The Price We Pay (7 page)

“Roll the window down,” she said while honking the horn. The van stopped and we both rolled our windows down. Jaxon was driving.

“Miss me?” he teased.

“Did you say Marvey?” she asked ignoring her brother.

“Shit,” Latch muttered and looked at Jaxon. He said something that I couldn’t hear.

“You did say Marvey! Don’t fuckin’ lie to me, Latch. I know her!”

That got his attention though and he swung his head to her. “You do?”

“Marvey. Unique name. I was in a home with her, prior to going to Jaxon’s.”

Home?
I wondered what she meant by that.

“Would she talk to you?” he asked and Jaxon started shaking his head.

“She’s not getting involved in this.” He glared at Latch.

Latch and Laken ignored him.

“About what?” she asked Latch and he didn’t answer. “I’m already involved and it seems like I bought her clothes and tampons, so what’s the big deal?”

Latch jerked his chin to me and then Laken looked at me. She studied me for a few seconds then grabbed my hand hooking our pinkies together. “Pinky swear. Tell me. Pretty please, just tell me what’s going on.”

“Hold on a minute,” Jaxon said and Latch’s window went up.

They talked and she was giddy with excitement as she dropped our hands. She kept hers on top of mine and flashed her eyes to me. “Thanks for going tampon shopping with me.”

“Anytime.”

“I’ll remember that.”

She slowly slid her hand from mine and kept her eyes on the van. She looked so anxious to find out what was going on. Hell, I wanted to know what was going, and I didn’t even know this Marvey chick.

The window went down. “I’ll text you in a few hours and we’ll meet up later today.”

“Yay!” she squealed.

“Sorry Pace, I love you man, but you can’t come with,” Jaxon told me and Laken got pissy.

“We pinky swore!”

“No. There are too many people involved already and I’m doing this against my better judgment.”

“I’m good,” I told her and grabbed her hand back. “I’m good.”

She huffed, “Fine.” She looked back to Jaxon. “You better text me!”

“Goodnight,” he said as the window rolled up.

“I had a good time tonight,” she said moving back over to the passenger side.

“I did also.”

“The next date will be better.”

I smiled. “I thought you said it wasn’t a date.”

She gave me a sweet smile. “I changed my mind.”

I liked that she changed her mind and for the first time in my life, I forgot to count the light poles as I drove her home.

Latch

When Jaxon and I got back to the house I grabbed the bags that Laken got for the girls and headed inside. I had no idea if anyone was awake or what room they’d be in, but I got lucky when Randy stepped outside and met me on the porch.

“The girls are in the master.”

The master bedroom had a larger bed and small en-suite bathroom. They probably felt more comfortable being together.

It was also my room.

“Sofia showered. I gave her one of my shirts and a new pair of boxers to wear. That poor girl had to roll them up a few times just so they wouldn’t fall right off her.”

Sofia and Harper were around the same size and Marvey was the one blessed with the curves. And ass. And tits.

“Thanks, Randy,” I muttered and headed in.

“I tried to wash the dress but she tossed it out.”

I kept walking.

“They can stay as long as they like.” I heard him yell one last time behind me. I smiled at that. At least something was going right, kind of.

Jaxon was already drinking a beer and staring at whatever movie was on the TV.  I went down the hallway that used to be lined with family photos and took a right at the end of the hall. This used to be my grandparents’ room. The bed was brand new, and I had the room repainted gray and tan, something the designer picked out and I ended up liking.

It was simple and looked clean, which was good enough for me.

I gently knocked on the door and heard nothing. My plan was to leave the bags just inside the door and they’d see them when they woke up. I didn’t want to wake anyone even though I wanted answers. I was going to take a step back and see if Laken could talk some sense into her. Besides, we all needed rest. Jaxon and I needed to get our shit together and make sure the girls stayed safe while we finished this job with the Invisible Demons.

We checked on Kennedy and he was fine after his minor surgery.

I twisted the knob and it was locked.

A part of me was happy that the door was locked. It was the smartest thing they’ve done since this whole thing started. They didn’t know us or Randy.

This whole situation was all kinds of fucked up, and I wished that it wasn’t taking so long to get to Carlos. The drugs were bad enough, but we knew he was also trafficking women and we needed to get that shutdown. That was our goal. It was too dangerous for an undercover female cop so we were trying to work our way into the trafficking through the drug channel.

I dropped the bags by the door and turned to leave just to hear the door creak open.

“Hey,” her sweet, sleepy voice said behind me making my body automatically turn to her. I watched her push the bags inside, then shut the door. She rubbed her eyes and walked towards me so I started moving my feet.

“Thank you,” she said softly behind me and when I turned back around she had slipped into the bathroom.

Guess she didn’t need the tampons after all.

“Keylan said he took care of Mark and that we’re meeting up with his other two runners,” Jaxon informed me when I joined him on the couch with a beer in my hand.

“Think it’s odd he’s only got three runners?” I asked before I took a swig of my beer.

“Nothing that comes from that man’s mouth is the truth.”

“Which is why we can’t get anywhere.”

“We need more help,” Jaxon said sitting on the edge of the couch, pausing the movie.

“Too risky,” I reminded him. It’s been discussed many times with our handlers and they won’t have it. We’re following the orders and instructions we were given.

“We need more intel. Another way to get closer to Carlos and the whole operation.”

I drank the rest of my beer at a loss for words and thoughts.

No contact with our superiors was best and we’ve only checked in a few times in the last two years. This was the second time I’ve been undercover, and although I loved catching the bad guys and putting them away for life, saving lives and all of the above, I was exhausted. I was letting little things slip passed me, like not checking Marvey for a phone. I was overwhelmed and frustrated with this case. I needed a break.

“Can I talk to you?”

I was up and off the couch without hesitation at the sound of her voice. She led me outside and stood by one of the beams at the top of the steps and I stood opposite of her, leaning my shoulder on the beam.

She searched the night sky and had a small smile on her face. “It’s nice to see the stars once in a while.” She was more relaxed and calmer than she was earlier.

“I like it,” I said, admiring the sky. The stars shone brightly on nights like this when the clouds were few and far between. It was a beautiful night with no wind and it still felt like it was in the seventies. It was nice to see the world looking so simple and peaceful.

“Thank you for protecting Sofia.”

“Just doing my job.”

“She’s all I’ve got and I’m not sure what I’d do without her.”

I didn’t like that she had no one else but remembering what Laken said earlier it was all making sense. I still wanted answers, though.

“No family?”

“Foster kid,” she paused, “my whole life.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said honestly because I also had no family. I was raised in a good home with loving parents but they were taken from me early in life. A case I’ve never solved. I never knew my grandfather, and my grandmother passed away years ago leaving the house to me.

She slowly turned her head and looked at me, which I in return, gave her my full attention.

She cracked a small smile. “I believe you.”

“How long have you known Sofia?”

She turned so her back was resting on the beam and she faced me. “I know you want answers to your questions but I’m telling you, you won’t like them.”

“Fine, I’ll back off for the night, let you get some rest.”

“That’s surprising,” she said sarcastically and I swear to God she glanced down at my lips. “After how insistent you were today.”

“I’m not lying when I said you ladies are caught up in a dangerous situation.”

“Trust me, I know that now,” her smile fell away, “we all do.”

“Is she doing any better?” I asked.

“She knows that Kennedy is alive and will be okay but people shot at her. She was in shock most of the night and just wanted to talk to him. Randy found some Tequila and we got her drunk, otherwise, she’d still be awake pacing around the house.”

“Glad we had Tequila.”

“It’s gone now. We had one hell of a night but mostly just sat around getting to know each other. Bonding.” She chuckled and took a step towards me. She searched my face, my eyes in particular, and then said, “It’s good to know you’re not always an uptight asshole.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “But I am.”

“Yeah, you are.” She closed the distance between us but wasn’t touching me. Her hands were in the pockets of her sweats and she tipped her head slightly to the side and smiled. “But not right now. Not here, standing on the porch talking to me under the stars.”

Christ, was she asking me to kiss her? Because that’s all I heard her say.

She was so close I could smell her soft perfume that still clung to her tanned skin. I don’t pay much attention to women, especially when I’m working, but there’s no way I could overlook her or her beauty. I was attracted to her from the moment I saw her, even when she wore that stupid yellow hat.

She glanced down at my lips again and lingered there. I wanted to reach out to her, wrap her sweet body against mine, with her longs legs around my waist, but I couldn’t.

“I should get back to bed,” she said covering a yawn and stepped away from me. “Have a good night, Latch.” I couldn’t be sure, but she sounded disappointed. I loved hearing my name on those plump lips of hers, soft and sincere, even though it wasn’t my real name. I watched her walk away, saying nothing. I was at a loss for words.

Marvey

I woke up with a slight headache, and the conversation I had with Latch last night was the first thing that slammed into my brain. I wasn’t drunk but I had a buzz, a buzz that made me think I could flirt! I flirted with him. Flirted with my kidnapper! Such a dumb idea. I should have gone back to bed! But no, not me. I had to go talk to him, try to flirt with him and make a complete fool out of myself.

I mean, he didn’t even kiss me.

He didn’t even try!

Did I do it wrong? Is there such a thing as
wrong flirting
? I wasn’t going to throw myself at him, but I put myself right where I needed to be. His charming smile sucked me right in. I mean, there was barely any room between us!

Stupid Marvey!

The three of us showered and changed into the clothes that were bought for us. Surprisingly they fit, and they got us underwear. We all had black sweats and light blue t-shirts on. We had white t-shirts also but we decided we’d wear the same colors.

“Great, now they know what our panties look like,” I said pulling my wet hair up into a messy ponytail.

“Who cares,” Harper griped. She somehow whipped her wet hair into a nice, sleek ponytail. “At least you didn’t have an orgasm on the back of his motorcycle!” She was still upset about that.

“It could happen to anyone,” I reminded her, trying to reassure her that it was okay.

Last night the three of us girls and Randy bonded over Tequila. We all knew why we were at the house now and I felt like an idiot for not just explaining yesterday that it was a misunderstanding. Maybe Sofia and Kennedy would have been safe if I would have come clean. Maybe I would be home and in my bed this morning instead of here, out in the middle of nowhere. But then I wouldn’t have met Latch.

Not that it meant anything.

“It’s so embarrassing,” Harper cried again at the same time Sofia came walking out of the bathroom. She was fully dressed and looked very uncomfortable wearing sweats. I never saw her in sweats. Or a t-shirt for that matter.

“Still upset about the orgasm?” Sofia smirked. She woke up in a good mood and wasn’t going to cry today. She knew Kennedy was okay and was staying positive.

“Don’t lie to yourself ladies,” she said going to the door. “You’d be embarrassed too.” She swung the door open and came face to face with Jaxon. She shifted her weight and blocked my view of him.

Sofia sat next to me on the bed and whispered, “This should be good.”

I smacked her leg, she shrugged a shoulder.

“Morning,” Jaxon grumbled and we watched Harper stand even taller, arms crossed on her chest.

“Jaxon,” she said firmly.

“Sleep well?”

“As well as I could, considering …” She sounded a bit harsh.

He didn’t let her finish. “Thought after your ride yesterday that you’d sleep-”

She put her arm out and shoved him out of her way. “Shut up,” she hissed and stormed off.

Jaxon flashed us a grin. “Couldn’t help it.”

I shook my head at him and he turned around, hopefully going after Harper.

“Think they’ll have sex?” Sofia asked standing from the bed. She held her hand out to me and I grabbed it, standing next to her. “Duh.”

I put my hands on her shoulders and got serious. “You okay?”

“Kennedy’s fine,” she forced a smile, “I’m fine.”

“I believe you.”

She smiled.

“A little bit,” I finished.

“He was shot!”

“I know, sweetie.” I pulled her into a hug.

“I won’t cry Marv, not today. We’ll explain everything to Latch and Jaxon, they’ll let us go home and we’ll get back to normal.”

“I hope it’s that easy but someone tried to kill you, Sofia.”

“My dad will protect me.” She pulled away and straightened her shirt. “How do I look?”

“You look comfortable.”

She glanced down. “Surprisingly, they are.”

“See, it’s not so bad.”

“I have to go home and change prior to seeing my father and Kennedy though.”

“God forbid,” I tossed my hands in the air, “you be comfortable or be who
you
want to be.”

She glared at me and I felt bad for what I said. Her fiancé was just shot, and her life was in danger. She didn’t need my shit. “I’ll shut up now.”

There was a knock at the door before she could answer. She spun around and I stood from the bed.

“Come in,” she called and Latch appeared in the doorway.

“Company’s coming.” He briefly flashed his eyes to me. No smile. Just a hard face with no emotion. He turned to leave and called behind him, “Breakfast is on the table.”

“At least they’re feeding us,” Sofia muttered and walked out of the room.

I was right, I made a complete fool of myself last night. He couldn’t even look at me.

Whatever.

It’s not like we would date, fall in love, and have the white picket fence with three kids and a dog kind of life. Or one kid and three dogs.