by S. K. Lessly
I told Billy to watch over her and only tell me if she was in trouble or needed my help. If she ever decided to reach out to me via email or phone, I had her emails rerouted to some other location Billy controlled, and I turned off my phone. I put all my focus on my missions and told myself that when I returned to the states, I’d go to her.
However, as time passed, I started to rethink that plan. Over these past eight months, I had been involved in some hairy shit. I’d done shit that would give any normal person nightmares; however, every single night, I slept like a baby—well, not counting the nights I woke in a cold sweat from dreaming about fucking Lexie in every position imaginable and waking up with a boner every night. Other than those times, my nights were peaceful. For a long time, I didn’t think anything of my lack of conscience. Now, I thought about it constantly.
My world was filled of darkness. I fed off that shit. What would happen if I brought Alexis into my world? Could I do it without ruining her? Would she accept my world, the life I led, and not run from me or be disgusted by me?
I wasn’t that guy anymore, the caring loving sweet boy she knew. I was a killer, an assassin who could be called to do my job day or night. I could be gone for days, weeks, or even months, depending on the op. Would it be fair to bring Lexie into that life with me? I had been leaning more towards no...until I heard her voice in my ear warning me of danger.
To say I was shocked and excited to hear her voice would be an understatement, but that had soon changed to anger. I had thought for a moment she was messing around, trying to get ahold of me because I was ignoring her or something. It only changed when she started explaining why she was reaching out to me. She admitted knowing where I was and what I was doing, which was alarming to say the least. That mission had been off the books. Only a handful of people knew we were there, my boss and a couple of people in the CIA. What had my blood boiling was the information she gave next.
“I can also see about ten bodies behind the door you are heading to right now, and they aren’t there to welcome you to Turkey.”
Son of a bitch!
After that bit of news, she had my undivided attention. We began working out a plan, along with Billy, to help me and my team enter a heavily guarded compound with minimal amount of effort. She put her life on the line to do it and I was grateful for it. She didn’t have to do what she did, but she did it and I knew why. It wasn’t duty. It wasn’t because it was the right thing to do. She put herself out there, risked getting caught and jail time because she loved me. Call me arrogant but that was what I believed.
After that night, I knew what I had to do, but the question was how.
The way I left her was fucked up. The fact that I hadn’t contacted her in months was even worse. It was a shitty thing to do but necessary. Now, I had to figure out how to get back into her good graces. I wasn’t assuming that if I showed up, she’d welcome me with open arms. I was just hoping she wouldn’t throw shit at me, shoot me, or worse, ignore me just as I’d done her.
Feeling a bit anxious, I checked my phone for a response from Billy. When I didn’t see one, I decided to go looking for him.
I undid my seatbelt and headed to the front of the plane. I knew she lived in D.C. I also knew where she worked. However, for what I had planned, the moment I saw her, going to her job wasn’t an option. I needed a home address before this plane made it to the hangar.
I came up on Billy and Jess huddled close together watching something on Billy’s laptop. They had their backs turned to me, oblivious to my approach. I sent a silent prayer, as I got closer, that I wouldn’t catch them being nasty again. I shivered as I remembered what happened the two times I had walked in on them. It wasn’t something I wanted to relive, not because I was jealous or anything. It had never been like that between me and Jessica.
No, catching them was just… it wasn’t something for the faint of heart, let me just say that. They had um… fetishes that I didn’t understand and didn’t want to. To each their own, right?
Anyway, other than catching them half-dressed and doing shit even my freaky ass wouldn’t do, they were a cute couple to the point of being obnoxious. Being around these two love sick puppies, watching them sneak around as if they were being discreet, which by the way they weren’t, was a bit to take. It was also very weird.
They were the exact opposite in every way two people could be, from looks, to personality, to the way they dressed, thought and reacted to shit. Yet, it worked for them and I couldn’t be happier for them. They were in love. Jessica seemed different, more alive, happy, and it looked good on her. And Billy hadn’t stopped smiling since they hooked up. There weren’t two people who deserved each other more than Jessica and Billy. Not counting Lex and I, of course.
I approached the couple cautiously, ready to close my eyes if I saw something that made me want to puke. You would’ve thought I’d learned my lesson the first couple of times and announce myself. But I didn’t, and I continued moving forward. The plane had finally settled, the engine shutting down, but the cockpit door remained closed.
I thought about what I could do to scare the loving pair when I caught sight of what they were watching on Billy’s laptop. At first, I’d thought it was porn. There was the silhouette of two people sitting together on a dimly lit porch overlooking the ocean or something. Then the picture cut to the male and I frowned. I knew him. It was Albert Lacy, a CIA operative who I fucking hated with a passion. The feeling was reciprocated tenfold.
I was about to ask them why they were watching a video of the pussy when another familiar face came into view.
Alexis!
They were smiling at each other and enjoying the view as if they’d done it plenty of times. My heart seized in my chest. I couldn’t breathe. Lacy and Alexis? My Alexis?
Oh fuck no!
A growl erupted from my chest, causing Billy and Jessica to jump and turn around. Their eyes were wide as hell. They also looked guilty as fuck.
I pointed to the laptop and brought dark eyes to Billy. “Address now!”
“Wha—”
“You heard me.” I wasn’t going to play his game of ignorance. “I want her address right fucking now.”
Jess stood. “Okay, Wolf. Why don’t you take a minute and calm down? This is just a recording. From last night. You don’t know—”
“Last night? What do you mean last night? How long has this been going on?” I looked at Billy.
Billy shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s the first time I saw them together, I swear.”
“Yeah, and why in the hell are you watching footage of my woman in the first fucking place? I told you not to get into her private life.” I stepped closer, my hands now in tight fists.
Billy stood and put his hands up, placatingly. Jessica moved to his side, signaling whose side she was taking in this little discussion of ours. Again, I would have thought it was cute if I wasn’t so pissed.
“I’m not invading her privacy. I’ve been trying to reach her for the past two days on our private chat line. I wanted to tell her everything was fine. You and the team were fine and we caught the fucker. That’s all.”
“Yeah, and?”
“And… well, when she didn’t respond, I thought something might be wrong. I went looking for her. As I said, I made sure to keep eyes on her but I programmed my system to analyze security footage for anything out of the ordinary and place those videos in a separate folder.”
I narrowed my eyes on the genius idiot. “What do you mean by ‘out of the ordinary’? What did you have the computer look for?”
“I just looked for anyone in her house or job who were either criminals or government agents that didn’t have a reason to be around her. I specifically provided photos of those I thought would be a threat, which was any CIA operative. Since I hadn’t heard from her and I knew what she had to do in order to save your bacon, I went trolling the folder and pulled up the first video I came to.” He pointed to his laptop.
I remained quiet, studying Billy, thinking. Shit didn’t add up. Why was Lacy hanging around my woman? Why did they look comfortable as if they had been spending a lot of time together?
I frowned as I allowed that last point to roll around in my head.
My eyes traveled to Billy. “How many videos you have saved of ‘out of the ordinary,’ shit?”
Billy shifted where he stood and looked over at Jessica. They met each other’s hesitant gaze before they looked over at me. The cockpit door opened suddenly and the two pilots emerged with smiles on their faces.
“I hope you all had a pleasant flight.” One of the pilots said to us, a smile in his voice. When we didn’t reply or look in his direction, he spoke again, this time with hesitation in his voice. I was sure he felt the tension in the air.
“Uh… do you need any help with luggage?”
Again, we didn’t reply.
“Ahh, okay then,” said the co-pilot. “We’re going to go ahead and leave you to it. We’ll be in the hangar. Let us know if you need anything else tonight.”
The sound of hydraulics swooshed in the silence as the door to the airplane was opened and the jet steps descended. Cool summer air wafted through the jet’s cabin. The sound of planes landing and lifting off took over the silence but not the tension. It was so thick, I could cut it with a knife.
I sighed, feeling the blood in my veins starting to boil to the point of overflowing. “Are you going to answer my question?”
Billy looked to his woman one last time before he addressed me. “There were umm… quite a few saved to the folder. I didn’t get a chance to look at them but um…” Billy shifted but didn’t finish.
Jessica rolled her eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Lacy has been with Alexis for some time now. We don’t know if they’re together. We haven’t watched any of the videos except this one and there’s no indication they’re a couple, but they have been spending a lot of time together.”
I closed my eyes and breathed out a heavy sigh.
Fucking Lacy.
He and I had history, if you hadn’t guessed. The son of a bitch was a career watch dog for the CIA. He was known throughout the clandestine community as a wannabe bad ass. He was a piece of shit who thought the CIA was his and his alone. My team and I had worked with him and his team on a lot of missions. There had been one in particular that went south due to his team fucking up. My team and I almost lost our lives because of it.
When I came face to face with the prick, he and I had words. We also exchanged fists. It wasn’t a fight, not in my opinion. He threw a punch, and I ducked and hit him with a three-combo jab to the kidney, the sternum, and jaw. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. That was it.
From that day on, he and I were at odds. If the CIA and Code One worked on any assignments together, Lacy and I stayed clear of each other. In fact, I had been lucky. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him for years.
Seven months ago, however, my luck ran out. Lacy and his team were charging the investigation on the involvement Russia had with Stoyanovich and the US weapon they’d tried to steal.
There was a meeting where I had to present the case as it was to some CIA desk jockeys and, of course Lacy, and his boss, the director of clandestine operations for the CIA. It was in this meeting I’d stressed the role Lexie played in all this, or lack of a role. She was innocent of all charges, and I’d warned them to keep their distance. It was Lacy that had a problem with Lexie. He thought she should be watched closely. He didn’t believe she was innocent, or that was what I got from his adamant request to put a shadow on her.
That was when the threats were given.
“Lacy, if I so much as see anyone shadowing Ms. Stone, we will have a problem. She’s innocent in all of this. I don’t give a shit if you aren’t comfortable with that. But hear me when I say, if you so much as breathe the same air she does, we’re going to have a problem.”
Lacy had smiled at me, but he didn’t respond. I guess he was responding now.
“Find out where she is and text it to me. Clearly she’s not in D.C.”
“What are you going to do?” Jessica asked.
I gave her a “what the fuck do you think I’m going to do” look before I turned and headed for the opened door behind me. I descended the steps and made my way out of the hangar in search of my car.
“Ethan!” Jessica called out, but I didn’t stop walking. “Got damn it, you stubborn fool, wait up. I’m coming with you.”
I stopped and turned to find Jessica running up to me.
“No, you’re not.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Yes, I am. Listen to me, you’re pissed. I get it. You warned them to stay away and they didn’t listen. Like I said, I get it. But you showing up at her house, unannounced, with your dick in your hand, beating on your chest, isn’t the way to handle this situation. Remember, you left her. You haven’t spoken to her, sent her a letter, or seen her in months. How do you think your caveman ways is going to go over?”
Okay, she had a point.
I folded my arms in front of my chest, not ready to concede, but Jessica knew me. She grinned at me and gave my chest a punch.
“Come on, lover boy. Let’s go rescue your woman from the jaws of the CIA.”
She started walking, leaving me where I stood. I breathed out a tired sigh, turned, and followed.
“You know I’m going to kill him, right?” I told her when I caught up to her.
“Uh-huh and that’s why I’m coming along. Someone has to help you dispose of the body.” She winked at me and I couldn’t help the smile that spread along my face.
My phone dinged and I pulled it out, saw the address, and grinned.
I’m coming, beautiful. I’m coming.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Alexis
The next morning, I crawled out of the bed, my body tired my heart still heavy. I crept into my office, logged on, and tried Billy again. And again, I got the same message. He was off line.
Fuckity fuck!
Truly now depressed, I stepped out of my room ready to sink into my couch and eat my worries away until I could barely breathe, but Albert had other plans.
“Let’s go out and enjoy the day. You said you wanted to go to the beach. Let's go.”
I protested strongly but somehow, he managed to get me moving. I reluctantly showered and dressed in a flowing maxi dress. Al drove us to the small community of Chesapeake Bay. We located the beach rather easily. He parked and we got out and headed for the boardwalk. I small tinge of guilt started to surface as we got closer to the beach. I remembered the last time I was taken to the beach in an effort to cheer me up and it made me even more sad.
“Hey, cheer up.” Al put his arm around my shoulders. “Look at where you are. The beach looks amazing, it’s a beautiful day with clear skies and you’re with me. What more could you ask for?”
I laughed and shook my head, doing my best to not show my true thoughts. Al was trying to cheer me up. If I didn’t let him, he’d come with questions I didn’t care to answer. With that in mind, I gave him my best smile and said, “You’re right. Let’s go have fun.”
Al reached for my hand and squeezed it. “Yeah, that’s the spirit. Now let’s see what we can get into.”
We strolled along the boardwalk of the public beach, taking in the sights and stuffing our faces. I ate a lot...and I mean a lot. I thought he would have to roll me back to the car and stuff me inside I was so full. Al purchased some lounge chairs from a vendor and found a spot on the beach. We spent the day enjoying the beachgoers around us and the wonderful warm summer day.
When we got back to my place, I took a much-needed shower pulled on another maxi dress and crashed for hours. When I finally woke, I tried Billy again and again I was unsuccessful.
This was insane. There had to be a way to get ahold of him. I didn’t think he was with Ethan when they were in Turkey or at least at the Turkish’s compound. He was in another location keeping an eye out for them.
So why was he offline?
Argh, this was so frustrating!
I ran my hands through my hair and rested them on the top of my head. I stared at my screen for a moment deep in thought. Okay, Alexis think. If I needed to send a message to him, how would I…
I sat up suddenly as a memory started to surface in my cloudy mind. I closed my eyes and slapped my palm against my forehead.
“Argh, you’re so slow, Lexie!” I growled as I remembered something Billy had told me months ago.
After everything went down with me almost dying and Russians, and before we started calling each other, Billy mentioned something about a message board. He said if I wanted to send him or Ethan a message and they were unavailable or on a mission, that I could use a message board to communicate. He told me he set it up specifically for me to use anytime I wanted to. He said the board would be secure and safe. No one would know about it so I could speak freely if I wanted to.
I hadn’t used that board this whole time, deciding not to bother him about Ethan. I didn’t want to put him in the middle of our uhh… oh nevermind. Bottom line, there may be another way I could contact him. In fact, it’s possible he left me a message.
I quickly located the site I needed, logged on, and waited. It took less than a second to load and when it did, I leaned back and smiled. There was a message for me. It was short and to the point.
Everything’s good. It worked. Got’em. We’re coming home.
I laughed, my heart beating again, the pain in my chest lifting.
I typed a message of my own with just one word, okay, and stared at the screen. I thought about writing more, of asking if he was okay but I didn’t. I signed off quickly, not truly believing the message board was secure and left the office.
Ethan was okay. He was coming home. The fear about rather he was alive or not had finally been lifted. What started to ebb at my conscious, now, was the “coming home” part of the message. If he was coming home, did that mean he was coming to see me?