“Piper, I hope with all my heart that’s true,” Bailey said quietly. “But my life is hard thing to share and would be an even harder thing to know.”
“It is true and I already suspect more than you think.”
“There’s an unimaginably large gulf between what you might suspect and reality,” Bailey said honestly.
“That may be true,” Piper said slowly, “but whatever you’ve done or have been involved in, doesn’t take away from the fact that you mean the world to me.”
Bailey rolled over to face her. “Just let me hold you,” she whispered.
V
Without a noise, Without my pride,
I reach out from the inside
—P. Gabriel
“McKraken,” Terry said, hitting the speakerphone in his office.
“Terry, would you come to the Situation room, please?” Bob said. “We’ve gotten two hits on Cameron’s paper.”
“Really?” Terry said surprised. “Give me ten minutes.”
“Alright,” Bob said and disconnected.
Terry leaned back in his chair and looked around his office, noticing for the first time in a week what a sty it was. There were clothes everywhere and enough used paper plates and Styrofoam coffee cups to cover every furniture surface in the room. He rubbed a hand through his hair and it came back greasy. He decided a shower was in order and he rose from his seat to grab his toiletry bag and some clean clothes from the closet.
Seven minutes later, he was looking in the mirror at the beard that he had let grow in unnoticed, deciding to let it go for the time being. Since receiving the news that Cameron’s family had escaped his grasp, he had avoided even minimal contact with everyone, retreating to his office where he had finally succumbed to depression. He knew he hadn’t made an appearance in days and his staff must be more than a little concerned about his ability to lead them through this situation. If the truth were known, he had doubts about that himself.
In the elevator, he found himself praying that the individuals who had expressed interest in Cameron’s contract weren’t fools. He chastised himself for withdrawing from the situation and realized he hadn’t read a movement report or an update for several days.
He swiped his card and punched in his pin number to enter the Situation room and walked briskly to his chair, ignoring the glances from his colleagues.
“What’s the story, Bob?” he said taking a seat. “Can either of them pull it off?”
“Perhaps,” Bob said. “Here’s what we know,” he added, sliding two manila folders across the smooth surface of the table to rest in front of him.
“What’s the story on her movement?” Terry asked not looking at the folders.
“Her only movement from the building seems to be to and from the residence of Piper Tate,” Keith said. “She spent last weekend inside the Tate home and has gone to dinner with her several times, a nightclub once, and shopping once. In addition, the Tate woman seems to be driving one of her cars. Cameron has only left the building twice this week that we are aware of; the last was to pick up Tate on Thursday morning where they both returned to C-Corp. No movement since.”
“She found a friend?” Terry asked unbelievingly. “She’s never let anyone near her before.”
“We believe that Tate and Cameron are a little more than friends,” Keith said. “Daytime surveillance reports that they were seen holding hands on several occasions.”
“She’s gay?” Terry blurted in surprise more loudly than he intended.
“We suspect that Cameron and Tate are involved in a romantic relationship, yes,” Keith said slowly.
“I’ll be Goddamned,” Terry said totally flummoxed as he ran that through his mind for several minutes.
“Terry?” Bob finally braved.
“Yes, I’m sorry,” Terry said, returning to the moment. “Tell me about our Free Agents,” he added quickly.
“Everything we have is in front of you,” Bob said gesturing to the folders he had given him.
“I’ll read them later, give me your opinion,” Terry said dismissively.
“If it’s a straight up fight only one has a chance,” Bob said. “However, depending on the circumstances, either might be successful. No guarantees when you take into account who they’re dealing with. But apparently they’re willing to give it a try.”
“Hmmm,” Terry considered. “I’d like a current detail of her movements up to this moment and I’d like the night to consider some options. I’ll see all of you in the morning,” he said collecting the folders in front of him and taking another from Keith on the way out of the room.
“Nice beard,” Keith commented when the door closed behind him.
“His eyes lit up,” Bob said thoughtfully. “He has an idea and I’ll bet you a hundred bucks tomorrow he has a plan.”
“You think?” Keith asked curiously.
“Yeah,” Bob said.
———
“Come on, girls,” Liz said with a knock on Piper’s door. “Dinner’s ready, everyone’s outside already.”
“We’ll be there in a minute, Mom,” Piper said through the door.
“Hurry along,” Liz said in parting.
“Let me redo your hair, you got it all messy while you were sleeping,” Piper chided as she took a seat behind her on the bed.
“Okay,” Bailey said quietly.
“Bailey,” Piper started as she worked on her hair. “I want you to think about talking to me, okay?”
“Piper...” Bailey started with a sigh.
“No, whatever it is you’re not doing a great job of hiding it and it’s bothering you, so therefore it bothers me,” Piper said cutting her off.
“What do you mean?” Bailey asked carefully.
Piper took a deep breath. “I don’t know many women that can beat up two men twice their size or handle a weapon with a skill like you showed today. I also don’t know anyone who can produce a knife in the blink of an eye to open a CD wrapper,” she said bluntly with a peek at Bailey’s face that gave away nothing. “I’ve seen the scars on your back and I know they were put there on purpose. You can get through a locked door and into my bed without any effort and you can hide from me and sneak around me in my own home. Did I miss anything?”
“Apparently not,” Bailey said tonelessly.
“I know I said I could wait for you to tell me, but I can’t,” Piper said softly. “I want all of you, Bailey. Everything. I don’t ever want to look in your eyes and see the hurt and the fear I saw in them earlier. I want to share everything with you. I want to grow old with you. I want your heart and I can’t have it if you can only trust me so far. How far do you think we can go together if you’re not willing to trust me?”
“I do trust you, Piper,” Bailey said in a small voice.
“You may trust me to a point, but you don’t trust me completely,” Piper said as she fidgeted with the hairbrush.
“It’s not a matter of trust, Piper,” Bailey said. “It’s a matter of fear.”
“Fear that I’ll leave you?”
“Mostly.”
“What’s the rest?” Piper prodded.
Bailey took a deep breath and shook her head.
“Tell me,” Piper said sharply and Bailey’s head whipped around to capture her with her eyes.
“I fear that it’ll kill me to see you hate me or to be afraid of me,” she said in a harsh whisper. “And I fear that it would destroy me if you left me. All my life I’ve never let anyone in, anyone. I’ve survived a lot of things but I don’t think I could survive a broken heart. I’m not strong enough,” she finished the last quietly and turned away to study the carpet at her feet.
“Bailey,” Piper said starting to sniffle.
“Don’t cry,” Bailey said horrified as she turned at the sound to face her. “I… I… don’t know what to do,” she stuttered.
“Don’t you ever cry?” Piper sniffled.
“It’s been so long I don’t think I can anymore,
” Bailey said quietly.
“Have things really been that bad for you?” Piper asked sadly and Bailey sighed.
“Yes.”
Piper’s sniffles trailed off as she looked at the downcast face across from her. “It hurts me to hear you say that,” she said. “It hurts me to think of you as so unhappy.”
“You make me happy, Piper,” Bailey whispered. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“You’re not going to lose me,” Piper said with conviction. “No matter what.”
“How can you be so sure of that?”
“Because I love you,” Piper said bluntly.
It took a second for her to find her voice. “You do?” Bailey marveled.
“With all of my heart, since the day I walked into your office,” Piper admitted. “And if you told me that you’ve spent a lifetime tossing babies into an industrial wood chipper for shits and giggles, I’d still love you. I wouldn’t be thrilled of course, but I‘d still love you,” she finished and leaned over to place a kiss on a mouth that had begun to smile.
“Just think about that, because I meant every word,” Piper said quietly when they parted. “I’m going to go fix my makeup. Mother will have a stroke if she’s forced to start dinner without us,” she added on her way to the door.
“Piper,” Bailey said before she could leave and she stopped in the doorway and turned to her. “Give me a little more time, okay?” she asked contritely.
“Alright,” Piper agreed. “Put on your boots, I want to show everyone what a good dancer you are,” she added with a smile and vanished down the hall.
Bailey sat on the edge of the bed and studied her socks. “She loves me,” she said quietly to the room and with a huge smile, she hopped happily from the bed to find her boots.
———
Piper led Bailey into the barn and as soon as they got past the door, she knew she was in trouble. Everyone but her mother and father were seated and Liz was glaring at her darkly.
“Hello, everyone,” Piper said brightly with a smile. “Sorry we’re late,” she added as her mother pointed them in the direction of four empty chairs.
“You come sit next to me, sweetie,” Liz said taking Bailey’s arm and leading her to a seat.
Piper sat down next to Bailey and before Liz seated herself, she gave Piper a slap to the back of the head.
“Owww!” Piper yelped and blushed when everyone laughed at her expense.
Her mother sat down on the other side of Bailey and Jack stood in front of his chair, remaining on his feet.
Bailey looked around and guessed there were close to sixty adults and children seated at several six-foot long folding tables that had been set up in a rectangle to accommodate everyone. She noted that several tables had been erected in the middle of the square to hold the wealth of food available and there were space heaters placed randomly around the barn to keep everyone warm. She wondered what it would be like to be a part of such a large family.
Jack cleared his throat and everyone quieted down. Bailey felt her hands being taken on both sides by Piper and her mother.
“I had a prayer prepared but I think I’m just going to let everyone know how glad we are that you’re here and that I hope to see all of us back again next year in good health,” he said loud enough for everyone to hear. “I’d also like to welcome Bailey to our family and I would ask that if you already haven’t met her to introduce yourselves later.” He paused. “I think most of the guys are already well aware of who she is,” he said with a smile and his comment generated laughter from both the men and the women. “I guess most of the women do too,” he admitted and was met by a few more chuckles. “Anyway, we’re very happy to have her so don’t scare her off, we’d like to see her here again. Although, I feel I must mention that it has been decreed that our annual Thanksgiving contest shall be a male only event from this day forward.” He smiled at the chuckles. “I’ve embarrassed her enough I think, so everyone enjoy yourselves and I don’t want to see any leftovers. God Bless,” Jack finished happily to a group ‘Amen’ and seated himself.
Bailey sat quietly through the speech in wonder, trying not to blush at all the attention but failing miserably. Her chest had tightened at Jack’s words and the sense of belonging that she had experienced the night before threatened to overwhelm her. She couldn’t fathom how Piper’s family could so easily accept her into their ranks after only knowing her for such a short time and she was touched deeply by their generosity.
“Welcome, Bailey,” Liz said and pecked her on the cheek.
“Thank you,” Bailey said quietly. “That means a lot to me,” she admitted and she felt Piper squeeze her hand tightly.
“You’re welcome here anytime, Bailey,” Jack said leaning across his wife.
“Thank you, Mr. Tate,” Bailey said sincerely.
“You call me, Jack,” he said pleasantly. “I hate the sound of Mr. Tate.”
“Alright,” she said with a smile.
“Piper,” Liz said sharply. “Don’t just sit there grinning like a retard. Go fix her a plate,” she added with a shooing gesture.
“I can fix my own plate,” Bailey said before Piper could get up.
“Nonsense,” Liz dismissed. “You’re a guest here tonight. Please excuse my daughter’s bad manners,” she said pleasantly.
Piper rolled her eyes dramatically as she rose from her seat. “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said with a peck to Bailey’s other cheek.
Liz waited until she left before she conspiratorially leaned over to Bailey. “Piper’s a hard one to corral, you’ve got to keep her off balance,” she said pleasantly and Bailey smiled. “I suspected a long time ago that if she ever truly fell in love, it would be for forever and she’s chosen you, sweetie. I hope you’re prepared for that.”
“Forever is a hard thing to believe in,” Bailey said honestly. “But Piper gives me hope.”
“Hope is all you need,” Liz said sagely with a pat to her arm as she stood up and collected her plate. “Make sure you try the gumbo, it’ll put hair on your chest,” she added on her way to the food.
Bailey’s brows knitted and she made a note to ask Piper about the gumbo when she returned.
———
Piper heard Bailey’s relieved sigh as they walked arm and arm back to the house. She bumped her with her hips and beamed a proud smile at her that was tiredly returned. Piper knew that the evening had been a drain on her but she had slugged through it like a trooper.
After dinner and the tables had been cleared, Bailey had endured attention from everyone as they formally introduced themselves or just stopped by to say a few words. There had been a tense moment when Corey had approached her after dinner and embraced her with no warning. Piper had seen the muscles in her back stiffen and it was apparent in her body language that it took an effort to accept it. But she did and smiled at him uncomfortably when he let her go and thanked her for fixing his car. Corey had asked her several times over the course of the evening how she had done it but she just shrugged her shoulders and told him that it was magic, a tactic which to Piper’s delight, had frustrated him to no end.
When the music had started up, Piper had kept her close as Bailey politely declined several offers to dance with her various relatives, being slightly disappointed that over the course of the evening she had only given in and danced with her once. However, she understood Bailey’s reluctance when the second they began, every eye in the room tracked to and stayed riveted upon them. A situation that made Piper herself feel uncomfortable, so she could only imagine how hard it was for her. But surprisingly, Bailey had finally relented to Corey’s repeated requests as the festivities were winding down and had danced a quick waltz with him. However, the majority of the evening had been spent leaning on one another and watching the crowd below as they sat with their legs dangling over the edge of the hayloft.
“You tired?” Piper asked as they approached the house.
“Yeah,” Bailey admitted.
“Did you have a good time?”
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “Yeah, I did.”
“I’m glad, next time won’t be so hard on you,” Piper said comfortingly. “I know it wasn’t easy for you to be under so much attention.”
“Will there be a next time?” Bailey asked softly.
“As far as I’m concerned there will be,” Piper said gravely. “I don’t plan on letting you go, Bailey.”
Bailey sighed. “I wish I could tell you how much this weekend has meant to me,” she said quietly.
“You just did,” Piper said with a smile.
“You’re family has been very kind,” Bailey said in a whisper. “I used to dream about being part of a family. I had given up on it until you brought me here.”
Piper’s heart clenched at the barely audible words. “You have one now, Bailey,” she said sincerely.
Bailey just nodded and pulled Piper a little closer.
“Come on, let’s go to bed,” Piper said as she led her up the stairs to the house.
Bailey followed her quietly through the house and up the stairs to their bedroom. As soon as the door closed behind them, she stripped down to her panties without her usual modesty and climbed into bed with her back to the door. Piper watched without saying anything as she slowly removed her own clothes. She suspected that Bailey was on the border of her emotional limit and when she crawled into bed she wasn’t surprised to find her already asleep as she snuggled up to her back and held her tightly.
“I love you,” she whispered into the ebony hair.
VI
Curl me up inside you,
And let me hear you through the heat.
—S. Vega
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Terry said robustly as he strode to his chair with a cleanly shaven face. “Bob, I want you to contact Mr. Nguyen and promise him employment or a long term association with the Organization. Offer him twice the amount he requested for taking on Cameron’s paper, but set the following conditions. One, it must be a one on one confrontation without the use of firearms and out of the public eye. Two, it cannot take place anywhere near C-Corp or the Tate residence. And third, Tate must be present.”
Engravings of Wraith Page 35