Hello there!
This chapter is a little short compared to the previous ones but I really wanted to post something today. It is a bit "quiet", but is a needed preamble to the action that will come in later chapters. They are closing in on the whereabouts of their attackers and now the real chase can begin.
Even though this isn't much, I still hope you can enjoy it!
When Annabeth entered her room, she locked the door and went straight to the bathroom. She knew it was going to come even before she felt the first need to gag. She went to the toilet and waited the inevitable vomiting that was about to start.
After that she washed her mouth and looked at the mirror. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked devastated. She closed her eyes and couldn't help remembering everything that had just happened. The look of horror on both their faces when they realized what the man was gonna make them do, the shame of having to take Steve's manhood in, the way her body started to react to him, the pain of being denied her release, the fact that they had to let them escape.
And they had to let them escape because they were so off their game by what had happened. How could she ever look Steve in the eyes again?
Suddenly she took off her clothes and stepped into the shower. She didn't mind that the water was still cold; she could use the shock of temperature to get her act together. After that she needed to talk to Steve. She needed to apologize again because she definitely didn't want to lose him because of this.
It was already dawn by the time she made her way downstairs again. The chairs and the guns had disappeared from the living room, the disaster having already been cleaned out, and she could smell coffee coming from the kitchen. Danny was putting a plate full of toasts on the table and fresh pots of coffee as well. Steve was there already, sipping his coffee and massaging his temple. He had a killer headache. When she entered the room, he looked up at her but she averted her eyes, sitting down on a chair and grabbing her cup of coffee. She put three spoons full of sugar in it. The toasts were left untouched.
After the first uncomfortable silence, she asked.
- So, what now? Are we going to the office? – the shower had cleared her mind a lot and she was able the regain her composure. This wasn't the first time she was put through an uncomfortable situation and she wasn't going to let the bad guy win.
- Yeah. I was thinking we should start investigating the tip that we got about the man leaving the islands, it was obviously not true. If that was a trick to get your guard down, then the informant must have been in on it – said Danny.
- Okay – she answered, drinking the last of her coffee – let's go – she stood up and they followed her.
If anyone had seen them, they would have thought nothing was wrong. Steve had instantly taken the keys from Danny, getting behind the wheel. Annabeth had occupied her seat in the back and Danny went for the passenger seat. They even spent the whole ride talking about what leads they would follow to catch the suspect.
When they arrived at the office, Annabeth was actually thankful that Chin and Kono weren't going to be working that day. They had a family thing on one of the smaller islands and so they had the entire space to work. Right now she couldn't deal with more people knowing what had happened. It was enough that Danny knew and she intended to keep it that way.
Annabeth actually thought she did very well. After the last episode at the house where she had flinched away from Steve, she was concentrating on not doing that again. She knew she had hurt him, and she also knew he understood her, but she didn't want to keep causing him pain. So, whenever they bumped into each other or were too close looking at the same thing over a desk, she made a note to stay calm and unmoving, even when her heart was beating faster than normal.
They needed to talk. She didn't want anything to change between them, but she knew it would take time for things to go back to normal. For now, they could start by catching the son of a bitch that had done this to them.
By midday, they finally got something.
- Hey guys! – yelled Danny – I think I have something!
- What is it? – asked Steve, joining his partner and sister at the smart table.
- We got a hit from the facial recognition program. A camera picked him up near the ports.
- Okay gear up! – Steve commanded.
They made their way to the port and flashed his photo to a few men wondering around. They all pointed to the same boat repair building and so they made their way over there. They peeked through a window and could see a few people on the inside near the boat that was stationed on the middle of the facility. They checked their weapons and got into position. As always, Steve would break the door creating an entrance, Danny would come in second and Annabeth would bring up the rear. It was how they always did things and they all tried to keep the raid as professional as they could since the beginning, even though they knew, the moment they saw Sean and his brother, Steve would go ballistic and, for the first time, Danny would let him have his way without complaint, even joining him in bringing the SOBs down.
On his mark, the three of them entered the place, guns held high, and covered the area.
There you have it. That was chapter 20.
I know, I know… it wasn't much but, as you can see, they are closer now to catching the people who did this to them!
Again, I don't know when I'll be able to post next chapter but I'll start working on it soon. I just don't want to get too caught up with writing and then forget about living real life again.
Anyway… thank you as always for your patience and I hope to read reviews soon!
Until another chapter!