The Long Road Home Job
Chapter Six
"What do you mean she's gone?" Eliot looked at Hardison and Parker.
"She came in grabbed her bag and said she was done and walked out the door."
"And you didn't think to stop her?" Eliot glared at the two people standing in front of him.
"Nobody said she wasn't allowed to leave." Parker scrunched up her face.
"How long ago?"
"Five minutes. Ten tops." Hardison said.
"Find her Hardison." He looked at Eliot and shook his head pointing to the desk. Two cell phones and two sets of ID's laid there. "I'm heading out to her mother's. You tell Nate and Sophie to stay here. I'm gettin' her back." Eliot stormed out the door and headed out into the night.
"Should we be worried?" Parker asked.
"Hell yeah, I just don't know who I should be worried about more at this point."
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"You really are a lot like me Kenna." Joelle looked at her daughter.
"Don't compare me to you, ever. I got out of this one horse town and I would have never looked back if I didn't get these." She handed her mother some e-mails. "Seems the land is worth something after all."
"Who sent you these?"
"Hell if I know. I just know between your land and my so called daddy's land I should be rolling in cash anytime now. Then I walk into the place and you and your sugar daddy have a whole little business going on here. Selling meth to the locals your new dream job?"
"It pays the bills."
"So does all the back child support you get from, what six different daddies? If mine wasn't dead you'd be insanely rich. Your lawyer friend Kane find them all for you."
"Tell me what you want to stay gone Kenna." Her mother watched as she paced the room looking at picture and nick knacks.
"I want a cut of your business dealings. If you need to move the meth I got people in Boston that are looking for a good supplier. I can talk them into using you and paying you top dollar."
"You're not that kind of girl. I raised some floozies and some drunks baby but you…you were my golden child."
"Maybe because Eliot pulled me out of this hell hole before you tarnished me like the rest of them."
"Look at you now. Does he know you're a dealer?"
"He really doesn't care what I do when I'm not in his bed." Kenna leaned on the big wooden desk. "Do we have a deal?"
"How much of a cut?" The older woman looked skeptical.
"I should ask for twenty because you got a good thing going here but Billy already warned me that he's your guard dog in all this. So I'll settle for ten." Kenna stood up. She handed her mother a piece of paper with a phone number. "Call me when you get the okay from the lawyer and the deputy." She walked to the door and turned. "Get the kids out of this before they get hurt mother. They didn't ask to be brought up this way. None of us did." Kenna left the house and slammed the door. Before she got down the steps a hand clamped over her mouth and she was being carried down the steps and carried her over the rough terrain. She was shoved into the back of a van. It was dark but the man straddling her was more familiar then not.
"Have you gone and lost your mind Kenna Shane?" Eliot looked down on her. She shook her head. "Well you could have fooled me." He reached down and slipped an ear bud in her ear and brushed her hair from her face.
"All the bugs and camera's are in place Nate." She told him.
"You okay Kenna, I mean really okay?" Nate asked.
"I'll let you know a little later." She pulled the ear bud out and pulled Eliot down for a kiss. Her heart was racing and the adrenalin was pumping harder then she had ever felt it. Pushing and pulling on his clothes she managed to maneuver him inside her with a satisfying moan.
"You are insane baby." He whispered as he moved with her. She smiled. The chill up her spine was a good thing this time.
"You wouldn't have it any other way darlin'." She gasped and pulled both of them over the edge.
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"I'm too old for doing it in a vehicle, no matter how big." Eliot said as he pulled Kenna close.
"You might not want to tell Hardison we tarnished Lucille the second. He may never talk to either of us again." Kenna laughed. Eliot loved the sound. He hadn't heard much of it the last few days. He leaned over and kissed her and grabbed his shirt.
"We should get back to the hotel." Kenna sat up.
"Are you afraid Hardison will find out we were naughty in his baby." Eliot shook his head.
"You're really enjoying this aren't you?" Kenna let the t-shirt covering her fall. "Kenna Shane we have a big comfortable bed back at the hotel." He went to button his shirt but there wasn't any to button. "How am I going to explain this?"
"They aren't making shirts like they used too." Kenna pulled on her jeans. She watched Eliot as he pulled on his and stood.
"Is something wrong?" She shook her head.
"Did I do okay tonight?" Eliot smiled.
"You need to ask?"
"I don't mean that. I mean at the bar…and with my mom." He pulled on his boots and looked at her.
"You know you did. You got the bugs and camera's planted just like you said you could." He kissed the top of her head. "You better get dressed woman or Hardison will see more of you then any of us would like." Eliot got into the driver's seat and started up the van.
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Nate sat outside the hotel waiting for Eliot and Kenna to return. They had planted a lot seeds tonight and things were going to move fast from here on out. He hopped that Kenna and Eliot would be okay after this was all over. They both deserved to be happy after all they had been though. The van pulled up a few minutes later and Kenna got out. She looked a lot better then she had when she left the bar.
"How did it go?" Nate handed her a beer.
"Better than I had hoped." She sat next to him and watched Eliot straighten up after their little tryst.
"What's wrong with Eliot?"
"He doesn't want Hardison to know what we did in his van." Nate almost choked on his beer.
"I don't want to know." Kenna smiled.
"No you don't." She said as she played with the label of her beer. "When we get back to Boston I think its best I go back to just coming around when someone needs first aid."
"I thought you liked helping out around here?"
"I do but tonight…Eliot has enough to worry about and honestly I don't want him loosing focus because he's worried about me." She watched him get out of the van. "I'll always be around if you need me, I just don't think I want to make it an everyday thing."
"Did you tell Eliot?"
"He won't even know I'm not around." Eliot came up to them. Shirt unbuttoned and hair all messed up. Nate handed him a beer.
"Rough night at the office Eliot?" Nate smiled behind his beer.
"You told him?" Eliot looked at Kenna. She shook her head.
"I said nothing." She stood up. "I'm going to take a shower. Goodnight Nate."
"Night Kenna. Sleep tight." He watched the young woman go to her room. Eliot sat in the chair she vacated. "She did a hell of a job tonight Eliot."
"Yeah, she's one hell of good actress." He took a long drink of his beer. "Do you really think she can do what we do every day?"
"I think she can do the any job we give her but I think she's more comfortable being a paramedic and stitching you up when you need it." Eliot let out a long breath.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
"Are you ever going to tell her you love her?" Eliot looked up at the sky.
"She knew what she was getting into when we started this Nate." He knew that someday they always thought about would never come for the two of them. They were too much alike. Too stubborn, to opinionated and too scared to ever be happy. And there was that price on his head looming over them all the time.
"As long as your happy going on this way, who am I to give you advice?" Nate got up.
"Sophie has a meeting with the mayor in the morning. He doesn't know you so I'm sending you in as her photographer. With all the seeds planted I want her to be able to get out."
"Will you stay with Kenna? I know she can take care of herself but we made a lot of enemies today."
"I'll take her and Parker to lunch. Keep them both out of trouble." Eliot chuckled. Standing up he threw is empty beer bottle in the trash.
"Thanks." He went to his door but stopped before opening it. "I do love her Nate. More than I want to…more then I should." Nate nodded. He knew the price Eliot could pay for letting himself have a weakness.
"We won't make you regret letting her into your life again Eliot. She can only make you stronger. Make you want to fight harder to come home at night." Eliot nodded and headed into the room. Kenna was curled up on the bed, her back to him. He felt the need to run deep in his gut. She was fire and the more he messed with her the more he was going to get burned.
"Kenna?" He whispered. He hoped she was in her deep, don't wake me up till morning sleep.
"Yeah?" She turned around. Her eyes were red and tears streaked her face.
"What's wrong?" He didn't go to her. He knew if he did he would lose what was left of his self control. She sat up and wiped her eyes with the sleeve the shirt she was warring.
"I guess I just needed to finish an extremely stressful night with a good old fashion cry. I tried to be done before you got back." Eliot went to the bed and sat down.
"You don't have to be afraid to cry around me."
"Yes I do. You hate weakness. You always have." She sniffled. He didn't confirm or deny it. He stood up and went to the window and looked out at the stars.
"You know that what I do puts my life on the line every single day. And what I've done makes it even worse. I just can't worry about how it's going to affect the people around me." He turned and looked at her. "Nate and the others know what life on the run is like."
"And I don't?" She stood up. "Up until a few months ago I was on the run. I moved so often I didn't know what time zone I was in." She stood in front of him. "I may not know what it's like to have countries fighting over who wants me dead more but I know what that feeling deep in your gut is that tells you to run even though you know you're safe."
"I guess you do understand more then I give you credit for." She touched his cheek.
"See if we talk more and fight less maybe we will realize that we aren't so different." He took her in his arms and held her close. If he was going to fight for anything he wanted to fight to keep what they had together. If it meant letting himself open up a little more maybe he could make this work. He kissed her then. Soft and slow. The heat building inside him. Carrying her to the bed without breaking the kiss, he did something neither one of them had done in their lives for a long time. He took it slow.