by Chloe Gunter
"All the better reason for us to get coffee," Wyatt said. "My treat."
"Do you think they'll do an IV for me since you're the Assistant Director?"
"Haven't you ever heard of the Ridley Revival? They just keep pulling shots of espresso until you can't take anymore," he joked as we walked towards the cafe.
"Sounds like just the thing I need," I grinned back.
By the time we managed to grab our drinks, both of us opting for a Red Eye for the extra caffeine, we decided to walk back to the quad and snag one of the picnic benches.
The sun was visible over the forest, and a few more people were making their way across the facility, either to workout, grab breakfast, or get to their assignments. We sat sipping our coffees and watched them pass.
It was such a normal thing to do after the past twenty-four hours.
Taking my fill, observing the man that was Wyatt Ridley, I realized that our friendship had always been slightly skewed towards me or work. The incident with Reed had put all of my relationships and friendships into perspective, and it was something I wanted to rectify sooner rather than later.
He was dressed in our standard black gear, just like everyone else, which made me respect the hell out of him even more. I'd had people in positions of power go out of their way to make sure you knew their status, from high-quality dress clothes to piss-poor attitudes where they expected everyone to bow at their feet.
Here Wyatt was, in one of the top five positions for an elite government organization, and he didn't act much differently than any other dedicated, hardworking agent I'd seen. Well, besides the look and voice he commanded when shit needed to get done.
"Alright, Charlie. Time to fess up, what's running through that head of yours over there?" he asked, taking a sip of his coffee but still staring forward across the quad.
"You, actually," I said, making his head snap towards me quickly, his silver kissed temples catching in the sunlight. "I was wondering how you've been doing lately, and that got me thinking that I don't know as much about you as I'd like to."
"That beautiful brain of yours is never quiet is it?"
"Only when it has good reason to be." I winked, making both of us laugh.
"Sharing goes both ways," he said, waiting for my nod of confirmation that I would share as well. "I've been getting a bit stir crazy lately. I have a roof over my head, food in my stomach, a great job that I love, but I can't help but wonder if this is all my life will ever be."
"What do you feel like you're missing?" I asked seriously, having experienced the same feelings myself before I got the offer to come to GRAVITAS.
"Is it too cheesy to say someone to share it with? Someone to witness my life and experience some of the adventures along side me?"
Who would have known that behind all that brawn and brains, Wyatt was still a romantic at heart? His questions had me shaking my head in response. "Not at all, Wyatt. Having someone by your side throughout life can make all the difference. I don't think anyone would begrudge you wanting that, and even more so after all that you have given of yourself; you deserve it, too.”
"You know, when you first explained about Gavin and Gage, I was jealous. That's the first time I realized that I might want more out of life, that I want my life to really count for something. It wasn't that I was jealous of them, or of you, I was jealous of the connection you have. One that is strong enough to withstand whatever complications you guys were going through at the time and still led you all to be together, regardless of the fact that its slightly unorthodox."
I took a moment to respond, reflecting on his words and his honest confession.
"There's something freeing in true commitment, freedom from fear or rejection. Having someone who sees and accepts all of you for who you are. I'm very lucky to have found that. I'm grateful for the people I have in my life and the ones I love, and I really hope that you find that too, Wyatt."
He shook his head wistfully, his stormy eyes both hopeful and melancholy at the same time, before he let out an ironic sounding laugh.
"At the very least, I'd settle for a date to my sister's wedding this summer with someone who can hold a decent conversation. Our jobs are demanding though, I get that, and I'm realistic enough to realize that dating a civilian long-term isn't an option right now, and that dating someone here under my authority would be too precarious. That doesn’t exactly leave me a lot of options."
"Tell you what, if you haven't found some poor, unsuspecting girl to take to your sister's wedding by the summer, I'll come with you. I've been known to carry an interesting conversation a time or two," I nudged his shoulder.
He laughed, a purely happy sound, none of the loneliness clinging to the chords as before. "I might take you up on that. It's bad enough that my sister is six years younger than me, and I'll be giving her away. I'm open to anything to make it more bearable."
"That bad?" I asked.
"Not really, we've just always looked out for each other. And before you ask, because I can see the questions in your eyes, our parents passed about a decade ago. They were a wonderful older couple who adopted us from the system when we were teenagers."
"I'm not that bad," I retorted, wincing slightly.
"Hey," he said, bumping his shoulder into mine, mirroring my earlier gesture, "it's what makes you, you. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wouldn't want it any other way. Who else is going to put me on their trash panda list, and talk to me like I'm just another person?"
His words were light and teasing, referencing one of our first meetings, but there was still a touch of loneliness behind the words.
Wyatt Ridley, despite all his achievements and rank, despite his challenging demeanor and surprising humor, still wanted to belong. And it was the most honest and truest fact for any of us.
"So you're telling me that Agent Gavin Russo was bribed and under the scope of a Beretta M501 for the entire night?" I questioned seriously.
Our small conference room was full, the rest of the team and I gathered around the projection screen with our tablets and laptops strewn amongst the table. It looked like the beginning stages of a war room.
Ridley, who had definitely earned his surname in this situation, gave me a firm nod and started going over the layout schematics that the boys had managed to send us. He had stepped in to touch base with Bennett once the feed had been received.
Just earlier that morning, he was Wyatt, my stubborn-ass, lonely friend. And then, hours later, he was making my eye twitch.
Gavin had checked in briefly last night while I was asleep, assuring me that the meet had gone well, and that he was fine. He urged me to go back to sleep, and promised that once he got some rest himself, he would check-in again.
It's funny how he failed to mention all the interesting details of his meet.
Frustration coiled through me, warm and tangled as it weaved between the center of my brows while simultaneously making my fists clench.
He was so going to get it when he got home. Maybe I'd even use some of that fancy rope of his.
"DeWitt?"
Ridley was giving me a slightly concerned look, and I noticed the rest of the table looking at me with slight apprehension. It wasn't exactly a secret that Gavin and I were together. Plenty of people had seen us having lunch, or spending time together, hell, Gage too. Especially with his declaration in Veritas, I'm sure they knew, they were just too polite to ask.
"I'm good to go," I said, assuring the room that I wouldn’t be letting my personal life get in the way.
"You wouldn't be assigned to this team if you couldn't," Ridley said, backing me up. He wasn't usually in our daily meetings, only serving as an advisor and issuing plan approval when need be. But, It would have been nice if he had given me a fucking heads up that morning. "Now, what are we going to do now that we have confirmation that the trafficking is not only illegal and volatile, but also a full stack operation?"
"Based upon the data they uploaded, this set up of the local
authority is way too organized and the men appear too highly trained for this to be some simple operation. You can clearly see in the video that they have protocols in place, including subtle hand signals to one another," I said, flipping back to stream the footage again on my glass tablet.
"We need to know what exactly it is that they're transporting, so we can better assess the threat. Right now, we're working off assumptions based upon the size of the vessels and the security around them. We need more," another agent said, to which I highly agreed.
We spent the rest of the morning pouring over every scrap of detail we had that could help clue us in to the situation. By the time we broke for the day, at a standstill until Gavin and Gage could get more information, it was later than I expected. Grabbing a premade wrap and refilling my water bottle, I stalked to the bench Gavin and I used to meet for lunch.
Call me a sentimental sap, but it made me feel closer to him.
After another afternoon of brushing up on my physical training, followed by another useful yet painstakingly long seminar, I was more than ready to head home.
Walking through the door, I was greeted by the undertones of chili powder rounded out with cumin and a variety of other spices.
"Please tell me we're having Taco Friday?"
"Your wish is my command, darling," Ramsey quipped, standing in front of the stove with the black sleeves of his shirt cuffed up to his elbows.
Reed was sitting on one of the bar stools, his entire body turned towards me. The night before he was still a little out of it, making this the first moment we had really had together since he was fully up and about again. All I wanted to do was to hold onto him and never let go, to make sure nothing like the night before ever happened again.
Instead, I hesitated.
Reed caught my indecision and winced slightly, his shoulders dropping. My gaze shifted to Ramsey, silently wondering if he was okay with the start of the new dynamic Reed and I had found ourselves in.
"Bloody hell, Charlotte. I'm not some delicate flower, you don't have to tiptoe around me. Give the damn man a proper welcome," Ramsey said with more exasperation than I had ever seen him express before. I filed that reaction away, mentally noting to keep an eye on him within the next few days.
Deciding to take his words at face value, I quickly breached the space between Reed and I, throwing my arms around his massive frame. Squeezing him tight, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me even closer into his grip until there was no space left between us.
We stayed intertwined in each other for a long moment before his hands cupped my face, tilting my head up to meet his until our heads were resting together.
"God, Char," his voice was thick and rough, "I don't—"
His voice cracked on the last word, and I immediately settled my hands over his on my face.
"I know, Mountain Man. I know."
"Thank you," he said solemnly, placing a tender kiss near the corner of my mouth. It was intimate and testing, trying to gauge my reaction. His lips lingered, just millimeters from my skin, our breaths shared.
Mirroring his actions, I placed one gentle, chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth before pulling back and giving him a real smile.
Life was too short to worry about conventions or impressions. All that mattered were the people that were close to you. I was doing right by the guys and still being true to myself, and that couldn't be a bad thing. The only question that remained was what this would grow into, and how Ramsey fit into the picture.
"Thank you for coming back to us," I said, giving him one final squeeze before stepping back out of his grasp. Turning toward Ramsey, I accepted the cold beer he offered.
"Alright," Reed said rising from his bar stool, "for the rest of the night I'm declaring a work embargo. Crash is still working on the singlet, and there's no point in worrying about it when we don't even have all of the information we need. So tonight, I just want us to relax and take a moment for ourselves, to appreciate what we have in front of us."
Reed raised his beer in an impromptu toast, which Ramsey and I immediately followed.
"To good health," Ramsey toasted.
"To love," Reed toasted, unabashedly looking at both of us.
"To family," I finished, and we all took a long drink.
The spread that filled our dining room table made my mouth water.
I don't care what anyone says, if you don't love tacos, then you can't be trusted. Maybe I should start asking that question the next time I interrogate someone.
True to Reed's request, we managed to stay away from the topic of work, except for when Reed asked about the guys. I filled him in on the basics, the fact that I'd gotten to speak with both of them, although Gage more so, given the situation. Unguarded, I knew they could hear the frustration in my tone, and Ramsey, true to his character, called me out on it.
"What aren't you telling us?"
"That Gav was targeted down the barrel of an Italian sniper rifle for almost the whole night," I gritted out.
Ramsey raised one eyebrow and gave me a look. It was a look that said I should know better. It was a look that reminded me that he was usually on the other end of the scope, and it was a look that demanded more explanation.
"I know, okay? I know that our jobs are dangerous, and there will be times when I can't protect all of you, I get that, truly. It's purely selfish on my front, but I would really like to spend some time with the people I care about without some extra stressor running through my head. First it was undergoing the Rites while I was dating Gav, and wondering whether he knew or not. Then it was finding out he's a fucking twin, and figuring out that dynamic with the two of them. Then I had a moment of temporary insanity and basically ignored life for two weeks. Only to come back and find myself on probation, with the immediate threat that if I didn't get my shit together that not only would it painfully affect Reed and my boyfriends, but that pretty much all memory of me would be scrubbed from their minds."
Picking up my bottle, I downed the rest of my beer before setting the bottle down rather loudly.
"Is that all?" Ramsey said dryly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. I looked to Reed and saw his shoulders shaking, trying to hold in his laughter.
I threw a napkin at his face, and he finally lost it, the sounds of his deep laughter carrying throughout the apartment. The sound was contagious and pretty soon, we had all joined in, a stray tear leaking out of the corner of my eye.
"You're one of the most composed and in control people I know, Char. But damn it, when you lose your shit, you do so spectacularly," Reed said affectionately.
"Excuse me, sir. I'll have you know that yours truly has gotten her groove back, because as of last night, I am officially off probation."
Their laughter cut off abruptly and they sat straighter, their bodies snapping to attention as they leaned forward, their focus fully on me.
"Seriously?" Reed asked, the hope in his eyes making the emerald color sparkle.
"Yep, I guess Wellington thought that after finishing the Keys efficiently and handling the situation with you, I was no longer a liability."
"Oh, you can handle me alright," Reed grinned, looking mischievous.
"Simmer down, love, or you're going to scare the dear girl away again," Ramsey smirked.
"I'm pretty sure between him and you, you're the scary one, Sarge."
I watched as Ramsey's tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip, the movement capturing both Reed's attention and mine.
"Reed has no complaints."
"I might, if you're the one to scare her off," Reed quipped, fully open and comfortable with the fact that he wanted me.
Ramsey gave Reed an indecipherable look before turning his attention to me. Meeting his eyes, I let him see my truth.
That I did love Reed, but that I was terrified of what that meant and how it would affect our dynamic. But more so, that I didn't know if it was okay with him, that I didn't know what exactly it was that Ramsey wanted or was
okay with.
"I'm not going anywhere." The words were light and heavy at the same time, declaring my intentions that no matter what happened, we were in it together.
"Hey, Sarge! Wait up," I called the following day, seeing Ramsey exiting the hall.
"Charlotte," he acknowledged, stopping immediately.
He waited me out, not questioning why I had called out to him. Damn, did the man love control. It was intimidating, but his confidence was also one of the things I admired about him. And truth be told, he had earned every inch of it, and it was very attractive.
"Do you mind if we go somewhere private and talk?"
His gaze turned considering, and I watched his jaw clench lightly. He wasn't going to say no, but it wasn't something he was particularly looking forward to either.
"Come on," he said, motioning me to follow him.
We walked to the agent housing building, but instead of heading to the top floor, where Reed and I lived, we stayed on the first floor, going to another one of the end units.
Waving his key card, he let us in, coming face to face with a man I didn't recognize, his body bathed in ebony, complimenting his skin, as he bent over to pick up a bag.
"Enzo, this is Charlie. Charlie, Enzo."
Quickly recovering from the surprise at hearing him call me by my preferred name, I exchanged greetings with Enzo, whose posture had been rod straight since our introduction.
I got the impression that he was quiet and reserved, preferring solitary to crowds. While Reed and I didn't share any similarities in our field assignments, I wondered if Enzo and Ramsey did.
"I'll be leaving tomorrow," Enzo told Ramsey just before he excused himself.
"Godspeed," Ramsey said sincerely.
The look he gave Enzo confirmed any suspicions. It was a look that spoke volumes and conveyed a depth of understanding I could never manage to comprehend.
Ramsey directed me to a room off the side of the living area, much like the layout of my own apartment. His room reflected his style, crisp white sheets folded down over a dark slate grey duvet, pillows neatly arranged. The whole room was impeccable, even down to his raised architect desk that had papers and pencils clipped and placed about.