I hung up with Bobby and then went in search of Casey. In a bid to help her settle into her new life here, he decided to have a small get-together with Hal, Kristina, Binkie, and Ram. She's only been here a little over two full days. Honestly, I'm not sure she's ready to venture out yet. Especially after yesterday's news from Morelli and Shaw. Still, I don't want to be the one making that decision for her.
A moment later, I stopped at the entrance to her bedroom where I found her sitting on her bed reading a book. "Knock, Knock."
She lifted her gaze from the book to me and smiled. I love seeing her smile. It's like a drug that I can't get enough of. "It's your apartment, Lester. You don't have to knock."
Hopefully, before too long she'll see this as her apartment too. Until then, I guess I'll need to keep reminding her. "It's also your apartment now, and you deserve the common courtesy of not being barged in on. Especially when you're still trying to get used to being here."
For a second, a look I couldn't quite decipher, claimed her features before she closed her book and moved to set it aside. When she turned back a curious smile was firmly in place. "Did you want something?"
Why did I get the feeling that I'd somehow made her uncomfortable? "Did I do or say something wrong?" I asked as I stepped just inside the bedroom door and stopped.
Her eyes widened as if she was shocked by my question. Then she began to shake her head. "Oh, no, Lester. Not at all. It's just…well…I guess after the last few years I'm not used to anyone considering my feelings."
Well, that admission bothered me more than I wanted to admit. Slowly, I crossed to the bed and sat on the edge, making sure to keep some distance between us. "What do you mean nobody considered your feelings?"
"Well." She averted her gaze and instead turned her attention to the windows. "When Blackmore had me, he didn't care about what any of us were feeling or what we wanted. If one of us spoke out of turn, we were punished, and we didn't have any privacy or respect. Most of the time we couldn't even go to the bathroom without one of his goons being in the room with us."
Her admission only served to piss me off. Too bad Blackmore and his thugs were sitting in a federal prison, because right now I was feeling the need for retribution. Seems like I was feeling that way a lot lately. "What about before you were kidnapped?"
Slowly her gaze drifted back to me. "The church dictated that being a loyal wife meant I was to follow my husband's direction without question. Adam was a good husband and treated me well, but I can tell you that he wouldn't have knocked before walking in."
If I understood her correctly, she hadn't received respect or privacy in a very long time, if ever. I'd damn well make sure that changed. "Well, that's not how we work here. I consider this your place too and will do my best to give you the respect and privacy you deserve."
"Thank you." She cocked her head to the side. "I'm going to assume that's not the reason you came in here, right?"
Damn if she hadn't completely sidetracked me. "Oh, right. Well, the Flyers are playing tonight, and Bobby decided to have a few people over to his apartment to watch the game."
For a second, excitement lit in her eyes before caution took its place. "Who is going to be there?"
I can understand why she'd be so concerned, but I hope that one day, she won't have to worry about such trivial things as who would be at a party. "Kristina and her fiancé Hal," I replied. Tank and Ram, who you met yesterday, and Binkie."
"Will Zachary be there?"
I shook my head. "I don't think so." I knew the reason she asked was because she'd already met Zero. Which meant he would now be a familiar face for her. Still, the fact she asked bothered me more than it probably should have.
"Oh, okay." I didn't miss the disappointment in her tone, but before I could offer to invite him, her brow knit. "Ram was the one who came up here with you yesterday, right?" she asked.
Taking the opportunity to move on from the Zero conversation, I nodded. "Correct. He's my field partner."
"And his real name is Eric, right?"
"Yes," I replied.
"And who is this Binkie person?"
"Bobby's field partner."
She seemed to be considering the offer, but when she didn't reply, I motioned toward the door. "There's no pressure, sweetheart. If you don't feel up to socializing tonight, I'll tell him we're not coming."
"No," she said as she scooted off the bed and stood. "I think I'd like to try and go. Afterall, if I'm going to be living here and running into people in the hallways, I better start getting to know them, right?"
Admiration slid through me as I pushed off the bed to join her. Despite everything she'd been through she somehow found the courage to try something new. Even though it would no doubt be uncomfortable for her. She slid a hand down the front of her dress, smoothing the imaginary wrinkles away. "Do I look okay? Should I change into something else?"
The new, short sleeve, blue and white floral print dress went almost to her ankles and provided more than enough coverage. I wasn't sure what she was so worried about. "You're beautiful," I replied as I reached for her hand to stop her fidgeting.
"You're just saying that," she huffed out a half laugh. "I don't want to embarrass you by not being dressed appropriately."
Obviously, at some point in her life she'd been berated for her choice of clothing. That realization only served to piss me off again. I really wanted to have a series of one-on-one conversations with the previous men in her life. "I'm telling you, Precious, that you're beautiful and you could never embarrass me."
She took a deep breath, held it, then gave a slow nod as she let it out. "Okay, but can we leave early if I get too overwhelmed?"
"Absolutely."
"One more question," she said holding up her hand.
"Which would be?"
"What's a Flyers?"
Ten minutes later we walked down the hall toward the sound of the blaring television and raised voices. She squeezed my hand as we stopped in front of Bobby's door. "You, okay?" I asked.
She nodded as she blew out another breath. "I can do this."
"Yes, you can," I agreed. "Everyone here is your friend, and everyone here would protect you if needed."
After a moment I lifted a hand and knocked. A couple of seconds later the door swung open and Bobby appeared from around the edge. "Hey, I'm glad you guys made it. Come in."
Bobby barely had the door closed behind us when Binkie walked out of the kitchen with a beer in his hand. "You invite us up and you don't even have the good beer?" he said.
I'm not sure if it was his voice or the sight of him that caused Casey to freeze, but she went rigid beside me. Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked at Binkie. "What's wrong?" I asked.
She shook her head and took a step back, banging into the now closed door. Realizing she couldn't escape, she whimpered and grabbed at my hands.
I let her take them in hers as I turned to face her, at the same time blocking her view of Binkie. "Tell me what's wrong."
"He…He." She closed her eyes and whimpered again.
The sound of her fear tore at me. Damn it, how was she supposed to feel safe if she couldn't leave my apartment without being afraid. "He?"
"He's the one who took Madalyn upstairs at the club," she whispered even as her eyes remained closed.
Shock slid through me as I stared down at her. I'd completely forgotten about the details of that night. To her, he would appear as nothing more than another John. "Precious, I need you to open your eyes."
Slowly, she did as I asked, and kept her gaze trained on me. "His real name is Bradly. He works for Rangeman. We all call him Binkie. He was undercover that night, working to get Madalyn and Isabella away from Blackmore, so we could arrest him without them getting hurt."
Her brow creased as if she was trying to process what I said. "He…he works here?"
I nodded. "He's one of the good guys, sweetheart. When he took Madalyn upstairs, it was only to protect her, not to have his way with her."
"He works here," she repeated this time more as a statement and not a question.
I took a step to the side, giving her a full view of Binkie who was still standing where he stopped. Then I glanced over my shoulder in time to see Bobby whisper something to him. He straightened, set his beer on the table, then gave a nod before slowly starting in our direction.
"Hello, Casey," he said as he approached. "My name is Bradley, but the guys call me Binkie. I'm sorry I frightened you."
"You work here," she said a third time as she looked him in the face. My brave girl. Damn, I wanted to tell her how proud I was of her for facing her fears.
He smiled as he extended a hand to shake. "I do. I was acting for Blackmore that night. I wanted to get your friends away from him so we could protect them. I'm just sorry we didn't have a third person to get you away from him."
"Stephanie did a good job of protecting me," she replied as she extended a trembling hand to shake his.
"Yes, she did." He held her hand in his for a moment before lifting it to his lips. Gently, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
I know he was only trying to ease her fears, but that didn't stop my protective instincts from kicking in. Before I could stop it, a growl tore from my chest as I took her hand out of his. Mine!
Binkie's grin turned wry as he stepped back, giving us space. "We're happy that you're here with us now. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask any of us for help, okay?"
She glanced from Binkie to me, as if seeking permission. I know between how she was raised and what Blackmore did to her, she'd been conditioned to seek permission. We'd have to work on her becoming more independent and making her own decisions. For now, I simply nodded in response. "I want you to always come to me first, but if I'm not around for some reason, any of the guys will help you."
"Okay," she said as she turned her attention back to Binkie.
His smile widened. "Good." Then in a move that spoke of practice, he slid a hand under her elbow and motioned into the room. "Let me introduce you to Ram and Hal." With his free hand he gestured to Kristina. "I believe you already know Kristina and Bobby."
"Um. Yes, I do. I actually met Eric already too," she said as she cut a glance over her shoulder at me.
Binkie stopped mid-step, his brows going up in surprise. "Eric?"
"She's not comfortable using nicknames," I said.
Her attention held mine. For a moment, I wondered if she could tell I was upset.
The grin on his face widened. "Gotcha." He turned to look back at Casey. "Well, darling, I'd be honored if you called me by my given name."
Fucking Binkie and his charm. It was everything I could do not to yank her out of his grasp. Despite wanting to pound him into the floor right now, I gave her a reassuring smile. No matter how pissed I was, this was good for her.
"Okay," she said with some hesitation as she tore her gaze away from me to look back at him. Yeah, she'd definitely picked up on my emotions. I'd have to let her know that it's not her I'm pissed at.
"Good," he said as he eased her into the empty place on the sofa next to Kristina. "Let me get you something to drink."
"Just a glass of water please," she replied.
"One water coming up," he said then headed into the kitchen. I motioned to her that I was going to follow him. I grabbed a beer out of the fridge, then turned back to Binkie. "Mats tomorrow morning."
He barked out a laugh as he uncapped the water bottle for her. "Worth it."
