Chapter 7
I am so very sorry that it took me this long to update this story. School has been taking up so much of my time lately that I did not have any time to write. Luckily it is autumn break now, so I have some free time on my hands!
Thank you all so much for your responses to the last chapter I really appreciate all of them and it is truly amazing to read what you all think of it! I enjoyed reading who you thought was calling and now you'll finally find out if you were all right :P
I have already written part of chapter 8, so I hope to publish that one soon, really soon!
Again sorry for the long wait, but here is chapter 7!
'Hello?' she said questioningly.
'Hi, Andy. It's me.' The voice on the other end of the line spoke. It caught her off guard.
'Why are you calling me? How did you get this number?' she asked confused.
'Boyd gave it to me. With the murder going on, I joined his team, since the cases are connected and all. Anyway, I tried calling Swarek to brief him about the case, but he didn't answer, so I thought I tried to call you.'
Andy looked over at the bed. His jeans were lying on the floor beside it, phone probably still in the pocket.
'Fine, what news do you have?' Andy said. Something told her Sam wouldn't have any missed calls.
'Not much I'm afraid,' Luke said. 'This guy's good, the only reason we can even connect him to the murder is because of his m.o.. The way the murder was committed was obviously Jay. I'll spare you the exact details, but it was messy. However we did trace his calls yesterday afternoon and he made a phone call from about a block away from where the murder was committed, basically placing him on the crime scene.'
'Ok, so what do you want us to do?' Andy asked. She had wandered off towards the still unmade bed sitting down on top of it.
'He might make a reference to it, be sure you can pin him down on it. Play dumb and try to fish, but be careful. If he notices…'
'Yeah, yeah. I know,' Andy sighed, noticing how the bathroom door opened and Sam emerged, dressed only in a towel. She could suddenly understand how he had felt last night.
'Is, eh, is there anything else?' she asked quickly, eyes practically attached to Sam's body. As he walked closer, a questioning look on his face.
'No, I guess not. Is everything alright?' the question was careful, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer either way.
'I'm fine,' she said, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes.
'Alright. Good luck.' He hung up.
Sam was standing in front of her by now. She lowered the phone and closed it, looking up at Sam.
'Who was that?' he asked.
'Luke, calling about the murder.'
'Really? What did he say?' Sam asked, walking of to the dresser at the wall, pulling open a drawer and starting to go through it.
'They don't know much, all they're really sure off is that Jay did it. They just want us to keep our eyes open.'
'Well, that's new!' Sam muttered. 'Did he say anything else?' The question seemed almost accusing, like there might be something bothering him.
'No, he just said to be careful,' Andy said, still not quite understanding why he was asking.
Sam nodded, before strolling of to the bathroom again.
She stared after him. Why did he care so much about Luke briefing her? Was he upset about the fact that he had spoken to her instead of him, since he was basically the one who was really undercover and she was just backup? Or was it because she had just spoken to her ex?
The thought nearly made her laugh. Surely Sam wouldn't be jealous or anything? Right? The more she considered it, the more it made sense. She had never seen him act like that before, except for that time when they had an argument just after she had broken up with Luke. He had seemed over protective of her, trying to keep her away from him. Her talking to Luke just now had probably made him want to knock out Luke, judging by his reaction. She lay down on the bed for a second smiling widely. Sam's reaction just now only made his feelings more clear. How in the world was she going to get through the next two days now?
She jumped up from the bed and went to her bag. She really should put those things away, but if the operation was nearly over already, what was the use? Grabbing some clothes she turned to the bathroom just as Sam emerged. He gave her a look and than moved to the kitchen. She looked at him standing there with his back turned towards her for a second before she moved towards him.
'Sam,' she said voice soft. He turned around, eyes looking sad.
She knew she shouldn't do it, that she should just walk away, but she couldn't. She needed it.
Slowly she took a step closer, hand tracing up his arm.
'Andy, what are you doing?' Sam asked, looking curious and slightly confused now.
'Just making sure you don't worry so much,' she said moving closer, lightly placing her lips on his cheek, moving along his jaw. Before she knew what was happening, he had her pushed against the counter, hands cupping her face keeping her at a close range. He looked intently in her eyes, scanning them to ensure himself of the reason she was doing this. When he found nothing but sincerity in them, he pressed his lips down to hers slowly.
After a minute he pulled away and slowly took a step back.
'We really shouldn't do this,' he said, smiling unsure.
'Well, if you keep on acting like you did just now, we might have to. I wouldn't want you to feel unsure that this is what I want.' How did she get so certain all of a sudden? Wasn't she the one who had been doubting all this time? Sam's reaction to Luke's call had assured her even more that she had nothing to worry about.
'Oh, trust me, I'm sure,' he said, smiling and moving in to kiss her again. His hands moved down slowly, lifting her up as she swung her arms around his neck. He swiftly placed her on the kitchen counter. Her lips parted slightly as the kiss deepened. His hands moved up to her hair, soon getting caught in the messy strings. Eventually they broke apart, desperately for air. They leaned their heads together as their breathing slowed down to their normal rates.
'I should call Jay, confirm the meeting later today.'
'Am I coming?' Andy asked, searching for confirmation.
'There is no way I'm leaving you here alone.' Sam pressed his lips to her forehead before walking of to make the call. Andy stayed were she was, watching him as he slipped back into his undercover character, while glancing at her from time to time. As he hung up, she jumped to the floor and picked up the clothes that had fallen to the floor.
All of a sudden Sam stood in front of her again.
'What did he say?' she asked as he put his hands at her waist.
'We'll meet him and the guys for lunch. Mind you, you and the other girls might get send away to eat on your own.'
'Hmm,' Andy said edging slightly closer. 'I was kind of hoping I could be with you for lunch.'
'This is your chance to get the girls to talk. They might know something about last night.'
'I suppose,' Andy gave in. 'But still…' She pressed her lips to his for a moment.
'No fleeting the bathroom in a towel today?' he asked when they broke apart again and he noticed the clothes. She could hear a hint of disappointment in his voice.
'If we're going to at least try to stay focussed, it is probably better when I take these with me,' she said, indicating the clothes. She turned around and went into the bathroom. All throughout her shower and getting dressed, she was in a strange sort of bliss. She knew she and Sam were in the safe and that she had nothing to worry about. They would have to stay focused for the next day and a half, but after that they would be able to be together, work on them being a couple.
The morning passed slowly. They had coffee and sat on the couch, talking about nothings. They simply sat there, reaching out a hand to the other from time to time, but other than that they managed to stay off each other. By the time they had to go Andy was positive that they would have no problem whatsoever to pretend to be a normal couple, even though she wasn't quite sure what they were exactly.
They walked outside in the cold, hands intertwined between them.
When they'd almost reached the bar they were meeting the others for lunch, Sam suddenly pulled her towards the side of the sidewalk and kissed her passionately. When they broke apart, Andy looked at him questioningly.
'What was that for?' the question had slipped before she could think about it. They were supposed to be a couple.
'Should I have a reason?' Sam replied, pressing another kiss to her ear. 'Cover, they're watching us,' he mumbled softly. She quickly caught on, putting her arm around his waist and smiling at him.
Surely when they entered the bar, most of the others she had met the night before had already arrived and were sitting at the largest table.
'Hi, guys,' Sam said to the others. 'What's going on?'
'The usual,' Jay said looking over the two of them. 'You guys made it home ok?'
'Why wouldn't we?' Sam said as they sat down. Andy noticed that the other girls hadn't arrived yet, so she sat down next to Sam, leaning into him.
'Who are we still waiting for?' Toby asked, peering out the window.
'Paul and Amada are running late, Drew is picking up Kyra and Dave as we speak, Jimmy and John will be here shortly too.' They started talking about some deal that had apparently gone down a few days ago.
'The guy just called me, asking for more. Told him we could supply the moment we get new supplies ourselves. And with yesterday's 'unfortunate' event, that will be sooner than we had anticipated.' The guys all started laughing. Not quite sure if she should join in or not, Andy turned to Sam's face and started fidgeting with his hair. A door opening behind them caused all of them to look up. For some reason everybody seemed to arrive at the same time now. The moment everybody got their seats, the meeting part started.
'Alright,' Jay spoke, soon showing the rest who was in charge. 'As you all know by now our dear colleague has passed away. As good colleagues, the best we can do is make sure that his business will continue. Therefore, we'll have a slightly bigger fish to catch tomorrow evening. Not only does our own shipment come in, we'll also have to look after his.' Andy listened to this in surprise. Whatever sources they had at the station, it was clear they were not well informed at all. Nobody had said a single thing about an extra deal taking place now as well.
'Girls, I'm afraid you can't join us, it would only distract us.' The guys chuckled softly as the girls all stood up quickly.
'Sorry, babe,' Sam said as Andy walked to where the other girls al stood together already.
'Don't worry about it, I wouldn't want anything to go wrong with your deal,' Andy said, blowing a kiss in Sam's direction.
The guys all remained quiet as the girls walked out of the room, too a back room. It was dark, but fancy furnished. They all sank down to one of the large sofas situated around a low table.
'Are they always like that?' Andy asked.
'Yep,' Amanda said. 'You'd better get used to it. They never say a single word what is going on, and than they think we never know.'
'Yeah, but we always know,' Drew said. She looked annoyed. 'Jay may never tell me, but I always know what's bothering him. It's like a gift.'
Andy was slightly surprised to hear Drew say that. The evening before she had seemed so stern, all but inclined to share anything. Right now she seemed capable to give away everything Andy needed to hear.
'Really? I can never tell anything from Sam,' Andy said, though it was far from the truth. 'How do you tell?' Though it was probably dangerous to fish this direct, she knew it might just be her only opening.
'Little gestures, things he says. Like just now. Unfortunate or tragic event means he had something to do with it. I called him yesterday afternoon and he seemed distracted. It is all about adding up and connecting the dots.'
'Still, how do you know it is connected to his job?' Andy asked. The two other girls had zoomed out and were going through magazines again. Someone had come to bring them lunch consisting of sandwiches but no one had touched it yet.
Drew laughed.
'With Jay, everything is connected to his job,' she said picking up a sandwich and taking a bite.
Andy decided to leave it for the moment. The voice in her head telling her not to push her luck was nearly screaming by now.
They sat in the room for a near hour while nothing happened. The others didn't seem to willing to talk and Andy was almost at the point of actually reading one of the terrible girly magazines laying all around the room, when Dave entered the room. Kyra nearly jumped him, hugging him close as if she hadn't seen him in a week rather than an hour.
'We're finished,' Dave said walking back to the main table with his arm around Kyra. Andy quickly followed him, slipping into Sam's lap.
'Hey, you,' he said softly to her ear before placing a soft kiss there. Andy couldn't stop the smile from appearing on her face. As she looked over the table, she could see some papers still laying around. She couldn't read what was writing on them, but she was quite sure Sam had read them.
Jay got up from the table. It became quiet around the table as he stood there, looking like the leader he was.
'Alright, you know all you need to know for the moment. Don't forget the party tonight, I expect to see all of you there. Have a nice afternoon.' He turned and walked out of the building, ignoring all the goodbyes send his way.
'Ready to go?' Sam whispered in her ear, before he started to trace kisses down her throat. It was hard to stay focussed as his lips met her skin, but she had to. They were still on the job. Not that she could lose focus before the entire operation was finished, she thought sadly for the hundredth time that day.
'Yeah,' she whispered back, aware of the hoarseness in her voice.
They got up and said their goodbyes. Bundling up in their coats and scarves against the cold weather they walked out side. The skies were dark and it wouldn't take long for the first snow to fall. Andy walked close to Sam, not just in case they were followed or because of the weather, though would someone ask she would give either of those as a reason. The truth was that she simply wanted to be close to him. Who cared if they were taking things to fast in these circumstances? There was no one who would judge them, no one who would blame them. If she was to believe Traci people would probably thank the heavens for them finally giving in to their true feelings.
She was vaguely aware of Sam telling her some funny story but she couldn't focus on what it was about. She merely laughed at the right moments, or she hoped so.
She didn't notice anything on the way home. She had her eyes opened but they didn't seem to register anything they saw. They were just a few streets away from their home, when they were stopped by a large crowd gathered on the streets. Squat cars were parked all over the street, mostly from 27th and 10th, but she also noticed a few from looked around in surprise, but couldn't make out anything through the massive crowd.
She looked over at Sam, not sure at all what to do.
'What's going on?' she asked. For some reason, a gut instinct perhaps, a strange feeling started to flow through her.
'I don't know, but try to blend in,' Sam murmured into her ear. An opening appeared in the crowd and they quickly managed to manoeuvre forwards. The scene was just being contained with the all too familiar 'do not cross' signs. Several officers were taking statements from people in the crowd and they could see as ambulance personnel were rolling someone into the waiting ambulance. They stood there for a few moments before Sam nudged Andy to leave. It was no use to stay any longer, there was nothing they could do anyways.
They had just turned around when they heard someone calling after them.
'Excuse me, sir, miss, I'm going to have to ask you a few questions.' Sam grunted something in Andy's ear before turning around. Andy heard a small gasp coming from the officer behind them. She turned around and looked straight into the face of one of her friends.
Thank you so much for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, please let me know your thoughts in a review! Next post will hopefully be within the next few days!
B