Hey everyone!
I want to thank you for the sweet messages asking for updates.
It's been crazy lately and finding the time to write has been a real challenge. However, I do want to keep writing and have more ideas cooking in my brain... so let's see what happens.
In gratitude to your comments, that is what pushed me to keep writing, I'm updating both my stories today, so I hope you enjoy them!
Thank you!
Happy Reading...
XOXO,
Nina
Both their phones continued to ring but they just ignored them, not wanting to face the reality that awaited them. Instead, they just enjoyed every second they were getting, with gentle kisses and soft caresses until the noises that were coming from the door made them back away from each other.
Kevin opened the door and walked down the stairs afraid of the answer he was going to get from his friends.
"I brought coffee." He said in an attempt to calm the waters.
"Thanks." Kim said faintly as she walked towards Atwater to take one of the cardboard cups that he was carrying in a cardboard tray.
Kevin was a bit shocked, this was not exactly what he was expecting. Yelling? Arguing? Maybe.
But this? That sad look on her face? The way she looked down as she walked away from him and stepped out of the basement? It was definitely not what he had in mind.
"What happened?" He asked his friend showing all his concern, but Adam just shook his head and followed Kim out of there.
"Kim. Wait." Adam said loud enough for her to hear him, making her turn around.
"I just wanna go home, Adam."
"I know." He said sweetly as he looked into her eyes that were showing him just how shattered she felt and to be honest, he was feeling the same. "My truck is just around the block. Would you let me take you to your place?" Adam knew he had to be gentle if he didn't want to be pushed away by her.
When Kim nodded and started to make her way towards him, he felt like his heart was part of his body again.
The brunette was feeling the weight of her words on her shoulders, and even though she was truly convinced that properly ending their chapter together was the best for both of them to move on once this case was over, the voice in her great was telling her the complete opposite.
She wished things were different for them. That she wouldn't have to go back to DC and she could actually enjoy sharing time with Adam. Especially now that she knew how he felt about her and that their current feelings were mutual.
When she was finally standing next to him she didn't hesitate, she let her body language say everything she wanted to express.
Her left arm snaked Adam's waist, while her face shyly rested on his chest, as the rest of her body waited to be tucked by his arm.
Not only did he pressed her closer to his body, but he also crowned the moment by leaving a sweet kiss on the top of her head.
They walked away under Kevin's attentive watch, who was still trying to figure out what the bell had happen between those two the previous night.
The car ride was quiet, none of them knew exactly what to say or do; but one thing was for sure, Kim's hand never left its spot on Adam's knee.
He finally killed the engine and covered her hand, that looked minuscule compared to his.
"Here we are." He said.
"Uh huh. I'm gonna take a shower and get ready for our meeting with Jones today."
"Ok." He looked through the windshield, trying to steady his heartbeat and straighten his thoughts. "Kim…"
"What?" She turned to look at him almost instantly.
"Nothing, I just want you to know that I respect you and your needs but that doesn't stop me from telling you again that I love you. Always have and I'm sure I always will."
Kim was trying to hold back her tears, because everything was becoming too real now. As soon as they bring down Jones everything will be over and it was crushing her soul.
"You'll always be my girl, and I am extremely sorry I couldn't make this work."
His words cut deep into her skin. She could feel the sentiment in each sound that was coming out of his lips and she felt the exact same, even if some stupid reason that she couldn't figure out kept her from confessing her own love to him.
However, Kim was determined not to let her fears win once more; so if she couldn't express her feelings with words, she was more than ready to do it with actions.
She leant forward and held his face between her hands, only to penetrate his eyes with hers before kissing him like there was no tomorrow.
Adam didn't hold back either, giving it all in that affectionate exchange.
When they had to pull away for air, her hands were still glued to his cheeks while her fingers gently scratched his beard. "I'm sorry too. I should have done things differently, but I guess all that doesn't really matter now, does it?"
Kim wasn't expecting an answer, so she moved forward again and pressed her mouth on his multiple times.
"I'm gonna get going." She whispered as her forehead was leaning against his. "I guess I'll see you at the bullpen."
"Hold on." He unbuckled his seatbelt and did the same with hers. "Can we, at least, get a proper hug before you leave the car?"
She just nodded before he wrapped his arms around her holding her so tight she felt like their bodies were about to merge into one.
They stayed like that for some minutes, but that wasn't enough for either one of them.
"We'll be fine, right?" She asked as she brushed away a lone tear that managed to escape from her eye as soon they parted from their embrace.
"Yeah. Yeah, we will." Now it was Adam the one to close the distance between them to kiss her lips. "I promise."
Getting out of his truck was difficult, but it was even worse getting in the right state of mind to face the operation they both had to go into in just a matter of hours.
They both did their best to keep their feelings from interfering in their jobs, and as the professional officers they were, they managed
to get in character and be ready to take Jones down.
The bullpen was equally busy as it was quiet. Everyone was on their toes, trying to get every last detail of this case right.
Voight had already given inidications to the whole team and all they had to do now was wait for the time to come and for Kim and Adam to give them the signal and bust these guys once and for all.
Adam and Kevin were alone in the roll up, the first doing his best to become Benjamin Anderson.
"Are you gonna tell me at all what happened last night? Or do I have to figure it out?"
Adam looked at his friend, almost rolling his eyes at him. "This is not the best time to talk about it, dude."
"Ok. Ok, I get it." He said as he straightened the collar of Adam's shirt. "I just want to know if you two are ok."
"That's a tough question to answer. I guess we're fine. I mean, it is what it is." Adam shrugged.
"And what is it?"
"Well, long story short Tori wants us to start over and Kim wants to put everything behind us and get proper closure."
His words were cold, but not because this triggered nothing on him, it was because he couldn't afford to connect to those feelings right now. Not before going undercover and risking putting Kim's life in danger.
She walked into the district ready and in character, freezing every single thing that belonged to Kim Burgess and slipping into the skin of Angie Anderson. As she stepped into the hallways of the 21st looking for her partner, she got close enough to the roll up to hear that last exchange between the two officers.
For the first time in years of working, she struggled to keep Kim away.
She didn't want to know how that conversation was going to end because she didn't have the strength to hear him say that he was going to give his relationship with Tori a real shot, just like he told her all those years ago about his engagement with Wendy after their mixed signals.
She didn't want to face the fact that this time she was the one who decided to push him away. She was the one who determined that their feelings were destined to be nothing more than that. All they ever had was their past and that's how it should stay.
Kim was furious at herself, at him for not reaching out for her earlier but most of all at life for not meeting him at the right moment.
It was useless now, all she had was the good memories of the and the best thing she could do right now was leave the roll up, wait for Adam in the car and hope to close the stupid case today in order to put all this behind her.
"Looking nice Angie." His voice echoed in the car about fifteen minutes after she got in. "Are you ready?"
"I am." She lifted her head up to watch him sit next to her and buckle his seatbelt, cursing herself for doing so.
Kim had almost forgotten how good he looked with that suit jacket on and all she could think about was Angie and Ben fulfilling their marital duties instead of bringing down a major criminal.
"Let's get this over with." She told him trying to push the wild thoughts out of her head.
"You've got it, partner." He dangerously reached for her to leave a soft kiss on her cheek. He wasn't stupid, he could tell she was tense, but regardless, he meant for her to relax and to let her know that he was there, backing her up, no matter what.
The contact of their skin was just magical, because that small gesture made Kim feel at home. That's what he was for her, even if she was too scared to admit it.
Even though she thought the drive to the warehouse where Saldivar had asked them to meet was going to be awkward, it really wasn't. For some reason they both managed to keep their cool, evidencing how professional and how great they were at their jobs.
"Just remember that if we have the slightest hinch that anything could go sideways, we just say the code word and the guys will be in there in a second." Adam said protectively as his eyes were still set on the road in front of him.
"Nothing will go sideways. The only reason the team will set foot in that joint will be because we will manage to close a deal with Jones."
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and gave her a lopsided grin that made her blush. "What?" She asked, pretending not to be embarrassed.
"I love it when you get in that confident and cocky mode, Mrs. Anderson." She sighed and looked away trying to hide her smile. Kim knew better than that. He'd done this before and that comment didn't come out of Ben's mouth, that had Adam Ruzek written all over it.
"Shut up, Ben."
But playing along with his game was all she could do at the moment.
Her stomach tightened a little as soon as they were approaching their final destination. The door was looked after by two guys with guns, which was a totally different view from the previous times they had met with Saldivar.
As their car got closer, a big metal door slid open and James walked out. He walked around their car and looked both ways to make sure no one had followed them and when he was convinced, he waved them a signal to go in.
Adam was the first one to step out of the car and was immediately inspected by another man neither Kim or him had seen before.
"I'm sorry Ben, but I'm sure you understand. It's a bit different today." Saldivar apologized.
"Of course. In fact I would get suspicious if you didn't have all this security." Adam joked gallantly. "However, and I am sure you understand as well, I assume my wife will have a more…" He trailed off for a bit trying to find the best word to use. "...delicate search." He finished as he looked at the guy that was patting his clothes to corroborate that he was unarmed.
"Yes. Sully knows that he has to be gentle with the lady. Did you hear that, Sully?"
"Yes, sir." Sully replied as he finished checking Adam.
"Thank you." Both Adam and James said at the same time.
"The lady thanks you, too." Her purring voice finally made its entrance in the conversation as she swiftly got out the car slamming the door shut with elegance and poise. "Hello James. It's so nice to see you again. Ben and I are beyond excited and thankful that you managed to get us this meeting."
"Angie. It is always lovely to see you." the older man replied charmingly. "Well, as you, this was no easy task. But I am sure that none of us will be disappointed today." James waited prudently for Sully to give him the nod that would mean that both Kim and Adam were clear. Once he got the signal he was hoping for he invited them to follow him. "Are you ready to come in?"
"We were born ready, James." Adam answered with a confident chuckle. "Should we just go or do you want us to take the money, too?"
"Where do you have it?" James asked.
"In the trunk of the car, under a false bottom. You know? Just in case we get pulled over or something."
"I see. You two are no amateurs."
"That is something that we are not." Now it was Kim who playfully chatted with James.
"Do you mind Sully checking that out? Because now that you mention it it might be better if you take everything now."
"Not at all James. We have nothing to hide." The brunette said the words giving Adam a little nudge of her head, which was cue for him to toss the car keys over to Sully.
"Knock yourself out." Ruzek commented after the bulky, bald guy caught the keys with one hand.
"It's all cleared, sir." Sully yelled after a thorough inspection. The guy was no amateur either, he knew exactly what he was looking for and where to look.
"Ok. Take the duffle bag and hand it to Mr. Anderson." James looked over at Adam before finishing his utterance. "I'm guessing you don't have your wife carry the heavy stuff." Adam just laughed and let Kim answer that one.
"Oh, no. He treats me like a princess."
"That's good. You know, if he ever slacks out, I'm sure there's a line of men waiting to treat you exactly how you deserve."
Saldivar said with a wink. That man did not miss a chance to flirt with her.
"Easy there. I'm standing right here." His answer was playful yet possessive. Adam knew that James Saldivar was deliberately hitting on Kim since day one, but this could also be a part of their plan to see if they were really who they said they were or if this was all a fluke. Lucky for them, the bond they had went beyond any cover. So there was no way of messing up that part.
"I was just saying." James shot back innocently.
"Thank you, James. But if he ever slacks out, I have a few ways to keep him on point." Her seductive voice triggered Saldivar's most wild thoughts, ultimately lowering his guard. Exactly what she wanted. "Now, let's get to business. Shall we?"