Chapter Seventy Four: Road Trip
You look as good as the day I met you
I forget just why I left you, I was insane
The Chainsmokers - Closer
The 'cabin' was actually more like a small lodge. Maggie couldn't believe the sheer size of the place as she stepped out of the passenger side of Antonio's black car and focused on the building in front of her. The structure was a combination of rustic wooden slats and a stone panel that met the wood a quarter of the way up the building. The roof was slanted, fixed with a modern material that she remembered jay telling her was resistant to all weathers.
A small stone path curved from the porch steps leading through the dense woodland to the concrete drive way in which they were standing. Although Jay had told them that the place was closed for winter, someone had kindly switched the porch lights on giving the cabin a warm and alluring glow.
Maggie shuffled further down into her black padded coat as the cold air bit at her flushed cheeks. Up here there was already a crisp bite to the air and she found herself inhaling deeply enjoying the sensation of the fresh air filling up her lungs as she stamped her feet in order generate some warmth.
"Patience is a virtue." Antonio teased her as he handed her the black rolling suitcase she had borrowed from Erin. Maggie propped it up alongside her, pulling out the handle as Antonio slung his black holdall over his right left shoulder.
"We both know it's never been one of mine." Maggie reminded him, her cobalt eyes glittering with mirth as she trailed after him along the flat path.
However it was definitely one of Antonio's finer traits. She remembered the first road trip the two of them had taken together as partners in Vice. Even the thought of that case made her shiver involuntarily, she'd seen the effects of drug trafficking when she'd worked in Narcotics but it was nothing compared to the sex trafficking that the Detectives in Vice dealt with. They'd been on the trail of one of a particularly prolific sex trafficker for months before he'd been picked up in Cincinnati on a speeding violation. The local cops had been more than happy to hand him over to be charged in Chicago unfortunately that meant a six hour drive for the two lucky detectives who had been lumbered with the case.
"Will you quit flicking through the radio stations?" Detective Antonio Dawson snarked at his partner as he navigated the darkening road in front of them. They'd left the city behind them over an hour ago and in that time Maggie had proceeded to drive him almost insane by flicking through the multitude of radio stations his car had to offer.
Maggie slumped back in her seat, her head resting the headrest as her right knee began to bounce up and down in a rapid motion. She was stressed, he could feel the anxiety coming off her in waves as he maintained the speed limit.
He removed his left hand from the gear stick and placed it gently upon her denim covered knee, his thumb ghosting along the indent until the limb stopped vibrating underneath this touch. He felt his heart beat that little bit faster as her breathing hitched sending a hot tingle throughout his muscular form. It was like this whenever the two of them came into contact, he'd tried to avoid it as much as he could but being around Maggie was so frighteningly easy. She was intoxicating in her own way, those slight touches they shared were like a narcotic to him, it felt as if opium was pumping directly into his blood stream.
Lord help me, Antonio thought as his gold wedding ring winked at him in the light from a passing street lamp.
Maggie exhaled deeply as Antonio removed his hand from her lithe leg and placed it back upon the steering wheel. He wondered if she felt it's absence as acutely as he did.
"You should open the glove box." He told her warily, half thrilled by the fact she hadn't snapped at him to get his hands off her. The other part of him asked what the hell he thought he was doing laying hands on a woman that wasn't his wife.
Maggie said nothing, she simply did as she was told before removing a hard plastic CD case with no cover, she tilted her head towards him questioningly as she held it up.
"I had a feeling that you'd be driving us both crazy with all that nervous energy of yours." Antonio said knowingly as she opened up the CD case to reveal a shiny unmarked CD.
"Will I like what's on here?" she asked him, her cobalt eyes narrowing with suspicion as she removed the CD out of the case.
"Maybe you should put it on and find out." He encouraged her, a tiny quake of nerves snaking it's way through his stomach as she inserted it into the CD player.
It was ridiculously that he cared how much she would like this CD but he knew deep down in his heart that it wasn't silly at all. Sometime in the past few months she had become a fixture in his life, one that he cared about beyond most others.
The low dulcet tones of Johnny Cash began to serenade the both of them as they sat in silence listening to the music. Out of the corner of his eye Antonio watched as Maggie's tense muscles began to unfurl to the lull of the guitar. She was beginning to relax, he could see it in the way she closed those pretty blue eyes of hers, her fingertips tapping out the tune upon her thigh.
"You know this is the first time I've been given a mixed CD." She said quietly, her eyes remaining closed.
"I find that hard to believe." Antonio informed her, his tone affectionate as a smile twitched at the edges of his lips from the honesty of the admission.
It was these moments, the ones that where he got to see the real Maggie O'Neill that he loved the most. Like him, she wore their occupation like it was armor and he enjoyed the rare seconds in which they just gave in and became themselves. If he was honest there were a lot of things he liked about her, too many to count. Like other women he could appreciate that she was beautiful but there was so much more to her than that, there was a silent strength buried deep within her, a dignity that never faltered despite the rumors that ghosted every single step of her career.
Like father, like daughter...
He had lost count of the times he'd heard that one. He knew Bart O'Neill had been a lady's man before he died however his daughter wasn't cut from the same cloth. To his knowledge Maggie hadn't even entertained the idea of dating within the police department. She'd been called frigid a few times by some of her fellow detectives, he'd even heard her described as an ice queen by a few of the guys in Robbery. There had been a doctor few months ago that had left to go to Africa or somewhere far away but that had petered out. He didn't think Maggie had shed any tears over it.
"You chose well." Maggie murmured, her soft tone breaking through his thoughts before he turned his attention back to her. There was something on her mind, he could practically feel it in the air between them before she opened her mouth and spoke. "I can't get what he did to those girls out of my head, I keep thinking about how they must have felt in that shipping container..."
The confession cost her, he knew that's why she kept her eyes closed. She didn't want to betray herself and show how vulnerable she really was inside. He wanted to tell her that it didn't have to be like that between them, that he would never judge her for being human every once in a while. Instead he clenched the steering wheel even tighter before he made a confession of his own.
"I see them in my dreams sometimes. " Antonio responded grimly. "We can't help them..."
He felt Maggie's cobalt eyes studying the profile of his rugged face as he kept his gaze fixated on the road ahead.
"You dream about me?" she asked him, her voice soft as she spoke.
He knew he should stop this right now, that the two of them were heading into dangerous territory but he couldn't stop himself. He couldn't tell her about the fantasies he had, the ones where he spent the night wrapped up in her, running his hands and mouth all over her needy form until she begged him for more. Just the thought of that made a flush of heat resonate through his body.
"Sometimes." he admitted, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. His dark gaze flickered towards her as he asked his own question. "Do you dream about me?"
"Sometimes." she responded a light blush flushing across her pale features before she looked away, averting her gaze to the streetlamps flashing by outside the window.
Sometimes...
Well sometimes worked for him.
It was the kiss that brought Maggie back down to earth, Antonio's tender lips brushed against her temple before he ducked his head to see the expression on her face.
"You look surprised." he mused as he slipped the keys of the cabin out of his pocket and thumbed through them.
"I am." She admitted, raising her eyes to survey the intricate work of art that was the porch. "I expected this to be some kind of fishing shack in the middle of nowhere, not a luxurious holiday home."
Antonio glanced at her over his shoulder as he clasped the key in his hand, looking amused.
"Do you really think I would take you for a romantic getaway in Jay's fishing shack?" he queried, that devil may care smile crossing his handsome features.
It was that smile that made her heart swell in her chest. For a moment she was overcome with the depth of how much she loved this man and she would do everything in her power to keep that smile on his face.
Hey guys, I hope your having a great day!
Anime: I thought they would need some time to take a breath and recharge after what they've been through. I love writing Maggie's friendship with Kayla, they are so silly together. I really loved Trudy's relationship with Nadia and I would have loved to see how it developed. You will find out soon enough what Gabe has going on in his life. Who knows what will happen at the dance?
Lauren: I thought that they deserved a break and Antonio was very conscious of that especially after everything that happened. You have a few chapters of Wisconsin so you'll have fun seeing what the two of them get up to. The text chapters are so much fun to write.
Nat: Thank you for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it. When I started writing Antonio I had a nose around the site and I was really surprised to find there were virtually no stories about him. To me he is one of the most real people in the series so it was a shame that no one decided to do any writing on him. The text chapters are great to write because it allows me to get into the heads of different people and show the other parts of what is going on in the story. Thank you very much for your kind words, I hope this story ill continue to interest you.