Ryan spotted Lauren in the kitchen from his seat outside. He excused himself and headed inside. "Hey sis, you need any help with anything?" he asked setting his beer bottle on the counter.
"Actually, yes I do. You know that closet that's next to the room you stay in?" Ryan nodded. "I have gifts for all of you guys in there. Can you go get them for me?"
"Sure. Anything else?"
"Nope, not that I can think of. The gifts are in the two big brown bags on the second shelf." She watched Ryan disappear down the hallway. He seemed to be in better spirits.
Opening the refrigerator door, the sweet smell of fresh cut up watermelon hit her nose. It smelled divine. Lauren grabbed the bowl of watermelon as well as the meat and cheese board she had prepared earlier, and headed outside to feed her hungry guests.
"All right, sorry for the wait. I brought some food," Lauren said setting the platter down on the coffee table. "Looks like you guys drank all the beer already. Rough day at work or what?" Lauren joked.
"Nah, just the usual, but your brother was the one who drank most of them. Something is up with him," Frank said grabbing a few pieces of cheese and crackers..
"He was talking on the phone when we came out here. He was talking to a guy named Jake, and said he would get the money when he could then hung up," Calleigh added.
Lauren knew this wasn't the girlfriend troubles he spoke of earlier. Racking her brain, she tired to think of anyone they knew named Jake, but the only person she could think of was Jake Berkeley, the undercover ATF Agent. If Ryan's issue involved police work then getting the money wouldn't be an issue. Horatio wouldn't look worried; Calleigh wouldn't have mentioned anything about it; Eric would've made a joke about it. "I don't know guys…" Lauren trailed off. "I'm sure it will work itself out."
Upstairs, Ryan had located the gifts Lauren had asked him to get. He was thankful she needed some help. It gave him a few minutes alone, away from everyone's glaring eyes. He grabbed his phone. The last thing he wanted was to miss Jake's calls. As he was about to head back outside his phone received a text message. It was from Jake. It read: Get the money to me or the person who you love won't know what hit her… "Shit," he said out loud as he heard footsteps coming from behind him.
"You okay, Wolfe," came Speed's voice.
"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. I-I just jammed my toe on the door," he lied.
"You sure about that? The door is already open, and I saw you looking at your phone. You want to talk about it?"
Ryan, a little taken aback said, "Yeah man, I'm sure. No, I don't want to talk about it." He grabbed both bags, handed one to Speed. "Here, can you help me take this outside. Lauren wants them."
Ryan began making his way downstairs, but Speed stepped in front of him stopping Ryan in his tracks. "I know that tone of voice, Wolfe. Lauren is the same way when she's worried or upset about something." Ryan said nothing; his heart was racing. "I'm going to say this one time and one time only… do not get Lauren involved in whatever the hell is going on with you. She would, and will do anything for you no matter what. She means everything to me, and I'm not about to lose her to your stupid shenanigans, whatever they may be." Speed left Ryan to his unpleasant thoughts. Ryan needed to get that money and fast.
"God help me," he Ryan to himself, and followed Speed outside.
