Just Us Chapter 50
The difficult, dangerous and complicated was never just going to go away.
Wow, made it to 50 chapters. Here is the next bit.
Enjoy penni :)
Beth walked into the restaurant where she was to meet her lunch date. It was a small place not far from work that she never even noticed was there. The hostess led her through the restaurant out into a sunny courtyard. It was beautiful, an oasis for overworked civil servants who wanted to relax and bask in the sunshine over a nice meal during their lunch break.
She watched Christopher Barrett stand as she approached their table. Unaware that he was back in town, she had been surprised when he had called her and invited her to lunch. He looked very handsome in a dark suit and his large dark eyes were as dreamy and engaging as she remembered.
Barrett smiled. "Beth, it's great to see you. Please have a seat." His perfect manners on show as always, he pulled out her chair and waited for her to be seated before he sat back down. "Can I get you a drink, a glass of wine perhaps?"
Beth smiled back noticing that he had been enjoying a bottle of red wine while he waited for her.
"It's great to see you too. Thanks, but I think I'll hold off on the wine. I have a lot of paperwork to get through this afternoon."
Chris chuckled. "I remember what that's like."
They ordered their food and talked for a while about what Beth had been doing since she had seen him last. Mick was wary of him and she trusted his judgement for the most part but Chris had been nothing but kind to her and she found it easy to talk to him. They talked about the whole thing with Simon Brooks. Christopher picked up on Beth's niggling doubt about the cause of the accident that killed Chelsea Nolan and her new vampire friend.
"Beth, from what you've told me, there isn't any evidence to prove that it wasn't an accident. If Brooks did set it up he would make sure that it couldn't be traced back to him."
"Yeah, that's what Mick said."
"You think that Mick would cover something like that up?"
"No, of course he wouldn't." Josef on the other hand…
"But you're still not convinced?"
Beth looked around to make sure that the other patrons of the restaurant couldn't overhear their conversation. "I know what they had to do to cover up how Paige was killed. I've seen with my own eyes what they are capable of when the security of the community is in danger."
"There are people in the community that provide services to relocate freshies that want to remove themselves from the lifestyle or find themselves ….how can I put this delicately?"
"Past their use by date?" Beth offered.
Christopher tipped his wineglass in her direction. "The Council and community elders realise the benefits in making sure that the transition is well managed, for both parties."
"How very progressive." Beth responded sourly. That was all very well but it hadn't helped Paige Nolan.
"They can be relentless but it has to be that way."
"So Mick keeps telling me."
Barrett twirled his wine glass in his fingers. "How are things with Mick?"
Beth arched her brows at the question then smiled at his embarrassment at having been so forward.
"I'm sorry Beth. I didn't mean to be so rude."
Beth found herself wanting to talk to this man. Nothing in any great detail but she could use another opinion, a non-vamp opinion. She couldn't talk about it with any of her girlfriends. She was sure that she could rely on his discretion. He knew so much about her already didn't he?
She reached over the table and touched his hand letting him know that she was okay and took a deep breath.
"Things with Mick are great. Actually, we've never been closer."
"I'm so glad to hear that though I sense a but coming…."
"Not really. I just sometimes feel …sometimes it feels like I've reached the point of no return, you know. They've let me in and I know that means that I will never be able to get out." She thought about Paige Nolan and her struggle to get away from Simon Brooks. Damon Faraday refusing to help her, despite her desperate pleas. Josef having an ex freshie lover followed around. How often did he do that kind of thing?
"Being trapped in that kind of situation where you feel isolated and unable to break away is a very scary proposition for anyone to have to deal with. It takes great strength."
Beth dipped her head and bit her lip thinking about the validity of those words. It wasn't a matter of being scared. She trusted Mick to take care of her and by association she had Josef on her side. To her, right at this moment anyway, it was more about losing control over her own life.
"So now you understand why Mick has always tried to shield you from all that. You have nothing to fear Beth; he will never let anything happen to you. They protect their own, Mick will protect what is his."
That was the other thing that bothered her. In the confines of their own little bubble world it was easy to romanticise the idea of them belonging together. It made perfect sense when it related to their love for each other. She had willingly given herself over to Mick. It was something that she would never regret. However, that feeling of losing control is what had her spending time away from him. If only to prove to herself that she could.
"It's okay Beth, it's only natural to wonder and worry about the future. Not that there is anything natural about your situation, or mine for that matter."
Christopher was grinning broadly and she couldn't help but grin back. Beth looked into his eyes and saw compassion and understanding there. Yes, she could see herself becoming good friends with this man. Mick would come around, eventually.
"So Chris, enough about me. I'm guessing you didn't invite me to lunch to gossip about what is happening in my little world."
"There is something that I want to talk to you about, something that you may be able to help me with. I've been putting together some data for a research project."
"Sounds intriguing." Beth tamped down her excitement. Chris thought she could help him with a project? What could it possibly be? "Okay, I'm all ears, tell me more."
The waiter chose that moment to bring their meals. Christopher smiled at her eagerness. "Let's eat our lunch first."
When Beth looked at her watch, Christopher laughed. "I have an in with your boss so you don't need to worry about being late back."
Beth laughed right along with him. She was curious about what he wanted to talk to her about. She was also very hungry. With Mick not around to make sure she had something to eat, she had fallen back into old habits and skipped breakfast.
"In that case I think I will have that glass of wine."
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Mick was woken from his frosty sleep when he got a call from Carl Davis. His missing person, Matt Langdon, had turned up in a raid on residential premises across town being used as a drug lab. He had intended to try and locate the boy later that night after successfully tracking his movements via his cell phone. The cops had saved him the trouble. Matt was being held in custody for questioning by the police over his involvement. Carl thought that Mick would want to break the news to his clients personally rather than them having to go through the trauma of a couple of uniformed officers knocking on their front door. Mick appreciated the gesture. After an emotional meeting with Tom and Joanna Langdon at their home, Mick escorted them to the police station to see their son and to meet with their lawyer and the detectives on the case. Matt's parents were so relieved that their son had been found. The worry now was what was to become of him. Mick advised them that full co–operation with the police was the only way forward.
With the couple in the safe hands of Sutherland and Valdez, Mick sought out Davis. Carl was in the kitchen grabbing a coffee when he saw Mick heading for his office.
"Mick, how are they doing?" Carl gestured towards the interview room.
Mick looked back at the couple. Their lawyer was just arriving and Tom Langdon was valiantly trying to comfort his overwhelmed wife. "As well as can be expected under the circumstances."
"Yeah, it's a tough one. Do you want some coffee?"
"No thanks, I've had my quota for the day." He glanced briefly over at Beth's empty desk. The large arrangement of red roses Josef had sent her now in full fragrant bloom. "Beth is the big coffee drinker."
Carl smiled. "Come on back."
Carl's friendship with Beth had been the impetus for this new understanding between them. A surprise perhaps, but it did have benefits. Beth had a lot of great contacts. It certainly was an advantage when he had to interact with the local authorities. Carl handed over Matt Langdon's file for him to take a look at.
"He's nineteen for Christ's sake. At his age I was in college studying law, shamelessly chasing girls till I got serious and joined the academy."
Mick smiled grimly. When he was nineteen he had been desperately trying to talk his parents into giving their only son their blessing to join the armed forces so he could go to war. It took another year and a half for him to convince them that it was his duty to fight for his country and that it was truly what he wanted. He didn't need their permission to enlist but he didn't want to go off to war at odds with the two people that he loved most in the world. His father finally understood but his mother never did. She went to her grave believing that the experience had ruined her boy. Mick dragged his attention back to reading the police report not wanting to dwell on unhappy memories.
Carl sipped his coffee mulling over the situation. "This kid is from a good home, how is it possible that he gets mixed up with drug lords? I mean it's not like it's the local dope dealer, these guys are the real deal."
Mick had asked himself the same question during his investigation of the family.
"Online gambling. He used his father's credit cards to create an account. It got out of hand and he needed to find a way to pay off the debt without his parents finding out. He was approached to be a contact at the college. All those students have to get their drugs somewhere right? Matt thought it was easy money considering they had set up shop so close to his house."
"It wasn't like he had to go looking for them." Carl shook his head in disgust. "You'd be surprised at some of the places we have come across. We have interviewed neighbours that had no idea what was going on right next door."
"It looks like the kid has only been a lackey in the short amount of time that he had been involved. " Mick hated to think how much further it could have gone if the cops hadn't picked him up. Keeping that kind of company was never going to have a happy ending. "What are you going to do with him?"
"We all make dumb mistakes. As I'm sure you already know, we didn't find any drugs at his home. There is no evidence that he was dealing." Carl sighed heavily. "If he co-operates and helps us with our investigation I'll talk to the DA, try and get him some kind of deal. That and give him a good kick in the ass."
Mick nodded, a half smile crossing his face. It sounded like something his old friend Bobby Desmond would say. There was more than a bit of old school cop in the man sitting across the desk from him. "I'm sure my clients would appreciate that Carl."
Their meeting over, the two men stood and respectfully shook hands. Mick stopped at Beth's desk on his way out. He suppressed the urge to call her not wanting to interrupt her lunch date. Instead he pulled one of the perfectly formed roses from the vase and laid it across her computer keyboard. He smirked at the silly romantic gesture and nearly put it back then changed his mind. He didn't leave a note but hopefully Beth would realise that he had left it there to let her know that he was thinking of her.
Mick left the station house telling himself that it was about time that he took his girl for a moonlight walk on the beach.
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