Chapter 14
Vin tossed over onto his back. The fresh air coming in through his open bedroom window did little to help his restlessness. The sounds from the neighborhood came in with the cool breeze.
Vin picked up his phone and looked at the time. Three am.
He blew out a breath and ran his hands over his face. Nothing about the day had gone well.
Except the kiss.
But every time he thought of Morgan so close to him, the willing response to his kiss, he thought of what came next. Morgan telling him to stop caring for her. Morgan running outside. Morgan saying there was someone else.
Vin finally gave up on pretending sleep would come. He got up, took his phone, and padded to the small, dated kitchen. He got down a glass and filled it with water. It didn't help the dry throat that persisted every time he thought of Morgan with someone else.
He sent a text to Morgan. Asking her to call him. She would most likely be at work, or at the afterparty she had mentioned. He set his phone on the counter next to him, not expecting a response.
He ran his hands over his face. No one else would be up this time of night. Except Ezra.
Vin picked up his phone again. Ezra would be at the strip club again, only another couple visits planned for Ezra to go on his own and get the lay of the place before Vin would start going in with him to provide some extra cover as things progressed toward more dangerous.
He sent a text to Ezra, asking how the job was going. It only took a minute to get a response.
'Interesting developments. Familiar faces.'
Vin let out a humorless breath. He could imagine things were getting interesting for Ezra at a strip club as a high roller. And no doubt faces would be becoming familiar. He'd be glad when this job was over. When he didn't have to hold back all his questions about how Morgan was tangled up with the Senator and his business in Las Vegas, as they investigated the Senator's strip club here in Denver.
Vin moved over to his shelf of audio books. He picked a Western and brought it over to his CD player, putting it in before settling in on his couch. But his mind wasn't on the book. It was with Morgan.
#
Morgan took the offered beer, thankful to be done with another shift at the club. She settled back on the couch, ignoring the people around her. Most were familiar, the same people who she had worked with yesterday. There were a few new faces, Spike's friends and roommate who showed up for the routine gathering after work.
"Haven't seen you before."
Morgan deliberately took a long drink of her beer before glancing at the man who leaned back into his seat on the couch next to her. Someone had said he was Spike's brother.
His eyes ran over her and Morgan narrowed her eyes at him.
"Like what you see?" she asked without amusement.
He smiled slightly. "I've been liking what I saw all night."
Morgan rolled her eyes and shifted her attention away from him, effectively dismissing him.
But he didn't take the message. He moved, getting more comfortable against the cushions and smirked over at her. "We could get out of here. Go back to my place for the night."
Morgan slanted him an unimpressed look. He raised an eyebrow at her. She was ready to tell him to get lost, or to leave herself, but her phone buzzed with a new text and she ignored him instead, looking at her phone.
It was another text from Vin, wanting to know if she was alright. Wanting her to call him.
Morgan could still feel his lips against hers. How he somehow managed to be gentle with her at the same time she could feel how much he wanted her.
"So you want to get out of here or what?" the guy next to her asked.
Morgan jolted back to the present. Spike's apartment, the guy with the pierced nose and tattoo sprawling across his next to her. Someone who wasn't Vin.
"Sure," she said without much enthusiasm, taking one last long drink from her bottle before setting it aside. "Let's go." She had told Vin there was someone else. She had found someone else.
Morgan waved to Emme on her way out, saw Emme's thumbs up at who Morgan was leaving with. Not that Morgan cared. This guy gave her an excuse not to go home to Buck's tonight.
The guy leaned back against the wall in the elevator, watching her. "You have a name?" he asked.
"Do you?" she countered.
He pushed up the sleeve of his long sleeve t-shirt, revealing a tattoo of a Cobra wrapping around his forearm, fangs bared.
"Cobra," he said.
Morgan flicked her eyes from the tattoo to his face. He was serious.
He pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his ripped jeans and held them out to her. Morgan shook her head.
Cobra shrugged, not concerned by her refusal, and pulled out a lighter. He lit his smoke and took a long drag, watching Morgan.
The elevator opened then, and Morgan stepped out, getting her keys from the pocket of her jeans.
Cobra stopped her. "You want to ride with me?"
Morgan didn't bother to hide her skepticism. "To your place?"
He smiled then, blowing smoke from his nostrils. "Or wherever. You have somewhere you want to go?"
Morgan thought of the underground club she had been at with Ezra only a couple nights before. "You like fights?" she asked.
#
Buck dropped into the chair in front of Chris' desk. Chris looked at him.
"She didn't come home last night. Again."
Buck didn't miss the flash of something in Chris' eyes that looked too much like what was there in the months right after losing Adam and Sarah. Guilt. Regret. Self-loathing. None of that made sense now, though. Chris didn't have anything to do with Morgan's disappearing act.
"You think JD should track her phone?" Chris asked.
Chris' willingness to take a less than legal route to finding Morgan said more about how worried he was about her than anything else.
Buck pulled out his phone again. Morgan still hadn't answered his text.
There was a light rap on the open office door and JD stuck his head in. "Uh Buck?"
Buck put his phone away, still hoping he would hear from Morgan. "Yeah?"
"Morgan's here."
Buck exchanged a look with Chris, ignoring that Chris didn't return his relieved smile, and pushed to his feet. He clapped JD on the shoulder on his way past. "Thanks, kid."
"Buck…" JD said, but Buck waved him off. He needed to make sure Morgan was in one piece. He entered the bullpen the same time as Morgan. Morgan looked around the bullpen, her eyes landing on Buck. Her lips twitched slightly in a frown and then she turned away to say something under her breath to the guy with her.
That was when Buck noticed the man next to her. The guy in ripped up jeans, a tattered long-sleeve t-shirt, dark hair a mess, tattoos crawling out from the neckline of his shirt and under his sleeves. A ring in his nose, another in his eyebrow. And worst of all—
"Chris?" JD asked quietly behind Buck. "Is that fella wearing eyeliner?"
Buck practically heard Chris' jaw crack in response when he grit his teeth.
"Hey Buck," Morgan said easily. "Chris." Her eyes darkened when she looked at Chris, but she quickly looked past him and back to Buck. "You wanted me to stop by?"
Buck tried to look away from the trainwreck that was putting an arm around Morgan's waist, his fingers sliding along the waistband of her jeans. He took a breath. Slow and easy. He was going to stay calm. Make sure he didn't do anything to make things worse with Morgan.
"Who the hell is this?" Buck demanded.
Morgan responded instantly. "A friend." She had started to slide away from the guy's hand, but at Buck's question, she stayed put.
"You ain't been home for a couple days," Buck said.
Morgan not only didn't move away from the guy, she leaned into him as soon as Buck made his observation. Fine, he'd admit it had come out as more of an accusation than the observation he meant. But watching that guy lazily run his hands over Morgan, while she stood there like she didn't notice the guy groping at her.
"I've been crashing at Cobra's," she said.
Buck wasn't sure how he was supposed to get another breath in. "Cobra?" he asked. Judging by the way Josiah looked at him, he wasn't holding it together as well as he hoped.
Morgan motioned to the guy who looked bored. "Cobra. I work with his brother Spike."
Buck started nodding his head, the smile he forced feeling a little tight. "Cobra. And his brother Spike." He looked over at Josiah, feeling like his eyes might be getting a little wild. "Well, they sound like a real nice family. You gonna bring their sister Rat Poison around to visit sometime?"
Morgan narrowed her eyes, getting a rebellious set to her jaw. "There's not much room up on a high horse for the Wilmingtons to look down at other families," she said. Down the hall, the ding of the elevator arriving on their floor sounded.
"What's wrong with the Wilmington family?" Buck said, daring her to say it out loud. To question their mother doing the best she could by them.
Morgan fixed him with a look, but didn't answer. She was interrupted by Ezra and Vin coming around the corner.
Ezra glanced at the newcomer with Morgan and Buck saw the slight narrowing of his eyes, but then he did what Buck knew he probably should have done himself. He gave Morgan a nod as greeting and said good morning.
"Little late this morning," Chris said from behind Buck.
"My outing last night ran quite late," Ezra said.
Chris grunted in response to Ezra's valid excuse that they all knew he would stretch to use with the slightest provocation.
Vin didn't answer Chris. He had stopped, was looking at Morgan, then at the guy—Cobra, Buck reminded himself with a feeling of disgust—then back at Morgan. Vin looked as rough as he had for the past couple mornings and Buck wondered how much whatever was going on with Morgan was wrecking Vin's sleep. It was sure ruining any hopes of restful nights for Buck.
Vin hadn't told Buck what had happened between him and Morgan. Buck could imagine and didn't want to. He didn't want to think of Morgan with his good friend. He didn't want to think of his baby sister with any man, really. But staring her current choice in the face, Buck started to think he'd like her to be with someone like Vin.
Vin's lips thinned, his brows lowering. He looked like he wanted to ask Morgan what she was thinking. Buck knew the feeling.
"We should get going. I need to pick up some things before work tonight," Morgan said.
Morgan avoided looking at Vin and Buck could see his friend fighting for control.
"I got to use the men's room," Cobra finally spoke. He glanced at Buck, not offering any sort of greeting.
Josiah spoke up when it became clear Buck wasn't going to speak to Cobra.
"Just over there," Josiah said, pointing. "On the left."
Cobra's fingers moved, digging into Morgan's waist with a tight squeeze before he left her side and headed in the direction Josiah had pointed.
Buck was about to tell Morgan what he really thought when the punk left, but Vin stepped close to her, his voice low.
"Don't do this," he said.
Morgan feigned ignorance. "I'm not doing anything."
Buck could see Vin fighting for control. "This ain't what you deserve."
Morgan's eyes flicked over to Chris, then back to Vin. "It's exactly what I deserve." Then she stepped away from him. "I'll wait downstairs." She didn't look at any of them again.
"Hey Morgan?" JD said.
She stopped long enough to look at him.
"He seems…nice," JD said unconvincingly. Buck had to give the kid credit for trying when none of the rest of them seemed to be able to make the effort. "His, uh, his tattoos are really artistic."
Morgan's face softened and Buck saw a wistful thankfulness for a minute, before her smile hardened into something more cynical. "Thanks, JD."
Then she was heading toward the elevator and Buck couldn't make himself go stop her. Not without it leading to him shaking her and asking her what in the blue blazes she was thinking. Vin didn't watch her go. He went right to his desk and jerked open a drawer, pulling out a file and slamming it on his desk without looking up.
Chris heaved a long sigh and went back into his office. Buck didn't see Ezra and figured the man had edged away from the tension at some point. Smart man.
#
Ezra went into the restroom after…he couldn't even bring himself to think the man's name. Cobra. It was a ridiculous moniker.
Only one stall was occupied. No sound came from inside. Ezra waited silently until the stall door swung open and the young man stepped out. Ezra didn't bother to pretend he didn't see the capped needle the man slipped into his jeans pocket.
"Are you an absolute idiot, or is it simply your name that is making me jump to conclusions?" Ezra asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Cobra said. He gave Ezra a smirk and started toward the door.
Ezra moved quickly, getting between Morgan's apparent paramour and the door. He stretched out his arm, blocking the man's exit. He leaned in close.
"You realize you are in a federal building. With agents who could arrest you for what's in your pocket." Ezra didn't frame it as a question.
That at least got a flicker of response from Cobra, a little nervous twitch.
"I suggest you leave. Without Morgan." Ezra didn't want to think about Morgan getting in a car with this guy and whatever he had running through his bloodstream now.
Cobra gave a small nod. "Ok. Yeah, man. Sure."
Ezra didn't move, holding the stranger with a hard stare, making sure he understood. He wasn't foolish enough, or optimistic enough, to believe Morgan would cut ties with this guy. But he could at least make sure she was safe for now.
Cobra swallowed hard.
Ezra finally slowly pulled his arm back, allowing Cobra room to leave the bathroom. He watched him go to the elevator and jab at the button, casting a look over his shoulder at Ezra.
Ezra waited until he saw him get into the elevator and headed for the stairwell. He jogged easily down the stairs, knowing it was faster than the elevator that would most likely be called to stop at every floor on the way down.
He made it out to the front of the building and saw Morgan immediately. She was standing, arms folded across her chest, the expression on her face one Ezra assumed he wasn't meant to see. He could very well guess she wouldn't want anyone to see the uncertainty and loneliness so evident there.
"Miss Wilmington," Ezra called, giving her notice so she could hide whatever thoughts she wanted to before he got to her side.
He admired the way she turned to him, her face quickly sliding into bored amusement. It was a move so familiar to him he could feel the tension that came with hiding reality behind the façade.
Morgan quirked her brow. "Did Buck send you down here?"
Ezra made a sound of amusement. "Do I look like your brother's errand boy?"
That earned him a smirk from Morgan.
"Your companion had to leave unexpectedly and I said I would give you a ride."
Morgan's eyes narrowed slightly and she looked like she was trying to read Ezra for truthfulness. Ezra knew what he excelled at, and only letting people see what he wanted them to was at the top of the list.
She finally let out a sigh. "Better you than Buck. Or Chris."
"For many reasons," Ezra said with a smile.
Morgan laughed at that and Ezra motioned her towards the parking garage. He was only one level down. Thankfully he hadn't actually been present in the office long enough to set his keys down, so he took them out of his pocket and pushed the button that would unlock his car.
He saw the appreciation on Morgan's face when she saw the lights flash on his Jag.
"Definitely better you than Buck or Chris," she said.
Ezra opened the passenger door for her.
She eyed him. "You want me to drive?"
Ezra gave her a look and she grinned, unrepentant at her question. She got into the low slung sports car and Ezra shut the door.
He didn't ask the question that was on his mind until he pulled out of the parking structure and was moving down the street.
"You don't seem surprised your companion left without you."
Morgan leaned back in the bucket seat, seemingly unperturbed. "He's not really someone you hang around with for his dependability."
Ezra had a hard time imagining why one hung around him at all. He put on his turn signal, but Morgan shook her head. "My car's still at Spike's. Over in the warehouse district."
Ezra changed course. "So what does draw one to someone like…Cobra?" He felt ridiculous even saying the name out loud.
Morgan's jaw tightened slightly. Ezra noticed the way her entire posture changed slightly, a quick tensing defensively, then relaxing too much as she strove to prove his question didn't affect her.
"He pisses Chris off," she said.
Ezra's smile was genuine. "A valid motivator for any decision," he agreed. Morgan's body relaxed genuinely then and Ezra didn't make any further comments about Cobra.
Morgan directed him to a building of crumbling brick and rusty fire escapes that was only a few blocks from the strip club.
"Will you go back to Cobra's now?" he asked, even as he told himself it was none of his business.
Morgan's slim shoulders rose and fell with a sigh. "I need to go get some of my things from Buck's. I haven't been home for a few days. I've been working."
Ezra knew that. He knew her work schedule quite well, since he had managed to catch a glimpse of her every night this week at the club. He had been moved into a roped off VIP area in a dimly lit back corner of the club, where Morgan wasn't easily seen, and he hadn't been noticed by her. But he wasn't sure how long that would last.
"Thanks for the ride," Morgan said, getting out.
Ezra let her go without telling her about their common nighttime destination. He would have to figure out what, and when, to tell her. He watched her get into her little silver Chevy and waited until she started it and pulled out, making sure she wouldn't be left alone in the dubious neighborhood, before putting his own car into gear and heading back to the office. The office where they needed to plan the next step of moving in on the club Morgan worked at. He was starting to feel more than a little unsettled about what she was mixed up in.
#
