by Aden Lowe
"Oh, I'm certain of it. She probably couldn't wait to tell him, and everyone else I work with. But she would talk to him first, since she's been acting as if I were his property for months now." Her hands knotted into fists. "I despise that old busybody."
I stood up, needing action. "Yeah, I get the idea she encouraged his obsession. If so, that's a dangerous combination."
"How so?"
"She confirms his delusions, and he has someone to be accountable to. He has to prove it to her now." Fuck, I hated it, but I might have to take an old lady out, too. But there was no time to worry about that at the moment. "Okay, call Carrie and set shit up. We need to be ready to roll when X-Man gets here." One fucking task at a time. Focus. The reminders did little to ease my nerves.
She nodded and turned back to her phone, and I paced, stopping to part the curtains and stare out, searching for any signs of Riley and his fucking drone. I wouldn't put it past the fucker to try to get compromising photos of Azia now. Images of her having sex would make excellent blackmail material for him, since she wouldn't want those spread all over the internet. He could use something like that to force her to do what he wanted.
Well, if he wanted sex pics, he would be sorely disappointed. It wasn't going to happen, no matter how willing she seemed, or how much I needed it. That part of the past would swallow me, and I couldn't afford that, if I wanted to stay alive. Too much distraction, not to mention what the Agency bosses might do. The target on Azia grew with every goddamn moment she spent with me. We'd been told they didn't give a shit which private jobs we took, as long as we were available when they called. So maybe I would get lucky and they wouldn't notice my slip into my old life.
Azia came over to the window to stand beside me. "Okay. We'll pick up pizza on the way. She's exhausted after a long day of watching the kids' little football tournament. She'll provide the drinks and the cards."
"Good. X will be here in a few minutes now. You have any pizza takeout menus? I'll call ahead." The sooner we got this shit settled, the better. For the moment, I ignored the fact that I had to convince X-Man to even do the fucking job. He usually took on dirty jobs, assassinations, and anything that fed his blood thirst. Watching over a widow and a bunch of kids wouldn't meet his tastes.
Azia dug a stack of menus from a drawer in her kitchen. "Here, just take your pick. They're all good. I'm going to go change while you do that." She disappeared into her bedroom, leaving me to stand there with my mouth open. The need to see her naked grabbed me by the balls, and forced me to fight the temptation.
I reminded myself how dangerous any kind of relationship between us would be for her. As soon as this killer was put down, I had to disappear from her life again. I had to keep my distance now in order to survive that later.
Blindly, I sorted through the menus, chose one, and called in an order for far too much pizza for four adults. Carrie would have leftovers tomorrow for her hungry horde.
Azia came out of her room, stunning in simple jeans, a pale shirt that made her eyes glow gold, and sneakers. I stared, mouth open, wondering what that silky shirt would feel like under my rough hands. Fuck, I needed to get a grip.
A tap at the door drew me from my little trance. I signaled Azia to stay put and be silent, drew my weapon, and went to the door. "Yeah?"
"It's me." X-man's low voice came through the door.
I flipped the lock and stepped back, gun leveled and ready, just in case. "Come on in." The door opened, and to my relief, X-Man came through alone, closing it behind him. "Good to see you, motherfucker." I holstered the gun and clapped him on the shoulder.
He grinned. "I can tell. You're always ready to shoot the moment you see me." The double entendre came naturally.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Fuck you, bastard."
"You wish." He came on into the apartment, looking around "Nice setup you got here. Ready to tell me what you need help with?" He dropped to the middle of the couch and laced his fingers behind his head.
"You up for a bodyguard gig?" I braced myself for a refusal.
His gaze went to Azia and brightened with appreciation, while my hackles rose. "If she's the target, I sure am." He stood, hand out. "I'm X-Man, and everything he's told you about me is a lie."
Azia smiled uncertainly as she accepted the handshake. "I'm Azia. It's nice to meet you." She came over and sat on the arm of the chair by me.
My arm naturally went around her, despite the shit going through my head about keeping my distance. "Sorry, not her. But you won't be disappointed. We're going to grab a pizza and drop by her house. You'll meet her then."
X-Man's skeptical expression made me grin. "Okay, what's the catch?"
"No catch." I summed up the situation, and told him what I needed.
"Alright. So we have to convince her I'm necessary?" Another grin. "I think I can handle that part."
"Oh no you don't, bastard. You keep your dick in your jeans this time." X-Man's womanizing habits often landed us in trouble. "Let's get moving."
We rode the elevator down, out of consideration for her sore ankle. So far, so good.
Chapter Eighteen
Azia
I wasn't sure what to make of Flag's friend, X-Man. At first glance, he seemed pretty average, though evidently fit. But when I looked closer, I saw the same wariness Flag always tried to hide. How would Carrie react to him? For all we knew, she could even flat out refuse to have a strange male around her kids. I had to think of a way to convince her the kids would be at extreme risk without him. I first thought it might be easy, but the scare she had with Nora over some man watching her at the park made her extremely wary of having any new adults around.
Riding down in the elevator with the two of them turned out to be interesting. They stood squarely in front of me, shoulder to shoulder, forming an impenetrable barrier between the elevator door and me. Staring at their backs, I wondered how many times they had done the same thing for others, putting themselves in harm's way to keep someone else safe. It seemed instinctive with them, so I was pretty sure they had plenty of experience.
A knot in my stomach I hadn't even been aware of eased. Suddenly, I knew Carrie couldn't be safer than with X-Man. He knew his job, and he would do it to the best of his ability. She just had to agree, and I had the feeling even if she refused, he would still keep her safe.
The doors slid open, and X-Man stepped out first, then Flag took my hand again and led me into the lobby. They moved as a seamless team, and I wondered if they were even conscious of it. Every time we reached a door or corner, X-Man went ahead to check for danger, then Flag brought me. I wouldn't even have noticed had I not been in the elevator with them. Now that I knew how they worked together, I watched for little indications no one else would have seen.
We reached Flag's truck and he helped me inside. After a quick conversation with X-Man, he came around to the driver's side and climbed in. "X-Man is following us in his truck. No sense in him riding over there with us, then having to come back for his fucking wheels."
I nodded. It made perfect sense. "As long as he doesn't use his wheels for that, it shouldn't be a problem."
He cast me a puzzled glance. "For what?"
"For what you said." I wasn't about the repeat the vulgar word. Bad enough I had the thought. I was no prude, but the F-bomb had no place in normal vocabulary. Flag used it all the time, practically every sentence, and in such a way I knew he wasn't even aware of doing it.
A satisfied grin spread across his face. "Fucking?" Traffic swarmed around us, preventing him from looking my way. "You're not afraid of the word, are you Azia?"
"Of course not!" The very idea was ludicrous. Why would anyone be afraid of a word? "I just choose not to use it."
"Uh huh. That's what I fucking thought." He kept his gaze straight ahead, but a smile teased at the corner of his mouth.
"What did you think?" The urge to clap my hands over my mouth struck as soon as the words came out. I really didn't want to know.
"Never mind."
Thank goodness. He probably misconstrued the question anyway. I made sure not to say anything else.
The truck barely fit into a parking space at the pizza store, and X-Man's was even larger, yet he still pulled in right next to us. It simply boggled my mind why some men thought they needed the largest vehicle on the road. I knew a lot of people who said when a man owned a big truck or whatever, he was compensating for an anatomical deficiency, but I also knew that wasn't the case with Flag. Seriously, did they think some enemy would attack them on the street and only a monstrosity of a truck could save them?
Flag turned to me. "Okay. Consider this another of our joint appearances. We go in and look all fucking absorbed in each other. X-Man will have our six since we seem to have the killer's attention now."
My imagination took over, and visions of X-Man skulking along behind us, gun drawn, searching for threats, made me smile. "How is he going to do that without the killer knowing he's there to keep us safe?"
He chuckled. "Don't worry. This ain't his first rodeo." He got out to come around to my door.
Why on earth did he need a truck he actually had to climb in and out of? Like really, what purpose did it serve? This time I waited for him to help me down. "Don't forget, my ankle is sore." The temptation to remind him my injury came from his ridiculously high truck proved too much to resist.
"Oh, I remember." He lifted me down and set me gently on my feet. "Ready to do this?"
I nodded, even though butterflies beat against my ribs. After the way he spoke to me when we left the restaurant, I hesitated to overstep the boundaries. "Not really, but okay."
The reply seemed to satisfy him, since he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. I reminded myself of our goal. Catch the killer. So what made me wish this was for real? Everything about me seemed to recognize him, respond to him, whether I wanted to or not.
X-Man went in first and stood a few feet ahead of us, looking engrossed in his phone as he tapped the screen repeatedly. I carefully followed Flag's lead and ignored him. If he was supposed to keep us safe, it was probably best if no one knew he was with us. All this subterfuge made me nervous. I wasn't good at sneaking around, and I would be glad when it was over.
Inside, the aromas of fresh-baked bread, garlic, and spices made my stomach gurgle, and Flag chuckled. "Maybe your stomach thinks you should have eaten a little more earlier, instead of fussing at me for how much I ate."
X-Man received his order and paused just inside the door, still doing something on his phone, and still, Flag paid him no attention.
I laughed, looking up at him, and tried to continue our conversation naturally. "No, it thinks you should hurry and get that pizza so we can eat it."
"Now I heard that." He placed a small kiss casually on the top of my head as we took our place at the counter to pick up our order.
The clerk came over with a smile. "What can I get you?"
"Just picking up our order." Flag gave her a name, presumably one he used to place the order.
"Just one moment." She left and returned with two large pizza boxes, then looked directly at me for the first time. "Miss Mendez? Well, look at you!" She glanced toward Flag. "I had no idea you were dating someone."
Flag took out cash to pay. "I'd say it's a little more than dating."
She made change while I searched my memory, trying to figure out how she knew me. Had her child been in my class at some point? "That's really good to hear, sir. You take good care of her. My Tommy has made so much progress with her. Miss Mendez is a really special lady." This was Tommy's mother? Then I remembered. The little boy lived with his grandparents, and his mother rarely came into the picture, but she had attended the last Parent-Teacher Conferences.
I gave her a careful smile. "Tommy is a wonderful little boy." Confidentiality rules for the district were crystal clear about sharing information about students, and his mother had no authorization that I was aware of.
Her smile faded a little as she passed the change over to Flag. "He's still such a brat, though. My parents are terrible with him."
Oh no. Family dynamics were a bottomless pit for teachers. I glanced up at Flag as he accepted the boxes. "We should be on our way. The pizza will get cold before we get there." I gave Tommy's mother another smile. "Take care." We started for the door, and X-Man finally pocketed his phone and went out just ahead of us.
Flag led the way again, pulling into the street first. I stayed quiet all the way to Carrie's, and he seemed fine with that. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to him, but I couldn't handle a repeat of earlier. The public closeness and blatant flirting required for our little ruse to work felt too natural. I had a difficult time finding a balance once we were in private again, and I was pretty sure Flag felt the same way.
He pulled into the driveway, leaving space for X-man's truck, and helped me out. "Hey X, grab the food." His arm came around my waist again. The support helped keep the strain of walking off my injured ankle, so I gladly accepted it.
Carrie greeted us at the door this time, and her eyes widened when she spotted X-Man walking up behind us. "Come on in, I've already got the kids settled and the table cleared, so if we're lucky, we'll get to do something other than listen to Disney movies."
"It's good to see you again, Carrie. This is my buddy, X-Man." Flag gave her his most charming smile. "He's in town to help me with a job, and Azia didn't think you would mind if he came along."
Carrie grinned and took the pizza boxes. "X-Man, hmm? You'll have to tell me where that name came from. It's good to meet you." She glanced back to Flag. "Of course I don't mind. You can bring a good looking man over for me to look at any time." Her laugh led the way to the kitchen.
X-Man's lips quirked, but he stopped short of an actual smile. "It's nice to meet you, Carrie." He winked at me, and followed her. "For what it's worth, I'm happy to come over and look at you any time."
I sat across from Carrie at the table, and after only a couple of minutes, I realized she paid no attention to anything Flag or I did. All of her focus was for X-Man.
Flag cleared his throat. "Uh, Carrie, there's something we need to talk to you about."
Reluctantly, she peeled her gaze away from X-Man. "What's that?"
"You remember those roses I got Friday at school?" I couldn't think of any other way to open the subject.
"Of course. They were beautiful." She grinned. "Oh, hey, sorry about teasing you about Mr. Riley. I had no idea you had a man like Flag waiting behind the scenes."
"Well, about the roses. You remember I received some like them a few other times?" I waited for her nod, then blurted it out. "Some anonymous person sends me those roses, and a week later, someone close to me is killed." This time, I waited and held my breath, hoping she took me seriously.
Carrie looked at me for a long moment, probably searching for some sign of a joke. "Maybe you should tell me a little more."
I explained it all from the beginning, careful to leave nothing out. "Carrie, I'm afraid he'll come after you next. I'm not close to anyone else now. I know we're not like best friends or anything, but you really are the closest thing to a friend I have left."
All the blood drained from her face. "You can't be serious, Azia."
"I'm afraid I am. That's why X-Man is here." Oh, God, how to explain the rest of this? "Flag asked him to come and keep you and the kids safe." I braced myself for flat refusal.
She glanced at X-Man. "Oh, so you're just being nice because he asked you to." Standing, she dropped her napkin to the table. "All part of the job, or something like that?" I started to go to her, but Flag put a hand on my arm and shook his head.
X-Man laughed. "I'm never nice because some jackass asks me to be. Yeah, Flag asked me to come and keep you safe. He filled me in on all the details, and I think the threat to you is real. But that doesn't make me nice either. That comes from liking whoever I happen to be nice to." He got up and went to her. "We do
n't have to be friends if you'd rather not, but I'd really like to get to know you. Either way, though, I'll make sure no cocksucker hurts you."
Carrie faced him. "Okay. We should try the friends thing. It would probably make your job easier."
"This is true." X-Man laughed while relief flooded through my mind. She was going to let him protect her and the kids. Now we could focus completely on catching the killer.
Chapter Nineteen
Flag
I didn't trust it. Not one fucking bit. Azia's friend was too damn willing to accept X-Man's protection. That didn't fit with what I knew about her. She struck me as the type to stab a man in the belly, and walk away smiling while he bled out, if she thought her kids were at risk. She wouldn't trust their safety to anyone other than herself.
I shot X-Man a wordless signal to stay sharp. For all we knew, sweet little Carrie could be a crack shot and own an unregistered firearm. I already knew she didn't own anything registered, but cheap used guns were easy to buy, if you knew where to look. We'd never live it down if she got the drop on X and kicked his ass.
After the pizza, we settled in to play cards and talk. "Carrie, you have any idea what to say when people ask why some strange man is shadowing you?"
She emptied her beer and stood to get another. "No, I hadn't really thought about it. I guess I sort of thought he would just camp out on the sofa and no one would know." Bottles clinked in the kitchen. "What should I say?" She returned with fresh beers for everyone.
I glanced at X-Man and gave him the go-ahead.
"That depends. Do you want me to be seen? Or stay invisible?" X twisted the top off his beer and took a long drink.
Carrie took a long look at him over her bottle. "Invisible? Is that really possible?"
"Sure." X-Man folded his cards and placed them face-d0wn on the table. "I can make sure I'm not seen, if that's what you'd prefer. The problem there is it can take a bit longer to get to you if you need help."