Some confusion on what I'm doing here. As I stated at the beginning of the first chapter, I was displeased with the state of Sheer Luck and Luck Forgotten, thus making the decision to fix both stories up. I'm going through now, fixing each chapter and reposting as I finish them.
x-X-x
Thursday afternoon found Bobby and Sophie in her black SUV on their way back to the sleepy town she had been staked out in for the last several months. That morning Bobby had stopped by Major Case to see Eames before leaving. While he was gone she would be working with Logan, who had found himself between partners once more. She hugged Bobby while they waited for the elevator.
"Be careful," she gave him a small smile.
"Don't get too comfortable with Logan. You—you know—"
"I know. Me too, Bobby." They were both hesitant to exchange the sentiment verbally but they both knew the friendship that was between them. Bobby smiled at the memory before glancing over at Sophie, who seemed relaxed behind the wheel. There was no question of who would drive considering he didn't know exactly where they were going.
"So does anyone in town know that you're married?"
"It has been mentioned in passing, but for the most part no one really knows anything. I told Charles I would be gone for a few days because you were being released. Which reminds me, tomorrow we're having dinner with him."
"Anything I need to know?"
"Nothing in particular. Act like you've just gotten out of prison. Charles will ask about it, where you were serving time, what you did to get there."
"Why did Harris think it was necessary for you to go in saying you have a husband?"
"To protect me. A lot of guys who work for Charles wouldn't hesitate to go after a single woman. One with a husband in jail would keep them at bay. Harris occasionally forgets that I'm an agent, not his daughter."
"It can be hard working for your mentor."
"I saw your file, I know."
"You read my file?" Bobby smirked, a little unsure if he should be worried or flattered.
"Well I didn't read it cover to cover, it's the same length as a Dickens epic," Sophie laughed nervously as she mentally kicked herself for letting it slip that she had done research on him.
"I guess you have me at a disadvantage. I don't really have the clearance to get your file."
"Not much to see in mine. A few minor indiscretions, sneaking back stage at a concert."
"Really?" Bobby asked with a laugh, "Good band I hope?"
"I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't. Stones concert."
"Are you old enough to know who the Rolling Stones are?"
"35 isn't exactly young."
"Not that old either."
"A happy medium?"
"Something like that." The two fell into silence for the next hour or so. Sophie drove while Bobby read. "Are you getting tired of driving?"
"No, that's okay. We're almost there. Uh, there's an envelope on the backseat if you want to grab that."
Bobby turned and saw the large manila envelope resting on the seat next to her leather bag. He opened it to find all of the dummy background paperwork.
"No wedding pictures?" Bobby joked.
"Vegas elopement, no pictures."
"The Feds think of everything."
"We certainly try. There should be something else in there."
"Oh—," Bobby looked and found a pair of gold bands at the bottom. He pulled the smaller of the two and offered it to her, "Yours."
"Thanks," she slid the band on and glanced over as Bobby did the same thing. "Here we are."
The house would've been considered picturesque were it not for the seedy underbelly of the town. There was a white fence surrounding the yard, the two-story house was painted a bright shade of blue. The wraparound porch was neatly kept, the white trim painted perfectly with a swing hanging in the far corner. Bobby was certain he would have no trouble pretending this was home for a while.
"Do you know him?" Bobby asked, noticing the man lingering on the front porch of the house.
"Yeah, we're going in feet first right now," she sighed before climbing out of the SUV. "Eddie, what are you doing here?"
He was of average height, maybe a little shorter than Sophie. His slender build and dirty blonde hair falling across his eyes might've been considered handsome where it not for his shifty expression.
"Waiting for you, Soph. We've got some business to discuss." He approached her with a cocky stride until Bobby climbed out of the car. Eddie paused and shot Sophie a questioning look.
"Eddie, this is my husband Robert. Don't make any sudden movements, just got out," Sophie warned calmly before shooting an amused glance at Bobby. With a chuckle he suddenly found himself in character as he moved towards the considerably smaller man.
"What business do you have with my wife?"
"Uh- I-" the man stammered.
"I'll ask again. What business do you have with my wife?" Bobby had a staggering height advantage when standing next to Eddie. Sophie covered her mouth trying to hide an amused smile. "Did you not hear me?"
"I heard you—" Eddie turned to face Sophie. "Charles sent me to find out if you were back yet."
"She's back. What of it?"
"He wants to see you, soon as possible." Eddie was desperately trying to avoid eye contact with Bobby.
"We're having dinner tomorrow, is that not soon enough?" She asked in an annoyed tone.
"Guess not."
"Here's the situation—Eddie was it?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, here's the situation Eddie. I just spent two years locked up away from by beautiful wife. You've seen Soph, can you imagine what I want to do with her after being away for that long?"
Eddie looked over at her again, taking in the fitted black t-shirt she wore beneath her leather jacket, before chuckling and nodding.
"Hey!" Bobby gave him a warning smack against the back of his head. "You run along and tell your boss that we're going to be busy for the next several hours at least. Got it?"
Eddie turned to Sophie again; she had turned a bright shade of red. Any worries she might have had about Bobby getting into this character were gone. For a moment her eyes met with her husband's and for a moment Sophie allowed herself to imagine him following through on his earlier statement. Her blush went a shade deeper as different ways to fill those hours flooded her imagination.
"Looks like a yes to me. Let's go, babe," Bobby grinned walking past Eddie towards the house. Sophie hurried to catch up with him, letting his take her hand and pull her inside. Eddie watched them go, taking note of the way Bobby's hand moved down the length of Sophie's back, finally resting on her hip. The two disappeared inside and Eddie went to find his boss.
The house was rather sparsely decorated; it still looked like it was staged for an open house. Sophie had simply passed it off as having just moved in and not having too much concern for decorating. They stood in the entranceway for a few moments before Bobby realized that his hand was still resting on her waist. With a small apology he removed his hand and placed it firmly in his jeans pocket.
"Well, this is it," Sophie smiled, walking towards the living room.
"It's nice," Bobby reassured her, looking around the room they had drifted into. It had a decent size leather couch and a recliner, both facing a flat screen television. A coffee table was in leg's reach of the couch giving it all a very comfortable feel.
"Uh, kitchen and laundry room are down this hall," she pointed down the short hallway towards a swinging door. "Dining room is on the other side of the stairs here. Bathroom under the stairs, which is a bit of a snug fit as the house really wasn't built for tall people."
"And upstairs?"
"I'll show you," Sophie marveled at the unintentional flirtatious tone that came out of her mouth. It wasn't really like her to behave like this with someone she was working with; come to think of it she wasn't like that at all. She decided to ignore it as long as possible. To try and calm the bizarre feeling she got in her stomach when he put his hand on her back. "Den, bedroom, en suite."
The bedroom was to the left, the den to the right. It seemed to hit Bobby and Sophie at the same time that they hadn't discussed sleeping arrangements at all. Bobby moved towards the den and looked in to see if there was a couch.
"I can just sleep in here," he offered.
"Oh no, you can take the bed if you want. I don't know how well that couch will accommodate your height."
"We could switch off."
Yeah, that'll work. Uh, I'll go see if there's anything eatable for dinner."
"Okay, I'll grab the bags from the car."
Their first day together as a married couple was certainly off to an awkward start. And it was about to get worse. Bobby had just reached the front door when he noticed a dark green Corvette pulling to a stop behind Sophie's SUV.
"We've got company, Soph!" He called out, hurrying back towards the kitchen. "What does Charles drive?"
"Green Cor—" She didn't manage to finish answering before he pulled her into a kiss. It only took a second before she had her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers slipping into his hair as his did the same. The doorbell ringing forced them apart, Bobby glancing down at her reached to unbutton the top two buttons of her blouse before giving her another quick kiss.
"Best way to smear lipstick."
She nodded blankly before making her way to the front door.
"Charles—" Her face was flushed, the deep burgundy lipstick smudged around her lips, hair messy and out of place. The two loose buttons displayed her slightly heaving cleavage.
Charles was a much more striking figure compared to Eddie. He was about 6', although Bobby still retained his physical advantage, there wasn't much to the man in terms of muscles or weight but he had an expression no one could fight with. It wasn't too hard to believe that this man was in charge of such a despicable, powerful organization.
"Sophie, I heard you were back." He eyed her carefully, his gaze resting on her breasts for a moment before shifting back to her face. He had the slightest Australian accent, mostly faded after so many years in the States.
"Soph, who was it?" Bobby called appearing from the kitchen; buttoning up the shirt he undid himself.
"This must be Mr. Duncan."
"Robert, please." Bobby offered his hand.
"Pleasure to meet you at last. I'm Charles Carey, I'm sure Soph has mentioned me."
"Yeah."
"I hear you just got out of one of the state's finer establishments."
"You could say that." Bobby adopted a cocky smirk he often saw on proud criminals, the ones who felt no guilt for their crimes.
"What for? If you don't mind my asking."
"Auto theft."
"Hope it was worth being away from your lovely wife for so long."
"Vintage cars and I never heard any complaints from my wife."
"Of course. Might I have a word with her?" Bobby looked to Sophie for a moment, she nodded.
"Sure. Don't be too long now." He shrugged, giving her a smack on the butt before heading back to the kitchen. He waited there for a few minutes, looking through the fridge and pulling a few things they could use to make dinner. It was some time later he heard the front door slam shut.
"Soph?" He called after she didn't join him. Venturing out to the living room he was perplexed to find it empty.