N: one more after this and it's done. I did something a little different than my normal ways, but who knows how i worked out. There will be one more chapter down the road as i think of how i want to tie this all up, so be patient. With that, read on and enjoy! Also check out my books on amazon under Sydney Gibson, they are free on Kindle unlimited in Australia now! FREE BOOKS ARE AMAZING! ok, enjoy!
The night sky was clear, and full of stars. There was nothing to for the stars to hide in the big open land that was my father's ranch in Montana. I stood out on his wrap around porch, leaning against the railway and staring up into blue, black expanse. Smiling softly at the comforting peace being here gave me. There was no light pollution, no giant buildings chasing each other to see who could be the tallest, and there wasn't the usual bustling of people on the streets below.
Tugging the old quilt closer around my shoulders, I sighed, closing my eyes and going over the conversation Lauren and I had in the car. The awkward one that involved love. My gut told me I should've returned her words, told her the truth, and told her I felt the same. But I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth fearing it was going to turn into a lie by the time this was all over. I buried my chin into the blankets, and sighed heavily. The thirty hour car ride had been filled with chunks of uncomfortable silence, awkward chatter, and nothing as I took naps and she drove a little. Lauren never fell asleep, she would stare out the window in a catatonic state. She went back to barely eating anything, and the only time I knew she was okay, was when she would grab my hand and hold it in hers. It left me feeling strange. Strange in the way that Lauren was coming to peace with whatever fate she had crafted in her head. That the end was nigh and she was making her peace with the world around her. It left me hating my stupid rule about keeping the promise of putting her life first. I would have to remedy that the second Viv gave us the all clear.
"That girl is out like a light. Snoring like a grizzly in the middle of a winters sleep." My dad's deep voice wrapped around me like a warm hug. Soon his arm fell across my shoulders, pulling me into his side. "How are you doing, Ysabeau?"
I smiled, shaking my head, he was the only person left in my life that called me by my full name. "Okay, considering the situation at hand." I looked up at him. He looked like he fell out of a vintage Marlboro ad. Pure cowboy through and through. I laid my head on his shoulder. "Thank you for taking us in, and giving Lauren the good guest bed. She hasn't slept in almost thirty six hours, living on coffee and fear to keep her awake."
He chuckled, squeezing my arm. "Not a problem." He glanced down at me, his intense brown eyes meeting mine. "So, what's the full plan? What's the next move? And how close is this scumbag?"
"The plan is to wait here. The office is a day or two away from locking up a case and getting the appropriate warrants issued. After the president and his brother are secured in DOJ custody, I take Lauren home. Keep a light eye on her, and let justice do the rest. I know Cameron will take the full brunt of everything, his doings and his brothers." I looked up at the stars again. "I forgot how beautiful it is out here. I should come visit more often, and not when I need to hide."
My dad was quiet for a moment, before he spoke softly. "You're in love again, aren't you Ysabeau? I can see that look in your eye, the way you look at the girl upstairs, and the simple fact that you've opened up your pandora's box of secrets, and shared them with her." He glanced at me before looking up at the sky. "Hopefully she's worth breaking the promise you made to me all those years ago."
I swallowed hard, swallowing down the emotions that suddenly rose to the top of my throat. I had made a promise to my dad years ago. I promised him that I would be very careful with my heart after it had been broken, take my time in finding love, and do it the right way. He saw right through it all the second he opened the door and met Lauren. "How many seconds did it take you this time?"
His big bushy moustache twitched. "About twenty. It was in the way your eyes spoke the truth when you were telling her lies." He sighed, pulling me closer. "To be perfectly fatherly, she's a good one Ysabeau. I can tell in the way she carries herself. She loves you very much, but there's a inherent sadness in her smile." My dad shrugged. "Could be that she's being hunted, or it could be she's been heartbroken. But there's a sadness."
I nodded. "That would be my fault. Lauren confessed her feelings in the car as we drove here. Told me that she loved me, but I didn't reciprocate." I paused. "I couldn't, I can't."
"The job. The stupid job always keeping your humanity two steps behind you." My dad dropped his arm from me, moving to lean against the rail. "A lesson I learned far too late, far too old to fix it." He glanced my way, his eyes showing a hint of sadness. "Don't let it, Ysabeau. That girl is special and worth every sacrifice you have in you to give. In the morning, tell her how you feel over coffee. Get it out, and live." He turned to look out the huge field that was his front yard. "Something I should have told your mother that last morning I had with her."
I grabbed my dad's hand. "She knows. She always knew." I felt my eyes fill up with tears. My mother had passed away two years into my career with the CIA. It was an aggressive illness that came out of nowhere, and took her quickly. Too fast for my dad to retire from his own career and spend time with her.
My dad tipped his head down, nodding. "I know. But don't screw up like I did, don't let the ideals of a job interfere with your human nature." He looked at me with glassy eyes. "Even if the job and the one you love are one in the same." He suddenly smiled, it was his way of changing subjects. "So, what do you need from this old man of yours?"
I laughed, sniffling. "I think I finally figured out where my awkward ways came from. You are better at the transitions than I am, but it's still awkward." I squeezed his hand and looked over my shoulder. "You still keep your office in the barn?"
He stood up straight, running a hand over his mustache. "Moved it into a root cellar in the barn, it was easier to hide all the wiring and computers if I ran it underground." He motioned for me to follow him. "Let's go. I still have all of my U.S. Marshal access codes, let's see how close that bastard is."
I shook my head, smiling at how my dad strutted like a cowboy and followed him towards the barn. I let out a slow breath, at least I had another ally on my side in case Cameron landed on our front door.
XXX
I never got to have that heart to heart with Lauren over coffee. She slept through most of the next day and woke up when I was passed out. By then, my dad had taken a serious liking to her and was showing her how to ride a horse, and how to be a cowgirl. I ignored his advice, too relieved to see Lauren coming back to life, shucking the fear to the side and becoming the woman I longed to see every day. The one who laughed, smiled, joked, and carried herself free of fear.
We only had that full day and the next before the fear landed, and landed hard.
Cameron landed on the front steps of my dad's ranch two and half days later. He was smarter than my dad and I expected, and was able to use good ole detective skills to find where I had taken Lauren. Talking to the dealer I bought the truck from and following our trail across the country. He found us, found us unprepared and struck. Struck hard with the vengeance he had been stewing in since Lauren slipped out of his grasp.
"Ms. Dennis? Did you hear the question?"
I snapped out of my haze and turned from the glass window where I had been staring at the Empire state building in the distance. I cleared my throat before answering woman sitting across from me. "No, I'm sorry SAC Bettle, I'm still very tired from surgery. Can you please repeat the question?"
SAC Bettle smiled softly, nodding as she spoke. "I asked if you could recount the events of October 25th. From the moment Cameron Carlisle entered your father's house to the end, as best as you can remember."
I watched Bettle's eyes settle on my left arm that was encased in a sling, and throbbed under her stare. I nodded. "I can tell you up to the point I was injured, the rest is hearsay of what my dad told me when I woke up in the hospital." I sighed. "Everything happened so fast, that there isn't much to tell. Cameron wasn't one to drag things out. He came there with one goal in mind, kill the witness."
SAC Bettle smiled, opening up the notebook in front of her. "We have Your father's, Retired U.S. Marshal David Dennis, testimony on file. He gave it to us while you were in surgery, but we would like to hear your statement and corroborate everything."
I blew out a puff of air, shifting painfully in the seat. "Cameron showed up that morning, knocked on the front door like he was an expected guest." I clenched my jaw as that morning started to push through the lingering painkiller haze I had been in for the last week. "Lauren, er, the witness Lauren Lewis went to answer it, thinking it was my dad coming back from the grocery store. I remained in the kitchen." Too focused on stealing her pancakes, I thought to myself. I should have answered the door, but I had let my guard down. "I. I heard her scream, and ran to the front door." I paused, closing my eyes as I continued to berate myself. "I saw Cameron Carlisle, the president's brother, grab Lauren into a headlock and bring a large knife to her neck. I reacted and charged him. Taking him to the ground and shoving Lauren away from his grasp." I kept my eyes closed as I felt the impact of Cameron and I hitting the floor. Lauren screaming as her neck had blood on it. "I was able to break Cameron's wrist and disarm him, when I did that, I made the mistake of checking on Lauren." I paused, my stomach twisting, Lauren probably didn't know I was alive. She was rushed into CIA hard protection while I was airlifted out. Never mind the four months I had to spend in hiding as I recovered and the CIA with the NSA, decided how to spin this tale.
"The immediate report from your father and the witness, Ms. Lewis, states they heard three gunshots." SAC Bettle glanced at me, her eyes soft with concern. "Ms. Lewis stated that you shielded her with your body."
I nodded, opening my eyes and fighting the tears back. "I went with my training, protect the shadow." I stared in the blue eyes of Bettle before dropping them to look at the dark wood of the table in front of me. "I was shot in the arm twice and once in the lower back. I didn't feel the pain immediately, and continued on. My adrenaline pumping so hard, I was able to get to my feet and re-engage Cameron." I cleared my throat. "I was able to get to my service weapon free from my concealed holster in my mid back, and fired four shots at Cameron." I stopped, the image of Cameron taking all four shots in the chest and dropping to his knees as he fired blindly. The second he struck the floor and I saw my dad run into the house, scoop Lauren up and run out, I let go. I fell to the floor next to Cameron, my eyes drawn to the wide open field I could see out the front door, the blue sky of a cool morning telling me it was okay now. I remember whispering the three little words I should've that morning, at her back as she ran out of view with my dad. I closed my eyes as tears poured down my cheeks. I had done what I was supposed to. Keep Lauren safe and alive, but I failed in telling her the truth about how I felt about her.
"I passed out shortly after."
SAC Bettle stared at me before scribbling in her notebook. "That's all we need Agent Dennis. The footage your father gave us from his home CCTV system, matches up to your statement." She made a few more scribbles.
"How long did it take?" I chewed on the inside of my mouth.
Bettle looked up at me, giving me a soft look before answering. "Less than five minutes." She cleared her throat. "I apologize that it's taken this long to get your statement, but we at the NSA had to step carefully around delicate matters."
I smirked, leaning back in the chair. "I can understand. I imagine arresting the President for pre-meditated murder and trying to explain away the death of his brother could take more than a minute." I turned to look back out the window. "Let alone four months."
Bettle smiled tightly. "You are in the CIA, Agent Dennis, you know how this works. Sometimes slow, sometimes quickly, and other times, well." She shrugged. "Anyway, we just needed your testimony before we could clear you."
I rolled my eyes. "You could've waited until I was more than a day out of surgery." I looked down at my arm. I had to have bullet and bone fragments removed from the tissue in my bicep, the bullet in my lower back stayed. Too risky to remove, the doctors left it. In time my body would push it to the surface and I would pop it out like a unwanted piece of jewelry. "Can I go now? I have a goldfish I need to buy."
SAC Bettle gave me a strange look as she collected all her notes. "You are free to go Agent Dennis. You've been cleared of any wrong doing and your heroism will be rewarded, but…."
"But hidden in the shadows because no one can ever know that I was a shadow for the CIA. Let alone the one who killed the president's brother." I sighed hard, moving to stand up as best as I could.
SAC Bettle stood up with me. "It's the business we are in, Agent Dennis. Secrets within secrets."
I gave her a hard look and walked slowly to the door, opening to see Viv smiling at me from the couch across the way. I issued a polite good bye to Bettle and walked towards Viv, who met me halfway and allowed me to lean on her.
"Take it easy Bo. You're not in a race." She smiled at me, guiding me to our office. I was at least happy the NSA was willing to meet at the office instead of dragging me to D.C. like they had my father. I was barely two days of my last surgery and barely a week back in New York. Having spent the last four months in hiding out at my childhood home in the hills of Tennessee with my father as we both had to wait for statements to be taken, evidence to be reviewed, and the president to be placed in handcuffs in front of the world's eyes. My father came back to New York with me, helping to take care of me as I recovered from the latest surgery. He even got me a goldfish, Alfred the tenth. I blinked a few times, trying to reign in my wandering mind.
"I'm just ready to move on." We walked to my desk, Viv helping to sit. "I want to get back to work, get back to normal." I frowned, looking over my desk for the one thing Viv promised she would get me when I was cleared by the NSA.
Viv sat on the edge of my desk. "I've never met anyone who is eager to come back to work and ride the desk. Especially a free roaming field agent like you, Bo."
"Like I was, Viv. Unfortunately, my shadow was blown apart by this situation. Too many in our own agency know who I am, what I've done, and I can never go back." I shuffled a few more papers around, growing restless. "I'm getting too old for field work. I'm more than excited to be a handler and sit in the air conditioning bothering you." I smirked at Viv as she rolled her eyes.
"And to think I got you a little gift." She bent down and pulled open the bottom drawer on my desk, revealing that it was packed to the brim with all the candy I could think of. A big bag of candy fish sitting right on the top. "I know how you get when you're hangry and your sugar drops."
I grinned, reaching for the candy and tearing it open. I didn't care that it was probably going to make me sick, I missed the good candy fish and I needed to stress eat. "You're the best, Viv. Better than all the rest." I chewed happily, the sugar already chasing away the gentle ache I felt from the painkillers ebbing away.
"I know." Viv leaned over kissing my cheek and dropping a small piece of paper in front of me. An address written in her perfect hand. "She re-opened her flower shop two weeks ago. She's finally safe. No one will ever come for her." Viv winked at me. "Well, maybe one person."
I picked up the paper with a shaky hand. "Is she…is she there now?"
Viv chuckled, standing up from the desk and walking towards the coat rack. "She is. Come on, I'll give you a lift."
I swallowed hard, my stomach twisting with nerves. "She hasn't seen me…she probably doesn't know I'm alive."
Viv gave me a look. "Bo, don't be dramatic. Your dad went to see her three days ago, after your surgery. Told her everything and that your awkward ass is pretty much indestructible." Viv walked over, offering her arm for me to steady myself on. I tucked the half eaten bag of candy fish in the crook of my elbow in the sling. "But I think it's time you find her. See her, and live in the sun like the rest of us, Ysabeau." She enunciated my name. "Ysabeau, would've never guessed that. I thought your name was just plain old Bo. Not something so fancy and elegant." She motioned to the bag of candy I was digging my good hand in.
I shrugged, shoving a handful into my mouth. "I am elegant."
"As elegant as a pig in a mud pit."
I frowned as Viv laughed. "I don't like you, even if you give me candy."
Viv laughed harder, kissing the side of my head. "There's the Bo I know and adore." She walked me towards the elevator. "But we do need to talk. Talk about how you kept your life secret from me. I'm the best intelligence analyst in this district, possibly the agency, and I never picked up on you being the daughter of a retired U.S. Marshal, and cowboy. Teach me the old tricks you used to fall completely off the grid and have me watching a stupid loop on the cameras, thinking you were just going to the bakery every other day to feed that dozen a day habit. That your birthday is in October, and that you love 80's sitcoms." She shook her head. "It's like I don't even know you."
I patted Viv's arm, grabbing another handful of candy fish. "You know me better than you think, Viv. Well, maybe my stomach. Maybe my stomach and you are best friends and I was just the third wheel you had to work with?" I scrunched my face up as I thought harder. "Can stomachs and people be friends?"
"Bo. Awkward. Stop awkwarding all over the place." Viv pushed the parking garage button. "I heard all about your goldfish pregnancy theories."
I shrugged, focusing on the candy bag. "It was a theory, yet to be proven implausible."
XXXX
I made Viv sit in the car as I walked on my own up to the flower shop. The neon sign blinking open in a random, yet perfect, pattern. Viv had told me in the car that Lauren had opened a new flower shop on the other side of town. The memories of what had happened in the alley behind her old one, was too much and she wanted to start fresh.
I smiled at the tiny handmade sign in the window, telling me I had arrived right at open.
I was painfully nervous, I was scared to see her again. Afraid that the way she felt for me, or the way I felt for her, only existed in those moments of stress we lived in. A kind of love that lives on the battlefield and dies the second peace enters your life.
"Bo, go inside before I shove you." Viv's voice startled me. I turned and glared at her as she sat in the car. She waved her hand, mouthing for me to go inside.
I wanted to flip her off, but my good flipping off hand was trapped in a sling and the other was holding the last handful of candy fish. I blew out a nervous breath, jammed that last handful in and walked into the store.
I flinched at the quiet tinkle of the bell above me, announcing that someone had come in.
"I'll be with you in one moment, please feel free to look around."
I felt my heart clench at the sound of Lauren's voice. It was different, lighter, happier. I swallowed a few more times, wishing I had more candy as I walked towards the counter. I scanned the store, looking for her like a panicked fool, when I caught a glimpse of her in the back room working on a floral arrangement.
I froze, staring at her as she worked. I couldn't see her face, just her back. Her long blonde hair fell down the middle of her shoulders, tied up in a ponytail. Her jeans had dirt smudges and clippers poking out of her back pocket.
I stared at her for what felt like an hour, until she turned around, wiping her hands on her apron, head down and walked out from the back. Calling out, "Did you have any questions?"
She slowly looked up and when her eyes met mine, her polite smile faded into an almost blank look. A look that scared the hell out of me, because I couldn't read it as a good or bad look.
I smiled tightly, lifting my good hand up and waving like a little kid. "Hey." Then the awkward idiot in me kicked in. "I uh, do you have a suggestion for a bouquet of flowers for a beautiful woman that I haven't seen in months? Like I'm sorry for getting shot and having to go into CIA protection to hide from the president, and not being there for her when I always promised I would. I mean would daisies and tulips be good? Or would I have to get roses to make up for the fact I never told you I loved you when I should have, but I couldn't because I didn't want to lie to you if I ended up getting myself killed while protecting you. I should've told you at my dad's ranch, that morning, but I…" I paused, feeling my eyes fill up with tears as Lauren just stood and stared at me, blank faced and telling me that I had screwed the pooch big time and would be heading home to cry over ice cream while I held Alfred the tenth in my lap. Both of us watching 80's sitcoms and lamenting. "But I swear to Jesus Christ on a bicycle, I love you Lauren Lewis. From the first moment I awkwardly told you I had a goldfish boyfriend, I loved you. I loved you then, I love you now, and I am here. I'm here to find you like I promised. When this was all over, I would find you no matter what and you would take me out to dinner at a buffet." I felt the tears roll down my cheek, looking right in her eyes. "I'm stupid, awkward fool, but I love you. I love you with all of my heart Lauren Lewis." I shrugged, looking down at my sling. "I'm going to go. Yeah, I should do that." I turned to walk towards the door, biting the inside of my cheek so hard I was going to make it bleed.
I took a few unsteady steps, painfully waving at Viv that I was coming back out.
"Orchids." Lauren's voice trembled and came from right behind me.
I closed my eyes as I felt her warmth wash over me. "Orchids?"
"They're my favorite flower." Lauren was directly behind me. "Turn around, Bo."
I scrunched my face up as tears fell freely, I tried my best to wipe them away as I slowly turned to face her. "Viv's waiting for me." I was now standing in front of the woman I loved unlike any other, petrified that she was about to tell me that it was all just stress induced, she didn't really feel the same and she was going to let me down easy.
"No she's not. She just drove off." Lauren sighed softly. "Look at me? Please?"
I frowned, here it comes. "It's okay, I understand. Now that everything is back to normal." I cleared my throat as my voice cracked. "But I had a promise to keep." I kept my head down, I didn't want to do this.
"Bo, look at me." Her warm hand fell to my cheek as she gently tilted my head up so I would actually look at her. When I did finally look at her, her cheeks were wet with tears, a wide grin covering her face. "Your dad told me you'd be fidgety. That I had to be easy on you, that you'd be harder than anyone else on yourself."
I wanted to cry at how different, how beautiful Lauren looked free of the terror of being hunted. She practically glowed. I opened my mouth to say something, but was silenced by her fingers pressing against my lips. "Bo, you don't have to tell me anything. I understand. All of it." She sniffled, her eyes welling up. "I love you. I love you so much and it's only grown in the time we were apart and I thought I had lost you." She scrunched her face up, her other hand resting on the other side of my face. "Promise me, that you never do that again. That you never risk your life like that." She let out a small sob. "My heart stopped and didn't start again until your dad walked in this shop, telling me that you were still the stubborn little girl he raised, refusing to give up."
I sighed, laying my good hand against her chest over her pounding heart. "I had to tell you I loved you, I had to make it so I could stand in front of you, like I am now, and tell you that." I smiled, reaching up to wipe her cheek, sighing as she leaned into my palm. "I'm not going anywhere, ever, Lauren. You have me as long as you want me." I leaned forward and kissed her softly, my body relaxing as my mind and heart shouted that we all were finally home, and this woman was our home.
Lauren kissed me back, harder as if she was chasing out the last lingering doubts she had. That the reason we were brought together was finally past us, and we could start a future. She broke the kiss, resting her forehead against mine, her hand falling to the side of my neck. "Does this mean you broke up with Alfred?"
I gave her a silly look. "Actually, Alfred the tenth just moved in a few days ago, and he looks to be a strong one." I grinned, kissing her again. "I'll talk to him when I get home, tell him it's time we see other people."
Lauren laughed, shaking her head as she pulled me into her arms, careful not to crush my bad arm. "What am I going to do with you, Ysabeau?"
I leaned into the woman, resting my head in the curve of her neck. "Love me, like I love you. Forgive me when I'm hangry? And all the rest of the things that will come in our future."
Lauren laughed again, squeezing me gently. "I will." She held me in her arms until my stomach growled angrily from only having candy fish dumped into it. Lauren leaned back giving me a dirty look. "Please don't tell me the only thing you've eaten is candy?"
I shrugged. "Ok, I won't."
Lauren sighed with a smile, kissing me again. "Where do we begin? Now that our lives are ours once again?"
I grinned, winking at Lauren. "Lunch would be a really great place to start."
