I used to have a soft southern glowing face
I used to lead my heartaches away on the chase
When you get stung with the heart of a little child
Well, that's how you get that rattle snake smile
Rattle Snake Smile - Christian Kane
"Excuse me. I'm looking for a Nathan Ford. I was told someone here would know where I could find him."
Overhearing the voice - a sweet, yet sultry southern drawl - Nate glanced up from his newspaper. The voice matched the woman. Looking like a fish out of water, she stood at the bar in worn jeans and with a guitar case in one hand: an all-American red-haired beauty with pale skin. He wondered briefly if she were a true redhead.
"I'm Nate Ford," he rose and walked over to her, with a welcoming grin. She couldn't be more than 25-years old and was obviously not a "big city" girl.
"Hi," she said shyly. "I think you can help me find Eliot. Eliot Spencer?"
Of course, she was looking for Eliot. Nate wasn't surprised.
"Yes. Can I tell him who is looking for him?" he asked casually as he held out his hand to her. She stopped and stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before responding.
"Umm...yeah. I'm Kate. We're…old friends." She seemed hesitant and nervous, but he didn't sense that she was lying. As they shook hands, he watched her and she glanced away under his scrutiny. "You want a drink while you wait?" He gestured to Ted, the bartender.
"Sure, a beer would be great. A shot of Jack would be even better."
Chuckling, he resisted the urge to point it that it was just after noon. "Ted, give the lady a shot of Jack with a beer chaser. And I'll have another coffee."
Kate followed him to the table and, after placing the guitar in the booth beside her, she slid in with a sigh. Nate sat across from her and wondered how much he should try to find out about her before he called Eliot. Nosiness got the better of him, of course.
"You're not from here, are you?" he said before sipping the final bit of his coffee.
"No."
When she didn't offer any further explanation, he cocked his head to the side and waited. She finally looked up at him, her eyes leveled to his own and held eye contact.
"Obviously I'm not from around here," she said, her voice flat. "Look, Nate, I was told you could get me in touch with Eliot. I've driven a long way and I really don't feel like much small talk so could you just, you know, get me in touch with Eliot?"
Ted came over with her drinks and refilled his coffee. Before he finished pouring, she had already knocked back the Jack and took a slow pull on the beer. Not so delicate after all.
"All right, Kate." He forced his most charming smile. At this point, he wondered if all the women from Eliot's past were so pissed off.
Pulling the phone from his pocket, he pressed the speed dial for Eliot. As usual for what he considered 'early', Eliot was in a mood.
"Damn! I'm on my way. I told you I'd be there before one. Give me five fuckin' minutes," Eliot said, without even giving Nate a chance to speak.
The girl looked around nervously before she turned back to him. She shrugged slightly, a flicker of guilt in her eyes before she took an intense interest in her beer bottle, staring a hole through it. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm not normally such a bitch. It's just been a long day already."
"It's fine. Anything I can help you with?"
She shook her head. "Just something I need to do and get it over with."
After a long silence, Nate looked over at the guitar case. "Are you in town for a gig or something?"
"What?" Confusion crossed her face before she glanced down at the guitar beside her. Apparently she had forgotten it was there; too easily, as if it were a prop. "Oh, hell no, I can't even play."
Frustrated that he wasn't getting anything much out of her, Nate turned toward the door just as Sophie entered. She ordered coffee, then walked over to their table, a note of hesitation in her steps. Nate signaled her over with his eyes. Maybe she could get something out of the woman.
"Hello." She appraised the young woman with a curious smile.
"Sophie, this is Kate." Kate's eyes turned to the other woman and he observed the transformation. Her shyness seemed to fade to a tough exterior.
She held out her hand and shook Sophie's firmly. "Hi." The accent faded slightly as well. Interesting. Reminded him of Eliot's approach when he was dealing with women versus men. Apparently, she had played up the small town country girl bit for him but Sophie intimidated her. Very interesting and a little bit insulting to him.
"She's an old friend of Eliot's," Nathan added so Sophie wouldn't think she was a client. Standing up, he let her slide into the booth beside him.
"Eliot didn't mention an out-of-town guest," she replied before putting her hand on Kate's arm, turning on her nurturing charm. "I'm sure this will be a pleasant surprise for him"
Nathan studied Kate's reaction over the coffee cup. At first she acted like she wanted to move her arm away but she restrained herself with obvious effort and instead smiled sweetly at Sophie.
"I doubt he'll see it as pleasant."
Now that worried Nate. But before he could say anything, Eliot and Hardison walked in, arguing about something. Nate continued watching Kate out of the corner of his eye. The girl tensed up and took a few more hits off her beer.
"No, dammit, you lost last night," Eliot argued with Hardison. "If you're going to welch on a bet, you might not want to do it with someone who could kick your ass to Canada and back."
"I'm not welching. You cheated…"
"Eliot?" Nate stood and gestured to Kate with his head. "Someone has been looking for you."
Kate slid out of the booth and turned to face Eliot. There was no recognition on his face, just suspicion until she finally said, "Hello, Drew."
Eliot's eyes flickered around the bar, instantly alert before he studied her for a few more minutes. After a double take, he suddenly blurted out in disbelief, "Wait…Katie?"
The girl blushed and glanced away with a slight smile. "It's actually just Kate now."
Eliot smiled brightly and grabbed her in a tight bear hug before lifting her off her feet. "Holy shit! You grew up, Munchkin. Where's your brother? That asshole hasn't been returning my calls."
When Eliot returned her to her feet, Nate saw sadness replace her embarrassment.
"Well…he's got a good reason for that. John died five months ago."
oOooOo
Eliot felt as if he'd been slapped in the face. He jerked away from Katie and walked to the bar, ordering a double Jack Daniel's. When Ted brought it over, he threw the shot back and then took the bottle from the bartender. If Ted thought of arguing the point, he didn't say a word.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Eliot heard Nate saying to Katie and he swung around.
"What the fuck happened to him? And why did you wait so long to tell me?" Eliot shot out.
Apparently caught off guard, Katie struggled for a minute before she laughed bitterly. "Sorry. What with burying my brother and trying to salvage what was left of his property, I was too damn busy to chase a ghost."
Walking to her, he towered over her. "Don't shoot me attitude. You knew he was like a brother to me. You should have called."
She glared at him as she took a step back. "I did call. At least I called the only number I had for you. I tore his office apart looking for some other way. It wasn't until I sold that old Mustang that I found the note in his glove compartment with information on how to get in touch with someone named Nathan Ford about someone named Eliot Spencer. So I, once again, tore apart his office and his computer to find out who the hell Eliot Spencer was."
Guilt hit Eliot like a ton of bricks. "Yeah…well, I guess my name has changed."
"Apparently, not just your name." Turning around, she grabbed the guitar and shoved it into his chest. Then she dug into her jeans pocket and produced a set of keys and a business card. "Here. He wanted you to have the bike and his guitar. The bike's at that storage unit. I put it in the name Eliot Spencer and used John's birthday as the pass-code. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a long drive."
She pushed past him and started towards the door. Tossing the guitar and the bottle of Jack at Nate, Eliot ran after her. "Wait, Katie."
"Kate," she said through clenched teeth.
He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I was just stunned. Stay. I want to know what happened."
Kate stared at the door for the longest time. He couldn't help but notice how much the stubborn set of her jaw looked like John's. But like her mother, her beauty appeared soft and fragile at times. Anguish swelled within as he reached up and gently brushed back a stray strand of hair from her face. She still had a dusting of freckles across her nose. Tears filled her eyes. Eliot put his arms around her and held her tightly. He felt her sobbing against his chest and he swallowed hard at the sorrow that threatened to choke him.
"Eliot, why don't we go upstairs where you two can talk more privately?" he heard Sophie suggest and he nodded.
Following the three of them up the stairs, Eliot kept his arm around Katie even though she'd stopped crying. Parker jumped off the counter when they walked in.
"Did you bring food?" Parker stopped when she saw the stranger and began sizing her up.
"Why don't you two go into the bedroom?" Nate suggested.
When they were in Nate's bedroom, Kate walked over to the window and stood with her back to him. Eliot still couldn't believe this was little Katie. She was barely fourteen when he'd returned home for her parents' funeral. The little girl had grown up into a beautiful woman in the last twelve years.
"He always wanted to come visit you. He kept saying that when I was old enough to maintain the ranch for a few months he was going to go see the world. He'd hoped you'd come with him," she said quietly. "But I always had things to do. I kept putting off learning about the business until…well, until it was too late."
Eliot walked over and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. "After your parents died, he wanted you to live your life on your own terms not on his. Do all the things he hadn't been able to do. He was proud of your successes."
"That's what he said. But now, I just feel selfish and spoiled. He gave up his dreams, so I could have a life."
She smelled like home to him, like spring flowers and fresh apples. He couldn't help but hold her a little closer, just breathing her in, attempting to sooth away some of the raw pain inside. She leaned against him and, if it weren't for their closeness, he wouldn't have heard her next words. "It was an accident. They say he was drunk and that's why he drove into the side of a cliff."
Eliot squeezed his eyes shut and took a few moments to respond. When he did, his voice was strained. "When did he fall off the wagon again?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I never knew he had. Apparently no one else knew either or at least that's what everyone said at his funeral. But the police said he had an unbelievable amount of alcohol in his blood. The cops couldn't understand how he even made it out to the car much less drove the five miles to where he finally lost control. I tried to hire someone to find out more but I didn't have the money after his assets were frozen. And when the estate was settled, there wasn't enough left."
"What?" Eliot turned her around. "What do you mean? You and your brother had millions in trust after your parents' death."
"Not anymore. Apparently he also had a gambling problem I didn't know about. The ranch, the horses, the money – it's all gone. I had enough to pay off the rest of the debts out of his insurance money, but apparently he's been borrowing from my account as well," Katie replied. "I never knew anything was wrong until it all fell apart around me."
Eliot stared at her in stunned silence. There was no way John would have touched a penny of his sister's money, no matter how bad his problems had gotten to be. "Your brother would have sold everything he owed before he took money from you," he replied.
"I thought so too. But apparently, he was in over his head. His accountant and the lawyer showed me all the transfers and paperwork. All that was left was his Mustang and the Harley that he'd never transferred from Dad's name to his name. They were protected from the debtors." She gently caressed his face before wrapping her arms around his neck. "He was sick; an addict. He was just in too deep."
Eliot shook his head. "I talked to him six months ago. He didn't mention anything about money problems. He would have asked me for money before taking yours. You know that."
Flickers of doubt crossed her face. "I thought I knew that but…the paperwork, the accounts…"
A cold feeling rushed over him and his fists clenched tightly. "There are ways to make things look completely different than they are. And I'm going to find out what happened. Trust me. John would not have gambled away any of your money or your family's ranch."
There was a light knock and Eliot walked over to jerk the door open. Nate blinked in surprise before asking, "We have an appointment. Hardison can handle your part, but we wanted to let you know we're leaving."
"You can't handle it all by yourself," he replied, torn between the need to finish the job they started and the desire to stay to get to the bottom of this.
"If you've got work to do, we can talk later. I'll get a hotel room and come back tonight." Katie came up behind him.
"We can figure out a way to work it without you, Eliot. You're in no condition to be on a job anyway…"
Eliot glared at Nate for a few moments before tempering his look and turning to Katie. "You can stay here until we're done. It won't take us that long. I'll come back and you can stay at my place. There's no way you're staying at a hotel."
Nate hesitated a moment before he stepped back with a smile. "Sure. If you get hungry, just go rummage through the kitchen."
"I don't want to impose…"
"No, I insist. Any friend of Eliot's and all that," Nate waved off her protests.
As soon as she walked past him into the living room, he pulled Eliot aside. "Should we leave her alone? What if she 'accidentally' stumbles on something about what we do?"
"Frankly, Nate, I don't think she'll care at this point." Eliot crossed his arms over his chest. "John is – was - like a brother to me. He knew what I did for a living. I trusted him completely. His parents practically raised me and she's his kid sister. They're decent, honest people that know when to keep something quiet."
"If you're sure…"
"I am." Walking down the hallway, he saw the team standing around watching Katie uncertainly. "Parker, Hardison, this is Katie, I mean, Kate."
Hardison smiled and held out his hand, to shake hers. Parker glanced at Eliot then shrugged before adding, "Don't eat all the popcorn or look under Nate's bed."
Katie tilted her head and cut her eyes at Eliot. He shrugged and muttered to her, "Parker is kind of hard to explain. I'll be back in a few hours." He kissed her on the forehead and followed the others out the door.
oOooOo
Sophie walked beside Eliot and he knew she had something to say. She put her hand on his arm as they were almost at the van. "I'm sorry about your friend."
He waited for her to continue but she didn't, so he nodded and kept walking. Climbing into the van, he noticed how Hardison glanced over at him and quickly looked away. Parker opened her mouth to say something and Eliot put up his hand.
"We've got a job to do and I need to focus on that right now. So quit watching me like I'm some kind of zombie or something."
"Ohhh! I love Zombies." Parker replied with a goofy smile.
"Man, you left yourself open for that one." Hardison chuckled, despite himself.
oOooOo
The job was done. It had gone a little rougher than expected and Eliot was nursing a black eye and a bruised rib or two. He focused on the pain in an attempt to distract his mind from what was really bothering him. Back at Nate's, he found Katie asleep on the couch. Eliot lingered in the doorway, watching her. His heart ached; for her, for himself.
Sophie put her arm around him, rubbing his back lightly. He dropped his head and took a deep breath. He hated asking for favors. He didn't want his personal life and his work to overlap. But, he also knew that there were some things he couldn't do. Everyone seemed to be waiting for him to speak. The silence grew tense and he looked up.
Everyone but Parker was studying him. Parker seemed to be more intrigued by Katie. In a low voice, he finally asked Hardison, "Can you check into something for me? Keeping it low key."
"Of course. Whatever you need, Bro."
Eliot walked to the table and wrote down all the information he could think of about John and his family. Handing the paper to Hardison, he explained. "Just find out what really happened with the crash and track the money. His accountant and lawyer say he gambled it away, including Katie's money. But he's not a thief."
Hardison nodded and replied, "I'll work on it now. I'll call you when I know something." Grabbing his laptop, he walked over to the table and began punching keys.
Eliot walked over to wake up Katie, but he felt Nate's eyes on him. He paused before confronting him. "Don't get involved."
"Too late. We're a team."
Running his hand through his hair, Eliot shook his head. "Look I appreciate all the rah-rah, go team mode and everything, but this is personal. If Hardison can just get me the intel, I'll handle the rest. I'm not getting you guys involved."
Nate walked over and put his hand on his shoulder. "Blackpool was personal. You've had our back for awhile. Let us have your back this time, all right?"
Eliot didn't know what to say. He wanted to refuse but he knew that it wouldn't do any good.
"Drew?"
He walked over to the couch and crouched with a grin. "You have to get used to calling me Eliot now, especially in public. Let's go. I'll get you settled in at my place and make you some food."
Katie sat up quickly. "Only if you remember to call me Kate." She started at his appearance and gingerly touched his face. He winced and she jerked her hand back. "What the hell happened? Have you been in a fight?"
"I'm fine. I've had much worse." She appeared skeptical so he chuckled. "Don't worry. The other guys are in much worse shape. Come on." He reached out his hand.
oOooOo
Kate wasn't too surprised that Eliot's apartment was sparsely furnished, but neat as a pin. He put her bags in the only bedroom and insisted he'd take the couch.
Going into the bathroom, she grabbed a washcloth and wet it. She pushed him to sit down on the bed and, bending over him, cleaned up the dried blood on his face.
"You're a mess. Do I even want to know what happened?" she asked before she went into the kitchen and grabbed some ice. "Here, let me look at your side." He resisted when she attempted to pull off his shirt.
"I'm fine."
She rolled her eyes. "You're not fine so stop being a stubborn hard-ass." She pulled harder on the shirt and he finally released it. Seeing all the bruises and scars on his chest and stomach, she gaped in surprise. "I don't know what the hell you're into but you need to stop before you get yourself killed."
He watched her in silence as she checked out his bruises, her fingers tracing the most recent ones gently. When she pushed on one of his ribs, he sucked in his breath raggedly and grabbed her wrist. "What have you been doing? John said you were into something a little intense but I had no idea you were getting yourself beaten up for a living."
Eliot didn't release her wrist so she sat back on her heels. She waited for him to answer and, when he didn't, she glanced up surprised at the way he was watching her.
"It's complicated," he said, releasing her wrist.
Suddenly she felt heat rushing through her at the intensity of his gaze. She'd had a crush on him when she was a kid, but she wasn't a kid anymore and, by the way he was watching her, she knew he was aware of that as well. Boldly, she ran her hands up his chest. His eyes followed hers as she pretended to be studying his scars, while moving even closer to him.
Her hair brushed against his face and he reached up, pushing it behind her ear. Gazing intently into his eyes, she brushed her lips across a jagged scar on his shoulder.
"Katie," he whispered and closed his eyes. "You shouldn't…"
She placed her hands on his shoulders when she stood between his legs. "Stop calling me Katie and you'll stop thinking of me as a little girl."
"No, I won't do this. You're his little sister. It's wrong." Eliot stood up but she was so close to him that he only made the situation worse by bringing their bodies almost touching.
"Why does it feel so right then?" she whispered as she tilted her head back to look up at him. When he didn't answer, she closed the distance between them and kissed him on the neck, feeling him tense against her. "I've lost everything. I just need to feel alive again."
Eliot cradled her face in his hands, trailing his thumb across her lower lip. "I'm not going to take advantage of your grief. I'm not going to be that guy."
The rejection stung and she struck back. "I could find another. Some random stranger who forgets my name the minute he sinks his cock into me. Would that be better?" She attempted to pull away but he lowered his hands to grip her arms.
"Don't play games with me. I'm trying to respect you; do the right thing."
Feeling an irrational anger growing inside of her, Kate retorted, "Trust me, doing the right thing is fucking overrated. I need someone tonight and if you can't give me what I need then…"
She wasn't prepared for him to take a few steps and press her back against the wall, hard enough to make her gasp. "Stop it," he warned in a low voice. "I understand you've been through a lot but I'm not playing games with you."
"I'm not asking you to marry me, Eliot. I'm asking you to fuck me. If you find that so damn repulsive then I will go find someone else who can do the job." Kate attempted to push him away, but he held her firmly. "Son of a bitch!" she yelled as her anger grew.
Eliot glowered at her, gripping her arms tighter. She bit her lip, a little afraid, a lot aroused. He roughly grabbed the back of her neck. Crushing his lips down on hers, he drove his tongue deep inside her mouth, hungrily. She moaned and pulled him closer, feeling his hot skin against hers.
He grabbed her hair and pulled so her face was to him. His eyes were wild with passion and fury. "Is this what you really want?" Before she could answer he tilted her neck to the side, sucking his way down her throat. When he bit down on her shoulder, she gasped in surprise, digging her nails into his back.
Jerking her to him, he dragged her to the bed and threw her down on it. Both of them were out of breath and watching each other. She knew he was giving her a chance to stop him, thinking he'd scared her with his roughness. If he knew how turned on she was, he probably would have taken her up against the wall.
Sitting up on the edge of the bed, Kate pulled him to her by his belt buckle. "Isn't this what you want?" She trailed her fingers over the budge in his jeans, daring him to deny it.
He put his finger under her chin and whispered. "I'm not going to lie to you. I want you right now. But you and I both know you deserve better than me. I'm not even in your league."
Kate thought about what he said for a few moments before standing. As she undid his belt buckle, she said, "I need you right now, so for tonight, let's just pretend you don't even know me or that you think of me as some proper, rich, society girl. Tonight, I'm just some woman you picked up in a bar."
When he grabbed her hands again, she whispered, "Please…I want - no I need - you to let this happen."
Eliot sighed and hesitated before releasing her hands. He looked so conflicted that she almost stopped, but a combination of passion and desperate need to connect to him kept her fingers in motion. She wanted him more right now than she'd ever wanted anyone else.
His phone rang. "Fuck." Digging in his pocket, he grabbed it and tried to pull away. "I need to take this."
He turned his back on her and answered the phone. Kate wrapped her hands around his waist to continue unbuttoning his jeans. Eliot stifled a groan when she wrapped her hand around his cock, stroking it firmly.
"Nothing's wrong," he said to whoever was on the phone. His hand wrapped around hers as he leaned back against her chest. She grinned and released him. Walking in front of him, she watched his eyes as she pulled her shirt off. She boldly slid the straps of her bra down then reached back to unfasten it, letting her breasts spill out as the bra fell to the floor.
"Let me call you back," he said as he hung up the phone, throwing it to the side.
oOooOo
Eliot felt his body betray him. He wanted to refuse her but it was impossible at this point. But he needed - needed - to gain some control. He tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her into his arms, his mouth closing over hers.
The phone rang again. He ignored it, pulling Katie with him as he lay back on the bed. Growling when the phone rang again, he shifted so he could reach out for it. She laughed and pressed his arm against the mattress. He knew he could easily have moved but he lost any desire to when she straddled him, sitting up on her knees. Reaching up with his free hand, he caressed her breast.
Katie gracefully arched her back as his thumb flicked across her nipple. Her eyes held his until the phone rang again.
"Fuck! Let me get the damn phone or they'll just keep calling." He reached for the phone but she got to it first and turned the phone off.
He hesitated for a moment, debating how serious the calls could be. Katie resumed kissing him, her hot skin against his making him really not care about who was calling. He devoured her mouth as he held her hips flush with him, grinding himself against her. She whimpered softly, the most erotic sound he'd heard in a long time.
He forgot about John, the team, and damn near everything else but the need to bury himself in her. Her lithe body slithered against him in an erotic dance. He captured her lip in between his teeth, grasping her hair. Flipping them both over, he ignored the sharp pain in his ribs and moved his hand to her waistband, unbuttoning and unzipping her jeans in a flash.
They both jumped when they heard the knock on the door. Eliot quickly fastened his jeans and jumped up.
"Wait!" she attempted to stop him as she grabbed her shirt off the floor. The knocking increased to pounding.
Running to the door, he almost jerked it off its hinges as he opened it.
"What the fuck…" he yelled as Nate pushed past him.
"You know, the phone is a wonderful device for communication, Eliot. Oh that's right, you don't communicate if you don't have to," Hardison pushed past him as well, followed closely by Parker and Sophie.
"Your little friend is a con artist," Nate said. "If you had answered the phone, we could told you that we were on the way over here"
Hardison began setting up his laptop on the counter and Eliot replied, "I know you guys are all paranoid about people, but that's impossible. Look, I've known her all her life and she's anything but a con artist. She was a freakin' debutante, even had one of those coming out parties back home." He moved to stand in front of them so they couldn't see into the bedroom.
"Her brother wasn't the one with the gambling problem. Apparently she got mixed up with the wrong crowd and he was constantly bailing her out and covering it up." Hardison had pulled up the information on his screen and turned it in his direction. "Your 'debutante' is well known in a lot of different circles and not all of them are law-abiding."
"How well do you really know her, Eliot? People change over time, you know," Sophie pointed out.
Scanning the computer monitor, Eliot felt rage building in the pit of his stomach and coursing through his body. Headlines of arson, fraud, and embezzlement splashed across the screen.
He caught Katie out of the corner of his eye when she appeared in the bedroom doorway. The three men stared at her but Parker walked around them and grabbed her by the arms, slamming her against the door.
"No, Parker!" Eliot yelled and attempted to pry her fingers off Katie. Katie swung a right hook at Parker and the two women careened in his direction.
