Chapter 9
I do NOT own leverage.
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Eliot woke up the next morning when light started filtering through the windows. He couldn't believe he actually slept the whole night. He tried to move but realized he was pinned down. He looked down to see a head of brown hair spread across his chest. During the night they had shifted on the couch and now he was lying across it with her on top of him. He didn't exactly hate the situation. It was nice waking up with her in his arms.
"Sarah?" He whispered as he brushed her hair from her face.
She mumbled, "Five more minutes."
He chuckled and laid a kiss on her head. "As much as I'm enjoyin' this sweetheart, I think we should get up now."
She lifted her head and looked at him sleepily and then realized the position they were in. She jumped up and off of him. "Oh god, I'm sorry."
He smiled at her, "You didn't hear me complain' did you?"
The team started trickling in after she had left to get ready for the day. Nate spoke up when he had everyone's attention. "We should be done with this job by tomorrow. Eliot I'll need you to go with Parker for backup." Eliot just nodded. "Ok, Hardison, have you found anything on Mr. Ramirez yet."
"Yeah, but nothing much more than the basics. He now owns eight dealerships throughout Texas, Louisiana, and Georgia. Like Sarah said, seven years ago he only had two but then four years ago his business exploded. Ramirez Autos has increased its revenue dramatically in a very short amount of time. Something's going on, I just haven't found it yet."
"There' s no way that his business did that well naturally in such a short time," Sophie added disbelievingly. "He has to be getting help from another source that's not on the books."
"What about his personal life?" Eliot asked. "Any arrests, suspicious activity. Complaints against him?"
"Nothing. The guy is squeaky clean. So either he really is on the up and up. Or – "
"He 's eliminating his problems" Nate finished.
They saw Sarah walking into the living room with Cameron in tow. "We'll continue this later" Nate finished. He looked up as Sarah came over. "Morning Sarah. Morning Cameron," he added looking down at the little boy. He had become very fond of Cameron, he reminded him of his son. "Coffee?" he asked Sarah.
"Yes please" she replied.
The team noticed that not only did he pour her a cup, but refilled his cup as well. Which surprised them greatly since he usually had a scotch in his hand. He turned around to see them staring. "What?" But they just turned back to what they were doing.
"So whatcha guys up to today?" she inquired as she made a bowl of cereal for Cam.
"Nate and I are going to the museum" Sophie supplied. She smiled up at him and he smiled back. Sarah caught this and hid a smile behind her cup. "But I was hoping you would be up for some shopping later?" she asked hopefully.
Sarah liked Sophie a lot. She reminded her of her best friend Deb back in Dallas. "I would love to. But I'm afraid I wouldn't be doin' much shoppin'" she replied quietly.
"Nonsense, my treat. No arguments" Sophie stated.
"Thank you. I would love to go shoppin' with you then."
"Are you guys doing a girl thing? Is that what it is?" Parker piped in. She looked like she was trying to figure it out. "I wanna go to" she declared with a smile.
"That should be an interesting trip" Eliot mumbled to Nate. At which Nate crooked an eyebrow sipping his coffee.
"Mama? Can I play with Uncle Alec today?"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Cam. This was the first time they had heard him speak. "Why don't you ask him honey" she smiled back.
"Uncle Alec can you show me that video game again?" Cam asked excitedly while looking at Hardison expectantly.
"Uhh, sure little man" he replied slowly, eyes wide in shock. He put a big grin on his face. "But I'm still gonna kick your butt."
"You wish!" Cam giggled back.
Sarah smiled at the interaction between her son and Alec. The three of them had bonded over their love of video games. She thought of him as the brother she never had. He had a sense of humor that never failed to make her laugh.
"Oh, I forgot to tell everyone. I'm in a play that shows tonight. Nothing big, just a small part. You'll all be there right?" Sophie asked hopefully.
They all spoke at once.
Hardison: "Uh well you see – "
Nate: "I don't know –"
Eliot: "I have a somethin' –"
"Will there be singing?" Parker asked.
Sarah was confused. She didn't understand why they were trying to get out of it. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves" she said sternly. "She's your friend. Of course we'll be there Sophie" she finished, looking at the grifter.
Sophie just beamed while the others looked like they were going to a funeral.
"So darlin', wanna spend some time with me before your shoppin' trip?" Eliot asked, changing the subject. "I could show you around the city."
"Sounds good" she replied with a smile. She walked off to get her things as Cam grabbed Hardison pulling him to the living room.
Sophie stood up and went to stand next to Elliot. "She's an amazing woman," she began, "but be careful, she's a mother. I don't think she goes for casual flings."
Eliot snapped his head towards her, "I know that!" he snapped. He ran his hand through his hair. "It's more than that" he finished softly.
She laid her hand on his arm and nodded. Then she walked off to join Nate.
Sarah came back into the living and leaned over to give Cameron a kiss. She told him she would be back later, but he was too distracted with the game.
"So, is there anything specific you'd like to see?" he asked her as they walked to his truck.
"I don't know, I've never been to Boston before" she replied.
"Ok then, I'll pick" he told her smiling, as he started his truck up.
He decided to take her to the Bunker Hill monument. There was a great view of Boston from the top and he hoped she enjoyed it. As they made their way up the 294 steps he realized she was keeping up with him easily. When they made it to the top, she gasped at the view. "It's beautiful" she stated. She grabbed his hand, "This is great Eliot," she said looking up at him.
"I thought you'd like it" he replied looking down at her. He then realized how close he was to her. She looked at him and he made his decision. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her against him. He pressed his lips to hers slowly giving her the chance to pull away, but she didn't. She let out a contented sigh as their mouths settled into a slow rhythm. He nibbled at her bottom lip and he heard her moan into his mouth. He smiled. He continued caressing her lips with his as she brought her arms to rest on his chest. After a few moments, they pulled apart and rested their foreheads against each other.
"We should get goin'" she whispered breathlessly. Then she smiled, "I still wanna see Haymarket" she stated. Then took off running down the stairs.
She enjoyed the farmer's market. He discovered that she loved fruit. So they bought an assortment and ate in the park.
He was enjoying watching her eat when she spoke up. "Why were you guys tryin' to get out of Sophie's play tonight?" she asked curiously.
He grimaced. "Well, let's just say that it'll be two hours of your life you'll never get back" he stated.
"She can't be that bad" Sarah replied chuckling.
Eliot snorted. "The first time we met her was at a play. It was awful, no other word for it. Parker wanted to know if she was injured in the head."
Sarah choked on the bite of apple she had just taken. "She didn't!" she gasped laughing.
They made it back to Nate's around one in the afternoon. The place was quiet save for the typing Hardison was doing on his laptop. Cameron was nowhere to be seen. "Hey Alec" she greeted.
He waved without taking his attention away from his screen, which made her laugh. "Where's Cam?" she asked.
"With Parker in his room" he replied distractedly.
She and Eliot walked to the bedroom and stopped at the door.
There was Cameron and Parker sitting on the floor facing each other. He had a lock in his hand and she had a timer in hers.
She looked over at Eliot, "Why is she teachin' my son to pick a lock?"