Kasey nodded stiffly, her body rigidly straight. “Yes Ma’am. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
Del cleared her throat as she entered the room, letting the two agents know of their presence. “Sorry about losing my head like that. Let’s get to work, shall we?” Del asked as she sat down slowly holding her right arm close to her body and trying not to jostle it.
Raelin made sure that the blonde was comfortable before she moved about her kitchen and pantry. First she lowered the blinds over the windows to make it more comfortable for Del’s eyes, and then she mixed up some herbs, honey, and hot tea and poured it all over ice before she handed it to the blonde with a smile.
Del took the cup, returning the smile and taking a sip. She closed her eyes as it slid down her throat, more than happy to let it take care of her headache. “Thank you.” Finally, turning her gaze to the sharp-eyed Director and rookie agent, she got down to business. “Now, the pictures Jenny drew, did you find anything?”
“Yes actually. It seems the two men you sent pictures of are running under false names. They are known criminals that we’ve been chasing for years. They have ties to foreign mobs. We’ll have to be very careful with this group.”
Kasey finally piped up here, “Ma’am, we suspect that the Chief of this town is dirty and we’ve been hoping to pick him up under spending county money and false arrests to question him.”
“Chief Brito’s name has come up in other cases, but we never had a chance to come down here to really investigate. Agent Wilkins did what he could, but there was only so much that he could look into. The best thing that he did was to involve you Ms. Delacroix. You put together what we needed. Now I know that you understand that we can just take over and order you out of the area, but to be honest I want to use you. Brito and the Reverend; according to your notes, may have some idea that you have stumbled onto their plan, and the Kingsleys think that they have the perfect alibi by hiring you, let’s string them along. You are the perfect decoy.” Jacobs smiled and leaned back.
Raelin didn’t look at Delaney. Rori jumped up on the counter and rubbed against his witch. Picking him up, she whispered in his ear and a tear slipped down her cheek. Rori put his paws on her shoulders and licked it away.
Del gave the Director a hard look. “If you think for one moment I’m going to let you use me and hang me out to dry if it goes bad, you’ve got another thing coming. I won’t let myself be thrown under the bus. Maybe a few months ago, even a few weeks ago I would have said sure and run straight into the thick of it. The truth is, I have a reason to look out for myself now.
Raelin swallowed and turned around. “Del, you need to do this. There are more girls out there who need your help...our help. I’ll still be here when this is over.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to help. I want to save those girls more than anything, but I’m not going to be used as a pawn. I’m either working as an equal to your agents and will get the same respect, or I’m working alone. That’s my offer,” she said, wincing when she reached for her cup with the wrong arm.
Kasey sat watching the stare down between her Boss and the detective curious to see if Del would actually manage to win against her headstrong Director.
Reaching into her pocket, Jacobs pulled out a cell phone while she stood up and walked away from the table for a few moments.
Raelin stayed at the counter watching her lover while petting Rori.
Finally, the Director returned to the table. “Deal, you will temporarily be an Agent with the full backing of the Bureau. Tomorrow morning we will pick up the Chief for money laundering and false arrest.”
Flashing her signature grin, Del leaned back in her chair, trying to avoid the stiffness she could feel forming in her shoulder. “Now, Jenny has pointed out that there is an abandoned store next to Agent Wilkins’ shop. It’s the perfect place to question the Chief. Tomorrow if you want I can check in with the Kingsleys and give them a report. Also, the Reverend needs some looking into. According to what I heard, he’s the biggest supplier.”
“I do believe that your plan was to take the Chief in first and try to break him before going after the Reverend. Let’s keep to that plan, and see what develops before we go to the Kingsleys,” the Director instructed.
Raelin quietly left the kitchen while the three women planned their plan of attack for the next day. Making her way to Jenny’s room, she knocked on the door. “Jenny?”
“Come in Raelin,” the young woman called gently, looking up from the sketch she’d been working on.
“Hey...what are you doing?” Tilting her head, she looked at the pad. “That is excellent work; you’ve got Kasey down pat.”
“Yeah, I wanted to draw her when she’s most adorable. She tends to make these little slips of the tongue or babbles when she’s flustered. She gets this endearing blush across those perfectly structured cheekbones of hers, but even though she’s flustered and shy, those dark eyes of hers still light up whenever she’s around me. It warms me right down to my toes to see it.” Jenny smiled, putting the final changes on the sketch.
“Do you think that you might love her Jenny?” Raelin sat down on the sofa next to her friend.
Jenny looked up at that, setting aside her pad and pencil. “I’m not sure. It’s a bit too soon to say for sure. I do know that she makes me feel safe and needed, without making me feel overwhelmed. I love being around her, feeling her touch. She’s letting me do things at my own pace so I can feel things out. How many people are willing to be that patient? I just don’t want her getting in trouble with the Director. She’s already questioned me about it. She made a comment about my boyfriend being more protective of me now, and I said I didn’t know about boyfriends, but my girlfriend was. Then she looked at me like she was seeing right through me and asked who it was. I told her my girlfriend was private and I wanted to respect that. She let it drop, but I’m not sure she bought it. Oh God, have I screwed things up for her?” Jenny rambled.
Raelin took her friend’s hand. “I think that between the two of you that, yes, Kasey might be in a little bit of trouble. She told me to tell you that she does care for you and that she will have to keep her distance for a while. Have patience, I believe Kasey will step up when she has to.”
“I know, I figured that would be the case when I knew Jasper had called reinforcements. I’ll wait for her and I trust her. That’s all I need.” She squeezed the hand in hers and smiled. “Is this what it’s like for you and Del?”
“Yes, with Del there is trust, and love; even this soon in this relationship. It’s hard to believe that it’s barely been a week, but I know that we belong together.” Raelin had a goofy smile on her face.
“With a grin like that, I’d be hard pressed to doubt you. Sometimes I forget you’ve only known each other a week. You’re so comfortable with each other it’s like you’ve been together for years. Speaking of Del, what upset you enough to tear yourself away from her? I know you Raelin, and whenever Del is hurt, you don’t leave her side for anything.”
Bowing her head, Raelin couldn’t keep the tears from falling. “She’s asked and received the backing of the Bureau and I’m afraid that something is going to happen to her. She’s headstrong, stubborn, flies off at the drop of a hat, but damn it; I love her.”
“And she loves you too Raelin. I think her asking for the backing of the bureau proves that. You said yourself when I first met her that she’s used to working alone, and she is a stubborn independent woman. That she’s allowing someone to work with her and help her says a lot. She’s making sure she’ll have help if she needs it, so that she can stay as safe as possible. She wants to come home to you Raelin.” Jenny said quietly, putting her arm across the woman’s shoulders in a comforting hug.
Raelin returned the hug, and they sat in silence for a few moments. Raelin cleared her throat. “Jenny, I think that Arthur Kingsley is my father, and if that is so, that would mean that I’m your Aunt,” she paused for a beat before con
tinuing, “How do you feel about that?”
Jenny looked up at Raelin, a surprised look on her face. “That’s kind of out of the blue. I mean, Arthur is your father?” She shook her head, letting out a long breath. “I think it’s awesome in the sense that you were always more family to me than anyone else. It sucks in that both are fathers ran out on us, instead of being here. I guess I always held out the hope that my father wanted to be here, but couldn’t ya know?”
Bowing her head, the brunette agreed. “I don’t understand any reason, but Momma must have agreed. I just wonder if they got a chance to be together during the years, or did they always see each other from afar. There’s so much that I don’t know; that we both don’t know and I don’t think that we will ever find out.”
Leaning her head against her best friend’s shoulder Jenny agreed. “How do you feel about all this? I mean, are you okay?” she asked quietly.
“I will be. Delaney is here, and just that makes everything easier.” Finally, the witch pulled away. “I’m gonna head up the backstairs and go to bed. My throat is really beginning to hurt and I’m beginning to ache. If Del comes looking for me, will you let her know where I am?”
“I don’t think I’ll need to, but if she comes around I’ll let her know.” Jenny smiled. “That woman could find you in a crowd of thousands.”
Hugging her friend, Raelin headed out and walked up the back stairway before making her way into her bedroom. Rori was waiting for her at the foot of the bed. “Hello old friend.”
“Hello child. How are you making out? Did your talk with Jenny help?” he asked purring.
“I'm okay...Rori, what am I going to do?” The brunette sat down on the bed with a sigh.
“You’re going to love her. Just as you have been and you’re going to believe in her and her strength. You need to have faith child, she won’t give you up so easily. I know I was unsupportive of her, but she has proven to me that she will do anything to make you happy. She would drop this case I think if you asked her to,” he replied, jumping onto her lap.
“You know I won’t do that. There are too many innocents at stake here. And you’re right; she would if I asked. I’m tired Rori. Let’s just go to sleep. I’m sure that they will be busy planning for hours.” Raelin picked up her familiar and crawled into bed. Turning out the light, she was soon sound asleep.
j
Kasey knocked on the utility room door waiting for permission to enter. They’d finally finished discussing tomorrow’s plan and she’d never been so relieved to see her Boss drive off. “Jenny, can I come in? It’s me, Kasey.”
The door swung open and Jenny stood there with a look of expectation. “Hi.”
“Um hi. I’m assigned to guard the house because Del is injured. So that means I can keep staying here. Here as in the spare bedroom. Not here as in your room, if you don’t want,” she stumbled, this time out of nerves. She wasn’t sure if Jenny would be upset at being kept at a distance all day. She nervously rubbed at the back of her neck as she waited for Jenny’s response.
Reaching out Jenny drew the young woman through the door and into her embrace. Holding her close, she inhaled the scent of leather and musk; two scents that Jenny would forever thereafter associate with Kasey. “You will be staying here.”
Kicking the door closed softly behind them, Kasey let Jenny’s embrace drain away the stress from the day. Breathing in the smell of strawberries and vanilla, she wrapped her arms tightly around Jenny’s slim waist, lifting her off the ground in a tight hug. “I’m sorry I was so distant all afternoon,” she whispered in Jenny’s ear.
“It’s okay. I understand. Your job is very important, and I don’t want you to endanger it whatsoever. You do what you have to do...I’ll still be here when it’s over.” Jenny smiled as she looked directly into her ‘friends’ eyes.
“I don’t like making you wait for someone to be with you when it works for them. You deserve better than that.” Kasey set Jenny back on the ground. “I don’t want you to have to wait for me at night hiding away in a room. This whole thing sucks.”
“It may do that, but it won’t always be this way. Will it? When this is over, what is going to happen with us?” Jenny didn’t leave Kasey’s embrace.
“Us? Well, provided you are willing, I’d like to take you out sometime? A nice dinner maybe? Or a movie or whatever you want,” she replied softly. “I want there to be an us. For as long as you’ll put up with me.”
Reaching up, Jenny drew her hand through long dark hair while staring into chocolate eyes. “Stay around for the next thirty years or more and we’ll see what happens after that. Dinner and a quiet walk sounds lovely.”
Humming at the gentle touch, Kasey smiled down at her girlfriend, taking in warm green eyes and a loving smile. “You’re beautiful,” she breathed.
“Are you gonna kiss me Kasey or are you gonna think about it all night? We don’t have a lot of time,” Jenny quietly asked.
Leaning down, Kasey captured Jenny in a searing kiss. She took advantage of her added height and once again snatched Jenny off the floor, carrying her to the small sofa, never breaking the kiss. She sat down with Jenny in her lap, holding her close, wanting to use their limited time together wisely.
Holding Kasey’s head right where she wanted it, Jenny let her lips slide along the woman’s jaw line and down to her neck, pulling slightly on a pulse point before she realized what she might do. Instead, she drew away to look at the woman with hooded eyes. She had never seen anyone lovelier; those lips. She couldn’t resist leaning down to capture them once more.
Kasey fell into the girls kiss, turning so she was stretched out on her back, Jenny’s slight weight on top of her. She pulled away from the kiss gasping, her fingers playing in silky auburn hair. She needed to stop before she couldn’t. “So how are you doing after everything today?” She really hoped Jenny understood why she’d stopped.
Gazing down at the raven-haired woman beneath her, Jenny smiled. “I saw you, you know that night. I saw you place yourself between Rae and myself when she went all witchy in the kitchen. And how you protected Rae when Sumners flipped. I’ve never had anyone do that for me or a friend before.”
The young woman stopped and smiled. “Why did you become an Agent? What made you choose that for a job?”
“When I was a kid, I used to watch a lot of those western movies with my dad. He was a cop in Houston where I grew up. When I was in high school he was killed when he was caught in the cross fire between a drug deal gone bad. I decided I wanted to be a Fed then, so that I could have a better chance at being able to put away the kind of criminals like that. The drug runners, smugglers, and like this case, human traffickers. So, I went to school, got a degree in criminal psychology, and joined the Bureau. I’ve only actually been an agent for a couple of years, still kind of a rookie,” Kasey said softly, one hand drifting to the small of Jenny’s back and the other playing with the ends of auburn curls.
“And have you? Have you put away a lot of criminals like that?” Jenny’s fingers were tracing the Fed’s collarbone.
Kasey blushed and looked away, embarrassed. ”This is the first time they’ve let me work the field like this. I’ve been doing the research side of things mostly and they decided it was time for my field training.”
“Well, has it been everything that you thought it would be?” Jenny stared at the Agents lips as she answered.
“Yes, and so much more.” Kasey smiled, raising her head to brush their noses together. ”I found this amazing girl. She's beautiful, sweet, funny, and she says she likes me back.”
“Sound like you both have gotten lucky.” Glancing down, Jenny looked guilty. “I may have let it slip to your Director that I have a girlfriend, and I’m afraid that she put two and two together, and figured out that I was talking about you. I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me. I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t worry its fine. I was being a little too casual around Del and Raelin and t
he Director caught it. I got a nice lecture out of it and a warning to be more careful for the trouble. Otherwise, it’s fine. We’ll just need to be careful when they are around,” the agent replied wrapping both arms around Jenny’s smaller frame. ”That’s why I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring you. I’m not; I just don’t want to be taken off this case and sent away from you. Not while you’re still in danger.”
“I’ll be more careful too. I don’t want you to go, and not just because I feel safe with you. I feel so much more, and I want the chance to explore this with you.” Jenny leaned down to let her lips brush against Kasey’s. “I know that this is sudden…it seems to be happening a lot in this house. I need to ask Rae about that.”
“This happens a lot here? How many people has this happened to?” Kasey asked intrigued. ”Also, I know I asked you before, but I really need to know if you are okay with me being a woman. You said it yourself; this happened quickly and nothing in your file indicated you had any interest in women. I guess I just want to know if you're going to have the whole angsty confusion phase where you break my heart, get my hopes up again, and then break it all over again when you decide to stick with men. I've been down that road, and frankly, I'd rather not do it again. I understand needing to sort out your feelings and I'll do my best to be patient, but I'm not going to be used,” she said seriously, her fingers playing with the sliver of skin exposed between the hem of Jenny's t-shirt and her sleep shorts.
“Well, Rae and Del have only known each other for…barely a week, if that. As for me, I’ve never really thought about male or female. I’ve always thought that I would fall in love with a person for the way that they act and present themselves, not because of their sex. I would like to try with you, but I also need to know that you won’t just up and leave because I’m inexperienced.”
Kasey looked at Jenny in surprise. “A week? I assumed they’d been together a while and that Del was called to find you because of her relationship with Raelin. They’re so in tune with each other.” Rolling so they were on their sides facing each other on the small couch, Kasey gave Jenny a serious look. ”I’m not going to leave because of any lack of experience; I’d like to think I’m not that shallow. I like you, a lot. I just wanted to be careful. It’s hard opening up after you’ve been hurt.”
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