Chapter 3 #2
“And yet another wanted to know why the starving people of the world didn’t just go to the nearest Walmart and buy some ramen since it was really cheap.”
Reese burst out laughing. “Okay, okay, I believe you,” she said when she had control over herself.
“And when a woman has both smarts and looks?” Spike continued. “She’s completely irresistible.”
They stared at each other for a long moment, Spike making sure his meaning was clear, before Reese blushed and looked down at the empty bowl in front of her.
Kicking himself for making her uncomfortable, and knowing his first priority had to be finding Woody, Spike squeezed her leg once more before slipping his hand out from under hers and picking up his napkin to wipe his mouth.
Deciding it was a good time to change the subject, he said, “So when we’re done here, we’ll head over to Isabella’s.
See if we can learn anything else from any neighbors, and then go from there.
If you want to stay here and rest up, since you’ve already been there, we’ll come back to get you before going anywhere else. ”
“Nope.”
“No? No what?” Spike asked.
“You aren’t leaving me behind. Wherever you go, I go. You’re not gonna run off and do your top-secret Army stuff without me.”
Spike couldn’t help but grin. “Top-secret Army stuff?” he asked with a small chuckle.
“Yeah, whatever it is you guys do. You’ll ditch me in a heartbeat, and I’m not having it.”
“First of all, we aren’t going to be knocking down doors and holding people at gunpoint to get answers.
I think your imagination is running amok.
We’re going to do the same thing you did…
try to communicate with people to see if they’ve seen Woody or Isabella recently.
Secondly, we aren’t going to ditch you.”
She looked at him skeptically.
“We aren’t. We respect your need to find your brother. You wouldn’t have come all the way down here if you weren’t concerned and you didn’t have his best interests at heart.”
Spike held up a hand when she opened her mouth to speak, continuing before she could interrupt.
“With that said, if shit goes sideways…I’ll stash you somewhere safe so fast, your head will spin.
Woody would kill me himself if even one hair on your head gets hurt.
So, I’m okay with you going with us while we’re searching for information, but if I think things are getting dangerous—in any way—you’re out. ”
“That’s not cool,” she said with a frown.
“When’s the last time you shot a gun?” he asked.
Reese pressed her lips together.
“That’s what I thought. What about running from someone who’s determined to get his hands on you to do harm?”
“That’s not fair,” she protested.
“Of course it’s not. Dealing with bad guys and assholes is never about fair.
I need you to be safe and healthy when we find Woody.
If you aren’t, he’s going to lose his mind.
And if Isabella is hurt, he’ll have to divide his loyalty between the two of you, which could make him reckless enough to do something stupid, which in turn could hurt any or all of us. ”
“Now you’re just being mean,” Reese pouted.
“I’m being realistic. Woody’s going to freak out as it is when he finds out you’re here.
While Colombia isn’t dangerous like an active war zone would be, there’s still plenty of corruption and people involved with the drug world who won’t think twice about taking a pretty American for their own nefarious intentions.
I’ve already promised to keep you in the loop.
All I’m asking is that if the shit hits the fan, you let Tiny and me take care of things, and you stay in whatever safe place we put you. ”
She stared at him for a long moment, and Spike held his breath. He wished he could stash her in her hotel room and make her stay there until he found her brother, but after everything Woody had said over the years about his sister, Spike knew without a doubt that wasn’t even an option.
“All right.”
He waited for her to say more. When she didn’t, he asked, “All right? You’ll do what Tiny and I say, and you’ll be cool if we tell you to stay behind because things are too dangerous?”
Reese sighed. “Yes. Look, I’m not stupid, Gus.
I have no idea what I’d do if someone pointed a gun in my face.
I’m really good at calculus or using elementary quantum mechanics to solve an equation that equals one, such as in the derivation of the Stefan-Boltzmann law, but running isn’t my thing.
Nor is getting out of handcuffs that are chained to a wall behind my back while a drug lord films my last words to send to my brother to try to extort thirty million dollars from him. ”
It was Spike’s turn to burst out laughing. “Right,” he said, staring at her for a long moment.
“What?” she asked a little belligerently.
“I like you,” he blurted.
She looked surprised, then confused, then skeptical. “You don’t know me.”
“Your favorite show when you were little was reruns of Wonder Woman with Lynda Carter. You like cherry yogurt, but not berry. You’re a morning person.
You’ve read a gazillion books in your life because you prefer books over TV or movies, and you’ve given over ten thousand dollars to charity in the last three years,” Spike said without missing a beat.
Reese’s mouth fell open. “What…how…holy crap!”
Spike smiled. “I know you,” he said unnecessarily. “Woody’s got a big mouth. But there are still a hundred other things I want to know about you but don’t.”
He waited…knowing she wasn’t going to be able to let his statement go. That was something else he knew about this woman. Her curiosity was extreme. It’s what made her such a good engineer.
“Like?”
“What you like to do on a first date. If you sleep with a top sheet or not. What your all-time favorite book is. What you prefer to eat for dessert. If you’d ever consider dating a former military man who sometimes struggles to live a normal life after everything he’s seen.”
He hadn’t meant to blurt out that last part. But after a long pause, she shrugged and said, “What’s normal, anyway?” Then added, “And there’s literally no point to a top sheet. I don’t even understand what it’s for.”
Spike grinned.
“We good to go here?” Tiny asked as he sat in his chair.
He jerked in surprise. Shit, his friend had totally gotten the drop on him, which wasn’t like Spike at all. Normally, he was aware of everyone at all times. Living through as many ambushes as he had would do that to a person.
“We’re good,” Reese said. “You good?”
“I’m good,” Tiny said with a small smile. “And how many times are we going to say good?”
“I’d say a good many more times,” Spike said.
The giggle that came from Reese felt like a warm blanket. He liked seeing her happy.
“Right. I’ll go pay and we can get going,” Tiny said with another small smile—this one aimed at Spike. And it was more like a smirk.
“Just put it on the room,” Reese told him as he stood.
“Not happening,” Tiny retorted as he headed for the hostess stand.
She turned to Spike and groused, “You guys are just like Woody.”
“Yup,” Spike agreed. “Come on, let’s go see what we can find out about your brother and Isabella.” He held his hand out to her…and something extremely satisfying flashed through him when she took hold and let him help her stand.
This woman was so far out of Spike’s league, he had no idea what her words meant earlier. Or who Stefan-Boltzmann was, or what the hell his law had to do with math. Didn’t matter. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to know.
But first…they needed to find Woody. Then he’d worry about the fact that he was more attracted to Reese Woodall than he’d been to any woman in a very long time.