13. Dinner for One Isn’t Fun
Chapter 13
Dinner for One Isn’t Fun
Sadie
P lanning a meal for two, then getting a call from Rebel letting me know that he’s working late and won’t be home for dinner sucks. This is the first night that we won’t be eating together. I suppose it’s something we both have to get used to. My job at the hospital has me working shifts, so Rebel will have nights without me as well.
“I’ll grab a sandwich when I can,” Rebel said when he called earlier. It wasn’t a long chat, and I could hear the guys talking in the background, so I know whatever they’re working on is important. Rebel did take the time to say, “I love you, babe. See you soon.”
I let out a sigh and put back the sausages. I was going to make sausage and pepper penne. Instead, I decide to make grilled cheese, one of my comfort foods. What is it about grilled cheese that makes me feel good, anyway? Maybe it’s the soft, warm, gooey cheese oozing from the crunchy, buttery bread that melts in your mouth. Yeah, that’s it! I remember when I take my first bite as I snuggle under my blanket on the sofa.
It’s a Herculean task to move when the doorbell rings. I toss the blanket aside, but before I can check the peephole, Maya’s voice pipes up.
“Hey, Sadie, want some company? It’s me, Maya, and Kailyn is with me.”
I slide open the door to see that both women have their hands full. Maya’s holding a bowl of chips in one hand and dip in the other. Kailyn is loaded down with wine and a charcuterie board loaded with crackers, cheese, grapes, and all sorts of goodies.
“Wow, let me help you with that,” I say, reaching out to give them a hand.
“I hope you don’t mind. Maya and I have established a tradition where when our guys are working late, we get together to help pass the time,” Kailyn says.
“I love the idea. Mind you, when I start my new job, there’ll be days when I’m working, but at least I’ll have work to think about,” I tell them.
As they both come and set down the food they’ve brought, I go to grab some wineglasses and pour our wine.
“That’s right! Congratulations! I’m so happy for you,” Maya says.
“Let’s have a toast,” Kailyn begins, and raises her glass. “To Sadie: a huge accomplishment in getting the job you’re meant to have. The patients you serve will love you as much as we do.”
“And to the men who love us. May they always be safe,” Maya adds.
“Amen to that,” I sigh, taking a sip. “I miss Rebel when he’s not here.”
“Thank goodness it’s not too often that they’re jetting off to another country. Those days and nights are harder. At least we know they’re close, and I’m assured that tonight is all about gathering intel. You can’t get much safer than that,” Kailyn tells us.
Kailyn’s reassurance doesn’t have the effect it should have. I imagine Rebel in black clothes sneaking around, scaling a building, and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. My face must be saying the story I’m thinking, because Kailyn takes my hand.
“This isn’t Mission: Impossible,” Kailyn says. “I won’t lie to you, there are some days that I wish Phoenix would take a desk job and be done with this work. But I know it would kill him. Rebel is smart and fast. And truly, tonight is more about the element of surprise than being dangerous. They’re together as a team tonight. You have nothing to worry about.”
“I remember the first time Bull was gone at night. I sat in my chair with a blanket and stared at my phone, willing for it to ring,” Maya says. I point to my place on the sofa, where my blanket has fallen to the floor and my phone on the armrest, and begin to giggle.
Maya tries to contain a laugh and fails. Kailyn doesn’t hold back and laughs out loud. “I guess I’m officially a Storm girl,” I say.
“Absolutely,” Maya replies.
“Sadie gets to pick the movie,” Kailyn says as we gather around, getting cozy with our wine and food.
I was dreading the evening, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to get Rebel out of my mind. Maya and Kailyn make it easier, and because they understand what I feel, I don’t feel quite so scared.
Rebel
When trying to get into a home, the best play is to have a power outage randomly occur. Wire and Falcon have been messing with the power in the area for a couple of hours, causing the power company to send out men to the affected areas. It’s easy to slip into someone’s home when they expect a repairman at their door.
Our ID is so authentic that we waltz right into Mary’s home. She got the call that we’d be coming, as did her neighbor, Emmanuela. Emmanuela tried to put us off and told us it wasn’t convenient; thankfully, she caved when we said then she’d be our next available time slot in three days. That changed her tune pretty damn fast.
Phoenix and Bull knock on her door first to make sure she stays inside while Falcon and I go into Mary’s house. Wire is tapping into Emmanuela’s phone to create static on the line in case she gets any ideas. Bull’s going to try to plant a bug somewhere near the phone, because I very highly doubt he’ll be able to get more than one installed.
Wire keeps watch from the van while Falcon and I walk up to Mary’s door. Falcon insisted on each of us having earpieces; that way, if any one of us needs to alert the others, we’re able to in an instant. I can hear Bull talking to Emmanuela. “We think it’s a problem with the power grid, but for the safety of all concerned, we need to do a routine check. Jason here will check your box in the basement, and I’ll check all the plugs and wires at the outlets.” I hear a woman’s muffled voice talking a mile a minute, then Bull replies, “It’ll go faster if Jason and I divide and conquer, but if that’s what you want, we’ll all do it together.” Jason is the name on the shirt Phoenix is wearing. Bull got saddled with Bo on his shirt. Paranoid much? Sounds like Emmanuela doesn’t want the guys out of her sight and needs to keep them together. Works in our favor to gain more time with Mary, but it also sucks for Bull since he’s trying to find time to plant the bug.
Mary answers the door skittishly. Her face is pale as a ghost, her hair tied back in a tight bun, and I can see that she’s shaking. Her blue eyes look lost and lifeless. Her hair is the same color as her daughter’s, and I’ll bet she’s as pretty as her daughter when she’s not terrified.
“We’re here to check the power in your home. Your area has been losing power all day, and the power company has trucks in the area checking out homes, as well as a bigger team working on the grid. Can we come in, ma’am, and do our jobs?” Falcon asks. “With the new installation we need to check that your electrical panel is coded to date,” he adds.
Mary looks like she wants to say no, but nods. And opens the door a little more. Before we can even speak, we need to make sure there isn’t a listening device. Mary moves farther into the room and points to the door leading to the basement but stops when she sees Falcon putting a finger to his lips telling her to keep quiet. Her eyes grow wide and her breathing becomes erratic. She holds her hands in front of her mouth.
“If you’ll just show us the way to your electrical panel, we’ll get started,” Falcon says, giving Mary an encouraging smile and nod.
“It’s…it’s right this way.” Mary leads us to the stairs going down to the basement. Falcon waves his hand along the kitchen, pointing out the spots to avoid for our conversation. He leads the way down the stairs. Thankfully, whoever is behind this didn’t think to bug this area, but to make sure, I took out our scanner.
It’s still prudent to keep our voices low. Falcon begins, “Mary, we’re trying to get your husband back. We need your help.”
Mary looks like she’s about to fall over. I grab her by the shoulder to brace her. “They’ll kill him. My Mitchell. They warned me not to talk to anyone. She’s going to be here any minute. She’ll know, and they’ll kill him,” she whispers, her lips quivering.
“Emmanuela is in on this. We already know. We need to put a trace on your phone so that when they call, we can narrow down where they’re holding Mitchell. Can you let us do that?” I ask.
“And Remmi. They have my baby girl,” Mary croaks with a sob.
I want to console this woman, but time is of the essence, and Bull and Phoenix can only keep Emmanuela busy for so long before she gets suspicious. “Hey, I get what you’re going through, but you need to get a hold of yourself and give us the information we need, then forget we were ever here,” I tell her.
Mary nods. “What if they find out?”
“To be perfectly honest, we’re the best shot at getting Remmi and Mitchell home safe. Once Mitchell has finished whatever they want him for, these people won’t think twice about killing them both,” Falcon tells her bluntly.
She swallows deeply, searching for courage. “What do you want me to do?”
“We’re going back upstairs. There are bugs everywhere to make sure you’re not talking to anyone. We’re going to ask about the plugs and sockets but will plant our own transmitter on the phone. If Mitchell has any paperwork or files, disk drives, or anything in this house, you need to hand them over. The cops are treating this as if Mitchell ran off. We want to find his car. Any ideas?” Falcon asks.
Meanwhile, in my ear, I can hear that Bull and Pheonix are being urged along.
“We’re running out of time,” I tell Falcon.
“All I remember is that Mitchell told me when they allowed him to speak to me that he loved our first date when we sat under the oak tree and went for our first picnic. Best day of his life, he said. That wasn’t our first date. It was our second. Then he mentioned to stay off the streets. Which is strange because he usually says, ‘Stay off the phone, honey, so when I call, I can be sure to get you and hear your voice,’” she says with a lump in her throat.
With Wire attached to my ear, I hear him say, “On it.”
“Going back upstairs now, Mary. All we talked about was where to find the panel, and then we checked your outlets. Okay?” Falcon says quietly.
“Please bring them home,” she pleads.
“We’re going to do our best,” he assures her.
In minutes, we’ve added our own bug and collected a couple of disks that Mitchell had hidden in the back of his closet while Falcon and I talked bullshit about plugs and wires to make it sound good for the idiots listening in. We move to leave, but Mary grabs my arm and mouths, Please find them.
“Have a great day, ma’am,” I tell her with a wink.
Sure enough, Emmanuela is standing out on the stoop, watching as we walk back to our truck. We made sure to bring two separate vehicles to make it look good. We go to four other houses and pretend to check out the electrical units, just in case Emmanuela keeps watching.
Phoenix and Bull meet us back at Storm to debrief before I head home to my Sadie.
Sadie
A movie with the girls is just what I needed to distract myself from thinking about Rebel all night. We’re at the tail end of the movie when all our cell phones go off within seconds of each other. Rebel’s name flashes on my screen, and I grab it before the second ring.
“Hi, honey,” I say.
His gruff, tired voice greets me. “Hey, sweetheart. I’ll be home in twenty.”
“Are you all right?” I just need to know he’s okay. My heart thuds rapidly in my chest.
“Right as rain, babe. It was a productive night, and we have more to go on now than we did before we started.”
“Come home. I miss you,” I say quietly.
“Gonna let you go so I can get in my car. Sooner I get there, the sooner I’m home,” he murmurs.
“Bye.”
“Wait up for me,” he replies before hanging up. I look up to see that both Maya and Kailyn are practically out the door.
“They’re on their way home. Yay!” Maya exclaims cheerfully.
“Thanks for keeping me company tonight. It’s good to have friends to lean on. I’ve been so busy working and finding my footing since moving here that I haven’t had the time to dedicate to good friends. I’m glad we found each other,” I tell them.
Kailyn comes in for a hug. “I am too.”
Maya then throws her arms around both of us. “It’s fate. We were all meant to meet and become gal pals,” Maya says with a giggle. “Tomorrow, ladies.”
I hardly have time to tidy up before Rebel comes through the door and heads right for me. He doesn’t slow his pace, and before I can blink, I’m lying on the sofa with Rebel half covering my body, his large hands framing my face. His mouth comes down hard on mine with a kiss that surpasses any other we ever had. His lips are soft, yet firm, slowly exploring, our tongues melding in a fine dance. He’s saying how much he loves me, just not in words. I feel the words in my heart. And when we draw apart, I can’t help but want to weep from the absolute beauty of his kiss.
“Good to be home, babe,” he says, his thumb grazing over the apple of my cheek.
I grin, clasping my hands over his still on my face. “Dinner for one isn’t fun,” I tease.
“I promise not to make it a habit. But it’s going to happen, Sadie.” He looks deeply into my eyes, searching for my response.
“I have to work shifts. There are going to be nights when I’m not home,” I remind him.
“Fuck that! I’ll come to the hospital and bring dinner, and we’ll eat together,” he replies with a snort.
“I know you’re kidding, but just saying, any time I get with you is fabulous.”
“Just wait and see, sweetheart,” Rebel says, then lifts himself off the couch, taking me with him and walking us both to bed.