Chapter 5 #2
We stayed like that for a long moment, both of us breathing hard. Eventually she climbed off my lap and disappeared down the hallway. I dealt with the condom and pulled my jeans back on.
When she came back, she was wearing my shirt and nothing else.
"You keep stealing my clothes," I said.
"You keep leaving them here."
"Fair point."
We ended up back on the couch, her tucked against my side, the movie playing in the background. This was dangerous. This feeling of contentment, of belonging. I was getting too comfortable, too attached.
And I still hadn't told her the truth.
"Can I ask you something?" she said after a while.
"Yeah."
"Your partner who died. What happened to him?"
I tensed. This was the conversation I'd been avoiding. But she'd opened up about Jake, about the guilt she carried. I owed her something real.
"His name was Danny. We went through school together, got assigned to the same company. He was my best friend." I stared at the TV without seeing it. "Two years ago, we were working on a job. I didn't share with him because I thought I was protecting him."
"What kind of information?"
"It’s complicated. Danny walked into a trap alone. By the time I got there, it was too late."
Her hand found mine. "That's not your fault."
"I was his partner. I should have told him what I knew. Should have trusted him to handle it." I looked at her. "Instead, I tried to protect him. And he died because of it."
“Did they catch the guys that did it?”
“Not yet.” Soon, I promised myself.
"I didn’t think security consultation was dangerous."
“It can be.”
“Are you in danger?”
I couldn’t lie to her anymore than I already was. “Sometimes. But I can take care of myself.”
“This sounds really ominous and not at all boring. You’ve got women screaming at you and a death.” Her eyes were wide.
"It’s okay. I’m still a little raw from Danny.”
"I'm sorry you lost him," she said.
"Me too."
"Thank you for telling me," she said eventually. "I know that wasn't easy."
"You told me about Jake. Seemed fair."
"Still. I appreciate it."
I kissed the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Vanilla and rose. A scent I'd probably remember forever.
We watched the rest of the movie, then she led me to her bedroom. The sex was slower this time. More deliberate. I took my time learning her body, what made her gasp, what made her moan. When she came, it was with my name whispered against my neck.
After, she fell asleep with her head on my chest and her leg thrown over mine. I lay there listening to her breathe, knowing I was in too deep to walk away now.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I reached for it carefully, not wanting to wake her.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I reached for it carefully, not wanting to wake her.
Someone I didn't recognize was approaching 4G. They were carrying a backpack.
I eased out from under Samantha and grabbed my jeans from the floor. Pulled them on and went to her living room, closing the bedroom door behind me.
I called Reeves, keeping my voice low.
"We've got movement. Unknown subject entering 4G with a backpack."
"The supplier?"
"Maybe. Can't see the face from this angle."
"Stay on it. I'm sending backup to the perimeter."
I pulled up the feed on my phone, watching as the person disappeared into the apartment. This could be it. The break we'd been waiting for.
Twenty minutes passed. Thirty. The person emerged without the backpack.
"They left the package," I told Reeves. "Subject leaving the building now."
"Street team's on them. Good work, Spencer."
“Let me know if when you want me to move on 4G.”
“Hold for now.”
I hung up and stood in Samantha's living room, staring at the dark screen. We were close. Maybe a few more days and this would be over.
Then I could tell her everything.
I went back to bed and pulled her close. She made a sleepy sound and burrowed into my chest.
"Everything okay?" she mumbled.
"Yeah. Just needed some water."
"Mmm. Come back to bed."
"I'm here."
She fell back asleep within seconds. I lay there watching her, memorizing the curve of her cheek, the way her lashes cast shadows in the moonlight.
I love you, I thought. But I didn't say it out loud. Not yet. Not until I'd earned the right to say it honestly.
She shifted in her sleep, her hand curling into my shirt.
I held her tighter and prayed I wasn't making a mistake that would cost me everything.
Just a few more days. Then I can be real with you.
The next morning, I woke to find her already up, standing at her bedroom window with a cup of coffee. She was wearing my shirt from last night, her hair messy and beautiful.
"Morning," I said.
She turned and smiled. "Morning. I was just watching the sunrise."
I got out of bed and went to her, wrapping my arms around her from behind. We stood like that for a while, not talking, just being.
"I have to go into the office early today," she said finally. "Emergency session with a client."
"Everything okay?"
"I hope so. He sounded upset on the phone."
Kyle, probably. I forced myself not to react.
"Be careful," I said.
She turned in my arms. "It's just a counseling session. What could go wrong?"
Everything. But I couldn't tell her that.
"Just be careful anyway."
She kissed me. "You worry too much."
After she left, I went back to my apartment and reviewed the footage from last night. The person who'd delivered the backpack had been careful, keeping their face hidden from cameras. But we had their build, their gait. It was something.
My phone rang. Reeves again.
"Street team lost the supplier. They got into a car and disappeared."
"Damn it."
"But we got the plates. Running them now. And Spencer, that backpack they delivered? It's full of product. High-grade stuff. We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars."
"So the dealers are planning something big."
"Looks like it. Which means we need to move soon. Before they distribute it and we lose our chance."
"How soon?"
"Few days. Maybe a week. Be ready."
He hung up.
I sat at my monitors, watching the empty hallway outside 4G. A few more days. That's all I needed. Close the case, then come clean with Samantha.
It had to work. Because the alternative was losing her, and that wasn't something I could accept.
My phone buzzed with a text from her: Client session went okay. See you tonight?
I typed back: Can't wait.
Another lie. Another secret.
But soon, I told myself. Soon I'd be able to give her the truth.
I just hoped she'd still want me after she heard it.