Hurry Up And Wait (Owens Protective Services #24)

16. Kavanaugh

16

KAVANAUGH

“Are you sure about this?” Red asked for the fifth time.

“Not sure why you’re asking. He already jumped on a flight and we’re five minutes away from the house,” Eli snorted.

I turned to Red and glared. “Why wouldn’t I be sure?”

“Well, you can’t seem to make up your mind about what you want. You’re there. You’re here…I mean, you haven’t seen this woman in years. You’ve slept with her one time.”

“One time is all it takes,” Eli grinned. “In fact, I would go so far as to say that some men don’t even need to sleep with a woman to know it’s special.”

“She’s worth it. Trust me,” I snapped, irritated that they were still talking about this six hours later. “I just need to see that she’s okay.”

“Why wouldn’t she be?” Eli baited me.

“Because she chose to go home without protection,” I snapped.

“She’s a grown woman. She can make her own decisions.”

“Not when it comes to her safety. When have you ever known a woman to make a logical, coherent decision when it comes to something like this?”

Red winced. “You know, he may have a point. Look at Sarah.”

“No kidding. She made friends with everyone who was trying to kill her. Not that Zoe would be much better. She’d probably offer them a part in her movie playing the killer.”

“Zoe is so much better than Sarah,” Red snapped. “At least she didn’t befriend her would-be rapist.”

“I think we’re forgetting that this is all about Isla and her inability to make a good decision.”

I couldn’t agree more. “So, you see why I had to rush home.”

“IKE took her. Maybe he thought it was safe,” Eli shrugged.

“She’s alone in that big house?—”

“With only her sister and the best security system money can buy. Yeah, I can see why you’re worried,” Red continued. “Especially with all of OPS taking a particular interest in her case. You’re right. It’s downright dangerous for her.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do I have to remind you that she was nearly blown up? If that was Zoe, you’d have her locked in a bunker for all eternity. I’m taking the logical, more strategic approach to things.”

He rolled his eyes at me, clearly not believing a word I said.

“Besides, it’s a short visit and then we’ll be back with the senator.”

“Yep, a short visit where you’ll throw her on the ground and?—”

I cut off Red before he could get too graphic. “Besides, we’re supposed to bring Sarah back with us,” I grinned, looking over at Eli.

“That is not happening,” he growled.

“That’s what you think. This is for the good of the company.”

He cocked his head at me. “You think the good of the company consists of letting my wife—the woman who befriended the man who tried to blow her up—go into a political campaign headquarters with all those pockets and all those wallets and so many things that could be stolen?”

I nodded at him. “Like I said, it’ll be a good way to find out what the senator is hiding. Besides, there’s no way she won’t pass the background check with her father in the Secret Service.”

“She’s a pickpocket!” Eli snapped.

“Hey, you married her,” I laughed.

“Yes, and you’re rushing home to see your new girlfriend,” Red grinned .

“We’re not talking about me.”

“I think we were. Ah,” he tilted his head back. “It’s so nice to see you fall.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. I like her a lot. Yes, I might be crazy about her, but it’s way too soon to say I’m falling for her.”

“Yet, you left your current job to check on her.”

“Because I wanted to make sure she was okay.”

Eli started chuckling, shaking his head at me. “I see what’s going on here.”

Whatever he thought was going on, I wasn’t following. “And what is that?”

“This is because of IKE.”

“I’m sorry?”

Red nodded as if he finally understood. “You know, you’re right. I can see it.”

“See what?” I snapped.

The cab pulled down the OPS driveway, which couldn’t come fast enough since these two were not making any sense.

“She’s with IKE, so you had to come home.”

“Are you daft? I asked IKE to look after her.”

“He came running to the rescue,” Red pointed out.

The cab stopped and I tossed fifty bucks over the seat, then got out, slamming the door behind me.

“Hey! That was rude!” Eli shouted through the door. He quickly got out on the other side and rushed around. “Don’t be mean just because you can’t face the facts.”

I laughed at the stupidity of his statement. “What facts? Yes, IKE is watching her. I already knew that.”

“Yeah, IKE—who almost stole Jane from IRIS.” Eli spun and faced Red. “Do you think it’s a name thing?”

“I would if it was women going after the both of them all the time,” Red shrugged.

“She is not going after IKE,” I snapped. “He was there when the bomb went off. Why would I not want him protecting her?”

“I would think that would be pretty fucking obvious,” Red muttered .

“He’s handsome,” Eli ticked off his fingers. “He looks dashing in that suit.”

“He has nice hair.”

“I have nice hair,” I retorted. “And who gives a fuck about suits?”

“Women,” they both said.

“And that cigarette thing,” Red nodded. “Personally, I don’t like cigarettes, but a good cigar is perfect.”

“It does make him look cool,” Eli agreed. “I mean, think about it. James Dean looked like a bad boy when he smoked. And he got all the ladies.”

“James Dean died in a fucking car accident,” I snapped. “What’s your point?”

“My point is, you have competition, buddy.”

I glared at Red. “There’s no competition because technically, we aren’t even dating. And she isn’t dating IKE either.”

“Well, yeah,” Eli snorted. “Because you’re both in competition. If only one of you was dating her, it couldn’t really be a competition.”

I looked at Eli, then looked at Red. “Are you really fucking serious?”

Red shrugged. “Hey, you’re the one who insisted on leaving a job early to see her. All we’re saying is that you might want to…seal the deal.”

“I already fucking sealed the deal,” I argued. “We just haven’t set any…guidelines for the rest.”

They both leaned back, hissing under their breath.

“That’s not good,” Eli muttered.

“Definitely not good.”

“What?”

“Well, if you had sealed the deal and then like…shook on it, then you’d have a leg to stand on.”

“But you didn’t shake on it,” Red sighed, grabbing his bag where he’d dropped it on the ground. “And now you’re fucked.”

I turned and watched him walk off, followed closely by Eli. “Who shakes on sex?”

I didn’t waste another minute on those guys as I rushed over to Isla’s house. From the outside, everything looked fine, but just for the sake of making myself feel better, I decided to do a perimeter check. I slipped around the side of the house, checking the windows and behind all the bushes.

After that, I did a thorough check of all systems for the back door, the video feed, and the sensors surrounding the property and on the fences of her neighbors. When all that was good, I continued around the house, reassuring myself that all windows were secure. There was just one problem.

“What the hell is that?” I muttered, staring up at the second-story roof. I couldn’t see what was hanging from the shingles from this viewpoint, and there was no way to access it from the window. The only way to check it out was to climb up there to see it up close and personal. Luckily, there was a trellis on the side of the house that would take me not far from where I needed to be.

I hauled myself up, scaling as quickly as possible while avoiding the prickly vines and thorns. “What the hell is this shit?” I muttered, gasping and shaking out my hand when my finger was stabbed ruthlessly by an unknown object. “Son of a bitch,” I muttered, sucking on my finger to staunch the bleeding.

The shit I was willing to do for a woman was insane, but this woman was most definitely worth it. Once I was at the edge of the roof, I hoisted myself up and rolled to my back. I cringed at the pain that shot through me as I turned the wrong way and tweaked something near my spine. I sat there panting like a dog, staring up at the night sky and wondering how the fuck I was going to get myself down from here when I threw my back out. Hell, this was not going to be fun.

I tried to roll and cried out as pain zinged down my spine. “Fucking hell, that hurt.” I was in my thirties. I shouldn’t be in pain from something as simple as climbing a roof. What was next? Would I pull a muscle while putting my socks on?

Determined not to let this slow me down, I gritted my teeth and rolled to my knees. Though it was hard, I put one hand out and reached for the next shingle, determined just to make it one crawl to the next. I gasped as pain coursed through my body, but I fucking pushed, refusing to give in.

“I will make it,” I gritted out. “Nothing can stop me. I’m a fucking warrior.”

My phone rang, interrupting my motivational speech. I almost didn’t answer it, but then I decided I needed the fucking break. I slid my hand into my pocket, wincing as my back tweaked again. Fucking hell. “Yeah?”

“Kavanaugh?” Eli asked.

“Yeah.”

“Why the hell do you sound so weird?”

I glanced around my surroundings, trying to come up with a good fucking reason. “Uh…I’m on Isla’s roof.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “Do I want to know why?”

“There’s…” I panted heavily as I craned my neck to finally get a look at what was hanging. “There’s a camera out. I’m fixing it.”

“And that made you winded?”

“I fell,” I lied. “It’s slippery and I fell.”

“It hasn’t rained in weeks.”

“There was a cloud…” I panted. “Overhead.”

“Right,” he snorted. “So, what really happened?”

Fuck, I really didn’t want to tell him, but I was going to need his help to get down. “Promise you won’t laugh.”

“Why would I laugh because you’re hurt?”

I groaned, knowing right then that he would say or do anything to fuck with me. “Just get over here and help me down.”

“No, I don’t think so. Tell me what happened first.”

“Eli, don’t make me fuck you up,” I snapped, wincing when my back twinged.

“Just tell me what happened. I need to know what to bring. Is it your leg?”

“My back.”

“Okay…do I need a back brace?”

“Fuck, just bring a shit ton of painkillers. And maybe a back brace.”

I heard him moving around. Relief was on the way. I knew it. “What the fuck happened? ”

“I…I tweaked my back climbing up the trellis.”

It was silent on the other end. So silent that I already knew what was coming before?—

He burst out laughing—so loud that it was deafening. I yanked the phone from my ear, then cursed everyone at OPS when I felt a zing all the way to my toes.

“You tweaked your back climbing a trellis? What the fuck, man? Can we rely on you in the field, or should we be worried you might stub your pinky toe?”

“That’s not fucking funny. Broken toes can be serious injuries that can lead to gangrene and amputation if you’re not careful.”

But that only made him laugh harder. It was clear I was getting nowhere with him, so I hung up the phone. I wasn’t even sure at this point if he would come to the house or not. For all I knew, he would wish me the best and go fuck his wife.

And honestly, I wouldn’t blame him. I might do the same thing if our positions were reversed.

The truth of the matter was, I needed to get down from this roof, but I wouldn’t do it until I fixed that fucking camera. The pain in my back would not be for nothing. I would be avenged for this horrible experience one way or another. With all the stubbornness I possessed, I moved one knee at a time until I was to the brick wall. Ever so slowly, I got to my feet, holding onto the wall for dear life. As I raised my arm, I sucked in a breath and tried not to let the overwhelming pain take me out.

It took some adjusting, but slowly, I shifted the camera back to the mount and checked on my feed to make sure it was working properly. When all was said and done, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes in relief. I thought I heard the faint sound of scraping. And when I opened my eyes, a brief flicker of happiness fluttered through me as I saw Isla’s beautiful face peering out the window.

But the metal frying pan to the face quickly dispelled any disillusion that I would be getting off this roof in one piece. I went flying backward, falling head over feet down the roof, and as I lost my grip on the shingles, I just knew when I woke up, I was going to have one hell of a headache.