A few hours later, just after 1 in the morning, Tim watched Lucy from across the room as she laughed with her new friend Siobhan. The kind of real, uncontrollable laugh he'd heard many times from her since he'd become her TO, though maybe not as much lately. He had no clue what they were talking about, he wasn't privy to this conversation spoken in hushed tones, but several times they both looked in his direction at the same time. He pretended to be listening to the golf discussion Patrick and another neighbor were having, but really he was barely paying attention. He was just enjoying seeing her with that big smile on her face, he'd been missing that smile. Every time she played a prank with the other rookies, especially if it was at his expense he'd see it. Every once in a while he'd catch her glance over in his direction, most times she'd look away, that beautiful flush filling her cheeks.
He'd made a decision tonight. He was tired of pretending, of pushing his very real feelings for her aside for the job. He was going to damn the consequences and tell Lucy the truth of how he felt. He would tell her that for almost a year he'd been looking forward to work in a way he hadn't in a long time, and she was the reason. He wanted to tell her that he just couldn't imagine not being able to see her every day once he was no longer her TO. He had slowly but surely fallen for her. Deciding to come clean now might not be the best timing, but his mind was made up. Some things are worth breaking the rules for. One of them could die tomorrow, he didn't want this to be a regret either one of them had.
He caught her eye again, this time he motioned to the open doors to the back deck eyebrows raised, Lucy nodded. They slowly made their way towards each other by the deck railing. There were only a few people still left at the house, and the people Mrs. Hilbert had employed were beginning to clean up. Lucy shivered near the outside air and Tim saw the goosebumps on her arms. He took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. The warmth and smell of Tim Bradford enveloped Lucy and she flashed him a grateful smile, trying not to inhale deeply right in front of him.
"Ready to go"? He asked quietly as he looked over towards the ocean his eyes scanned the beach. Lucy had been having a good time despite trying to pull little bits of info from her new friend. It was a fine line to just pepper these questions into their conversation without seeming obvious.
"Uh, sure" she could've stayed longer but she could tell Tim had enough and he was definitely ready. She took his wrist, and held his watch up so she could see the time. She was surprised she wasn't more tired, as late as it was. She held his wrist a few seconds longer than she needed to, reluctantly breaking the skin to skin contact and they walked back over to say their goodbyes. Siobhan and Lucy made a date to have lunch early in the week, Lucy was genuinely looking forward to that. Tim agreed to play golf with Patrick next weekend. Mrs. Hilbert noticed they seemed to be leaving and rushed over to hug both of them. Lucy thanked her for the invite while she was hugging Tim, slightly longer than she had hugged Lucy, a knowing smile played over Lucy's face. Who could blame her... There were a few more people leaving, an older couple motioned to Mrs. Hilbert to come to them, and she left Tim and Lucy. Instead of heading to the front door, Tim pulled Lucy back towards the deck, leading her down the stairs and over the makeshift dance floor. He stopped at the edge and sat down, taking his shoes off.
"What are you doing" Lucy laughed.
"Come on, let's walk down to the water". He got back up and walked over to their house next door, setting the shoes down on the landing at the stairs.
Lucy stared after him incredulously. He wanted to go home just a few minutes ago.
"Come on" he called back to her motioning for her to join him, and stood waiting. She shook her head and lifted one leg behind her, then the other to pull off the heels. It did feel good to take them off and walk with flat feet again, even if it was in the soft sand. She followed him and placed her shoes next to his, by the stairs. Tim reached for her hand, and she took it with both of hers. They walked down towards the water. She enjoyed the way his thumb constantly moved, caressing her hand. When this assignment was over, she wasn't sure how she was going to handle it if they went back to what they were before. In her mind they'd already moved beyond.
Out over the water you could see stars in the sky, and the reflection from houses along the beach made the waves twinkle with light. The ocean was much calmer tonight, waves barely making a noise as they caressed the shore, the water causing the sand to light up with reflection too. They could still hear the music playing from Mrs. Hilbert's deck. Lucy recognized the song, Heavy by Powers. .
They stood at the waters edge, feet immediately consumed by the sand as the water pulled away.
"Ooooh its cold"! Lucy exclaimed when the water would come up to her ankles, squeezing his hand tighter. She lifted one foot then the other from the cold water. His hand lightly brushing against her thigh as she pulled it closer to her. She looked up at Tim. He was only looking at her, not the ocean, the stars, or the view up the beach of twinkling house lights. She blushed when she noticed and looked back down at her feet.
In the dim light, Tim couldn't see it, but he could tell by the way she looked away so fast she was blushing. Every time this happened he fell a little harder for her. He couldn't remember there ever being a woman who always reacted so strongly to him. He was much better at hiding his feelings from her. He wasn't even sure she realized how much of an effect she had on him. The breeze blew a long curl over her face, and before she could catch it herself, Tim reached out and tucked it behind her ear, then softly running that curl through his fingers to the end, watching it slowly bounce back. Lucy bit her lip, turned to him and took a step closer, touching his toes with hers.
Just as he opened his mouth to tell her that he couldn't take it anymore and she needed to know he was hopelessly in love with her, Lucy reached up around Tim's neck, pulling him to her, taking that bottom lip between hers gently sucking on it.
Lucy become so fond of those full Tim Bradford lips. Before this assignment she'd sometimes imagined what it would be like to kiss them, but always tried to squash that image when it came up. Now that she knew how it felt, she thought about it even more. Not knowing what he'd been about to say, she had acted before thinking. There would've been a reason for him to bring her down here. It was too late now though, her head was swimming, wanting nothing more in the world than this, nothing more than him. She felt him immediately heat up, returning her kiss.
He was unable to stop himself from kissing her back, it was now like a reflex. Almost immediately she deepened the kiss, opening up to him, taking his breath away, tongues touching gently at first, but quickly firing up the passion between them, he brought his arms completely around her waist, pulling her whole body flush to his. Hands exploring under the loose sides of her dress. Lucy's hands were under the front of his shirt, feeling the heat of his skin. She wanted more, but as she brought her fingers to undo the top button of his shirt, he broke the kiss, trying to push her away, just a little, as they both panted breathlessly. Lucy wasn't ready to stop, she put both hands against his cheeks, both just looking at each other for a few seconds before she drew him in again, wrapping her one leg around him, pulling him back to her. Evidence of the effect she had on him pressed against her and he growled into her kiss, before he knew it he was grabbing her backside, lifting her off the ground, and she wrapped both legs around his hips.
Tim carried her, stepping closer to the house, never breaking their heated kiss. Stumbling against a light pole between the beach and the house, he pressed her up against it to gain leverage. She broke the kiss this time, crying out as the impact brought him against her core. His hands pushed her dress up her thighs. She dug her heels into him, driving him against her, eliciting more gasps from her each time their contact shifted. She thought for sure that was going to have bruises tomorrow but she didn't care. She was determined not to let him stop them this time. The way his hands were roaming all over her, his lips moving further and further down her neck she thought maybe he'd allow himself to give in this time.
Just a few minutes ago Tim was determined to have a real conversation about his feelings for her, but the sounds she was making, and the way she was moving against him, he wasn't sure he could stop even if he wanted to. Right now he wanted get her inside the house, hell, even just to the seclusion of the deck. He lifted his head, looking into her eyes. Now bathed in the dull light of the lamp Lucy could see how dark Tim's normally blue eyes were, his lips swollen from kissing her. This turned her on even more, if that was possible. There was a moment of acknowledgement between them. He brought one hand up, caressing her cheek, and looked deep into her eyes.
Lucy looked back at him, and thought things were about to change between them forever and she was more than ready.
Tim was about to give in and let passion take over right here because he wasn't sure they'd make it up to the house in their current state. He was just about to say the words to her as movement caught his eye over by the house, and he glanced over.
The sliding glass door was ajar, and a small bit of curtain was being gently pulled through the small opening by the breeze outside.
Chills caught him off guard as he realized someone had been in, or was currently in their house. He positive he'd locked all the doors.
Seeing the look on his face change and the tension in his body switch gears, Lucy followed his eyeline and saw the open door.
They were both frozen a few seconds, allowing their bodies adjust to the new reality that they indeed were going to be interrupted.
As they both stared at the house, a strange noise from inside startled them both.
Lucy begrudgingly unwrapped herself from around him, and he let her down to the ground, not taking his eyes off the house until Lucy reached down, pulling the small Ruger LCR from her thigh holster. He'd been so distracted he hadn't even noticed that's where her backup gun was. He couldn't help but give her an attaboy smile, proud of her ability to have hidden it from him. Though to be fair, her distraction was enough to make him miss a bomb going off.
The holster was tactical, but sexy as hell at the same time. He tried to suppress that last thought.
Seeing his face, Lucy smiled back rolling her eyes at his appreciation, motioning towards the house as if to say - 'bigger fish to fry here'.
Just as she started towards the house, he grabbed her by the waist. For a split second she hoped he was going to say forget it and take her back in his arms, even though she knew that wasn't what was happening.
Instead he said "Tim and Lucy Caswell would not be confronting intruders, they'd be calling the cops". His eyes on the house. Lucy nodded, putting the gun back in that holster and rearranging her dress again. Tim forced himself to keep watching the house, not imagining his own hands pulling that holster off her. He pushed that thought out of his brain until later.
They hadn't planned to call Caruso until the morning but now they needed him to advise them what to do. Tim cleared his voice pulling himself together, took his phone out and dialed. Caruso picked up after the first ring.
"What's wrong"? They'd clearly woken him by the raspy sound of his voice but he was awake enough to realize they wouldn't call at this hour unless there was a problem.
Tim explained what they'd walked up to at the house then decided to give him a quick rundown of Lukas Andersson as a potential person of interest.
"Okay, there's a few complications I need to fill you in on, for now call 911, don't let anyone know you're undercover, and don't mention me. I'm sending someone down to you. He'll identify himself as your security consultant. Cops won't be surprised by you calling your own people in. I want you to call me back once everyone is gone". Caruso paused. "And Bradford...stay out of the house until they do a sweep". Then he hung up.
Tim called 911 and was told police were just moments away. The operator did not require them to stay on the line since they were outside. He told her they were on the beach in the back of the house. Tim looked over at Lucy who was trying to scan all the windows of the house for movement. He took her hand in his. She glanced over at him, comforted by the gesture. He'd have to wait to tell her. He made a quick promise to himself he wasn't going to postpone it much longer. If tonight proved anything to him, it was that he didn't want any confusion the first time they were together. He didn't want it to be excused as a biproduct of being undercover. If they were going to be together, it was going to be as Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen
"To be continued"? he asked,
Lucy flashed him a mischievous smile, squeezed his hand "I'm gonna hold you to that".
A few minutes later they heard the front door open through the open door in back. If the waves weren't so calm they'd never have heard that. Lucy looked over at him questioningly. He knew what she was thinking. They'd locked the front door too, yet he didn't hear the cops break it down. It may have also been open. They could see flashlights moving through all the glass windows. Then the lights came on room by room. A uniformed officer appeared and opened the sliding door further. "Mr. and Mrs. Caswell"? He called.
Lucy and Tim had been crouched by the sand. They stood and walked closer to the house, into the ring of light shone down from the house's floodlights. Tim looked over towards Mrs. Hilberts to see if anyone there had noticed them, but no one was left outside.
The officer saw them and opened the door further. When they came up the stairs, shoes in hand he held out his hand to Tim. "I'm Sergeant Phillips Mr. Caswell, we've gone through the whole house. No one is here. I'd like you both to do a walk through to let us know if anything is missing, or out of place".
Tim shook his hand and thanked him. He led Lucy through the door, hand never leaving the small of her back as they walked in. A younger officer nodded to them as he filled out some paperwork on a clipboard and spoke into his mic to dispatch. They walked through the living room, garage, kitchen, both offices. Nothing appeared to be missing. A picture had fallen off the shelf in Lucy's office. It was the fake marriage picture of she and Tim. Lucy bent and used her dress to pick it up and put it back on the shelf. Just in case, she didn't want to wipe any fingerprints. Tim nodded his approval.
"Everything seems in place down here, we're gonna check upstairs". Tim led Lucy to the stairs by the small of her back, and let her walk in front of him.
When they reached the master bedroom, the hairs on Lucy's neck raised. Everything looked normal at first glance. She looked over to see if Tim had the same reaction she did. He didn't seem bothered. He went into his closet, then the bathroom. She walked over to her closet, the feeling getting stronger. She wanted to pull her gun out, but she knew the officers had checked the house, no one was here. So why was this prickly feeling so strong here. She quickly pulled the door open. The light was on, no one was in the closet. She noticed the dresses she was picking from tonight were not out anymore. She was sure she'd left the dresses hanging out so she could see and choose from them.
"Lucy". Tim called her from the bathroom.
She left the closet and was about to ask Tim if he'd put them away for some reason.
"Tim, did you"...that was as far as she got. Walking into the bathroom she saw the black dress that had been her second choice draped over the shower door, and it looked like someone had been touching it with wet hands. The silk fabric was stretched and darker in places.
"The shower's wet too". Tim motioned to it. He was the last one to shower, and that was hours ago. You could feel the humidity in the air, and both Tim and Lucy used the squeegee to wipe the water droplets off the glass. It was covered in droplets.
"Why would anyone"...her voice trailing off. Not wanting to think about some of the things she'd learned at the academy.
One look at Tim's face, she could tell he was concerned.
They went back downstairs to tell the officers what they'd found. Before they reached the main level, there was a knock at the front door.
The younger officer who hadn't been introduced to them answered it.
After a moment of muffled conversation they couldn't hear, he opened the door wider and called to Tim and Lucy.
"There's a Ben Ford here to see you, says he's part of your security team"?
Tim walked up to the man, shook his hand and then brought Lucy to him to do the same. "Ben, good to see you, thanks so much for coming".
Ben was dressed in a high end suit, close cropped dark hair, he had a former military look about him, just like Tim did. He also did a great job pretending he already knew them.
Tim told them what they'd found upstairs. Ben asked to go up and see, while the 2 officers didn't seem concerned.
"You know, it's probably just kids...you forget to lock one of the doors, and kids come in just looking to steal liquor, or pills, or something". The younger officer dismissively spoke, while putting his hat back on. Sergeant Phillips walked up to Tim, and handed him his card.
"If anything else happens, call me. I'd keep your alarm on, even if you leave for a short time, maybe get a dog or something. I don't think it's anything to worry about though. You folks should try to relax and get some sleep".
The younger officer's name on his uniform said "Collins". He handed Tim a copy of the report on their way out.
As they closed the door, Ben came back down the stairs. He introduced himself again once he realized the cops were gone.
"Ben Ford, I'm a profiler with the FBI. Caruso and I served together in the Navy, he just called me in this morning asking for help".
"What's your take on this"? Lucy asked him.
"So Caruso's team was able to pull some info off a computer that was in the house fire, and we were finally able to get access to the murdered couple's cell phones". He continued. "Both women in those families had similar run ins with a hacker, or stalker or both". He looked at Lucy.
"Really" she said. It was more of a statement than a question. "What are we talking about here". She crossed her arms.
Tim's jaw tightened.
Ben went on "Carolyn Grant, the woman who died in the house fire, she had kept a diary of weird things happening up to the time of the fire. It started with her bank account being hacked, then her computer, then the alarm system going off at all hours. Once they lost power when she was home alone, and she wrote in her online diary she saw someone at a window when the room went dark. After that she noted things being moved, or missing from inside the house. She mentioned that her cell phone at the time would not work. Not long after her last entry is when they neighbor found them".
Tim and Lucy looked at each other then back at Ben.
"What about the cell phones" Tim asked.
"Similar stories shared in texts. We're working up a profile to see if this could be the work of one unknown subject. If it is, he has technical skills, and he's been able to clean up after himself very well".
Ben walked over to Lucy studying her face to see her response to what he had to say next. "I'm concerned he may have a new target based on what I've seen upstairs, but for him to escalate to contact this quickly" Ben shook his head "He should be enjoying the build up before a contact like this".
Lucy straightened, thinking she'd be judged by her reaction now. "Better me than a civilian". she stated, matter of fact.
Tim smiled weakly at her display of strength. He wasn't feeling quite as strong. Lucy had already dealt with one psycho. A person shouldn't have to do this more than once in a lifetime, let alone more than once in a year.
Ben motioned up to the cameras "We've shut all these down, just in case the unsub has access to them, we made it look like a problem with the system, so he won't be suspicious if he access were suddenly gone". He walked back over to his briefcase, opening it and pulling out 2 satellite phones.
"Mike asked me to bring you these, between the neighbors stating they couldn't make calls, and Mrs. Grant not being able to make a call when the lights went out, we think a cell jammer is a possibility. Sat phones are much harder to jam. Keep them charged for emergencies".
He handed a phone to each one of them.
"I'm working with my team to finish a profile for you before heading back to Quantico, let Mike know if anything else happens and I suggest checking in with him at set times to confirm all is okay, even if it's just a text". Ben closed the briefcase, turned and leaned against the table. "What kind of questions do you have for me". he asked.
"Why aren't you sharing any of this with the local cops here in Malibu" Lucy asked.
"We don't know who this is, someone in law enforcement is a possibility, given this unsubs ability to clean up after himself".
Lucy nodded.
"You want us to stick to the original plan, keep business as usual"? Tim asked.
"Yes, tomorrow Mike's going to be by to talk more. He thought he might be recognized by local law enforcement, so he didn't come tonight. I was working with him when you called, came straight here".
They couldn't think of anything else to ask, and Ben left them with a plain white business card with his name and phone number on it, as he walked out. Lucy watched him get into his rental car and back out of the driveway before shutting and locking the door.
"Clearly we need to get the locks changed ASAP, and from now on I'm carrying 24/7." Lucy stated.
By now it was close to 4 am. Both of them were exhausted. Tim had poured himself a scotch and sat in the lounge chair facing the sliding glass door.
"There's no way I can sleep up in that room now". Lucy's voice sounding quiet, vulnerable, not like her. Tim looked at her, that forced him out of the shell he'd started to pull himself into.
He got up and walked over to her, handed her the scotch and told her "Drink this, I'll be right back".
He walked past her to the stairs and she called after him "I told you I'm not a whiskey girl"! But she did take a long drink of the dark liquid. It burned her throat, and this time she welcomed it. Anything to take her mind of this seriously unexpected turn of events. Just a few hours ago her heart was racing for a vastly different reason. She really wanted to rewind back to those moments. Then she remembered that sound they'd heard. Kind of like something hitting a window. Was there someone watching them from inside? She shivered again and pulled Tim's jacket closer around her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. That's when she realized how tired she was. She knew even though she was exhausted, if she lay down right now, her eyes would pop right back open.
Tim bound down the stairs, holding a pile of clothes.
"We'll sleep down here tonight" he motioned to the guest room. He handed her a t shirt and boxers of his. She looked up at him, eyes wide. How did he know she didn't want to put anything on that had been in her closet. She took the clothes, trying not force her eyes not to fill with tears. He lifted her chin with his hand forcing her to look at him, then caressed her cheek. She leaned into his hand closing her eyes.
"Take a shower down here, we'll work on everything else tomorrow, but we really should try to get some sleep".
Lucy took the clothes into the guest bathroom. Tim seemed to know everything she needed. While she waited for the water to get hot, she smiled, remembering her first impressions of Tim compared to now.
While Lucy showered, Tim wedged a chair under the doorknob of both the front door, and the garage door. He'd already locked and placed the wood door stopper where the sliding glass doors were. In the kitchen he broke a glass and walked over to the sliding glass doors.
Lucy almost fell asleep standing up in the shower. She finally got out toweled off, and put on Tim's clothes.
He wasn't in the room when she left the bathroom but she could hear him out in the living room. He'd turned down the bed for her. This was a queen, not the king they had upstairs.
If she wasn't so drained, his virtue might be at risk in a bed this small, she smiled at the thought and sat down on the bed.
It was firm, not quite as nice as upstairs, but she didn't know if she'd wanna be back in that room at all after all this. She saw Tim placing glass beads from a plant s across the threshold of the sliding glass doors, just in case. Well, if someone got in there, at least they'd hear and have time to react.
Tim stood back and admired his work. He was satisfied and walked over to the guest room, grabbing his own clothes off the dining table on the way.
"Feel better"? he asked her.
"So much" she said.
"Okay, I'm gonna grab a quick shower too". Tim entered the guest bath too, he didn't really want to get in that shower upstairs either.
Just like Lucy, Tim kept the door open just a crack. Lucy could hear the water going, and a little steam came into the room. The sound of the water had begun to relax her, and she started feeling the waves of tiredness hitting her.
Tim's shower wasn't long. She was still sitting on the bed when he emerged. He walked around to the other side of the bed. His side was closest to the living room. He'd already put his gun in the nightstand drawer, and his backup under the mattress. Just in case. Tim really didn't think the guy would be back tonight but you never know. He laid back on the pillows and realized Lucy was still sitting at the edge of the bed. Her shoulders slumped, and her eyes were half closed. He got back out of bed and walked around to her.
She startled when she felt Tim's arms bringing her feet up on the bed. She must have fallen asleep sitting up. Before she leaned back into the pillows, she reached up, taking his face in one hand and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. She just wanted to feel him close to her, they were both too tired for anything else. He brought his hands up on each side of her face, touching her forehead to his and they held each other for a moment there. She let go and let herself fall into the pillows, watching him walk around to the other side.
As soon as he was back in the bed, Lucy rolled towards him, and he lifted his arm so she could lie her head on his chest, and he let his arm relax around her. They left the light in the bathroom on, and he turned the bedside table lamp off.
Just before they both fell into a light sleep, Tim said "We're bringing Kojo here tomorrow".
Lucy was almost asleep, in a tired voice she replied. "Kojo, I love him" and Tim felt her smile against his chest. He could feel her heartbeat against him slowing down, and it lulled him to sleep too.
