Disguised Affection Chapter 24
Immediately following dinner, Troy excused himself and went upstairs to his room. After changing into light blue running shorts and a black hooded sweatshirt, Troy pulled out a brown paper bag, jotting down a few notes on the new developments. Once he was finished, he crumbled up the brown paper bag and shoved it in his pocket. Picking up his cell phone off the bed, Troy typed a quick message to the anonymous number set up by the FBI and stuck his phone in his pocket.
Troy exited his room and was about to head downstairs when he heard Gabriella call him.
"Tomas?" Troy stopped abruptly, taking a few steps back towards Gabriella's bedroom at the sound of her voice.
"Hey," Troy greeted, smiling before walking in her room and shutting the door gently behind him.
"Where are you going?" Gabriella asked curiously, getting up out of her desk chair and leaning against her desk that held a few of her textbooks.
"I was going out for a jog before bed."
"You meeting someone?" Gabriella asked quietly, knowing that Troy probably needed to inform his people about the huge job coming up.
Troy shook his head and walked over to her, leaning beside her against the desk so they could talk quietly. "No, that'll happen later. In situations like this, protocol is to make contact with them first by dropping details of the developments at one of our specified drop locations. Then they will make contact and inform me of the meeting time."
"So you're going to do that then?"
Troy nodded and pulled the crumpled paper bag out of his pocket, a slight grin on his face as he showed it to her. "Doesn't call any attention. I just toss this in a trash can on my jog, and they send someone to pick it up."
"Very inconspicuous," Gabriella said through a small grin.
"You catching up on homework?" Troy asked, shifting through the books on her desk. "Educational Psychology huh?" Troy picked up the rather sizeable text and began to flip through it. "Looks exciting," he commented sarcastically eliciting a giggle from Gabriella.
"Yeah, well I have to do my homework and learn this stuff if I want to be a good teacher. No matter how much this boring book makes me want to fall asleep."
Troy flipped the book closed and tossed it back onto her desk. "How about a break then? You can come with me on my jog."
Gabriella laughed sarcastically. "I don't know if you remember Tomas, but I hardly ever run long distances. Just because you're weird and actually go on a run every day doesn't mean I should have to go too."
"Come on Gabi. It'll be good for you," Troy encouraged her, bumping her elbow with his. Troy smiled at her before flicking off her desk lamp and pulling her towards her dresser. "Hurry up and put on your jogging clothes and let's go."
Gabriella looked up into his eyes and couldn't ignore the excitement and anticipation she saw there. She knew he really wanted her to come with him. With a slight roll of her eyes and a small sigh of defeat, Gabriella pulled open her middle drawer and grabbed some shorts and a t-shirt, much to Troy's satisfaction.
A few minutes later, she was changed with her running shoes laced up, ready to go. She followed Troy downstairs and after informing a curious Michael and Matteo about where they were headed, Gabriella stepped out of the front door into the nice, cool evening air.
After shutting the door, Troy grinned before taking off down the front sidewalk.
"Come on Montez!" Troy called out after spinning around and jogging backwards so he could face her.
Gabriella quickly caught up to Troy before he reached the street. Troy let out a dramatic sigh as she reached him, "Finally."
Gabriella let her jaw drop in mock offense before bumping his hip with hers harshly, sending him towards a street light post. Troy quickly stuck his hands out in front of him and grabbed the pole, stopping himself from barreling into it.
As he stepped back from the post, the sound of uncontrolled giggles filled his ears. Troy glanced over at her, rolling his eyes slightly trying to hide his amusement. "Not funny Montez," Troy said in a serious tone.
"Oh but it was. Learn to keep your smart comments to yourself and it won't happen again," Gabriella smirked, laughing at his attempts to be angry. "Let's go Tomas. Try to keep up!" Gabriella called out before darting down the street.
With a shake of his head, this time unable to conceal his amusement, Troy quickly sprinted after her. Ten minutes later, the two found themselves jogging side by side down the sidewalk in the park that was dimly lit by a few streetlights and the moon and stars above.
As they neared a trashcan near a cement park bench, Troy slowed down to a walk and reached his hand into his pocket. Pulling out the crumbled bag, he tossed it in there before pulling out his cell phone and quickly sending a message to the anonymous number.
"So that's it?" Gabriella asked somewhat breathlessly.
Troy nodded. "Yeah. It's pretty simple, and like I said, it draws little attention. If the information I provide warrants a meeting, which this one will, then they make contact and set one up." Troy glanced quickly at the time on his phone. "Want to take a seat?"
Gabriella agreed and followed Troy over to the swing set, taking a seat on the swing to his left. After a few minutes of silence, Troy spoke up. "So how are you doing dealing with everything?" He asked sincerely while swinging slowly back and forth, his eyes focused on the brunette beside him.
Gabriella took a deep breath. "I'm doing okay, considering everything. I mean, I've been involved in this business as long as I can remember, and the same goes for my family. And despite the fact that I hate what this family is about, they're still my family you know? I just don't know if I can face them after all of this is over when they will all know I helped to bring them down."
Troy stopped his swing momentarily, pausing to look at Gabriella who also sat still. "Listen Gabi, I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through…having to turn them in. But you know they are doing stuff that is very illegal. And you're doing the right thing. After this is all done, you can get your life back…finish school, start your career…the career YOU want. By helping us bring them down, you will be helping us minimize a lot of crime in the area."
"That's just it though," Gabriella admitted. "I helped carry out a lot of those crimes. I basically bought and sold drugs most of my teenage life for my family. And let's not forget that I killed someone a few days ago," Gabriella admitted softly, turning her gaze away from Troy's. "After all of that, who's to say they will ever waive those crimes and allow me immunity?"
Troy reached his hand out, gently placing it on Gabriella's arm and rubbing gently. "Hey," he said softly gaining her attention by tugging gently on her arm. "I know you're worried, but we have protocol for this. Despite all of these things, if you agree to cooperate with us, we will give you immunity. And I know it's tough to know that you ended someone's life," Troy watched as she averted her eyes to the ground. Placing two fingers under her chin, he led her face back towards his, a slight grin toying on his lips before his face fell serious once more. "I know it's difficult to live with that, but you can talk to me about it. I've had to end people's lives many times out on the job. Part of me realizes that those people were doing the wrong thing anyways, but the other part of me has trouble accepting the fact that I ended someone's life. Just…I'm going to do all that I can to assure you will get your immunity and be safe throughout this whole process, and I want you to know if you need someone…I'm here."
"Thanks Tomas," Gabriella said softly, her chocolate brown eyes shining in the moonlight as she stared into his.
Troy nodded and glanced at the time on his phone. "We'd better get back." Troy stood up and held out his hand towards Gabriella. Gently she placed her smaller hand into his larger one, allowing him to help her stand up.
"Thank you Tomas."
Troy smiled, pulling her into his side. "Anytime," he said softly in her ear before releasing her. Troy pulled back and Gabriella raised her eyebrow seeing the mischievous look in his eyes.
"What?"
"Ten bucks says I beat you back," Troy bet her, his eyes sparkling in anticipation.
Gabriella got her own playful look in her eyes. She stepped closer to Troy, placing both of her hands on his chest, smiling to herself as she heard his breath catch in his throat. "It's on," she whispered in his ear before pushing off his chest and taking off.
Troy blinked his eyes, snapping out of his daze and sprinted after her. As they rounded the corner to the Montez estate, Gabriella looked over her shoulder and saw Troy closing in. The pride of winning propelled her forward as she ran her hardest, crossing into her front yard seconds before Troy.
She hunched over while trying to catch her breath and spotted Troy staring at her out of the corner of her eye, breathing deeply in attempts to catch his breath. Troy grinned at her and took a few steps forward, gently grabbing her shoulder and pulling her upright before taking her arm and guiding it to rest on the top of her head.
"It's easier to catch your breath this way," Troy informed her as she smiled in appreciation and brought her other hand to rest on her head. "That was very cruel by the way Gabi," Troy whispered, his breath brushing against her ear.
Gabriella looked over her shoulder at Troy, smirking at him. "Not my fault you get easily distracted."
Troy wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his chest. "What can I say? You have that effect on me," Troy told her quietly, wrapping his arms more tightly around her as he felt her relax in his arms.
The sound of a door shutting inside caused Troy and Gabriella to break apart. "I guess we should get inside before they come looking for us," Gabriella joked. Troy nodded and placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her towards the front door.
After reaching the top of the stairs, Troy walked with Gabriella towards her room at the end of the hall, stopping outside her door.
"Thanks for tonight Tomas. I really needed to get out for a bit."
"You're welcome," Troy told her sincerely. "I just hope you get all your homework finished."
"Oh right. Don't remind me," she muttered sarcastically.
"I better let you get to it. Goodnight Gabi." Troy smiled at her before leaning down and softly brushing his lips against her cheek.
With a smile toying on his lips, Troy pulled away watching as her eyes fluttered open and her cheeks flushed a light pink tint.
"Goodnight Tomas."
Troy sent her one last grin before turning to head down the hallway.
"Oh and Tomas?"
Troy spun around. "Yeah?"
"I expect that ten dollars tomorrow morning," Gabriella reminded him, smirking while she sent him a small wave and gently shut her door.
--
The sound of his phone buzzing woke Troy up the next morning. Groaning he reached over and saw he had one new text message. Flipping it open, he let his sleepy eyes focus on the message.
6.45
Troy looked at the clock next to his bed and moaned, seeing it was 6:25. Swinging his legs out of bed, Troy pulled on shorts and a t-shirt before making his way downstairs.
"Where the hell are you going? You told me yesterday to beat Sunset at 7:00 this morning," Raul yelled from the kitchen as Troy reached for the door handle.
"I said YOU had to be at Sunset at 7:00 AM. Juan has a list of stuff for you to do," Troy winked at him before heading outside.
Troy arrived at the park a few minutes later, spotting Chad already sitting on the bench, a newspaper in hand displaying the latest sports news.
Troy sat down, hearing the beep signaling they could talk.
"I take it you got the message," Troy commented, looking out at the few people making their way through the park.
"Yeah we did. This is a huge opportunity. We've decided to go with your idea."
"Good. You guys are going to need to get ready in the next few days, prepare some aliases."
"We're already working on it," Chad informed him.
"I'm planning on providing the names to Gregorio in three days, and he wants me to have my team come in two weeks from now to meet with him and then the family."
"Okay, we'll have everything ready to go by then. We'll prep our guys on what is going on in the meantime."
"Sounds good," Troy said quietly, his thoughts immediately going to Gabriella and wondering what was going to happen with her. "And the rest of my message?" He hinted, hoping he hadn't made a promise to Gabriella that couldn't be kept.
Chad took a deep breath. "I'm not going to lie; they weren't happy about it at first. But it has been approved. When this is done, she'll need to be fully debriefed, but given the situation, she'll get what you promised."
Troy sighed and felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, immediately realizing the many good outcomes that would result from Gabriella getting full immunity, including the potential for the two of them to finally act on their feelings.
"You okay man?" Chad's voice brought Troy out of his thoughts.
Troy cleared his throat softly. "Yeah, just thinking about the next few weeks," Troy lied partially. "How's Angel?" Troy asked curiously, wanting so badly to see her again.
"She's doing okay, considering everything. J has been able to spend lots of time with her, but she misses you like crazy. Not a day goes by when she doesn't ask for you…usually multiple times a day. She worries some days that you're not coming back."
Troy felt a pain in his chest, just thinking of the confusion Angie was experiencing and how much she missed him.
"Well tell her I love her and I'll see her soon," Troy requested softly, wanting nothing more than for this all to be over.
"Will do man. Be safe. We'll work on the team and get back to you in a few days."
"Thanks man," Troy said while standing up, faintly hearing the pen beep as he jogged back towards the Montez estate, his thoughts racing a mile a minute while he anticipated the drastic turn things would take in the next few weeks.
Erin & Corri AN: Hey everyone. Another chapter and its starting to get exciting. can you feel it? lol. Anyways we both had fun writing this chapter, to finally see things coming together...or are they? lmao. Anyways Erin wants to ask everyone to check out her bio page as she's added a few things dealing with her leaving fanfiction so check it out. Keep a look out for the next chapter for next saturday.