by Laney Kay
“Jake Morrow, from Nighthawk Security?”
Lola smiled at Jake and mouthed, “Ooh, you’re so famous.” And then she said to DeLeon. “That’s the one. Mr. DeLeon, we’ll see you Thursday morning.”
She hung up the phone and pushed Jake back so he was lying on the pillows and she curled up next to him, spreading her throw over both of them. Her head was propped on his shoulder and he was playing with her hair as they cuddled under the blankets. She tilted her head to see his face. “So, I’m thinking our best option is to play dumb. Tell him that they now have the flash drive Mitch gave me, and that there was nothing understandable on it. We’ll tell him that I know he had guys break into my condo and take it, and that I’m willing to let that slide if we just forgot we ever met and he can guarantee we’ll never meet in the future?”
Jake shrugged, thinking furiously. He agreed that playing dumb was probably the best first step. “I agree. I’m sure the FDA is nowhere near ready to pursue anything with DeLeon at this point. They’re probably still doing further tests on his drug to determine whether he violated any FDA rules with his drug application and clinical trials. I don’t think it’s in our best interest to let him know that we started the FDA ball rolling.”
Lola nodded. “Absolutely. As far as he’s concerned, my problem with him stems from the fact that he sent men to break into my house to retrieve the flash drive, so I’m sure that’s what he wants to deal with.”
“He probably thinks we handle your security and found the break-in.”
“Probably.”
Lola rolled on her stomach and crossed her hands on his chest so her chin was propped on her hands and she looked into Jake’s face. “So what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
His eyes narrowed. “I think we should go into the office and then I’m going to grab Mike and we’re going to visit our break-in buddies so we can have a little Come-to-Jesus meeting. Jerry Jeff already put together a nice little presentation where everyone’s face is visible, then it flashes over to where Big Al uses facial recognition to identify them, then I have footage with them inside your house.”
Lola was grinning at the idea of Jerry Jeff’s handiwork. “Did he put the presentation to music? If not, I’m going to suggest maybe a little background music. Like ‘Folsom Prison Blues’? ‘Jailhouse Rock’? Or maybe a little Chrissie Hynde and ‘Back on the Chain Gang’?”
Jake shook his head. “Nah. ‘Mama Tried,’ by Merle Haggard.”
“Good choice. I say we let Jerry Jeff pick his favorite.”
They grinned at each other as Jake picked up his phone and called Mike. Mike immediately agreed to accompany Jake, and Jake said he’d contact the men so they’d know they’d know where and when to meet. After he hung up, he looked at Lola. “So Mike is all in for paying a visit to the assholes who broke into your house. Now I just have to make sure they’re available tomorrow and are going to meet us.” He thought for a minute, tapping the phone on his upper lip. Lola’s mind was also racing.
“Jake, you know, you have all their names. Why not use Big Al to get their cell phone numbers and text them a little videoclip and an invitation? I think they’d take a look at that and would make time if you invited them for a pow-wow.”
He laughed. “I’m sure you’re right. Let me get their numbers and we’ll send them an invitation.” She rolled off his chest. She smiled as she watched him stride naked across the room to grab his laptop off the dresser. He saw her watching him and grinned. “Like what you see, Ms. Lola?”
She sat up and grabbed his Tshirt off the floor and pulled it on before flopping back among the pillows. “Uh, yeah. Nothing quite as hot as a naked man getting busy. I’m just enjoying the show while you work.”
He laughed and started typing in the computer. He reached for his glasses in his shirt pocket before he realized he was naked, and Lola laughed and handed him a pair of glasses off the bedside table. He put them on and continued typing. Within a couple of minutes, he showed the text to Lola who nodded her approval, then he was sending a text to all four men, along with an invitation to meet him at Nighthawk the next morning. “Well, let’s see what happens next.”
He tossed his laptop on the bed after making sure the sound was on. “As soon as they text back, I’ll get a notification on my laptop and we’ll go from there.”
Lola smiled at him. “I like the idea of y’all meeting them on your turf. A little power play action, huh?”
He shrugged. “If they can make it. If they’re out on a job, we may have to be a little flexible, but wherever is fine. They’re not thugs, so I’m not worried about an ambush or anything, but if we meet them offsite, I will bring some additional backup.”
“Jerry Jeff?”
Jake grinned at the thought. “He’d be a great choice if we were going to brawl, but if I’m trying to keep this remotely professional I’ll probably grab a couple of our bodyguards, like Logan and B-Ray, instead.” He laughed as he shook his head. “Jerry Jeff really likes you, so he’s a little overprotective. They say one wrong word about you and no telling what he’d do.”
Before Lola could comment on how much she liked Jerry Jeff, Jake’s laptop sounded an incoming message. Jake grabbed the laptop and Lola sat up and scooted over to look over his shoulder and they both smiled at the message. “11 at Nighthawk.”
Jake wrapped his hand around the nape of Lola’s neck and pulled her close for a quick kiss. He texted Mike that the meeting was on for eleven the next morning and then he turned and tossed his laptop onto the bedside table. He wrapped his arms around Lola and dropped back onto the bed with her facing him on his chest. “Check it out, Ms. Lola. We meet those assholes tomorrow, then DeLeon on Thursday, then all this bullshit will be done.”
Lola smiled a sad little smile at Jake. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Jake’s brows pulled together. “What? Aren’t you excited about this all being done?”
She shrugged. “Yeah. It’ll be nice to get back to a normal life and not having to worry about whether someone’s trying to kill me. Who knew, but it turns out that being targeted is not my kind of fun.”
Jake frowned. “Is that what’s bothering you?”
She held her hand up and waggled it from side to side. “Hmmm. Partially. You know, even though this situation has been a total pain in the ass, it’s been a great distraction from the rest of my life. Now, I’m going to make some real decisions about everything else.”
“Like what do you want to be when you grow up?” He smiled and jostled her on his chest.
“Exactly like that.” She wiggled around to a more comfortable position. “I know I want to do something different, but what? Do I want to start my own charity? Do I want to start some other kind of business? Seriously, I don’t have a damn clue about what I want to do.”
Jake nodded. “That’s a shitty place to be. I felt like that when I decided to leave the FBI. I had no idea what I wanted to do and I just felt kind of lost. I’d always been in law enforcement and the idea of quitting was really scary, but I didn’t like what my job was becoming once I couldn’t be in the field any more. I mean, I was in cyber crimes, so a large part of my job was in front of the computer, but I was also a field agent, so I also got to occasionally break down doors and arrest people, just to keep things lively. Also, I’d gotten a new boss who was a complete bureaucrat and a douchebag, and the idea of being stuck in an office with him filling out forms didn’t sound like something I was interested in.”
“So how did you figure it out?”
He snorted. “I didn’t. Kent came to me, fresh out of the Shepherd Spinal Center, and told me to get my ass in gear, that we were going to start our own corporate security business. He was so fired up, and I was so relieved to see him back to his usual bossy, commanding self, that I just said okay. I quit the Bureau, and we signed a lease in a little office in Roswell. Once we started, the business took off, and I was too busy to think about anything. Every minute I had was spent working, or building the business or me
eting with people to drum up business. It was a crazy time, but it was exciting, too.”
“Is that what happened with your marriage?”
He grimaced. “Well, I’m sure it didn’t help. The truth is, she was a nice lady with a job that took up a lot of time, and I had a job that took up a lot of time, and between the two of us, we didn’t spend a lot of time together. We’d kind of drifted into being friendly roommates before Kent and I started the new business, and that was really the nail in the coffin. Eventually, we had the world’s most cordial divorce, she went her way and I went mine. I heard she moved out west and got married, had a kid or two, and lived happily ever after. And you know the rest of my story.”
She laughed. “I do. You became kryptonite to all women and lost the ability to date successfully. I heard. From everyone.” She winked and poked him in the ribs.
He grabbed her finger. “Ow, that hurt.” She rolled her eyes and he continued. “Ha. Ha. Hilarious. Now you’re a comedian like everyone else.”
“Look, obviously, I didn’t take it too seriously since I agreed to keep dating you after all this is settled.” She put a mock frown on her face. “Don’t make me rethink my choices, big boy.”
Jake grinned and let go of her finger so he could throw his arms around her and hold her tight. He hugged her against him and started smooching on her neck. She started laughing as he mumbled against her neck. “You like me too much to dump me, face it, Ms. Lola. I’m way too fun. Plus you think I’m a hottie, admit it.”
She pulled away enough to grab his face with both hands and kissed him a big, smacking kiss on the lips. “You are a hottie. And I’m not the kind of girl that’s stupid enough to give up a sweet ass and a big dick, so you’re pretty safe, big boy.” She reached down and grabbed his butt with both hands. “At least for now.”
He pretended to pout. “That’s all I am to you? A nice ass and a big dick?”
Lola’s face went completely expressionless. “Yes.”
Jake shrugged. “I’m okay with that.” He interlaced his fingers, placed them behind his head, and then waggled his eyebrows at her. “Of course, now that I’ve hooked you with my extreme manliness, I’ll have time to reel you in with my Southern charm and extreme intelligence.” He lifted one hand and waved it down his body and then over his face. “Face it, baby. I’m the whole package.”
They both started laughing, and hugged each other tightly. “Jake, you are the whole package. Just a big, ol’ sweet, nutty package.”
They got up and pulled on sweats and spent the rest of the day hanging out on the sofa. Jake had a copy of the Terminator and Princess Bride, so they watched both movies, ate popcorn, and eventually he thawed out two steaks and made mashed potatoes and a salad to go with it. Of course, Lola was still hungry, and Jake was amazed. “Lawd have mercy, Lola, that was a twenty-ounce cowboy ribeye and a pile of mashed potatoes as big as your head. How in the hell can you still be hungry?”
Lola shrugged. “Don’t question it, just feed it.” So Jake dug in the freezer and found a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Salted Caramel Core ice cream. As soon as Lola saw it, she grabbed two spoons and they settled back onto the couch and they ate the entire pint. Well, mostly Lola, but Jake had some, too, all while debating which movie to watch next.
They both agreed on Talledega Nights, but about halfway through, Lola yawned. “Jake, I’m worn out. Let’s go sit in a hot bath and then go to bed.”
Jake agreed, so he got up, pulled Lola to her feet, slung his arm around her shoulder, and they walked down the hall to the bedroom. While Jake checked his messages, Lola stopped by her suitcase and pulled a plastic bag out of the side pocket and then went into the bathroom to run a bath.
By the time Jake came in, the room was dimly lit by two candles and the tub was full of billowy bubbles. His eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Where the hell did you find bubbles and candles?”
Lola pulled her sweatshirt over her head and dropped her pants to the floor while Jake watched. As soon as she lowered herself into the tub, he undressed and joined her. She smiled at him as she pulled her hair into a ponytail on top of her head and closed her eyes and leaned back against the tub with a sigh. “In my suitcase. I like bubbles and candles when I take a bath and I assumed,” she opened her eyes and looked around, “…correctly, that you would have neither.” She closed her eyes and slowly slid lower in the tub, draping her legs across his outstretched thighs so that they rested on either side of his hips. She let out a deep breath and sank down so that her shoulders were covered and they lazily started to wash each other. Eventually, they both relaxed back against the tub and Jake slowly stroked her legs where they rested on his. They sat that way until the water started to cool and Lola started to snore, a quiet little huffing snore that Jake thought was adorable. He gently squeezed her thigh. “Wake up sleeping beauty. It’s time to go to bed.”
She didn’t open her eyes, but she wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Nope, I’m good here.” She yawned, pulled her legs off Jake, and curled up on her side. “Can you just come in and warm up the water occasionally?”
“Nope. Come on lazy girl. Let’s get you dried off and we’ll get in bed.” Jake flipped the lever so the water could drain, rinsed off quickly, and got to his feet. He stepped out of the tub and leaned over to give Lola a hand up. She stood up, stepped out of the tub, and he reached over and grabbed towels for each of them. They dried off, brushed their teeth, and headed to bed.
Lola had turned on the electric blanket on the bed before they got in the tub, and they climbed naked under the warm blankets. They kissed each other good night and Lola sleepily rubbed and fondled him as she nestled against his side with her legs entangled with his. She gave him a few long strokes, then a final squeeze and a pat and then kissed his neck as she started to fall asleep.
Jake laughed and kissed the side of her head. “Okay, now you just patted my dick like a puppy.” He laughed and said in a sing-song voice. “Hey, Lola, who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?”
Lola laughed as she gave him another pat and muttered, “You’re a very good boy. And I’ll give you a treat in the morning to prove it.”
10
The next morning, Lola showed Jake exactly how good of a boy he’d been, and they finally left the house around eight, showered and relaxed. Jake was wearing a pair of black cargo pants, a long-sleeved black Nighthawk polo shirt and black tactical boots, and Lola was in a pair of ancient, tight jeans and a UGA hoody. She insisted on stopping at Thumb’s Up Café for breakfast, and they made it to Jake’s office by nine-thirty. Jake had just sat down behind his desk and Lola was perched on the corner of it when Marie buzzed him to let them know Mike had arrived and was on his way up.
Lola bobbled her eyebrows at him. “So you’re looking fine today, Mr. Morrow, and I like your outfit. Which brings me to this very important question. Why haven’t I gotten a Nighthawk swag bag with some shirts and some of your fleece stuff?” She nudged him with her foot. “I’m pretty sure I’ve earned it. I mean, I have agreed to date you and everyone here will certainly agree that’s taking a huge risk.”
Jake rolled his eyes. “Ha. Ha. Well, I guess you’ve earned it, one way or another.” He leered at her, which made Lola laugh. He leaned forward and buzzed Marie. “Hey Marie, have we got any extra sweatshirts and fleece jackets and stuff for Lola?”
As usual, she was right on the ball. “Coming right up. Lola, what size you want? You’re tall, so you’ll probably prefer the men’s size shirts.”
Lola leaned forward. “Large on any sweatshirts or Tshirts, but mediums on any jackets.”
“You got it. I’ll bring you some fun stuff in a few.” Marie clicked off before Lola could thank her.
“She’s really on top of everything, isn’t she?”
Jake nodded. “She’s the reason this place runs like a well-oiled machine.”
There was a knock on the door and Jake and Lola looked at each other. “Damn, she’s fast.”
Jake and Lola laughed and he said, “Okay, she’s fast but not that fast.” He got up and walked over to Mike and shook his hand. “Hey Mike, thanks for coming.”
Mike was dressed in a black polo shirt that strained across his arms and chest and black cargo pants. As Lola hugged him, he grinned at Jake. “Thanks for the opportunity. I’m really looking forward to having a discussion with the assholes who broke into Lola’s house and our office.”
“Me, too.”
The three of them sat down and began to discuss the best way to handle the meeting. Jake explained exactly what information they had to Mike. He pulled up the short video presentation that Jerry Jeff had put together that showed them breaking into Lola’s house, going through her stuff, and then the footage as a facial recognition program identified each of them. “I think we should just show them the video, explain to them that we have them for breaking and entering, hand them copies of the emails that we got off their computer that explains what they’re looking for and how they’d been ordered to retrieve it, and then sit there and wait for them to say something.” Jake looked at Mike and Lola. “Any objections or other ideas?”
They looked at each other, then shook their heads. Mike added one comment. “I assume we wait to see what they say to all that, then we make our warning as strong as necessary?”
Jake looked ferocious as he nodded to Mike. “Exactly. And at this point, I hope they argue with us. I’d love to be able to convince them of the necessity of leaving Lola alone in the future.”
Mike understood completely. “Me, too.”
As they exchanged a look of male understanding, Lola rolled her eyes. “OhmyGawd, guys, they’re professionals, not thugs or cartel assassins. I’m sure y’all will be able to reach some sort of understanding without having to beat some sense into them.”
Mike let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, Lola, I’m sure you’re right. But I’m with Jake—I could use a little physical activity just to keep it lively.”