A/N - Little Jalton love on this Monday evening. Enjoy!
Chapter 8:
In a van down the road, Amir stood watch over the body cams that Dalton and Jaz wore, Andy had removed hers and seemed disinclined to put it back on. He watched as Andy moved around that kitchen and spoke as casually as though she were home with her real friends and not in the house of a man that specialized in kidnapping underage girls. McG and Preach were searching along the perimeter for the breach points to the underground tunnels that were on the maps provided by Andy.
Amir didn't mention the kiss he had shared with Andy and she didn't bring it up either. They pretended it didn't happen for weeks, but they grew closer as friends and partners. On drills, she matched his intensity and the undercover work became second nature to him thanks to her encouragement. They were a perfect match set and when they were paired with other people, the instructors noted their ability to adapt, but together there was no denying the chemistry.
It wasn't until the first time he had seen Andy get drunk, that she brought it up again. It had been a rough day and she had shown up in his room with a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses. "I don't drink," he explained as she held up a glass for him.
"I figured you didn't. I came prepared!" she declared holding up a bottle of club soda. He laughed and stepped aside to let her in.
"So why are you drinking?" He questioned as she downed her third shot in under ten minutes. They were sitting with their backs to the bed and legs extended out in front of them.
"I sold my aunt's house today. It's the only home I've ever known and when she died about six years ago, I couldn't bring myself to sell it right away. It was paid off, so I had kept it and rented it out. When I got in here, I decided it was time to let it go. I didn't expect to be so upset by it," she answered sniffing.
"What about your parents?" he asked as he watched her pour herself another shot. She downed it with a wince and she swiped at the tears that had suddenly appeared.
"Well, mom died of a heart attack when I was seventeen and dad… well let's just say I was not part of the plan. Then it didn't matter because he died too. So, I'm an orphan and the only family member that will acknowledge I exist is my half-brother that is currently overseas serving this beautiful country of ours," she explained with a hint of sarcasm and leaned her head against the bed beside him.
"So, it's been a rough week. We'll get through it together," he stated reaching for her hand. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"I should probably go. I'm well on my way to drunk and I am not fun to be around when I'm drunk." He watched her attempt to stand and then fall back on to her rear end.
"I think you are beyond drunk at this point," he stated helping her up this time. She nodded and looked him in the eye.
"Why did you kiss me?" she asked before she could stop the question. She held her breath and searched his eyes for the honesty she knew he would give her.
"Because I've wanted to kiss you since the day I met you." His confessed, and he wondered what she was thinking.
"Why haven't you kissed me again?" she probed swallowing down the rising nerves.
"I didn't think you wanted me to," he answered as she slipped her hands up his arms.
"That's a lie."
"You make me nervous."
"Why?" She looked honestly confused by this statement.
"Because I've been falling in love with you since I first kissed you," he whispered leaning his forehead against hers. He felt her take a deep breath before he pulled back to look her in the eye.
"Am I really drunk, or did you just say you were in love with me?" she whispered back to him. She sounded awed by this prospect. She looked hopeful too, and he leaned in to kiss her again.
Preach and McG pulled open the doors on the van and pulled Amir from his memories. Preach gave him a raised eyebrow and McG went back to checking the monitors. He had been giving Amir the cold shoulder since they landed in Greece and if Preach didn't know better, he'd think McG was angry about the mission four years ago.
"Anything of interest on the cameras?" Preach asks as they settle in with their headphones.
"No, they've mostly been in the kitchen. They are getting the nickel tour after dinner," Amir answered before slipping back into silence. He was focused on Andy again.
McG was focused on Amir more than the images playing across the screen. He thought about the day he met Andy and the partner she had spoken of and tried to reconcile that with the man he had grown to know. Amir was loyal but didn't hesitate when he questioned risks people were willing to take for a teammate. He wondered if that came from the day he shot Andy.
"Who found her?" Amir questioned softly after about an hour.
McG and Preach shared a look as they both thought back to that day. They had missed their first meeting with Amir by about an hour. McG had been covered in Andy's blood until they had landed in Ramstein and she had been taken into surgery. He still remembered her nearly bleeding out on the chopper.
"Me and Top," McG answered after a moment. He looked at Amir as he processed this information. Amir was quiet, but McG could see the guilt that was still eating at him. "She told us you saved her life. You shot her when you were recruited, didn't you?" McG guessed and at Amir's sharp look, concluded that he had hit his target.
"They wanted me to prove I was loyal by killing my American wife. I had to make it look like I was actually trying to kill her. I didn't know until I was pulled out that she had survived," he confessed. Again, McG looked to Preach who was watching quietly.
Jaz and Andy were standing on the back patio looking out over the pool, each nursing a glass of wine, but not actually drinking anything from it. "So exactly how well do you know Amir?" Jaz questioned quietly. Andy glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Well enough that when Adam was looking to fill the open spot on his team, I recommended Amir. I wanted someone watching my brother's back that I trusted. I knew Amir would also need someone he could trust after three years of being alone," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. She was careful not to say Elijah's replacement, knowing that he had been especially close to Jaz.
"You aren't close with your sisters?" Jaz asked keeping her eyes trained on the surrounding area.
"No, Amelia and Abby want nothing to do with me. I've tried a few times over the years, but I can take a hint. I used to send Christmas cards to them each year, but when I finished school I realized it was never going to matter. Adam made sure I was always able to get in touch, always made sure I knew he was there if I needed him. I've never been able to figure out why other than that is just who he is," Andy confessed. Jaz was someone that Andy had instantly respected having seen some of her file, but meeting her in person, Andy trusted her with the truth. Adam had amazing instincts when it came to trusting people, and she could tell that Jaz was one of the people he trusted most.
Throughout dinner, she had watched Adam and Jaz exchange casual glances and it reminded her of the times when she and Amir could look at each other the same way. It made her miss her partner, but having worked alone for so many years, she wasn't sure she could go back to working with a team. Amir had worked so hard to help her believe that people didn't always have to leave, but then he had shot her and left her on her own. She had crawled out to that wheat field to die under the stars because she had felt like half of her heart had been taken from her and she didn't know if help would arrive.
"Andrea, are you alright?" Adrian questioned having approached unnoticed by Andy. She blinked and instantly pulled on her mask of sweet charm as Adrian pulled her into his arms.
"Yes, just been a long week. Wondering about that man that has been following me. He was at the school today. He looked like he was taking pictures," she confessed to him and watched as the anger built in his eyes. If she had not seen men more violent than him, she would have been worried.
"Someone was taking pictures of you?" Adam questioned playing dumb as he stood beside Jaz. "Why didn't you say anything?" he demanded angrily, in full protective big brother mode.
"It's not a big deal, Adrian has someone dealing with it and he's hiring me a bodyguard," she answered soothing her brother. Adrian had tucked her against his side and she could feel his fingers digging almost painfully against her hip.
"Yes, it will be taken care of," Adrian confirmed pressing a kiss to the side of her head.
Adam watched the slight wince on his sister's face and felt Jaz lace her fingers through his to get his fist to relax. He glanced at her and pulled her to his side. Adam needed to get his sister out of this situation. Saturday could not come quick enough.
"We should get going, we still need to check into the hotel," Jaz suggested when she realized that Top was not inclined to leave just yet. She knew that it was going to be hard to let her out of his sight now that he knew that there were multiple threats. He was never good at letting his team take the risks and she didn't think it was any different with his sister.
"Tasha, you should join Andrea for her spa day Saturday morning before the engagement party. It will give you two a chance to bond," Adrian insisted, and Jaz looked at Andy with a raised eyebrow.
"That could be fun. But I don't want to impose if you two have plans," Andy replied looking between her brother and Jaz. She was trying to give them a plausible out if they had plans to prep for the extraction of the women they were trying to free.
"No, we hadn't made any firm plans yet, Tash should join you," Adam insisted playing with the ends of Jaz's hair affectionately. She looked up at him and smiled.
"Sounds like fun," she answered before smiling at Andy. Andy smiled back and nodded confirming their plans.
"Well then it is settled, you ladies will have a fabulous day and then we will spend the evening celebrating," Adrian announced before moving to grip Jaz by both shoulders and kissing each of her cheeks.
Adam ground his teeth as Adrian put his hands on Jaz. This man was rapidly starting to get on his nerves. All evening he had found a way to touch Jaz in some way and it had not escaped his notice. He wondered if it had Andy's. He looked at his sister and the grip she had on the wine glass in her hand. She looked up at him over Adrian's shoulder and knew that she saw it too.
"Alright, let's let my brother and Tash get to the hotel, I'm sure they are exhausted from their long trip," Andy insisted tapping Adrian's elbow. He turned and glared at her before turning back to his brother.
"Of course! Come we'll walk you out," he stated before motioning towards the front of the house.
Andy looked at Adrian and felt like something had shifted. Her gut was churning as she walked beside him a step behind Jaz and Adam to the front door. She couldn't pin what was wrong, but she felt like something was wrong. She itched to leave with her brother but knew that she had to remain vigilant and get the girls out. That was the end game. She would focus, and she would get her job done.
Adam hugged her and whispered in her ear that they would be watching and listening. She needed to put the button cam back on and let them protect her. She gave him the eye as he pulled away and told him she would see him in a couple days. She turned to Jaz and he watched Adrian as the two of them hugged. Adrian had seemed charming for the first part of the evening, but somewhere in the middle of the evening he had turned into a different person. He smiled as Adrian met his eye and reached out to shake his hand.
"We'll see you," Adam stated as he ushered Jaz out the door.
Jaz and Top made it to the car and down the driveway before either of them speaks. "We need to get her out of there," Jaz stated looking over at Top. He was gnawing on his lower lip as she spoke, and she knew that he was thinking the very same thing.
"Noah, can you check Adrian's background for drug use?" Adam requested over comms. He had a feeling that was the only explanation for the rapid change in personality. They had barely had two glasses of wine and while he had seen people get drunk quickly, he wasn't slurring like a drunk person.
Jaz looked at him concerned and as they pulled up to the safe house, they were met by McG. "Amir and Preach are racking out," he explained from his seat watching the laptop screen. They had managed to plant a camera in Andy's office, Adrian's office, the kitchen and the main entrance. It was all they could risk before the party on Saturday night.
Jaz came around to stand behind McG and understood why he had distracted. Adrian and Andy were having a screaming match in the kitchen. "What are they arguing about?" she asked as Adam rounded the table at her question.
"How touchy feely he got with you," was his response. Adam glanced over at Jaz and she frowned. They had wondered and now they had their answer.
"She couldn't just let it go?" Jaz asked.
"No, if she had it would have made him suspicious. She has to play this out," Top insisted as they watched. He hated sitting on the sidelines. "You two go rack out, we need to get sleep while we can," he ordered pulling out a chair. Top unplugged the headphones and turned the volume down as he waited for them to listen.
McG and Jaz exchanged looks. McG shrugged knowing that there was no arguing with Top when he was like this. It was no different then when Jaz had been taken and when Preach had been in a coma. When Top felt one of his team was threatened, he did not rest until they were safe. Knowing his sister was involved, McG couldn't help but feel the same way because if he had a sister, he would do the same thing. Then he glanced back at Jaz's bedroom door that had just closed, he had done it before.