Chapter Eleven
“You’re still here, man?” Anton Stevens asked, approaching my desk. I pulled my ear buds out of my ears and paused my voice recorder.
“Yeah, I need to get my report done for Jacobs—need to get it to him in the morning,” I replied with a tired, forced smile.
“It’s seven thirty! Finish that shit tomorrow, Cam!” Anton chuckled, giving me a friendly clap on the back. “I only came back up here because I forgot this.” He reached for a sticky note on his desk and showed it to me. “Name and address for this perfume shop. My sister is picky and her birthday is tomorrow. Only shop in the nearest fifty miles that has this shit.”
“Oh, yikes. Good thing you came back for that,” I said with another forced smile. He rolled his eyes and waved as he walked away.
“Actually, hey Cam, the team is going to go for burgers and brews at this place over on Twenty-First Street. You should come along!” Anton said enthusiastically, stopping and turning around to look in my direction. “They have really good bacon cheeseburgers and a great bar. You in?”
I really don’t fucking want to go, but I need to make friends here. I need to make sure I don’t look like a complete mental mess.
“Uhh, sure. Thanks for the invitation, Stevens.” I said as I stood from my desk chair and gathered up my file, notebook, voice recorder, and earbuds.
“Nah, call me Anton. I’m not big on that formal shit.” He beamed a perfect white-toothed smile, which I couldn't help but return.
I didn't have time for my mental checklist to make sure I had everything I needed to finish my report late tonight, but I still froze in place out of habit.
File, check.
Notebook, check.
Voice recorder, check.
Keys, check.
Gun, check.
Badge and key card, check.
Oh! My trench coat!
“You okay, man?” Anton asked, snapping me back to reality.
“Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I thought I, uh, thought I had an idea about the case.”
Fuck! How fucking embarrassing.
“All good, Cam. I get it, but as your supervisor, I order you to come with the team to get burgers and beer.” Anton said as I pulled on my trench coat and picked up my things.
“I don’t have a change of clothes. I’d rather not go to a bar reeking of cop.” I shrugged my shoulders, feeling a little defeated.
“Don’t worry about that, man. Just come! Some of the BAU agents will be there. It would be a good chance to meet everyone outside of the pressures of work. I can make it another order if I have to.”
“Lead the way then, Supervisory Special Agent.” I gave him an awful salute, and he chuckled before turning toward the elevators.
“Would you like to follow me there? I'll ride slow so you can keep up,” Anton said with a smirk as we entered the parking structure. He walked to the corner where a sporty motorcycle was parked.
I followed him, since my Mustang was parked in the spot next to him and when I unlocked the car with my key fob, he raised an eyebrow at me and nodded in approval.
“Sweet ride, Cam. She's a beauty.” Anton spoke through the flipped up visor of motorcycle helmet.
“She’s a 2022 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.” I boasted proudly and Anton looked inside through the open driver's slide door. “Supercharged 5.2-liter V-8. She gets about 775 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque.”
“Not bad, not bad. It would be fun to see what she can do sometime!” Anton said, his eyes wide like an excited child.
“Hell yeah, I’m sure we can arrange that.” I smiled.
Did I make a friend? Or did my car make a friend?
“The burger bar isn't far. Follow me, yeah?” Anton flipped his visor down and mounted his motorcycle, kicking up the kickstand.
Sitting in my driver’s seat, I pressed the push button start, and the engine roared to life. Anton turned his head toward my car and started to rev his bike. I did the same and Anton shook his head, clapping and pumping his arm like he was at a concert.
Okay, I think I like this guy.
Despite being on that crotch rocket of a motorcycle, Anton did a great job of being the leader. I was anxious that we would get separated since I didn’t even get the name of this place, so I could find it if we got separated. I didn’t get Anton’s phone number either.
Would that be weird asking a guy for his phone number? Would he think I’m trying to date him?
“How ridiculous. I’m a fucking idiot,” I cursed myself out loud as I followed Anton into a right turn onto Twenty-First Street.
Checking my rearview mirror, I noticed the same pair of headlights had been behind me since we left the field office. They weren’t the headlights of a car I recognized, just seemed like your average sedan. But they had been following me and taking every turn Anton and I had. They even sped up through a stale yellow light to keep up.
The bar came into view as I continued to follow Anton a few blocks down the street and pulled into the bar’s parking lot. My eyes were peeled on the headlights that now followed me into the parking lot. That same car pulled in right next to me into the vacant spot on the passenger side. My senses were on high alert and I quickly locked up my file, notebooks, and voice recorder in my glove compartment.
Who the fuck are you? I thought as I unsnapped the strap holding my gun in place at my hip. Stepping cautiously out of my car, I turned to see who was exiting the car of my stalker.
“Hey, Maria! Over here!” Anton called to Agent Maria Santos. She waved from her parked car next to me and began to walk behind mine to meet up with Anton.
I'm a fucking idiot.
“Come on, Sullivan. First rounds on me.” She smiled as she passed by my car, locking hers by holding the key fob over her head.
Following Santos, we met up with Anton at the front door of the bar. Immediately, I felt out of place and overdressed after seeing them casually dressed in jeans and hoodies. Anton had his riding jacket on over his hoodie, while I was the one still in my suit and trench coat. I reeked of “cop” and I wanted to shrink into nothing and go home.
“You good, Cam?” Anton asked, draping a friendly arm around my shoulders.
“Y-you know, I should just…just go. I didn't get a chance to change. I look like, you know—”
“A cop?” He asked with a chuckle. “Look around, man. This place is full of cops and firefighters. This bar specifically caters to first responders.” Anton draped an arm around Maria’s shoulders and started to walk into the bar. My mind was screaming at me to leave, to get back to the safety of my car, but I forced my body to follow them to a table.
We sat around a circular, tall table with black metal bar-height stools. Anton picked up the little trifold menu in the middle of the table with specials, and Maria was scrolling through something on her phone. Taking a moment, I looked around the bar and looked for my exits in case my anxiety got too high.
This was actually a neat-looking bar. It had a steampunk vibe, with various pipings along the foot of the bar, with a stainless steel top. Looking to the ceiling, there were various sized gears, painted a metallic gold color, with large industrial looking light bulbs hanging at various lengths from the center of the gears to light up the room. Shelves adorned the walls, held together by metal pipes, and each shelf had pictures and badges of fallen first responders. It was darker here, but a comfortable dark.
“Agents,” a server said as she approached the table top. She held open a little notepad and had her pen at the ready. “Can I get you something to drink while you wait for the rest of your group?” she asked as she smiled at Anton.
“I’ll take an IPA on draft, please,” Maria said. “Let me guess, Anton wants—”
“Blended strawberry margarita; hold the salt,” Anton interrupted.
“Yep. Like always,” Maria laughed, and I felt a smile tug at the corner of my mouth.
“How about you, hun?”
It took me a moment to realize she was talking to me, and I quickly stumbled over my words.
“I um, yeah, sorry. Can I just—”
“He’ll take a whiskey, neat. Make it Irish and a double,” a voice said behind me as a familiar arm draped around my shoulders. The server nodded and left us to give our order to the bar.
“Well, fuck me. The BAU got you to go to the bar, but you’d never come with us.” Evan nudged me with a fist and laughed. “Good to see you here, man. You’ll love this place; the burgers are the best.”
“Matthews,” Maria said flatly, rolling her eyes.
“Santos,” Evan smirked.
“This is Anton Stevens,” I said, dipping my forehead in Anton’s direction.
“Good to meet you, man. Evan Matthews, Organized Crime Unit.” Evan and Anton shook hands across the table.
“Ah, yes, I’ve heard of you. Maria’s old partner before she came to the BAU,” Anton said with a snarky smile. I know that Evan had quite the crush on Maria and wasn’t shy about it. Maria, who’s obviously married, was quite annoyed with his advances.
“Oh, hey, Cam! Nancy says hi from Texas,” Evan said, taking a sip of his drink. “I miss that spitfire; she kept us in line in the academy, eh?”
“You mean she kept you in line.” I chuckled.
“Yo, Matthews!” someone called from a few tables away as a server carried a tray of food in that direction.
“That’s my cue. Food time! Nice to meet you, Stevens. Cam, don’t forget this Saturday!” Evan gave us all a wave and returned to his table, almost immediately downing the rest of his drink.
“I can’t believe that you’re friends with that idiot,” Maria said, rolling her eyes again.
“I can’t either sometimes,” I chuckled.
“Alrighty, here we go.” Our server placed our drinks in front of us and walked away to another table.
I couldn’t help but smile, seeing how Anton clapped his hands, then rubbed them together when his huge blended margarita was placed in front of him. Maria hung her head in a feigned exasperation and laughed, bringing her beer up toward her mouth.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as I absorbed the energy of the table. Friends—they were friends beyond the office. Genuinely good people, trying to make the world a better place. They don’t care about the acknowledgements, the press conferences, or the pats on the back—just a genuine desire to bring killers to justice.
“To Cam! Welcome to the BAU!” Anton said, lifting his giant margarita glass toward the center of the table. Maria lifted her beer, and I lifted my whiskey, clinking our glasses together.
“To Cam!” Maria said, taking a long sip.
“We’re here! Sorry we’re late!” Desiree Marx said in a sing-song voice with the rest of the team following in behind her.
“No Diaz?” Anton asked.
“I tried. Sorry, Anton,” Desiree replied with a sigh.
“There’s the rest of the group!” Our server came back with a smile. “Let’s pull those next two tables together.” She pointed to my right in the direction of two vacant circular tables.
“I’ll help,” I said, standing quickly to help the server. We pulled the tables together and the other agents pulled a chair up to take a seat.
“Thanks, hun!” Our server smiled at me before taking everyone else’s drink order.
“Heya Camden!” Erik Nichols said, taking the seat next to me. “How was the first day with Doctor Lawson?”
Keeping my eyes lowered to the tabletop, I turned my head in his direction to answer, still too nervous for direct eye contact.
“Very informative. She really is quite remarkable,” I praised, taking a large swig of my whiskey, trying to calm my nerves.
“Yeah, she’s something else. I can only imagine going through that much fucking medical school,” he chuckled. “What do you think of this place?” He motioned around the room.
“I don’t go out much, so this is a lot. But, I do like the ambiance; the steampunk theme is pretty neat,” I said, taking another sip of whiskey, finishing my glass.
“Their burgers are to die for,” he said while getting the server’s attention with a finger in the air, then pointing at me. “Next one’s on me. Welcome to the team, Camden.”
“I appreciate it, thank you, Nichols.”
“Nah, man, Erik! We’re a casual bunch.” Erik winked.
Suddenly, there seemed to be a shift in the energy around me. Goosebumps formed on my arms, and I glanced up toward Anton, whose face was in a harsh scowl. Everyone at the table was quiet with arms crossed, or resting their chins in their hands on the tabletop.
“Well, what do we have here? I’ve never seen you here before, handsome.” A finger brushed my shoulder, tracing the sleeve of my shirt down to my wrist, leaving behind a trail of filth on my clothes.
Shaking my head, I looked again, and the filth was gone, but a woman was standing next to me, hooking her arm in mine. She had way too much makeup on; her red hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and her push-up bra was doing too good a job of forcing her large breasts to sit up high on her chest. Her obnoxious cleavage in her v-neck tank top bounced when she giggled a disgusting sounding noise. Her low cut jeans were so low that if she had to bend over, you’d see a bare ass, and a bare cunt. A sky blue colored Birkin bag was slung on her arm in the crease of her elbow.
“Are you married, baby? It’s okay if you are. I’ll treat you so much better, take so much better care of you, you’ll forget all about her,” she purred in my ear.
“N-no. Get away.” I tried looking at her to shoo her away, but I couldn’t do it. My anxiety was rising and I couldn’t make eye contact.
“Aww, come on, handsome. You know you want a piece of this.” She pressed her body against mine, her breasts rubbing against my arm.
“I said no!” I forced myself to stand, pushing her away from me. Panic started rising in me and I kept my gaze on the floor, my whole body beginning to tremble.
“I suggest you get the fuck out of here, Trish, before I arrest you for assaulting a federal agent,” Anton growled through clenched teeth, Erik’s body shifted and I saw his feet hit the floor as he slid off his stool, standing in between this Trish and I.
“You heard my boss. Get. The. Fuck. Out,” Erik snarled.
“Oh, fine! Gosh! He’s a freak, anyway. Can’t even look someone in the eyes, huh? Coward,” Trish spat before turning on her heel and walking away.
“What the fuck is going on over here?” I heard Evan’s voice through the muffled sounds of the room. “Cam, are you okay, man? That badge bunny bitch is bad news.”
“Yeah, Cam, are you good?” Erik placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, but the contact made me flinch and jump backwards, stumbling as I backed into a barstool, falling harshly to my ass.
“Fuck, Cam, here. Let’s get you up.” Anton reached a hand out to me, and I backed up, sliding across the floor until I managed to get to my feet.
“N-no, I got…I gotta just…just go… I’m s-sorry, I can…can’t…” I managed to stutter before darting out of the bar.
Reaching into the pocket of my slacks, I fumbled for my keys as I approached my car. My hands were shaking so much, I dropped them to the ground. Resting my hands on my car and hanging my head between my shoulders, I desperately tried to calm myself down. I knew I couldn't drive this way; I just needed to be safe—just needed to be safe.
“Cam! Hey! Are you okay?” Evan panted as he jogged up behind me, stopping near the hood of my car.
“I can't… I can’t… br-breathe…” I started hyperventilating, falling to my knees, and grabbing onto my hair for dear life.
“Fuck! Do you need EMS?” Evan kneeled down next to me as I pulled my hair harder, begging for the pain to calm me down.
“Agent Sullivan?” All of a sudden, Helena's voice floated into my brain.
“H-H-Hel…”
“Doctor Lawson?” Evan asked. “I'm not sure what to do. I've never seen him this bad before, I—”
“Let me,” she said gently, and Evan stood up and away from me. “Camden?” Her voice cut through the demons in my mind, and I grasped for that sound, silently begging her to save me.
A pair of silky smooth knees joined mine on the cement of the parking lot as I continued tugging on my hair.
“Camden, we need to let go now, okay? You're safe, love. You're safe,” Helena whispered as her cold hands covered mine in my hair, slowly guiding me to let go.
“My chest… hurts… s-so bad…” I cried, releasing my hair, and the last thing I remember is my body slumping forward into her arms before the darkness came.
“Do I need to call for medical?” I heard Evan ask.
Am I dreaming?
“No, I will handle it; he's had an episode. You're Evan Matthews, yes?” Doctor Lawson asked, concern distorting the professional tone of her voice.
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Did anything like this happen when you were roommates at the FBI academy?” She asked Evan, cradling my head to her chest.
“Yeah, once before, but it was because his father drunkenly called him—set him off pretty bad. Something similar to this happened, and he slept for two days. I know he has had some trauma, but I've never seen it like this.”
“Doctor Lawson? What's going on? Is Sullivan alright?” Anton asked, running up to us.
Fuck, I hate this attention. I don't want the whole BAU to see me like this: a limp mess in the street.
“He's lost consciousness, Stevens, but he'll be alright. I'll be taking him home. None of this leaves this parking lot, do you understand?” Helena commanded.
“Of course, Doctor. I don't know what that bitch did to him, and when I find her, I'll arrest her for assault on a Federal Agent.”
“Good. Keep me in the loop if you find her.”
“Yeah, man. I'll keep an eye out on my end, too. I'd be happy to slap cuffs on that stupid cunt.” Evan scoffed, and he probably had his arms crossed over his puffed out chest.
“Yes, of course,” Anton said, annoyed.
“Please, Stevens. We can't let Jacobs know about this. We need him on this case. We need his skills, you know we do.”
“Yes, I know. Fuck!” Anton paced back and forth with his hands on his hips. “Doctor, please keep an eye on him. If he reacted like this to some trashy nympho… I'm concerned about what focusing on our case will do to him.”
“He's too important. I'll make sure his psyche returns to normal.”
I felt my body come to, but I didn't want to interrupt; I was embarrassed enough for being on the ground, and felt bad that the woman of my dreams was on her knees on the cement; the rough surface was probably hurting her. But I had to get up before the rest of the team came out.
“D-Doctor?” I said, stumbling to stand and instantly missing her warmth. I leaned back against Vera, my Mustang, trying to gather my bearings.
“Camden. Are you alright?” Helena asked as Evan helped her up.
“Y-yeah, embarrassed mainly.”
“Hey, Cam, all this,” Anton said, motioning around the four of us. “It all stays between us. Not one word leaves this circle here.”
“I, yeah, I appreciate that. I should just head home and—”
“You're not driving, Cam. Nuh-uh. I’ll take Vera and park her at the field office. I got a ride from one of the guys from my unit, anyway. My car is still at work,” Evan offered, bending over to pick up my fallen keys.
“That is a great idea. I will take you home, Camden,” Helena said with a soft smile.
“Good plan. See you tomorrow, yeah? Text me if you need anything.” Anton handed me one of his business cards out of his pocket and I accepted it with a tip of my hand.
“See you tomorrow. At least tomorrow is fucking Friday, am I right?” Anton chuckled before turning away to head back inside.
“If there's one fuck…fucking scratch, Matthews,” I stammered.
“Yeah, yeah, you'll drag my soul to hell and devour my first-born, I get it.” He laughed as he took my car key off my key ring and handed me the keys to my apartment.
“Come, Camden. I'm parked at the curb. Let’s get you home.”