Thank you guys so much for reviewing, it's very inspiring! I hope you enjoy it and that everyone has a wonderful Christmas/weekend.
While this isn't an M rating it is a pretty high T, just so you know. Mostly because I'm paranoid though.
This City Is On Fire
After leaving Mike's house, I start walking. I don't have an actual destination in mind; I just keep walking and trying to clear my head. I've got a million emotions running through me and all of them are fighting to take center stage in my head. Anger is winning so far, but I'm having trouble deciding who it really is I'm mad at. Mike is at the top of the list, because he's letting this happen, but then again I know he didn't force anyone to agree to this plan.
I'm a little mad at myself if I'm honest, if I hadn't dropped the glasses than there would be no need to send Emma in by herself. I squeeze my eyes shut and draw in a breath, every time I think about it my stomach turns. It's dangerous for anybody, let alone the girl who doesn't even have a fraction of the training the rest of us have and sending her in may just get her killed.
Shaking off the anger and the thoughts I quicken my pace, trying to fight my way throw the crowds that line the street. I've entered the busier part of downtown, the one that holds the more upscale clubs and bars. I never come down here unless it's for a job and while I would have loved these places a few years ago I have my plate pretty full now and my energy level is little to none. The last time I was actually in a club this nice was a few nights ago and even then it was all business. I always offered to take Emma somewhere nice like that but she was quitter than most women I had dated.
She's young but she's still very subdued, not like a lot of other people her age who like partying and going out in their spare time. She likes calm and quiet, mostly going out to restaurants and then right back home after. It's different for me, being a former spy and current freelancer, but it's definitely something I admire. Sometimes you need someone who will make you stop to take a break for a while.
The funny thing is, she's like a completely different person when she's at work. She's confident, fearless and completely determined to find the answer no matter what it takes. Sometimes I think that's what draws Mike to her. If he knew she wasn't going to stick around until the end he probably would've turned and walked out the door as soon as she opened her mouth.
By now the crowds have thinned out and the streets are mostly empty, nothing more than a few couples and a shop owner smoking a cigarette outside his store. I hear a car coming up behind me and it slows until it's come to a stop beside me. I know it's Emma before I even look over, mostly because she wouldn't go home until she knew where I was at. I'm expecting her to be upset that I walked away, I'm sure she didn't want to be alone after another round as Gomez's leading lady for the night.
I cast her a sideways glance, hands shoved deep into my pockets. I'm still wearing the clothes from the party but I can tell that she's changed. Her tank top and shorts have been replaced by a baby blue sundress and she's looking at me worriedly.
"When did you get your car back?" I ask casually, remembering the last time I saw the thing it was sitting on the side of the road with a flat tire. She shrugs her shoulders slightly and sighs.
"Fi took me to go get it. Now get in," she says firmly, her patience quickly running out. Feeling too exhausted to argue I go ahead and get in, thankful to sit down and rest my legs.
"You know I'm pretty sure I'm the one that's supposed to ride all over town looking for you," I say while trying to lighten the mood.
She rolls her eyes but laughs with me. "You are, but I was the one with enough sense to wait until I had a ride."
It didn't need asking, we went straight to Emma's apartment, practically dragging our exhausted bodies up the stairs and inside. I strip off my button up that's now covered in sweat and toss it in the hamper in the bathroom. Emma's somewhere in the bedroom looking through some of the stuff I've left here and trying to find something that looks professional for tomorrow. With all these parties and meeting I'm running out of nice clothes; not that I had many to begin with.
I'm standing over the sink and looking in the mirror, noticing the dark circles beneath my eyes. These past few weeks are taking their toll, not only on me but the whole team as well. Sighing I splash some cold water on my face and take a few deep breaths, tightly gripping the edge of the sink.
The thought of the busy week ahead is giving me a headache and all I want to do is sleep. Tomorrow I have to go to the shipping dock and meet with our inside guy and Emma will go and see Gomez. It seems like a good set up, he'll be distracted while we get the layout of the place and figure out just how he plans on getting the drugs out of the city.
A sudden knock on the door distracts me and Emma's voice filters through. "Jess, are you alright?"
She sounds concerned and I know I'm worrying her. The whole time we've been on this case I've been nothing but stoic, but now I'm reaching a breaking point and it's showing. Opening the door I'm met with her leaning against the wall, jaw clenched as she watches me. Her eyes are burning holes through me. Taking a chance I reach out and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, holding my breath and listening to hers catch in her throat.
"I'm OK," I say in a whisper, "just worried." She closes her eyes and exhales, leaning into my touch.
"You don't have to worry about me, I'm a big girl." She giggles a bit when I laugh and hesitantly she leans in and rests her forehead against my shoulder, sighing deeply.
"God this is crazy," she breathes, "I'm just ready for this to be over."
Pressing my lips to her hair I breathe in the scent, wrapping an arm around her and holding her tightly, as if she'll slip away. "It will be soon. I promise."
She looks up, eyes shining with unshed tears and I can't help but think that I put them there. What she does next surprises me more than it should but I don't care. Her lips brush against mine, carefully as if she's testing the waters before deciding to jump in. It's like magnets and we're drawn together so quickly I barely have time to blink. Emma wraps her arms around my neck, fingers twined together while I grasp her hips and pull her close. after a moment the need ot breathe trumps our desires and we pull apart; only briefly though.
Things heat up quicker than I expect and she begins snaking her hands beneath my white t-shirt, forcing it over my head before she tosses it onto the floor. I want things to go farther, but inside I know she may not be acting rationally and the last thing I want is for her to regret something. For her to regret us. Grabbing her shoulders I pull back, looking in her eyes.
"Em, you gotta be sure," I pant, the fire burning in my stomach getting hotter by the second. The corner of her mouth tips up slightly and she pulls out of my grasp, looping a finger through my belt loop and pulling me forward. Our faces are so close I could kiss her again but I hold back.
"I'm sure," she whispers. "Please, just let me have this. I need this… I need you." And that's all it takes. Our lips collide roughly, hands roaming desperately in an attempt to rediscover what we'd thought we'd lost. I push her back, stumbling into the bedroom until we're right in front of the bed and all of a sudden things seem real. I pull her dress over her head in one swift movement, revealing the curves of her body and sucking in a breath. She was so damn beautiful.
From there things begin to blur, but the taste of her lips lingers on mine and the sound of her gasps send chills through me as we fall into bed. It comes back to me quickly, what she likes and what turns her on; what slows her down and what makes her beg. All of it rushes through my mind as sweat soaks us and the smell of sex wafts through the air.
Our hips move in sync heat and friction building up so quickly it makes me dizzy. My lips travel over every inch of her skin, and her back arches as she moans. Her fingernails scrape against my back and I can tell she's close. When she welcomes me inside her, hips jutting forward almost instantly, her eyes squeeze shut and her mouth opens. She's clinging to me as we reach the edge, slowly tumbling over and beginning a descent that has both of us fighting for breath, names tearing form our lips.
In the final moments she clings to me tightly, face pressed into the crook of my neck as she pants. Bracing myself with my hands I try and catch my breath while my chest heaves heavily and Emma's head flops back against the pillows, a smile on her face. Collapsing onto the bed beside her I stare at the ceiling, trying to get my mind to stop racing and my heart to stop beating as fast.
Part of me has waited for this for what feels like years for this and it was everything I remember it being but the other part feels, even though it's what she wanted, that maybe this wasn't meant to be just yet. Both of us are tired and to be honest I feel like I'm operating on nothing but pure willpower. I haven't slept in days, not for more than a few hours at least and my last honest meal seems like a distant memory. I know Emma is no different and even though she seemed to enjoy it as much as I do, pressure makes you do things you're not exactly aware of.
For now I keep the thought to myself, happy to have Emma back where she is. Right now she has her head on my chest and a hand resting on my stomach, fingers stroking my skin gently. Wrapping my arm around her I press a kiss to her hair, listening to her breathing even out before I finally close my eyes, allowing myself to finally slow down for a bit.
…
The next morning I wake up in a bed that isn't my own and for a moment I forget where exactly I am. Blinking a few times I let my vision clear before slowly sitting up, rubbing a hand over my face. Emma's bedroom comes into view, the memories of last night coming along with it. it hadn't been a dream.
For the first time I notice her side of the bed is empty and my brow furrows in confusion as I stumble on tired legs, going to look for my t-shirt when I notice the only thing I can find are my boxers shorts. Pulling the shorts back on I walk to through the hallway and see my shirt where we left it last night and the sensation of cold hands on my skin from last night sends a tremor through me.
I hear the sound of the shower on the other side of the door but I push it open anyways to get to my tooth brush. I can hear Emma humming and a smile flashes across my face.
"You should go professional," I say over the drum of the water. She squeaks when she hears my voice and draws back the curtain, peering around and glaring at me. I smirk in return.
"Are we meeting Michael in a little bit? I figure he wants to go over what's gonna happen, it seems to be his thing." She says, leaning against the porcelain wall as she watches me through the mirror, still unmoving. Quirking an eyebrow I spit the foam into the sink and rinse my toothbrush.
"You need some help or are you just enjoying the view?" I ask sarcastically. When a devilish grin breaks out on her face I feel my face flush. She giggles and disappears behind the curtain again.
"Last night not enough for you?" she asks in a sing song voice before the water shuts off. Grabbing a towel off the rack I place it in her outstretched hand and wait until she emerges, a large cloud of steam following her. Catching her arm I pull her close and press a kiss to her lips, feeling as if someone else has taken over my body. A few days ago I never would've tried something like this but now... Things have changed.
"Last night… Was amazing." I say between pecks, and she smiles into my lips, beads of water trickling down her neck and collar bone. She pulls away and grabs another towel, wringing her hair with it as she saunters out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom.
She dresses quickly while I make coffee in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and mindlessly scanning the paper. Emma comes in and takes one of the mugs I have set on the counter taking a sip before flitting around and grabbing her bag, pulling out her cellphone.
"I told Fi we'd call in the morning when we were up; she said she'd have Michael up and at the Carlito whenever we wanted to meet." She says, tapping out her text before laying the device on the counter.
"You need to go get dressed," she observes, pointing to the clothes she has laying out on the back of the couch.
After dressing in record speed I reemerge and see her waiting by the door, car keys in hand while she looks at her phone.
Casting me a glance she asks, "Ready? Mike and Fi are heading to the Carlito right now."
Grabbing my gun I nod and usher her out the door. "Ready as I'll ever be."
…
After the usual meet with Michael I head down to the loading dock, waiting patiently for this Jeremy guy. Emma was a little hesitant for me to go which is a little funny because just the night before I had made a big deal about her going for Gomez on her own. of course the circumstances had been different than.
The sun is beating down on me and I'm becoming more impatient with each passing minute. I don't know what Gomez's guy looks like but he shouldn't be that hard to spot. The workers here operate on rotations and right now there are only about a dozen actually working.
Folding my arms across my chest I lower my sunglasses when I see a younger man walking towards me, suspicion painted on his face. He's got on a bright blue uniform and hie tries hiding his face with a baseball cap pulled down low.
He walks up to me and grabs my arm without a word, pulling me along with him. I start to protest but he pulls a gun from his waist band and shoves it into my side, willing me to keep walking. Knowing Gomez I should have expected something like this.
The man, I think Gomez called him Jeremy, walks me to the back of the dock until we're alone behind some of the heavy red crates before he pulls the gun away and puts it back in his waistband. His expression is stony but he looks a lot calmer than I feel which is probably a good thing. Then again you never can tell with people like this.
"Are you Andre?" he asks casually, pulling a cigarette and lighter out. I nod, straightening out my jacket and watching him closely. He takes a drag before offering it to me but I shake my head.
"So," I say, clapping my hands together and trying to get this show on the road, "Gomez said you're gonna show me where everything's gonna go down." Jeremy chuckles and takes another puff, blowing a cloud of thick smoke in my direction.
"I told him it was risky doing business with a guy from a club but he seems to trust you. Either that or he really likes the little lady you've got tailing after you. She's a pretty one, I'll give her that." He says calmly, and I feel my blood boil. This wasn't how things were supposed to be going.
"You uh.. You've met her before?" I ask, trying to sound casual. Jeremy casts his cool gaze on me before he smirks, shrugging one shoulder like it was nothing.
"Not exactly. I've seen her around before though… Although the last time I saw her here name wasn't Jade." Hearing this I squeeze my eyes shut and curse under my breath. Putting on a poker face I laugh loudly and try looking confused.
"You sure we're talking about the same girl? I've known Jade for a while and she never mentioned anything about another-" I'm interrupted mid babble by a sharp click.
Opening my eyes I'm not exactly surprised to be looking down the barrel of another gun but the feeling isn't something you ever get used to. Jeremy is looking at me with a smug expression, cocking his head to the side as he watches me squirm.
"I think you know what I'm talking about. And you better start explaining."
Dun, dun, dun (I've always wanted to do that!) Nothing like a good ol' cliffhanger to last us until Christmas is over right? But really please don't hate me, I actually didn't plan this when I started writing this chapter but I think it makes it a little more exciting and now I have a completely different direction for his story and it is pretty awesome. Again, everyone have a Merry Christmas and be safe!
Up next: Revelations are made and a life hangs in the balance.