by Carly Fall
"Alright, Sami, but let's get a couple things clear. We do things my way. I'm the guy in charge."
She nodded and sighed in relief. Right now, she'd agree to just about anything to make things right with him. "I understand."
"If I catch you in a lie, I'll have you out of this organization so fast, you won't even have time to think about how hard that door hits you in the ass."
"Okay."
He turned again and began pacing once more.
"And one last thing," he said after a moment.
"What's that?"
He met her gaze. "You and I are strictly business.
She flinched at the demand, but she understood it.
"After we had sex, you were right to say that it shouldn't have happened."
The hurt in his eyes shone through, and she looked down at the floor. After they'd had sex in the shower, the only thing she'd wanted had been more of it. Being with Connor had been the most wonderful moments of her life.
"Okay."
His stare seemed to bore into her very soul, and she was almost afraid to meet it because then, he'd see everything that she felt, everything that seemed to crush her heart at that moment.
A long, uncomfortable stretch of time passed as she looked at the floor, and he at her. She wrung her hands between them, feeling like a child who had just been chastised.
"You should head back down and see Dedou," he whispered, his voice husky.
Her gaze flitted up to his face, but he'd already turned around as if he had nothing more to say to her.
She'd been excused.
As she left his room, she let out a long, slow breath.
Walking down the swooping staircase, she wished she had handled everything that had happened in the past with Connor better. She would have given him the reason why their relationship never should have passed the platonic stage.
But now, there was no point in trying to make him understand. He'd never believe her, anyway, and would just think that she was trying to garner his sympathy.
No, sometimes, the past shouldn't try to be repaired. It should stay in tatters, right where it lay.
6
“Did you two get things worked out?” Dedou asked.
Sami shrugged as she sat down at the old desk in the Voodoo shop. “I suppose. Things are what they are.”
“Excellent. Now, let’s get back to business. As I was saying, in order for you to accept the assignment, you will need to spend the night here. In the morning, if you still feel like this is a good fit for you, then tomorrow night, we will perform a Gad on you. This offers you protection and keeps the evil spirits away, and it is non-negotiable. Do you understand?”
Sami nodded. “What happens during a Gad?”
Dedou grinned. “You will see when the time comes. Now, dinner is almost ready to be served. You’ll join us.”
It wasn’t a question, but a demand. The thought of sitting and eating with Connor didn’t settle very well, but if they were going to work together, she needed to get past feeling so uncomfortable around him.
Dedou got to her feet and headed toward the kitchen. As Sami glanced around the shop, she wondered what she should do with herself. Go back to her room? No. Connor was upstairs, and she wanted space between the two of them for now. Go for a walk and escape for a bit? Maybe.
She rose from the chair and went to the window. Pulling back the shade, she saw it poured rain, which obviously put a damper on her plan to get away from the house and Connor. Hopefully, her hair wouldn’t frizz too badly in the humidity.
With a sigh, she crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t want to be alone, yet, she didn’t want to be anywhere near Connor.
Dedou’s footsteps echoed off the hardwood toward the kitchen, and Sami turned to follow with the intention of helping her with the cooking.
Maybe she could get the unique woman to talk a bit, perhaps tell some stories, and she would offer Sami a blessed reprieve from her own thoughts.
* * *
A half-hour later, Dedou picked up the phone in the kitchen and made two calls telling people to come eat. Sami had no idea who she spoke to, but she could guess one name without a lot of effort.
Connor made his appearance a moment later, his gaze flickering over to Sami for a brief second, but then he walked to the other side of the table, completely avoiding her stare, and sat down as if she didn’t exist.
Dedou took the chair next to her, and she realized she had no idea who would take the fourth table setting. Maybe it would be the person in charge of this place? Or someone else who worked for Operation Underworld?
Connor spooned out the fried chicken with onions and cabbage onto his bowl and then passed her the dish without looking at her. The smell of cloves and spicy vinegar met her nose, causing her stomach to howl and a little pang of longing to hurt her heart. The scent reminded her of what her mother used to cook.
After getting her serving, she passed the bowl and waited patiently with her hands folded in her lap. Glancing out of the corner of her eye at Dedou, she looked for some type of cue on what they should do—begin without the missing guest, or wait?
The silence grew uncomfortable, and after a few more moments, Dedou said something in a foreign language and went over to the phone.
“You get down here now! We’re waiting for you! Don’t be so rude, little one!”
A few seconds later, it sounded as if a herd of elephants had been let loose above them.
Sami stared up at the ceiling and listened to someone running down one set of stairs, then down the hall, and hitting the second set of stairs. She glanced over at Connor to see him grinning, like it was the funniest thing to ever meet his ears. Turning around, she looked at the kitchen doorway as footsteps sounded on the wooden floor in the hallway.
A rail-thin woman with dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, and thick, black glasses appeared wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt, ripped jeans, and purple Converse sneakers. Her hair held blue streaks that matched the sky-blue color in the tattoo sleeve on her arm.
As she sat down next to Connor, a diamond stud glinted in her eyebrow and in one nostril.
Connor leaned over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving them a squeeze while she smiled at him.
The envy that railed through Sami almost deafened Dedou’s words. “Now that we are all here, Sami, this is Harper. She works for Operation Underworld, as well.”
Harper smiled and waved. “Hi. Sorry I’m late. I was on the phone with the president of a bank in Russia. We were arguing about his firewall. He said it was impenetrable, but when I proved to him that I just lifted a million dollars from him, he became pretty furious. Had to calm the big beast down.”
Connor laughed. “A million? That’s it?”
Harper rolled her eyes. “I just wanted to show him he could be hacked very easily, not give him heart failure. I’m not out to kill the guy, just let him know he’s playing with fire.”
Dedou shook her head and grinned, then took Sami’s hand. “Let’s ask the spirits to bless this meal.”
Sami glanced over at Connor, wondering if he would take her hand. As not to offend Dedou, she laid her palm in the middle of the table and waited. He glanced over at her and hesitated for a moment, but then his hand met hers.
The same jolt of energy that always emerged when she touched him passed through her. He caused her heart to quicken, her stomach to clench, and heat to flush throughout her belly. She shut her eyes against the onslaught of physical feelings and waited for Dedou to begin the prayer so she’d have something else to concentrate on.
Instead, silence filled the air. She looked over at her, expecting some type of verbal request to Dedou’s gods or spirits to bless the meal, but the woman sat stone silent, her eyes closed.
Sami glanced over at Connor, and he stared back at her through his thick lashes, his chin tilted down. Their gazes locked for what seemed like eternity. Her heart once again quickened, and she hoped her palms wouldn’t get s
weaty. Finally, after a bit, Connor lowered his eyes to his meal.
She once again wished things could have been different between them. Longing for what they could have had ached in her chest, and she closed her eyes. Yet, the electrical buzz between them seemed to continue through their touch.
A few moments later, Dedou announced that the table had been blessed.
As Connor let go of her hand, she looked up and their gazes met again for a brief moment. Did he still feel the connection between them?
The energy between them didn’t surprise her. Because she’d drunk his blood, Connor would always hold a special place within her soul, and it didn’t matter what happened between them.
As dinner went on, Sami chewed her food as she watched and listened to Connor and Harper. The woman was obviously everything Sami wasn’t. She surmised her intelligence hovered off the charts if she was talking about firewalls to bank presidents. With the tattoos, piercings, and her unconventional dress, she definitely gave off an alternative edge, and Sami felt incredibly plain sitting at the table with her.
Harper talked about a million miles per hour, her words barely registering in Sami’s brain. Connor smiled and laughed as he hung on to her every sentence, and Sami’s gut twisted uncomfortably because she remembered when he used to look at her that way—as if she were the most desirable and interesting woman in the world.
Oh, the sick and disgusting feeling the ugly green-eyed monster gave her made her want to vomit, and she set down her silverware and stared at her hands in her lap. She had no right to feel such jealousy, especially where Connor was concerned, and she had to remember that he didn’t look at her that way because she had basically told him not to, and she’d lied to him and put his life in danger. If the roles were reversed, she wouldn’t want him around, either.
“So, are you going to accept your assignment?”
It took a moment to realize that Harper spoke to her. She lifted her gaze to find the woman staring at her with her head tilted to the side, her brown eyes dancing with question.
Sami cleared her throat and glanced at Connor who sat back in his chair, his arm casually thrown around the back of Harper’s chair, his gaze not as hard or hateful as usual. Maybe it was a good sign.
“I believe I will,” Sami answered. “It’s important work.”
She didn’t mention that it could also be crucial for her sanity, as well.
Silence settled over the table as if they expected her to say more. Heat burned her cheeks, and her mouth felt as if her tongue had suddenly turned into a cotton farm. What else did they expect her to say? She’d answered the question, but she simply couldn’t sit here and make small talk with this woman who had obviously captivated Connor so quickly with her incredible intelligence, her unique style, and quirky ways.
Her gaze flitted from Connor to Harper. He furrowed his brow, as if concerned, but she knew that wasn’t the case. But then, he turned to Harper and asked if they were going to have s’mores by the fire later.
She sighed as relief flooded through her, and she stared back down at her hands. Connor had saved her from a very awkward situation.
She glanced over at Dedou and quietly excused herself. As she stood, she said, “It was nice to meet you, Harper.”
The woman smiled and waved, then turned her attention back to Connor. Sami watched them for another moment, then took her bowl over to the sink and walked out.
Tears stung her eyes as she made her way up to her room. She hated this feeling of complete hopelessness, as though the rug had been pulled out from under her.
It was only then that she realized that, deep down in the place where she kept the thoughts she’d never share with another, laid the hope that she and Connor would somehow get back together, that she could make him understand her reasons for casting him aside, for telling him that they never should have been intimate.
Based on what she’d seen at dinner, it seemed that he’d had absolutely no trouble moving on, leaving her in his dust.
7
The next morning, Sami awoke feeling surprisingly refreshed. It had been a bit difficult to fall asleep as she thought of Connor on the other side of the bathroom. Did he lie in bed thinking about Harper? Or maybe, he wasn’t even there and spent the night with the woman in her place, which Sami gathered was on the top floor of the house. It was a relief when sleep finally came and she could move into dreamland, away from her own self-torture.
Today, she would accept her assignment with Operation Underworld. It would be difficult to work with Connor again, but hopefully, if she remained professional, so would he. People went to work everyday with others they didn’t like and they got along just fine. She remembered the stories her father used to tell around the dinner table about some of the other officers on the force. He had always driven home the point that you didn’t have to necessarily like someone in order to have a good working relationship.
She rose from the bed and pressed her ear to the bathroom door, listening intently. A working relationship didn’t involve seeing your partner naked, and she had no intention of interrupting Connor in the restroom again.
When she was certain the bathroom was unoccupied, she opened the door, then pressed the lock to his side. While the water heated up, she undressed, and as she stepped under the spray, images of her time with Connor flashed before her eyes. Would she ever be able to take a shower without feeling his mouth on her breasts, his strong arms holding her in mid-air, or the sweet taste of his blood on her tongue? At this point, it seemed doubtful, but perhaps with time, the memories would fade.
Or, maybe she should just start taking baths.
She wrapped a towel around her torso, then opened the door to her room.
What would the day look like? Yes, she would meet Dedou and formally accept her assignment, but then, what was this Gad that Dedou had spoken of? She hadn’t offered any details of what the ceremony entailed, only that it would protect her from evil spirits.
A knock on her door startled her. She pulled the towel tighter, and cracked the panel open.
Good gods above.
Connor stood in the hallway in a pair of shorts and running shoes, rivulets of sweat running down his face and chest. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in his tanned, thick, smooth chest and flat abs.
When she finally looked at his face, he stared at her wide-eyed, and she realized she stood before him in only a towel, her hair in wet strands around her shoulders.
His gaze flitted over her body, then he cleared his throat as he stared at the floor.
“Uh, sorry,” he murmured. “You left the bathroom door locked.”
Desire flushed throughout her as she thought about licking that little drop of sweat slowly running down his neck, right over his vein.
Right. The locked door.
“Oh. I guess I didn’t unlock it. My apologies, Connor. I’ll go do that right now.”
He nodded and turned to go to his room.
She shut the door and moved into the bathroom. With shaky hands, she twisted the lock, then returned to her bedroom and shut the bathroom door.
As she leaned against the wood, she heard the water turn on, and she closed her eyes, wishing he at least had the decency to wear a shirt. His body was sinful, and seeing it only made her desire him more.
Shaking her head, she dropped the towel to the floor and proceeded to get dressed, reminding herself that it was all about professionalism, even if looking at him made her heart ache as bad as her craving for him.
* * *
After dressing, Sami walked downstairs and into the kitchen, hoping to find Dedou.
“In here, Sami!”
Dedou’s voice startled her as it came from the Voodoo shop. Sami walked in to find her sitting at the old wooden desk crushing herbs.
“Hello, child,” she said with a smile as she put her tools aside and made room on the wood. “Please sit.”
Sami took the chair across from her, her heart thudding in h
er chest as sweat formed on her brow. This was it. The last step to her new life, to her new adventure.
Dedou’s smiled faded, and she stared at her, her gaze serious. “What have you decided?”
Sami nodded. “Yes, I want to work with Operation Underworld.”
Dedou picked up the phone, and Sami heard it ring once, then Dedou handed it to her.
She furrowed her brow as she brought it to her ear. Who, exactly, was she supposed to be talking to?
“H-hello?” she stammered as Dedou rose from her chair and left the room.
“Sami! My name’s Charlie. I wanted to thank you for coming to work with Operation Underworld.”
He sounded like an older, but very friendly gentleman.
Charlie? The guy in charge was actually named Charlie? She looked over her shoulder half-expecting to see Kate Jackson and Jacklyn Smith stroll in through the front door.
“H-hi.”
“I know you got caught up in the first phase of Connor’s mission, and I’m really glad you’ve decided to stick around for Phase Two. Dedou’s told you a little bit about it, right?”
“Y-yes. Some.”
Shutting her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose. Why couldn’t she stop stuttering?
“Good. Now, we don’t have much more to go on, but I think with your knowledge of your race and your intelligence, you’re going to be an excellent addition.”
She twisted the cord around her finger and stared at the floor, thinking how odd it was to see a phone that actually attached to the wall. “T-thank you. I hope I can help.”
“I’m sure you will. Take care, Sami, and my condolences on your mother.”
The line went dead before she could say another word.
She looked at the receiver, then slowly set it down in the cradle. What happened next?
When she glanced around the shop, the house had grown eerily quiet. Did she go back to her room, or should she sit here?