“You okay, Chloe? Sounds like they got in a few shots on ya,” Zeke asked her.
She moved her arm. “I’m fine. It could have been a lot worse.”
“How did you get the gun away?” Jack asked.
“She kicked it from his hand,” Tessa said. Chloe gave her a look and Tessa pulled her lips tight.
“Those kickboxing classes that your brothers conduct at the dojo sure do come in handy, Leif. Even though I went only a few times, it worked,” Chloe said and then stretched out her arm.
“Well, these two assholes are going to jail. We’ll contact you if we have further questions,” Zeke said to her, but she could tell that the men were looking at her suspiciously. She wouldn’t divulge her capabilities, and lying would only cause more questions.
“Thank you so much, Chloe. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t with me.”
“Well, the lesson learned here is to not go out at night alone. Have one of the bouncers escort you out. Okay?” Chloe said and Tessa nodded and then hugged Chloe, shocking her. She caught Coastal’s eye and then Leif’s.
“I’m glad that you’re safe.”
“Someone should follow them home just as a precaution and to check out their homes,” Zeke stated.
“I’ll accompany Tessa. It’s on the way back to Main Street,” Coastal said.
“I’ll follow Chloe. I was just getting off from work and it’s on the way to the ranch,” Jack said. He was Carina’s boyfriend and Chloe knew him and his brothers well. As they headed toward her car she turned to Jack.
“You don’t need to follow me. It was only the two of those men who were harassing Tessa tonight.”
“It’s a precaution. You know how things work and it’s our job. You’re a friend, too, so I want to make sure you get home okay.”
She smiled softly and nodded her head. “I appreciate that. Thanks.”
* * * *
“What happened?” Tobias asked when he arrived at the Station. Zeke, Cesar, Aero, Coastal, and Damon were there.
“Watch this. It’s pretty fucking impressive shit,” Zeke said and then played the video back so that Tobias could see it.
He was shocked at what he saw. The composure, the counter moves, even the strike to her arm that would definitely leave a bruise and how she reacted. She was so quick he hardly saw her get the gun away and turn the tables on the two assholes who tried to take her and Tessa.
“Did you ask Chloe about this? About where she learned self-defense?” Cesar asked.
“Self-defense? That’s beyond self-defense, unless she knows martial arts,” Tobias replied.
“She did take some classes a few times at the dojo,” Leif added.
“Come on now. Let’s keep this real,” Jack said.
“So she knows some self-defense moves? She saved herself and Tessa from being taken by those two assholes. They’re pressing charges and this video is great evidence against them,” Cesar said.
“If she’d shot the idiot, it would show self-defense, too, and she wouldn’t be charged,” Jack added.
“She didn’t though. It’s obvious she knows how to use a gun. She pointed and held it with comfort,” Tobias said.
“I wish that surveillance had audio so we could hear the exchange,” Jack said.
“She must have told them to get down on the ground and palms down,” Zeke added.
“What do we know about her, Cesar, aside from being in business and looking for a change of pace?” Aero asked.
Cesar looked at Tobias. Tobias had a lot of questions of his own. His gut clenched.
“Tobias, you and Wallace seem to have taken an interest in her. Maybe go see her tomorrow and find out more,” Cesar said.
“I’m up for that.”
“Well, this is the first I’m hearing about you and Wallace being interested in Chloe,” Jack said to him.
“Who said we’re interested in her?” Tobias asked.
Cesar chuckled and so did the others. “And so it begins. Just keep in mind, she’s been very low-key and keeps to herself. She didn’t divulge much information to me but I did have some concerns. I thought as she got more comfortable Chloe might open up more about her past, but Antonia says she doesn’t say much about it. She doesn’t have a family except maybe an uncle, and she loves living in Repose,” Cesar told Tobias.
“Sounds like the makings for trouble,” Jack said and Zeke laughed.
“Been there,” Zeke said.
“We all have,” Jack said.
“I’ll go see her tomorrow,” Tobias said.
“Play that video again. She’s got some serious moves,” Coastal said and Tobias felt a little jealous of his interest but then remembered Coastal’s interest in Tessa. He was surprised he got to the Station so quickly after following Tessa home.
If Tobias and Wallace had stayed an hour longer, they may have been able to talk to her or intervened. He wondered about the hit to her arm and it pissed him off. He was glad the two men were behind bars, but couldn’t help the feeling in his gut. Something was up, and he just hoped it wasn’t something bad.
Chapter 3
“Shit,” Chloe said aloud when she woke up in the morning and felt the pain in her arm, then saw the large black and blue bruise. She was definitely rusty, letting that drunken asshole get a hit in on her. It aggravated her but then she had to remind herself that she wasn’t active law enforcement. She was no longer an agent working for the feds. She was a bartender trying to put the past and the bullshit experience behind her.
That thought made her wish she was still a cop. She loved patrolling the streets and she thought about how quickly she was pulled into undercover work. She had a knack for it. She shined in all her training classes, was an excellent shot with various types of guns, and she had no fear. That was until she wised up and started seeing truly bad, evil people.
When she first got on, she loved it. She worked in the South Bronx in some of the crappiest neighborhoods. People hated her for her uniform, for what she stood for and for being a woman. She didn’t back down. She was grazed by a bullet her first month on the force at twenty years of age. She moved into a specialized anti-drug task force six months later when they needed her looks to get on the inside of the drug world. That had been an experience she would never want to visit again.
People took acting lessons, but she was born with the ability to act. It came in handy a time or two and especially when she fell into the job that landed her in a heap of trouble.
As she got ready, she thought about the days when she stumbled upon a bigger deal. It had been a mess of a situation. She was young and trying so hard to impress the commander, Michael Crown. He took her under his wing. When she stumbled upon a federal investigation, and made contact with the main leader Copias, she didn’t even know who he was or how powerful Copias was, and her entire world was turned upside down.
“She isn’t trained. She isn’t an agent.” Crown fought with the lead agent in charge, Brogan Rourke.
“She’s the only one who has come close to even engaging in a conversation with Copias. He’s always on guard. He never shits where he eats. He took an instant liking to Celeste. We can’t pass up this opportunity. I’ve read her file, and I see her potential. She is more than trained and capable of pulling this off,” Brogan Rourke countered.
She remembered them going on and on. She knew the feds investigated her. Since she did make contact with one hell of a high-profile criminal, she had to remain in her role. An apartment was set up for her in Brooklyn. She even had fake friends. The months that followed pulled her deeper and deeper undercover. She feared for her life, for the things she witnessed, but the evidence was piling up. Copias trusted her, and she was so far gone in playing her role that he began to seduce her. Then there was Scallone. She swallowed the tears that clogged her throat and wished she hadn’t thought about him still. She loved Scallone. She took three bullets to her body to protect him from getting killed by Copias even though Sc
allone was a criminal, too. Then Copias pushed for intimacy and threatened to kill any man she laid eyes on—including Scallone—and she knew in order to protect Scallone she would have to get more deeply involved with Copias. She had no choice but to sleep with the man.
It had been the biggest mistake of her life, but it happened. In that moment if she denied him, he would have killed her. Copias knew when someone lied to him. She witnessed him slit a man’s throat, put a bullet in another man’s head, and give orders of executions to a group of fifty of his own men. She rubbed her arms, cringing as her fingers made contact with her new bruise. It was the most frightening time of her life. She fought her way out. Killed over two dozen men and thought she would die there. All her documentation, all the photos, evidence, and locations of product and guns all recovered by the feds and the one man that got away was Copias. The worst part of it all, and what wounded to her heart—her soul—was the belief that Scallone helped Copias escape, even though Copias wanted Scallone dead.
She felt angry, disgusted and because he got away, she had to leave her life behind her. She also didn’t trust a soul. She didn’t trust Crown either, and asked Brogan to ensure the man never knew where she was. The prick was screwing some bimbo in internal affairs that day when he should have been commanding the undercover officers who were now dead because of his negligence. She still wondered why, of all nights, would he not do his job, only send in half the men, and also disappear?
She shook her head. She’d been over it a thousand times. It seemed to only bother her, not Rourke. The feds got what they wanted. The guns, the drugs, the numerous foreign connections, and names to dozens of criminals who imported and exported product illegally. They were set, and so was she. She got paid a lot of money and was set for life. She got a new identity, new name, and she never needed to look back or think about the past.
She was just about to make a pot of coffee and sit out on the deck when she heard the doorbell ring.
Her heart hammered inside of her chest. She adjusted the straps on her tank top to ensure all scars were hidden. Of course the bruise wasn’t. She thought it might be Antonia, Brooklyn, or one of the girls coming to check on her but as she glanced through the window she saw the patrol truck.
She opened the door and sure as shit Tobias was there.
“Good morning,” he said and eyed her over. He had a holder with two large coffees and a brown bag.
“I brought over breakfast.”
She stared at him. God, he looked incredibly handsome, but she needed to be smart.
“What are you doing here?” she asked instead of inviting him in, which seemed to surprise him.
“I came to check on you. I heard about last night. Invite me in and we can talk. I brought coffee and the best cinnamon buns around.”
“Oh, I’ve heard about these from Antonia.” The smell of coffee hit her nostrils and she was in desperate need of the morning jolt.
“Come on in. I was just going to make a pot and sit out back.”
She moved out of the way and he entered, looking around her house. It was a good-sized ranch. She had a large open country kitchen, a fireplace in the living room, and four bedrooms she didn’t think she would ever use. She had two acres of property and a barn out back she turned into a workout center. After last night she was thinking she needed to brush up on her skills.
She gestured for him to go out to the screened-in back porch that was wide and large, and overlooked the land.
“This place is really nice.”
“Thank you,” she said and looked him over as he placed the carrier onto the small table and turned to look at her.
He stepped closer. “Jesus, Chloe, that’s from last night?” he asked and took her hand and turned her arm slightly.
She stiffened up, not anticipating the effects of his touch and show of care.
“It’s fine,” she said and went to pull back.
He held her expression with a firm one, lips sealed and eyes squinting. “No, it isn’t fine. I don’t like seeing you bruised.”
She hadn’t expected that, or the response her body had to the man. She swallowed hard and gave a soft smile. “I’m okay, really, but I appreciate the concern. Can we have coffee now? I’m in desperate need for some,” she said and he smiled then released her hand and arm and reached for the containers.
“I brought it over black. I wasn’t sure if you liked cream, or milk or even sugar.”
“Black is perfect,” she said and thought about being a cop and always having black coffee through the midnight shift of twelve to seven. She lived on the stuff.
“God, this is really beautiful out here. What do you own, like an acre or so?” he asked and she took a seat and he followed, sitting right across from her. It was a small space between both seats. They could practically bump knees.
“Two acres, and thank you. I love it. It’s part of why I chose this house and land,” she said and took a sip from the coffee.
“Why did you choose Repose to move to? I mean there are a whole lot of other towns,” he asked and took a sip of coffee.
“I don’t know. I was driving through and it was either here or Keanter. Keanter has more stores and is busy and crowded. Repose is calm, and peaceful.”
“Except for last night,” he countered.
“Yes, well, guys like that tend to be everywhere.”
He stared at her and she knew he would have questions. She just didn’t know how much she should tell him.
“You defused a potentially dangerous situation where a number of different outcomes could have occurred.”
“I was glad to be there for Tessa.”
“Chloe, you should know that the parking lot has surveillance cameras. We looked at them last night.”
She swallowed hard and then took a sip of her coffee. “That’s good then. Those men can’t try to say it was their word against ours. They were going to abduct Tessa. They were kind of drunk, too,” she added, just thinking that if the images were clear they might question her abilities. If she made it sound like the men were drunk then it would look like she had the upper hand because of their intoxication.
“I know they were. It’s pretty upsetting. Cesar went by to see her along with Brooklyn and Antonia.”
“Good. She’s probably still shaken up about it.”
He squinted at her. “You seem fine.”
“I am fine, Tobias.”
“Why is that?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I saw the video. Those moves you did were professional counter moves.”
She put the coffee down and sat up straighter and smiled. “They were self-defense moves. I grew up in the city and the neighborhood was shit. Those men were pretty drunk.”
“They weren’t that drunk, not according to the officers’ breathalyzer results. No self-defense training teaches moves like that.”
She raised her one eyebrow up at him and stood up. “Seriously? Have you been to New York? Things are a bit different than Texas.”
She took a sip of her coffee then looked away from him.
“Come on, Chloe, do you know who you’re talking to?”
“Yeah, the assistant chief of police and a retired soldier.”
“Special Forces. Government-trained in a special operations unit. You did those moves with ease. You got that gun away and turned on them in a flash and even ordered those men to lie on the ground palms flat and legs spread.”
Shit, he and whoever else really did watch the damn video that closely. Now what do I do? I can’t let on to who I am. I can’t do this with him. With anyone.
“You’re reaching, Tobias. I loved learning all those self-defense moves. I never thought they would come in handy. I belonged to a dojo, and I took every class the sensei offered. I do kickboxing and other forms of exercise that mimic a lot of self-defense moves. I’m a New Yorker, remember? We take that stuff seriously.”
“And your knowledge of and comfort with gu
ns?”
“I know how to shoot and use a gun. Again, I grew up in the city. My grandparents owned guns and I was trained in using them ‘just in case.’”
He held her gaze and then exhaled. “You’re lying to me.”
She stared up at him as he stood up, towering over her.
“If you’re in some kind of trouble then you need to tell me. To tell Cesar.”
She laughed and it sounded lame even to her own ears. “Listen, I’m not some ‘situation’ for you to protect and handle. I know you’re all on edge, and especially after the series of events that have transpired with your friends’ women the last several months. I’m not in danger. I’m not on the run and I don’t need the third degree over this. A crime was stopped before Tessa was hurt. Focus on that,” she said to him.
“You talk like a cop,” he said and her face flinched but she quickly recovered. She laughed again.
“Well, I can assure you that I am not a cop.” She didn’t say she never was, despite wanting to.
“We know hardly anything about you.”
She exhaled. “I worked in the business field. The company was sold and taken over. I left with a nice nest egg and decided that life in the city wasn’t what I wanted anymore. In fact, incidents like last night—muggings, murders, robberies, and shootings were pretty much tiresome. I wanted peace, relaxation, and also safety. Since coming here I’ve made lots of friends. I consider you one of them, Tobias.”
“What was the name of the company you worked for?” he asked. He wasn’t buying her explanation. She had a plan in place. Well, Brogan did. One quick call and he would have someone pretend to remember her but say she sold the business and it was hers.
“Why do you need to know? When did I become an investigation?”
“When you pulled moves on two men twice your size and had them at gunpoint with their own gun.”
She threw her hands up. “So the victim becomes the criminal? Now my life gets turned upside down with background checks and investigations into my personal life because I used moves to defend myself and a friend and didn’t wind up some damsel in distress? Is this what is really going on? Did you want to be there to pull your gun, throw your fists, and save the two women from danger?” she countered.
The Battlefield Series 7: Disguising the Truth (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 5