by Ezra Dawn
“I’m happy to help. It’ll take some rearranging of course since my three best teams are currently on cases but, I can put others on the ones they’re working. When do you need them and where?”
“Boston as soon as possible.”
“Can I ask who you’re working for?”
“Mickey O’Rourke.”
“The Mickey O’Rourke.”
“Yep.”
“Since when did you go criminal?”
Chuckling, I say, “It’s complicated.”
“Undercover huh?”
“You guessed it.”
“Alright then. I’ll call my teams and have them head straight to you but before I do, I need to know everything, so I can appraise them of the situation they’re heading into.”
Nodding to myself, I give him a quick rundown of the situation and everything that’s happened so far, even tossing out what happened with the bomb before I even arrived.
When I’ve finished my explanation, Gill says, “Alright. I’ll call my guys and will send you their flight information when I’ve sent their replacements to their current location. I leave arranging for their transportation and lodgings to you.”
“Sounds good. What about payment?”
“I’ll text you the company’s bank account number and the total amount. You can have him wire it.”
“Got it. Thanks man.”
“No problem. And Justice?”
“Yeah?”
“My offer still stands.”
“Thanks Gill but I can’t work for you. I’d be a liability and you know it.”
“Still, the offer is there if you ever change your mind.”
“I won’t but thanks anyway.”
Feeling someone tap me on the shoulder, I turn and find the doc standing there with a blood draw kit in one hand and a new blood bag in the other.
“I’ve got to go Gill. We’ll talk later.”
“Later, JJ.”
Rolling my eyes at the nickname, I hang up the phone and say to the doc, “Where do you want me?”
“Come into the room and have a seat. I’ve already gotten a pint from Callahan and hooked it up to Mickey’s IV. You’re next.”
“Did you get the bullet out?”
“Yes. I had to cut him open to fix the tear in his subclavian artery, but he’ll make a full recovery. I’ve added antibiotics to his IV as well, so we can prevent infection and I’ve also given him another dose of morphine for when he wakes up. He’s not to do anything too strenuous such as lifting heavy items or fighting because it could tear the stitches. With some rest and maybe another pint of blood, he’ll be right as rain. He’ll have to wear a sling for a while to keep his shoulder immobilized which I’m sure he won’t be too happy about, but it’ll aid his recovery.”
“Good. I’ll make sure he toes the line when it comes to his recovery.”
I take a seat in a chair next to the bed Mickey is laying on. His tank top has been removed and a bandage covers his shoulder. All his tattoos are on display and while I want to explore every single one with my tongue, I can’t do that while he’s injured. Someday soon maybe. Christ, I can’t believe it only took a day for me to give in. I probably could’ve held out for longer if he wasn’t so damn relentless. And that smirk… Damn. sometimes I can’t decide whether I want to smack it off his face or kiss him senseless.
I’m pulled out of my thoughts when the doc sticks a needle into my arm. My phone dings with a message and I use my free hand to check it. Seeing the account information Gill promised I forward it to Mickey’s cell phone, suddenly thankful that I got his number from Callahan. Another message with the flight information of the teams comes in a few minutes later and I forward that one to Callahan.
Callahan looks at his phone when it dings and says, “What’s this?”
“The flight information for the three security teams I called in. I need to secure transportation and lodgings for two of the teams since the third will be housed in this building.”
Callahan nods. “I’ll take care of it.”
“When they arrive, we’ll bring all of them here, so we can give them their assignments before sending them to where they’ll be staying. These guys won’t be going to the warehouse. They’re going to do their job from the shadows. The last thing we need is for them to be seen by whoever is after Mickey and end up targeted.”
“You’re right. Letting them be seen would defeat the purpose of bringing them in. Especially, if keeping them in the shadows means they can hunt for the person or persons after Mickey.”
“Exactly my point. I know each team comes with a tech guru so, maybe after having them update the security system we can put them on trying to find a paper trail connecting someone from the organization to the assassin’s that have been sent. I took pictures of the guy Mickey shot so, maybe they can hack Interpol or something and see if there’s anything on this guy.”
“Good idea. If we know who he was then we can probably find the person responsible.”
“I hope so.”
The doc removes the needle from my arm, presses a cotton ball to it and makes me bend my arm while holding it in place. He attaches the pint of blood he took from me to Mickey’s IV then reaches into his medical bag and pulls out a blue and white sling. “Have him put this on when he wakes up if he decides to get up and move around.”
After placing the sling on the nightstand, he pulls out two bottles of pills. “One of these is a pain medication and the other is an antibiotic. He’ll need to take these until he’s completely healed although he can stop taking the pain medication when he doesn’t feel the need for it anymore. Once he gets this pint of blood into him, I’ll remove the IVs and be on my way.”
Callahan steps away from the wall he’s been leaning against and holds out his hand to the doctor. “Thanks doc.”
“No problem. I’ll be back in a few weeks to take the stitches out provided he doesn’t remove them himself like last time.”
Callahan laughs and says, “He’s not known for being patient. Or good at following orders.”
“If he doesn’t want to cause further injury to himself then he’ll do exactly as I say and take it easy. If he tears that artery again he could bleed out internally before I get to him.”
Callahan rubs his hands over his face and nods. “Justice and I will make sure he takes it easy. Even if we have to wrap him up in bubble wrap and lock him in a closet.”
Grinning, I say, “Now, Cal… I think locking him in a closet might be going a little too far, don’t ya think? As soon as we let him out, he’d kick both our asses.”
“We could take him.”
“Only in your dreams.” Turning towards the voice, I see Mickey looking at us with a smirk on his face.
Callahan grins and says, “I don’t know, boss. Justice here could probably give you a run for your money with the way he fights.”
“We’ll see about that.”
The doc levels all three of us with a glare and says, “Not right now you won’t. You’re going to rest and heal for at least two weeks and even after that, I’d prefer if you refrained from fighting for at least a month just to be sure the injury to your artery is fully healed. You’re lucky the bullet didn’t break your clavicle, or you’d be out for longer.”
Mickey rolls his eyes and says, “I get it. I almost died, trying to do things like fighting before you tell me I can means I could still die, yada yada. You don’t have to lay it on so thick, doc, I get your point. I’ll take it easy.”
The doc narrows his eyes at Mickey before nodding. “See that you do.”
With that, he packs up his things and leaves. Mickey tries to sit up but fails so I grab a couple pillows and help him. Once he’s comfortable, I say, “That friend of mine I was telling you about is going to send three teams. They’ll be here by morning.”
“Good. What’s the plan?”
“We’ll pick them up from the airport and bring them here for a brief meeting, so we can nail do
wn who will be stationed where and how they’ll rotate shifts. Callahan and I have decided that they won’t accompany you to the warehouse and instead will work from the shadows. My plan is that by using outside security to build a wall around you, whoever is after you will eventually become desperate enough to do something stupid and reveal themselves.”
Callahan nods. “It’s a good plan and could definitely work.”
Mickey says, “I think that’s enough talking for now. We can pick this up in the morning.”
Callahan says, “I’ll take the couch,” and leaves the room.
Turning towards Mickey, I stroke his cheek and say, “I’m glad you’re okay.”
He leans into my touch and grins. “It’s too bad I’m injured, I’d have loved to have you under me, or over me, I’m not picky.”
Laughing, I kiss his forehead and say, “We might not be able to have sex right now, but we can do other things until the doc gives you the all clear.”
“I can get on board with that plan.”
I raise an eyebrow at him and grin, “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Get up here and kiss me.”
Climbing onto the bed beside him, I do my best not to jar his shoulder when I press my lips to his. I shouldn’t be doing this… it’ll complicate the job… you know what? Fuck the job… retirement is starting to look better by the minute. And this? This is something that makes me happy and I haven’t felt happy in a very long time. Yeah… the FBI can go fuck themselves. I’ll send them some inconsequential shit they won’t be able to use and then I’ll tell Mickey the truth. I just pray that when I do, he doesn’t kill me. And if he does? Well, at least I’ll die knowing I was happy.
Jesus… those eyes of his make me want to drown in them… when did I turn into such a sap? I don’t remember ever thinking this sort of thing when I was with he who shall not be named.
“Where’d you go?”
Grinning at him, I kiss the tip of his nose and say, “I was getting lost in those emerald eyes of yours.”
“Well then, by all means, continue to get lost.”
“Oh, I plan on it.”
Winking at him, I move to straddle his hips before leaning forward and pressing my lips to his. For now, I’ll enjoy our break from reality, but when tomorrow comes, the real work will begin.
Two weeks… two whole fucking weeks of sitting inside my apartment doing nothing has me going stir crazy. Between Callahan, Justice, and the new security team, I can’t even go to the bathroom without someone on my ass trying to make sure I ‘take it easy.’ I’m at my wits end. The next person who says I need to ‘sit down and take it easy’ will be getting a bullet to their kneecaps. When they suggested I avoid going to the warehouse for a while, I agreed. It was a solid plan to draw out the person threatening me, but I didn’t expect it to take this long. If I don’t get out and at least continue with my usual Sunday routine, I’m going to go nuts.
With that thought in mind, I head into my bedroom and start getting dressed. The doc took my stitches out yesterday so I’m ready to get back to my routine. I know I still have some recovering to do but that doesn’t mean I can’t go to church with my mom or play poker at the VA hospital. Hell, I’d like to go dancing too, blow of some steam. I’ve been in a perpetual state of blue balls for the past two weeks. Sure, getting regular blow jobs from Justice are great and they take the edge off, but they aren’t what I crave and if I don’t do something to let out my frustrations I’ll end up jumping Justice and will probably hurt myself in the process. But, what a way to go, huh?
As I’m tying my tie, Justice’s face appears in the mirror as he steps up behind me. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Church then the VA hospital and after that a club so, I can go dancing.”
“You can’t leave.”
“Yes, I can. I’ve already had to come up with an excuse for why I wasn’t there last week and I’m not doing that again. You can either come with me and protect me or I can go alone and probably end up dead. Your choice.”
“Stubborn ass. Fine, we’ll go. Let me get dressed.”
“Don’t be too long, blondie, or I’ll leave without you.”
“Not if I have the keys to the car you won’t.”
“Spoilsport.”
“I try.”
Chuckling to myself, I straighten my tie and grab my suit jacket off the bed. Pulling it on, I button it up and wait by the door. Justice exits his room while buttoning his own jacket. Even though we’ve been sleeping in the same bed for the last two weeks, he refuses to move his stuff out of the closet in the guest room. The kicker though? I didn’t get to take him shopping. Since I wasn’t allowed to leave, I sent him to the tailor I usually go to and had them put whatever he bought on my tab. Cost me almost one hundred thousand dollars but it’s worth it to see him in a suit tailor made to fit him like a glove.
“Are you going to stand there gawking at me all day?”
Seeing his smirk, I narrow my eyes at him and say, “Get the keys blondie, let’s go.”
He walks over to me and grins. “Got the keys already mouse. You were standing there for longer than you think.”
Flipping him off, I open the front door and wait for him to walk through it before following. When we get to the elevator, Justice holds his watch up to his face and says, “How’s the garage look?”
I hear the earpiece he’s wearing crackle with a response as Justice hits the button on the elevator. Those little mics and earpieces never cease to amaze me. After this whole situation is finished, I’ll have to look into buying some for my next security team. And maybe I’ll look into hiring a tech guru too, to handle security systems and surveillance. Bringing in these guys has shown me just how behind the times the organization is.
When we exit the elevator, I head for the SUV and climb in on the passenger side. Justice climbs in the driver seat and raises an eyebrow at me. Shrugging I say, “We’ve got a few people to pick up before we head to the church.”
“Just keep your head down until we’re far enough away from this building that you won’t be the target of a sniper. The team will place themselves strategically around the church so there won’t be any worries there. It’ll be the same at the VA hospital.”
“How did you do that in the short amount of time you took to change?”
He laughs and says, “I talked to Callahan about your routines when we brought in the security teams. We’ve been prepared for this since day one. I’m actually surprised you didn’t mount a jail break sooner.”
“If I’d tried it any sooner the doc would’ve kicked my ass before patching me up and locking me in a room until I’d recovered.”
“And you would’ve deserved it.”
“Probably.”
“So, where are we going?”
“We have to pick up my mother and her friends before church. I hope you briefed the security team on the restaurant I take them to for lunch afterwards.”
“Don’t worry, it’s taken care of. The only location we have to worry about is the club. There’ll be a ton of people there and someone could come at you from anywhere. But, I’ve come to the realization that I can’t stop you from doing what you want now that you’re mostly healthy, so I’m going to do my best to protect you. Which means I’ll be sticking to you like white on rice.”
Waggling my eyebrows at him, I grin and say, “I do love it when you stick to me.”
He barks out a laugh and shakes his head. “That was bad.”
“Yes, it was. Now, put the pedal to the metal blondie, my mother will have both our hides if we’re late.”
“Sure thing, mouse.”
It’s been an experience following Mickey around today. I’ve seen a side to him I wasn’t aware he had. Working for the FBI you only hear about the criminal side of people, what you don’t hear or see is the other side of it. Watching him dote on his mother and her friends and playing poker with veterans is not something I would’ve expected from a mob boss but it�
��s a welcome surprise. It shows that underneath the cold mob exterior lies an actual human being. One who loves and cares and bleeds just like everyone else.
The day has been completely uneventful which has me on edge. I’ve got this gut feeling that something is about to go down and I don’t like it. Coming to the club was probably a bad idea but Mickey wasn’t about to take no for an answer. Which is why, I’ve plastered myself to his back while he dances so I can keep an eye on our surroundings. Feeling him pressed against me is a bittersweet kind of torture. I’d love nothing more than to relax and enjoy the moment but with the threat to his life hanging over us, I find it hard to let loose. As soon as someone comes too close, I find myself gritting my teeth and wondering is this guy a threat? It’s because of that feeling, that I often use a side-step shuffle maneuver to turn us around, so I can get a look at what’s behind me.
On my next turn, I stop midway when I spot a shifty looking kid out of the corner of my eye. He looks barely old enough to drive and the way his gaze screams deer caught in headlights instantly puts me on alert. I watch him out of the corner of my eye so, I don’t give away that I’m aware of him. Which makes me glad because in the next moment, he’s charging forward with a knife held at his side. Before he can nick Mickey, I reach out and grab his wrist, putting pressure on a certain spot until he drops the knife. Keeping a grip on his wrist, I punch him in the nose, knocking him out cold. Tossing the kid over my shoulder, I pick up the knife and put it in between my belt and my pants so I don’t stab myself with it then I lead Mickey out the backdoor of the club instead of the front.
Keeping an eye out, I sneak around to where I parked the SUV and throw the kid in the back. Grabbing some zip ties, I stashed in a side pocket for such an occasion, I bind his hands and feet together. Slapping some duct tape on his mouth, I close the back. While Mickey climbs in the SUV, I check it over for any signs of a tracking device or a bomb. Finding nothing, I climb inside and say, “Where should we take him?”
“My apartment. We’ll interrogate him there. Right now, it’s the safest place for me and I can’t risk getting caught unawares somewhere else. Everyone I come in contact with is a potential threat.”