Chapter Ten
CHAPTER TEN
REBECCA
There was something calming about being home at the farm. I never wanted to work at the farm, and I loved being an undercover agent, but it took a lot out of me and I knew I would only be able to do it for a few more years before I had enough. All the money I made was pretty much put directly into a money market account that was making me more money. I wanted to be able to retire after ten years of service. I didn’t want to worry about money. Having a room here at home helped. Also, the fact that all my travel and living expenses were paid as part of my cover. I wanted a family eventually and I figured as long as I could retire or quit by thirty-two to thirty-five I could still do that. I walked up the separate staircase leading to my little apartment above the garage. My dad and my uncle George built this as a graduation present. They knew my plans and that I would need a home base that I could have to come to and relax.
“Nice place babe.” He looked around at the open floorplan of the kitchen and living space. I had a large bedroom and an office that could have been used as a second bedroom. The laundry room was off the garage, so it was accessible to me easily. I had a jack and jill bathroom that was between the two bedrooms. “You know there is no way in hell I’m sleeping anywhere but with you in my arms. I don’t get much time with you as it is.”
“I know, and really my dad doesn’t expect any different, but he had to say it.” I kissed him and looked around. Help me open the windows, it gets a bit stuffy. If they knew I was coming mom would have opened them. I have a window unit in the bedroom that cools the whole place pretty well but it’s still nice enough that I won’t have to turn it on this visit. The ceiling fans will be plenty.”
Dinner was great, her mother had a roast in the crockpot all day and had made some additional sides and homemade bread to go with it. I did the dishes after dinner telling the women to go sit and visit.
“Penny, I need to see about having Jake come take a look at the tractor. It’s stopped working again.” Her dad got up to head out. I stopped him.
“Let me have a look. I’m a mechanic and I love to fix things.” I kissed Becca on the cheek. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
While we were working on the tractor, her father peppered me with questions about what I did. I was honest but not forthcoming with everything.
“You seem really taken with Rebecca. How long have you known her?” he asked me and I thought about it.
“I met Becca a couple years ago. She was on her first assignment. Our club was under investigation. Turns out we had a couple of bad eggs. When it was all said and done, they had her out of there so fast I didn’t get to ask for her real full name or number. She figured I would hate her for lying about who she was. I never forgot her, and I didn’t want anyone else after being with her. I ran into her a week ago in New Orleans, she was wearing another disguise, but I knew it was her. We spent time together and talked. When this assignment was wrapped up and she was given vacation she asked me to come home with her. She wanted to spend time with me and her parents. I would do anything for your daughter, Sir. I love her.” I found the problem with the tractor and asked for a wrench. After it was fixed, I wiped my hands and turned to look her father in the eye. “I’ll ask that if she is ever hurt in action that you would contact me. Due to my affiliation with an outlaw MC it wouldn’t look good for me to be her emergency contact. That being said I’m not far from here and would drop anything to come to her.”
“Good man. Make sure to leave your information for us on the fridge. Her mother and I will both save it. I’ll be honest when I saw you roaring up on that bike with my baby on the back, I wasn’t happy. Having talked to you and watching you with her. I can see you respect her and would take care of her given the opportunity. You have my blessing. Take care of her when she will let you.” Her father patted me on the back. “Great job with the tractor. You saved me a nice chunk of money. Appreciate it.”
“You will have my number, call me if you need anything mechanical. I’d enjoy the ride down.” We went back in the house and saw the women giggling and talking. Becca stood up and hugged her dad.
“Dean you ready for bed?” she asked as she linked her fingers with mine. I smiled and winked at her parents.
“Whatever you want baby.” I followed my woman upstairs. We made love and then curled up to sleep.
The next week was bliss, I was sad when she got a call for a new assignment. I had made sure to put my information on the fridge here and downstairs. I had their phone numbers as well. I liked that I had this connection with her now. They had sent a car to take her to the airport and I kissed her goodbye upstairs. My bike was in the garage so it wouldn’t be seen. I watched her hug her parents and then she got in the car. When it was out of sight I went downstairs with my backpack. I hugged her mother and shook her fathers hand again.
“Come back and visit whenever you want son.” Her dad said gruffly. I knew it was hard on them when she left for work as well because she couldn’t always call, and they worried for her safety.
The ride back to Memphis went fast, my mind full of the last two weeks. I pulled up and the guys gave me shit for being lovesick. I just flipped them off and went to my room to shower. A week passed and I got a postcard in the mail from Becca, must have been sent before she left DC.
Dean,
I sure do miss sleeping with you. I’ll call when I can.
Xoxo,
B
I had the picture we took together on my phone. One from New Orleans at the Acme Oyster House since that was our first official date. I got one of her on the back of my bike that Skully snuck when we weren’t looking. Her mom took one of us sitting on the porch swing of their family home. I had them on my phone and I ordered a couple of prints to put in my office at the shop. I also sent her parents the one of us on their porch. I knew they didn’t get a lot of pics from her.
Weeks passed with no word from her. I tried not to worry but it was very difficult. I knew she was very capable but damn she was my girl, and I didn’t know where she was, what kind of cover she was under nothing. The weeks turned into months, and I kept in touch with her parents. Her mother said the last call they got was from her direct supervisor letting them know she was deep under cover and couldn’t risk calling. He said they had a tracker on her and she knew how to contact them. Christmas came and went. I drove down to Ripley in my truck for the holiday. My parents were gone, and I felt closer to her when I was there. I noticed they had framed the picture of us, and it was on the mantle. Moe McCall kept me occupied with things to work on when I came to visit. He knew I needed to be busy. A year passed and I was getting really depressed and scared that I was never going to see her again. The guys were on the verge of an intervention but what the fuck do they want from me I love her.
Skully and Spyder were helping at the garage. All the bikers in the area wanted tune-ups after having their bikes stored for the winter. Memphis didn’t get much snow, but our problem was black ice. We were busy, it was early March and the guys were getting antsy. The door chimed at the side of the garage. We had it set to chime when someone walked into the bays. I didn’t like surprises when I was under a car. I looked up to see Moe McCall looking like death. I felt a punch in my gut. NO.
I met him halfway and waited for the news I dreaded getting. He saw my face and shook his head.
“I’m sorry son, I didn’t mean to scare you like that. She isn’t dead but she is in bad shape. They have her at Bethesda in Maryland. I came as soon as I got word they found her. My brother is going to take care of the farm with his sons. Penny is in the car. We wanted you to go with us. We are driving because we are bringing her home with us. I knew you would want to be there.” He looked exhausted.
“Give me a few minutes. I need to throw a bag together and let the guys know. I live upstairs so it won’t take me long.” I turned and flipped the sign to closed and pointed to the stairs. The guys followed me up.
“What’s going on?” Skully asked looking at my face. “Is she dead?”
“She is not dead, she is in bad shape at Bethesda in Maryland. We are going drive up there and stay until we can bring her home. I’ll be moving to the farm. I’ll sign whatever I need to for you to have the garage. I’ll be back for my bike at some point. Right now, I don’t fucking care.” I packed all my toiletries and some clothes. “Do me a favor. Pack the rest of this shit and ship it to this address.” I handed him their address on a note pad. “I gotta go. I’ll update you when I can.”
“Take care of your girl and give her a hug from me.” Skully gave me a hug. “Good luck, I bet she will be the patient from hell.” I barked out a laugh.
“I’m sure you’re right. Later.” I walked out to see a Suburban. They had it outfitted with room for a gurney beside one seat in the back for me. Yeah, these were my kind of people.
I tossed my bag in, and we were off. Driving up there I started thinking of anything she might need. “How do you feel about me having a cabin built behind the house on the property that will be functional for her.”
“Can you afford that? We were going to give you both our room and take the garage.” Mr. McCall said glancing at his wife.
“We both know she would not stand for that. I also know she likely won’t be in any shape to climb those stairs. I’m going to marry your daughter, and I want us to have our own place so I can take care of her but she will be able to be self sufficient at some point because she is just stubborn like that.” I was looking at my phone for builders and modular homes.
“No problem. I’ll pull up the survey of our property so you know where you can build. I may know someone you can call for the actual work. If you tell them, it’s for Rebecca they will put you at the front of the line.” He pulled into a gas station to fill up.
“This isn’t some old boyfriend I hope.” I sounded a bit gruff but I was jealous.
“Hell no, it’s a friend of the family.” He said laughing at me. “Damn son, I needed that laugh.”
“Wake me up when it’s my turn to drive.” I told him and closed my eyes. I needed the rest because I knew she was going to be a mess emotionally as well as physically and I needed to be prepared for it.
We arrived at Bethesda around ten in the morning the next day. Her parents said I was her fiancé so they would let me in to see her. We walked in and I noticed that her face was bruised and stitched in places. Her hair was as black as midnight and her right arm was broken along with her left leg. She had bruises all over where she was clearly beaten badly. I wanted to kill someone. I took a deep breath and walked over to her bedside and leaned over placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
“Damn baby, who do I need to kill?” I asked her sincerely. I wasn’t even joking a little. I saw a tiny smile on the corner of her beautiful mouth.
“No one, I did that myself.” She mumbled and was back out. I heard a cough at the door and looked to see what was clearly another agent, standing there.
“Obviously she is on some good stuff. I’m Special Agent Dale Morrissey. I was Agent McCall’s direct supervisor.” He glanced at the bed and winced. “Damn fine agent. What a fucking waste.”
“What do you mean was?” I asked him. “She isn’t an agent anymore. The agent gestured to her leg.
“You have a look at that leg yet? It’s not a clean break. It’s like they took a sledgehammer to it. She is going to lose the leg from below the knee down. She won’t be able to function as an undercover agent anymore. The Bureau will give her a choice between early medical retirement or a desk job.” He looked at me hard. “I know who you are and who you hang with.”
“Fuck you, I’m a mechanic and as of now I live on a Farm in Ripley Mississippi.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I think you can go now. She doesn’t need your negativity.”
“Just know you step out of line, and I’ll have you behind bars before you can wipe your ass.” He said before Mr. McCall got up in his face.
“Let me be clear. He lives and works with us now. You step foot on my property you let me know what kind of tree you want to be pushing up. I don’t do trespassers.” My future father-in-law looked the agent right in the eye when he said it.
“Did you just threaten a federal agent?” he acted like he was going to get nasty.
“No, I gave him a friendly warning about trespassing.” He said as he took a chair beside his daughter’s bed. “Now get the fuck out.”
The doctor came into the room a few minutes later and looked around the room. He checked her vitals and looked at her wounds. He frowned when he looked at her leg.
“Damn, I’m sorry but I have to get her up to surgery. That leg has to go, it’s getting infected. I’ll have a cot brought in and a couple more chairs. It’s going to be a long night.” The doctor sighed as he looked at her chart. “I’ll be back to talk to you after the surgery is done.”
“We aren’t going anywhere.” The doctor nodded and the next thing we know, two orderlies are rolling her out. I leaned over, kissed her and told her I loved her.