8. 8 #2
“So there is something going on over there. The videos are real?” He asked.
“I don’t exactly have access to the internet right now to see these videos, but yeah, probably.”
“I’m getting in the car. I’m not stopping until you’re in it with me.”
“You can’t come here, dad.”
My dad let out a breath, huffing into the phone speaker. He always held it a bit too close to his mouth. “And I’m supposed to just let someone else look after you. Who exactly is this friend?”
“His name is Elias. He’s in the bathroom. I told him that you would want to talk to him, so he won’t be long.”
“Well you’re right, I do want to speak to him. Maybe speak some sense into him, make sure he knows how to protect you.”
“If you’d seen what I did today, I think you’d know how capable I am of taking care of myself,” I argued.
My mom cut in again. “Cassie, you know your father is on blood pressure medication. Please don’t upset him.”
“Rose, I’m already upset,” said my dad.
I heard the bathroom door open, and Elias emerged in a pair of sweatpants. Only sweatpants. I kept my gaze elsewhere because I respected my parents and they deserved my full attention.
“Here he is, dad, I’m putting the phone on speaker.” I searched around for a button but I didn’t see one. Elias leaned over my shoulder, and took care of it for me. I handed him the phone.
“Hello, sir,” he said, Special Agent Correa at the helm.
“What’s going on?” My dad repeated, hoping for more information from Elias.
“This line cannot be traced, but I can’t say the same for you. It’s probably best if we don't say anything regarding our situation.”
“Goddammit,” my dad muttered. “What can you say?”
“Your daughter is safe,” Elias said matter-of-factly.
“And you are going to protect her for me?”
“My arsenal is rather extensive. I can assure you, no one will harm Cassia.” It was interesting to see Elias speak like this, so professional, so controlled. I’d only caught glimpses of it in the last two days, and it would’ve been intimidating if I hadn’t known him more personally.
“Respectfully, son, who the fuck are you? Cassie’s never talked about you before.”
“Dad,” I said. “Relax. He was in the Army, he knows how to shoot a gun.”
Elias shot me a look, grateful or upset that I interrupted, I couldn’t tell.
“What unit?” My dad asked.
“82nd Airborne. Rangers. Delta,” Elias answered, a scowl on his face pointed directly to me. So, as it turned out, he was not grateful. Did he think he was bragging when he was simply telling the truth?
Silence from my father. Longer than what was comfortable.
“And now you’re a scientist?”
“No, sir. I work for the State Department,” he corrected. While not exactly the truth, it was close enough, and I understood why he wouldn’t go into details. Technically, I didn’t think he had a job. Though, I imagined he would get recruited into another secret agency soon enough.
It was rare that my father was left speechless, but the silence on the other end of the line was longer this time.
“How old are you? Elias, was it?” My mother stepped in to ask.
“I am thirty years old, ma’am.” I heard my mom try to cover the phone speaker, but we could still hear her through her hand. “He says ma’am and sir. He’s very respectful, Frank. I believe him.”
“I apologize for any assumptions,” my dad said, gruff.
“No offense taken,” said Elias.
I took the phone from him. “Are you satisfied with my escort? Or do you have any more questions?”
“Take me off speaker,” my dad ordered. With that, Elias walked away, and sat on his couch, kicking his feet onto the coffee table and spreading his arms along the back. Naturally, he pointed to a water bottle on the table and mouthed that it was for me.
“Okay, it’s just you and me,” I said.
Elias motioned for me to join him, patting the seat next to him, but I shook my head, gesturing to my dirty pants.
“It’s a leather couch,” he whispered. “I’ll wipe it off.
” I shook my head again. “Then take off your pants.” I couldn’t ignore his insistence, but I wasn’t putting my bare ass on the couch.
I sat down next to him, keeping my feet flat on the floor to minimize the damage.
I leaned back, using his arm as a head rest.
“This guy is the real deal, Cass?” My dad asked.
“Oh yeah,” I said. “It’s hard to believe, I know, but you can trust me when I say that he knows what he’s doing.”
“So I don’t need to drive out there?”
I laughed. “Please don’t.”
Elias leaned over, putting his face in my neck, and trailed kisses up to my jaw.
I found it difficult not to pant into the phone.
“When something this big is happening, you’ve got to call us more often. We were worried sick about you, honey.” My dad’s voice was much softer now.
“I promise this was the first opportunity I had.”
Elias’s free hand crept to my stomach and rubbed the hem of my shirt between his fingertips, his fingers grazing along my skin underneath.
“I believe you,” my dad said.
“I do need to go, though. I need to shower and eat and figure out our next move.” We hadn’t discussed dinner, and I wouldn’t be upset if that wasn’t possible for us, but I had to say something to get off the phone before Elias took off my clothes.
Speaking of Elias, his hand had found my cheek, and his lips had traveled upward until he lightly bit my earlobe.
Oh, my God.
“Please call us soon.”
“I will dad, I promise.”
“We love you, Cass.”
“I love you, too.”
Elias’s hand on my cheek reached up to flip the phone shut, and turned my head toward his, accomplishing his goal of putting his lips to mine. He was gentle, his tongue almost asking permission to meet mine. I had a hard time saying no to him, so I obliged, leaning into him.
He pulled away again, sighing. “I need to feed you.”
“Yourself, too, I hope,” I said.
“That’s what you’re for.” He said it so deadpan, so earnestly, that it was near impossible not to slap him, shove him away, roll my eyes, or a combination of all three.
“You’re insane, by the way. For doing that while I was on the phone,” I admonished him.
“At this point I’m having a hard time controlling myself,” he admitted. “Trying to cope, I think.”
“Such a stark difference from the man on the phone,” I pointed out. “You seemed to control the words coming out of your mouth, at least.”
He smirked. “That’s different. I don’t want to fuck your dad.”
My head fell back and I took a deep breath. More important things, Cassie, more important things. A cigarette would be nice. That was toward the top of the list. Any sort of food would be helpful, and a shower. I really needed a shower.
“I smell like shit. I don’t mean that I just smell bad, I mean that I smell like actual shit. I really would like to use your shower. And if you don’t mind, I could use some fresh clothes,” I insisted.
“You want some company in there?” He asked. I considered it. We might be more productive if we just got it out of the way. We’d mess around for a while, I’d get clean in the process, and we could discuss the more important things with clear minds.
“That was a joke,” Elias said. “I didn’t expect you to think about it so hard. No, Cassie, I’m gonna look in the freezer and see what I’ve got for food.”
Damn. I was about to say yes.