Doubling Down

by Bianca D’Arc

  Whatever. For now, Jay was just glad to have a few hours of downtime. He and Zack had discussed Becky a couple of times during the day, and Jay knew Zack was kicking himself for leaving the night before. He’d wanted to apologize all day, but he was confined to base until Jay returned. The restaurant would be closing well before then, and both Zack and Jay were concerned about the robberies along Restaurant Row.

  They’d agreed among themselves that at least one of them should be with her when she walked to the bank each night. It wasn’t a long walk, but she was a bit of an easy target for anyone who knew what to look for. The zippered cash pouch in her bag wasn’t exactly discreet.

  “You at Chez Nous yet?” Zack’s words popped into Jay’s mind.

  “I’m just walking in. Going to eat, then hang at the bar with Becky until closing,” Jay confirmed. “Now, leave me alone so I don’t look like a spaz staring off into space when people are talking to me.”

  That was one aspect of the new gift they had to work on. Of all the pairs, they were among the most obvious when they were communicating silently. They were being coached by the others, but it wasn’t easy for either of them to concentrate on two entirely different conversations at the same time.

  Jay ate a delicious dinner, cooked to perfection by the fussy French chef, then retired to the bar to nurse a beer or two while watching Becky move about the place. Once the dinner rush was over, she paused to expand on the quick greeting she’d given him before, but she was still busy running the place and left when a small crisis came up among the wait staff.

  Jay was content to sit back and relax. He’d put a lot of miles on his car today and felt the effects of little sleep the night before and running all over creation all day long. It was nice to just sit quietly and drink a beer while watching the prettiest girl he knew do her thing.

  “The doc just said they might let me go early,” Zack’s voice came to Jay’s mind. “Something is making them reshuffle their plans. I think they might let you off the hook too.”

  At that very moment, Jay’s cell phone rang. He answered the call. Sure enough, it was the base. They were rescheduling the rest of the experiment, and he didn’t have to come in that night. Jay hung up then answered his partner.

  “I just got the call. I don’t have to report tonight.”

  “Good. I’ll head directly to the restaurant when they spring me. Hopefully, I can get there before closing time. Keep me posted, okay?”

  “Will do. Right now, it’s just quiet. Only a few diners left. Not many people at the bar. Just a regular night. I’ll keep you posted when things start winding down, if you’re not here by then.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  They talked a little more about Becky and if Jay could tell whether or not she was pissed about the rough ending to the date the night before, but Jay didn’t really have a chance to talk to her much. He recounted to Zack the few words Becky spoke to him and agreed to pass along anything else interesting that she might say if, and when, they had more time to talk.

  Then, Zack told him the docs were back to ask questions, so they went silent, each doing their own thing for a while. Jay ordered another beer, and it wasn’t too much longer before Becky took a seat at the end of the bar, next to his strategically-chosen bar stool.

  “Rough night?” Jay asked, noting the little frown making a small line between her eyebrows.

  “Not really. Just a little headache. It’s nothing.” She shrugged off his concern and started doing the books, like she did every night about this time, in preparation for closing.

  Jay looked around and realized nobody was paying any attention to them. The place was the next best thing to deserted, and the back corner of the bar where they were seated was dark and empty except for the two of them. The bartender was taking advantage of the sparse crowd to begin restocking supplies for the next day.

  Seeing an opportunity, Jay rose from his stool and took up a position just behind Becky. Without saying a word, he put his hands tentatively on her shoulders and began a slow, gentle massage. She jumped when he first touched her, but didn’t say anything, so he continued. After just a few slow circles, he could feel the muscles in her neck and shoulders loosening up, losing their tension. And then, she moaned.

  It was just a little moan. Nothing too loud. But it made his dick sit up and take notice. Damn. The slightest indication of her pleasure roused him. What would happen if they ever got naked together? He couldn’t wait to find out.

  Chapter Four

  Becky was melting under Jay’s hands. Or, rather, the tension was melting away, taking her fledgling headache with it. He was a magician.

  “That feels really good.” She let the words out before she realized how they would sound—a little too sexy for the situation—then stiffened. “I mean—”

  Jay’s husky chuckle stopped her hasty retraction. “Don’t worry. I know what you mean.”

  He kept up the massage until the small amount of tension that had returned went away again. His hands then stilled on her shoulders, their warmth seeping into her skin. She could feel him lean closer to her back, his heat enveloping her, and her breath caught.

  Then, his lips pressed against her temple, igniting all sorts of feelings inside her that she probably shouldn’t be allowed to feel, considering she’d been making out with Jay’s best friend only the night before. Damn. While she’d been thinking so hard, he’d backed away and resumed his seat next to her at the bar.

  She didn’t comment on the sensations still wriggling through her body, and they kept the conversation both light and sparse while she concentrated on the routine bookkeeping tasks she had to finish. As the restaurant closed down around them and everyone else went home, Jay stayed, her quiet companion, making her feel safer just by his presence.

  She’d never really felt all that vulnerable before, doing this job, but since the rash of robberies—some of which had gotten violent—Becky had begun to rethink how alone she was with the pouch full of money each night. It probably wasn’t the safest thing to be doing—walking across the street and a short way down the block to drop off the cash in the slot at the bank—but it was part of her job.

  One thing had become clear, though. Having Jay or Zack around to walk with her to the night deposit made her feel a whole lot safer. They hadn’t said anything about it. They’d just started sticking around later, making sure she was okay. She wanted to hug them both for their thoughtfulness but hadn’t dared make a big deal out of it to either of them because she’d wanted them to settle which one was going to ask her out first.

  She hadn’t wanted to be forced to choose between them, and she hadn’t wanted to be the one to drive any sort of wedge between them either, so she’d waited for them to figure it out. She’d thought Jay was going to come out the winner when he’d kissed her three nights ago, but then, Zack had asked her out the next night, and they’d done a bit more than just kiss before he’d been called away. Now, Jay was here, again, and he had massaged her neck in a most provocative way. His hands had felt like heaven, but she was confused. Had the men settled things between them? Perhaps not. And, if not, how could she avoid causing some sort of conflict between the two best friends? Damn.

  When her work was finally done and everyone else was gone, Becky locked up, as usual. Jay was right beside her as they walked across the street and started heading for the bank. But, when three masked men slid out of the darkness to surround them, she totally stopped. Her mind blanked, and she didn’t know what to do. Thank God, Jay was with her. He’d know how to deal with this kind of situation, surely. Wouldn’t he?

  “Where the fuck are you, Zack?” Jay sent silently to his partner. “Now would be a really good time to get here.”

  “What’s happening?” Zack’s reply was immediate. “I’m almost there.”

  “Good, because there’s about to be an attempted mugging and a brawl on the street across from Chez Nous. Get your ass here ASAP. I could use a little backup. There are
at least three of them that I can see.”

  “Shit. Hang on, buddy. I’m almost there.”

  And then, there was no more time for talk as the shit hit the fan. One guy made a running grab for Becky’s oversized bag with the zippered money pouch in it, but Jay stepped forward to block and deflect the man. He stumbled and fell at the unexpected interference. Jay had used the man’s own momentum against him.

  Then, the other two came at Jay, at the same time. Fists and feet flew as Jay fought them. He positioned himself in front of Becky, trying to protect her as best he could.

  The attackers clearly had some martial arts training, so it was a bit more of a challenge than he’d hoped, but he was holding his own against them. Then, the third guy recovered. Shit.

  Suddenly, out of the dark, the cavalry arrived. Zack roared in like a bracing wind, his battle cry making all three bad guys pause. With Zack there, the three assailants seemed to think better of their plan and ran away at top speed. At the end of the dark block in an alleyway, a powerful engine roared to life, and a van nosed out to pick up the three. So, they’d had at least one more accomplice—a getaway driver.

  “We’ll be back when your guard dogs aren’t around, Becky. Don’t close your eyes. We know where you live,” the first man shouted back over his shoulder just before leaping into the open side of the van.

  Zack tried to run after them, but it was no use. They’d gotten away.

  Jay herded them all back to the restaurant, where he placed a call to the local police. They’d file an incident report and tell the cops what they could about what they’d seen. Hopefully, that would help the locals find the perps faster, but if not, Jay and Zack didn’t even have to talk about the fact that they would be guarding Becky even more closely from now on. It was simply understood. One nod between them had said it all.

  The cops showed up within ten minutes and spent the next hour going over what had happened. One of the officers escorted Becky to the bank night drop when he heard she hadn’t yet deposited that night’s receipts, while his partner finished questioning Jay and Zack.

  There wasn’t all that much the cops could do since the van had been unremarkable and the plates had been obscured. Jay and Zack gave every detail they could recall to the officers, but they both knew it wasn’t much to go on. They’d have to watch Becky extra carefully—especially considering the perps seemed to know exactly who she was. The fact that one of them had called her by name hadn’t gone unremarked by either of the officers. They’d asked a lot of probing questions, but it certainly sounded as if Becky had been just as shocked as Jay and Zack at that one guy’s parting words. Or, rather, threats.

  “How do you want to play this?” Zack sent to Jay privately.

  “I don’t care what Becky says. No matter what, I’m staking out her place tonight—either from inside, which is what I’d prefer, or outside in the yard, if I have to.”

  “I’m with you, partner. We can’t leave her unprotected after a direct threat like that. I’d really like to know who that fucker was, though. How does he know Becky? Is it a personal connection? A customer or acquaintance? Or is it that the bad guys do their homework about each place they hit and the people who run it?”

  “Could be either one,” Jay replied. “Either way, it’s not good. They know too much about her. More than we know about them. We can’t let them keep the upper hand. It’s time we went on the hunt.”

  “Agreed.”

  Becky was still in shock about what had happened. If Jay hadn’t been there… She shuddered to think what could have happened. Those guys had known her name. They claimed to know where she lived. What was she going to do?

  “Are you ready to go?” Zack asked Becky in a quiet tone.

  Her head was still spinning, but Zack’s gentle attention soothed her. The police had been so loud, and her boss had been shouting on the phone when she’d called him, concerned only that his money had been deposited and only getting around to asking if she was all right just before he hung up. He didn’t even offer to come down to the restaurant and talk to the police. Just made sure his money had been put in the bank, then left her to deal with everything else. Unfeeling bastard.

  “Yeah.” She shook off her unsettled thoughts and looked up to find both Zack and Jay standing nearby, looking at her expectantly. “I’m so grateful you were here. Both of you.”

  She reached out to hug them, one after the other. If she held on just a tad too long, nobody mentioned it. She felt so safe with them. They’d been her knights in shining armor tonight, and she could never repay their kindness.

  Was she crying? Now? Damn. There was a tear or two escaping, now that the police were leaving, and she was left alone with her fears…and her two knights.

  “Hey, don’t do that,” Jay whispered, holding her close and rocking her gently. “We’re going to take you home and make sure everything is okay. We’ll even stay with you tonight, if that’s what you want. We’ll order a pizza and sit on your couch, keeping all the bad guys away, all right?”

  He made it sound like a party, but the mention of bad guys knowing where she lived sent a tremor through her bones. “Would you stay for a while?” she asked, feeling pathetic, scared and weak, but grateful to have two strong guys on her side.

  “Absolutely,” they answered at the same time.

  She smiled and left Jay’s arms. She still felt a little shaky, but knowing they’d be with her for a while yet made her feel a lot better about going home to her empty house. And, if it wasn’t empty, God help the bastards who had invaded her space. Jay and Zack would pulverize them. Of that, she had no doubt.

  They took three cars to her place. Luckily, she had a long driveway that was able to accommodate them all. Her neighbors would definitely think there was a party going on, if they bothered to notice. Her neighborhood wasn’t overly friendly. People didn’t really get involved with each other. There was a lot of buying and selling, and just when you got to know your neighbor, it seemed they were moving on and a new set of people were moving in.

  Zack parked right behind her car, and Jay was closest to the street. Zack got out and met her on the walkway to the door, taking the key from her and opening the door. Jay stood with her while Zack went inside. They were in commando mode, operating silently, checking things out before they let her in.

  “I have to turn off the alarm,” she whispered to Jay as they stood to one side of the open door.

  “All right,” he answered in a quiet voice. “Stay right at my side, okay?”

  She nodded, and they walked into the small entry area. The keypad was right there, so she input the code, and the alarm stopped its countdown.

  “It’s clear,” Jay told her quietly, closing the door and locking it.

  She looked at him, puzzled, until she noticed Zack coming down the hall. Somehow, Jay must’ve seen him first, and they probably did that silent hand-signal thing they had down to a science. She’d seen them have entire conversations with just a few casual gestures when the bar was so crowded they would’ve had to yell to be heard otherwise. They’d explained it was a military thing that all the guys in their unit knew. She still thought it was pretty amazing.

  Chapter Five

  Jay pulled out his phone and dialed a local pizza delivery place. She heard him order a couple of pies with various toppings while Zack prowled around, checking the locks on all the windows and drawing all the blinds and closing all the curtains. They were hunkering down, but she didn’t mind at all.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with staying?” she said tentatively.

  She really didn’t know how she would sleep tonight if they left. She didn’t know how she’d sleep if they stayed either, but at least she wouldn’t be scared of being murdered in her bed if they were in the house.

  “We’re fine. Don’t worry. We’ve slept in mud holes and on the desert sands. We can pretty much rest anywhere. Your house is cozy, and we’ll be all right. We wouldn’t be able to just leave you her
e. Not after what happened,” Zack said.

  “Or what that guy said,” Jay reminded them in a solemn tone.

  When she turned to look at him, his face showed both anger and determination. Oh, boy. They weren’t going to let that guy’s challenge go unanswered. She’d likely just acquired the two guard dogs the bad guy had called them. That dude didn’t know what he’d done. He’d aroused their protective instincts, and if he came near her when either one of them were around, he’d pay for scaring her. She was certain of it.

  She wasn’t sure if she found that scary or endearing. Perhaps a bit of both but leaning more toward the endearing side. She liked that they felt so protective of her. It had been a long time since she’d had anyone really care what happened to her. Being alone as she was now, since the deaths of her parents, she had pretty much given up on anyone really noticing if she lived or died. It was nice to have not one, but two guys willing to put themselves in harm’s way to protect her. That was really more than she ever could have expected from anyone.

  “I’m going to change,” she announced, wanting a moment alone to just decompress before she tackled the hard stuff—like that bad guy threatening the sanctity of her home.

  She walked to her bedroom and shut the door. Then, she just breathed deeply a few times before doing as she’d said and finding some loungewear to change into. Stretchy pants and a soft, loose shirt. Perfect. She might look a bit frumpy, but after the night she’d just had, she needed the comfort.

  By the time she got back to the living room, the pizza was already there. She’d taken longer than she’d thought in her room, but the guys welcomed her, offering her a glass of the wine she kept in the fridge while they each had a beer from a six pack that must have been delivered with the pizza.

  “Eat a slice. It’ll help you feel better,” Zack told her.