m going to get antsy. I don’t like sitting still for too long.” Her gaze shifted down to her cup, and I knew she was right. I’d never been too successful at convincing her to stay out of the line of fire. I would keep trying, though.
“Hopefully, this won’t take long,” I replied, more for my own benefit than hers. I didn’t quite believe the words coming out of my mouth even as I said them, though. Her laugh told me she didn’t quite believe me, either.
“Alright!” I heard Header’s voice boom out from the living room and realized that Tessa must not have closed the door completely behind her. “We’re ready.”
I glanced down at Tessa, and she shrugged before leading the way back into the house. When I stepped over the threshold, I took a look at Header and Bonnie.
Bonnie had opted for a black cardigan over a bright-colored top, and her jeans made the entire ensemble look a bit more casual than her usual office attire. Header had brightened up his look too, his light green shirt looking a bit out-of-place considering his usually dark wardrobe.
“It’s amazing how a lighter color makes Header look so much less threatening,” I chuckled.
“Right?” Bonnie beamed in response. “He’s not happy about it, but I told him it brings out his eyes. He can almost blend in with us mere civilians.”
I barked out a laugh. “Almost!” I agreed. “It’s a hell of a lot closer, anyway.” Header rolled his eyes at me, which only made me laugh more.
“Any other advice before I brave the streets with this one?” she asked lightheartedly, grabbing her purse and turning toward the door.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “If anything happens, stay behind him. If nothing happens, don’t forget to bring back some of those mini pies.” The mini pies had left an impression on me, even after all these years, and I hoped they were still just as good as I remembered.
“Yeah, Bonnie, we can’t forget those damn mini pies,” Header teased, smirking in my direction as he followed Bonnie out the door.
And just like that, for the first time in a very long time, I was sidelined and kept away from the action. Warner was getting settled on the couch with his laptop, and Tessa stood beside me, enjoying the rest of her coffee. Both of them looked very comfortable with the current arrangement, but as for me, I was already ready to climb the damn walls.
Chapter 9: Holm
“Robbie Holm!” Diane Ramsey’s voice cut through my thoughts. I looked up to find her standing in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips and an impatient expression on her face.
“Hey, boss,” I muttered. I didn’t move from my seat.
“Are you okay, Holm?” Ramsey’s voice took on a softer tone as she took a few more steps toward me. “I called your name several times.”
“You did?” I adjusted my position in the office chair as I collected my thoughts. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.”
“Yeah,” she confirmed. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I shrugged. “I’m fine. I’m just concerned about Marston. It’s not like him to disappear like this without notice.”
“The man has his own life, you know,” Ramsey replied a bit too quickly. “Is it possible he doesn’t tell you everything?”
I snorted and shook my head. “That is not possible, boss. That man tells me everything. On top of that, we’re partners. I’m directly affected by his absence at work. It’d be polite to tell me that he is leaving. Marston may be many things, but he is not inconsiderate. Something is wrong.”
“You don’t know that,” Ramsey assured me. “He reached out to me and told me he would be out of work for a bit. He is fine. Maybe he isn’t ready to tell you yet, but you need to trust that he is okay.”
I grunted noncommittally but didn’t say anything further.
Ramsey turned to walk away, but she paused and turned back. “Listen, I know I have you all on a case rotation due to the funding cuts, but Birn and Muñoz could use your help on their case. Why don’t you get involved with them? It’ll keep your mind occupied until Ethan gets back.”
“Did he say how long he’d be gone?” I asked, though I wasn’t hopeful I’d get the answer I wanted.
“No,” she sighed, confirming my suspicions. “I promise though, as soon as I find out, I will let you know.” She offered me a small, comforting smile before heading back into her office. I spun my chair back to face my desk and listened to the muffled clicks of her heels on the thin industrial carpeting as she walked back into her office.
“I’ve never seen you like this before,” Muñoz mused as she walked up and sat in Marston’s empty desk chair across from me. She side-eyed me. “You’re like a lost puppy without your partner.”
I rolled my eyes at her and grunted. “I’m not a lost puppy. I’m concerned. This isn’t like him.”
“You’re right,” she admitted. “It’s not like him to take off without warning. He told Ramsey, though. Whatever he is up to, he planned it enough to call out of work. Besides, this is Marston we’re talking about. How many times has he been shot? The guy is invincible.”
I shot her a sharp look after her last comment, and she threw her hands up defensively.
“You know I’m right,” she pointed out.
“Yeah,” I sighed, softening my gaze. “You are right. Maybe I do need the distraction. Ramsey said you and Birn need help?”
“Yeah,” she replied more cheerfully. She scooted the chair forward and leaned in across the desk toward me. “With both Bonnie and Warner out, we’ve had to do our own tech work.”
“Warner’s out too?” I interjected. I’d known about Bonnie, but since Warner worked down in Cyber and I hadn’t been on a case, I hadn’t noticed his absence.
“Yep,” she confirmed. “We need to knock on some doors and do some interviews, but we’re having a hard time juggling it all. Do you want in?”
I offered her a grimace. “You do know I suck at all of this tech stuff, right?”
Muñoz barked out a laugh. “We all know how much you suck, Holm. I don’t want you anywhere near that part of the case. We need you out in the field.”
“Interviews?” I clarified. “Yeah, that sounds safer. Okay, I’m in.”
“Great!” She clapped her hands together and then stood up. “Not today, though. Birn and I are calling it quits for the day. Let’s brief on this in the morning, and then we can get started.”
“Perfect,” I agreed. As she walked away, I sunk back into my chair and glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was nearing the end of the workday, and I had wasted damn near all of it worrying about my friend. I needed to clear my head if I was going to take on a case tomorrow morning.
It’d been a while since I’d gone for a jog, but I knew that it would do the trick. Back in the day, I used to jog all of the time, and it did wonders for my mind. It helped me to focus on what was important, and at this moment, that was exactly what I needed. I had no idea where my running shoes were, though. They were probably collecting dust in the back of my closet.
I headed down to the garage and grinned to myself as one of the dull overhead lights reflected of
f the bright blue paint of my Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. When I’d heard that they were stopping production on the Evolution, I had to have it. This car, in this exact color, had been my dream car for as long as I could remember. Yeah, maybe I was a bit old for a bright blue turbo-charged sports car, but I didn’t care. I was living the dream every time I heard the turbo spool under the hood. The fact that I finally bought it during its last year of production was especially bittersweet.
I slid into the driver’s seat and drove out of the garage, letting the sound of the engine and the reflection of the bright sunlight overwhelm my senses. I ripped down the street, shifting seamlessly through the gears as I went. I was speeding, but I didn’t care. I was merely trying to outrun my thoughts.
When I pulled into my driveway, I discovered that all of the speeding that I’d done hadn’t helped at all. My concern for my partner still beat against the forefront of my mind. I burst through my front door, ignoring the mail on the floor and the laundry I’d dumped on the couch that morning. Instead, I made a beeline to my bedroom and into my closet. I worked at a frenzied pace, afraid that if I slowed down, I’d lose my motivation. When I finally found my shoes, they weren’t as dusty as I’d expected them to be. After brushing them off, I changed into a t-shirt and gym shorts, laced up my shoes, and headed out the door.
My lungs and my heart hated me at first, but after a bit, I fell into a comfortable rhythm. The darkening sky kept the air cool enough to be comfortable, and I started to feel myself calm down as I moved. I instinctively started heading toward my parent’s house. If anyone could help ease my nerves, it was my parents. Of course, lately, what with them having to move to avoid detection from the New York mob, they tended to get on my nerves more than they eased them. At the very least, their bickering would distract me from my current worries.
As I continued to work my way up the path toward their house, I began to feel a bit uneasy. I shook it off as mere concern, as it had been eating at me for long enough, but it persisted. I took a small detour, rounding a few corners, and I realized that the feeling in my gut was telling me that I was being followed. My mind raced as my feet hit the pavement, and I wondered who the hell would want to follow me. My detour made no sense. It took me on and off the main road repeatedly. I also liked to think I looked too intimidating for someone to want to corner me in a dark alley, so this feeling wasn’t one I was familiar with outside of work hours.
Whoever this was that was currently making my skin crawl had to be hunting me down in particular. No matter how much I tried to chase the thoughts out of my mind, they kept resurfacing. I craned my head at each turn and saw no one, yet I knew, somehow, that they were there. Up ahead, I saw my parent’s obnoxious garage light illuminating the street, and I knew I was close to my destination.
I knew then that I could not see them tonight. I couldn’t say for sure, but if there were ties between the person following me and the same people that chased my parents out of New York, I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk exposing my family.
My heart broke as I turned down the side street just before my parents’ block. It was time to double back to the house. I had a few phone calls to make.
By the time I neared my house again, the foreboding feeling had eased. I still felt a bit uncertain, though, so I cut short through my neighbor’s yard and hopped the fence. I wasn’t as graceful as I had been in my younger years, but I still managed it fairly effortlessly.
I slipped quietly into the house and immediately pulled my pistol out of the drawer of one of my side tables. I placed it down on the counter where I’d left my cell phone, and dialed the first number I could think of. If anyone ran to help me after my experience, it would be my partner.
I heard half of a ring followed by Marston’s familiar voicemail message. I didn’t even wait long enough to listen to it. Instead, I immediately hung up and tossed my phone across the counter in frustration.
I doubted anyone would try to cross me in my own damn house, but if they did, I was ready. I looked down at the shiny silver finish of my .45 and sighed. The pistol’s presence wasn’t as comforting as Marston’s, but it would have to do for now. I sunk down onto the seat of my barstool and pressed my eyes shut, attempting to force all of my negative thoughts from my brain. It didn’t work, and I was starting to think nothing would.
Marston leaving without so much as a phone call had been bad enough, but after tonight’s jog, I was starting to feel like I had much bigger fish to fry.
Chapter 10: Tessa
Ethan seemed on edge as Jake and Bonnie left to go check out Mellen’s bakery, but Tessa wasn’t sure why. She knew that Mellen’s was owned by the Mezzanottes, but since they didn’t know who Jake and Bonnie were, it was highly unlikely that anything would go awry. Yet despite that, Ethan paced the room for what seemed like forever. He didn’t speak much, and Tessa resigned to heading upstairs to shower and unpack.
Her uncle had left a package on the front steps this morning for her before anyone else had woken up, and she had a message waiting for her on her phone that directed her to the front door. Inside were several outfits and a handful of bathroom items. She could tell he had packed this all himself. The outfits weren’t items she would have paired together on her own, and some of the items from her bathroom weren’t quite right. She ended up with two shampoo bottles but no conditioner, and although she had her face wash, he hadn’t packed her moisturizer. She knew that it was a tall order to ask all that of him on such short notice, so Tessa made a mental note to ask for Bonnie’s help later, or at the very least reach out to a friend of hers who would be able to bring Uncle Donald the missing items for her.
For now, though, she had enough to take a shower and put on some fresh clothes. It did wonders, washing away the events of last night, and she emerged refreshed and ready to face the rest of the day.
Unsure what the rest of the day entailed, Tessa wandered down the steps to find that Ethan had finally stopped pacing. He had now chosen to sit on the edge of the couch with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.
“You look incredibly stressed for a man who isn’t actively working today,” she said softly, trying to get him to relax a bit.
Ethan looked up at her as if he’d forgotten she was there. He then smiled and sat back, and Tessa watched the stress melt off of his shoulders.
“You’re right,” he conceded. “I’m not used to sitting on the sidelines. It doesn’t feel right to me.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. She noticed Warner peek up from his laptop, but he quickly returned his gaze to the screen as if nothing had happened.
“No, not really,” Ethan muttered. “I’m glad it’s not you going on today, although I can’t say I’m a fan of Bonnie being out there either.”
“Bonnie’s tough,” Warner piped up. “She once successfully knocked a guy out with her purse. No one is messing with her today. I promise.”
“Wait, what?” Ethan turned his attention to Warner, and Tessa was intrigued as well. “Do tell. I need to hear this story.”
Warner shook his head adamantly. “Oh, no. That is not my story to tell. Besides, if you haven’t heard the story already, you need to hear it straight from the source. It would be so much funnier coming from Bonnie.”
“I have to ask her now,” Tessa giggled. She pictured Bonnie swinging her purse at someone, and she suddenly gained a new respect for the woman. Bonnie’s assertive attitude somehow seemed much more genuine now.
“Do it,” Warner added. “You won’t regret it.”
“I think we will,” Ethan promised, looking over at Tessa. His eyes definitely seemed softer now.
“I think what you need is a distraction,” she mused. “There are some games in the corner. Do you want to break one out?”
Ethan nodded, and Tessa was grateful for that. A distraction would definitely help the time to go faster as they waited for Jake and Bonnie to return, and Te
ssa wanted to keep his mind busy in the meantime.
Of all the games that were in the corner cabinet, the Jenga blocks stood out to her the most. She grabbed the box and brought it over to the coffee table, stacking the blocks carefully.
“Jenga?” Ethan chuckled. “That’s a halfway decent distraction.”
“I thought so.” She grinned and finished stacking up the blocks. “TJ, do you want to play?” She couldn’t see his face, but she heard his voice from behind the laptop.
“No, thanks,” he responded distractedly. “I’m looking into the Mezzanotte family. I’m kind of in the middle of a series of searches.”
“Okay,” Tessa shrugged. “It’ll just be the two of us, then.” She looked up at Ethan, but he was looking at his coworker.
“What are you looking for, Warner?” he asked, completely forgetting about the impending Jenga game.
“I don’t know yet,” the disembodied voice replied. “I’ll know when I find it, and I’ll let you know.”
For some reason, this satisfied Ethan, and she was glad when he refocused his attention on her and their game.
“You go first,” she instructed after placing the last block on the tower. Ethan responded by choosing a middle block about halfway up the tower, sliding it out of its position easily while leaving the tower intact.
“Can you tell me more about your pirate ship?” she asked, studying the tower for the smartest move. She mimicked Ethan’s choice a few rows further up the stack, sliding the block out with ease.
“You’re really trying hard to distract me, huh?” he teased. She looked up to see him smiling at her, his eyes dancing with humor.
“Yup,” she nodded. “Is it working?”
“Kind of,” he admitted. “I’ve told you all I can about the Dragon’s Rogue, though.”
