Chapter Thirteen
Charli turned to Grady as they stopped beside her car. “Call in sick,” he said and pressed her back against the car door to nuzzle her neck. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
She regretfully pushed him back. “I can’t.”
“Can’t, or don’t want to?”
“Even a woman as big as me has her limits, stud.”
He grinned and she knew that had been the right way to excuse herself from more mind-blowing sex. She’d been at Grady’s for two days and was pretty sure that if she went one more round with him she’d literally have to take time off because she wouldn’t be able to walk.
“So come back over after work.”
“That’s tempting, but I have to work tomorrow, too. Besides, I was going to take your advice and ride over to Taylorsville to talk with that guy, Robert Simmons, the one Juanita was supposed to scare. I think you’re right. Our fastest path to Estevez is through Simmons.”
“So you’ve decided against returning Juanita?”
“Yes and no. I’ll leave that up to the Chief, but if he’s leaning towards sending her back, with luck I can convince him to hold off until I can get Estevez’s location from Simmons and go find him and make him tell me where Juanita’s family is.”
“All on your own, super girl?”
Charli smiled and this time it was she who pulled him close. “I was kind of hoping I could get some big strong, super badass SEAL to go with me. Know anyone like that?”
“Hmm, big, strong, super badass SEAL, huh?”
“Sexy big strong, super badass SEAL. Mega sexy. Amazing in bed. Addictively amazing.”
“Oh, well, you know I think I may know someone.”
“Yeah?”
“Um hmm.” He claimed a kiss that had her almost regretting her decision to report for duty.
“Damn, Grady, you really make it hard on a woman.”
“Honey, you don’t know the half of it. I’m feeling like a seventeen-year-old boy who just got his first taste of woman.”
Charli laughed. “God almighty, I can’t imagine any women keeping up with you when you were seventeen.”
He chuckled and kissed her lightly. “Let me know what Tom says about your proposal.”
“I will.”
“And come back here after work.”
Charli gave it a moment’s thought before deciding. “Okay, on one condition.”
“And that would be?”
“You cook.”
“I can do that.”
“Then you’ve got a deal, big guy.” She gave him a short, noisy kiss, then got in her car and started it up. “Oh, and I’ll get the bike later. See ya.”
“All righty then. See you soon.”
Charli thought about Grady as she drove. The last two days had been chock full of revelations. Not just about sex, but about the person he was. Grady wasn’t just a badass SEAL, he was a man with true compassion for his fellow man, and someone who didn’t believe he was deserving of love and happiness.
She didn’t understand that, but then he hadn’t shown her his demons, and she knew firsthand what those demons could do to a person’s self-worth and self-love. She was just now setting her foot on the path of healing. Thanks to Grady.
That still freaked her out a little. Did that really happen? What kind of person could talk to the dead? It wasn’t natural and she’d always been a person who put her faith in what could be proved, what could be seen and heard, touched and felt.
This? This was so far outside her experience she didn’t even know how to start wrapping her head around it. She made up her mind right then that she was going to find time to pay a visit to Jaxon Riggs, Cody’s husband. Charli thought it was time she met the Cotton Creek Angel, Joe, and Jax seemed like the perfect person to make the introduction since he’d been acquainted with Joe longer than anyone else.
It occurred to Charli that since she’d met Grady, her life had gotten complicated. Not that it was his fault; it just seemed to be the first in a series of events that had her now pondering the idea that heading for Mexico might turn out to be a bad decision.
Charli wasn’t stupid. She knew that if Estevez was part of a drug cartel, he’d have protection. He’d probably be surrounded by people 24-7. Paranoia that someone is out to get you went along with a position like his because there always was someone out to get you. Competitors, DEA, and the Mexican government, to name a few.
Maybe the smartest move would be just to let law enforcement handle it. The problem was that they wouldn’t factor in Juanita’s family, which meant there was no one to fight for them.
Everyone needed someone willing to fight for them. In this instance, it looked like it would have to be Charli. And perhaps Grady.
Was she wrong to ask him for help? Yes, he was the biggest and baddest man she knew, but what if something were to happen to him? Could she live with that?
The answer told her exactly what she needed to do. With her mind made up, she turned her thoughts to how she was going to accomplish her objective.
*****
Grady stripped out of his sweaty clothing in the laundry room, tossed the dirty clothing into the washing machine, and then went into the kitchen to get a cold bottle of water from the refrigerator.
With the bottle in one hand and his phone in the other, he headed upstairs. He’d just reached the bathroom when his phone rang. One look at the screen had him answering.
“Judd.”
“Briefing at eighteen hundred hours.”
“I’ll be there.”
Grady hung up, turned on the water in the shower, and got in. Ten minutes later, he was clean, dressed and headed out of the door. As he got into his truck, he dictated a text to his foreman Al. “I’m headed out. See you when I see you.”
He then placed a call to Charli, but got her voice mail. “I have to leave. I’ll see you.”
Grady thought about saying more, but what was there to say? Charli understood. He just hoped she wouldn’t decide to head to Mexico on her own. That thought prompted him to call her again and leave another message. “Don’t go alone, okay?”
He wanted to say more, but couldn’t bring himself to speak the words. Maybe it was too soon anyway. He’d tell her when he returned.
*****
“You can’t be serious?” Charli didn’t bother to keep her voice down. She was furious and didn’t care who knew.
“I am and you can lower your voice now, Deputy.” Chief Greene looked across his desk at her with an expression that would have caused most grown men to back down.
Charli wasn’t a grown man and she didn’t much believe in backing down. She did, however, believe in a chain of command and respect for those superior to her in rank and because of that, she lowered her voice if not the rancor in her tone.
“If you send her back, she and her family are liable to be killed, you know that, don’t you?”
“I do and I don’t like it any better than you, Charli, but the matter has been taken out of our hands. The DEA is in charge now.”
“Why?”
“Because this is a lot bigger than we realized and because Juanita isn’t just some mule. She’s Estevez’s mistress.”
“Bull.”
“It’s true.” He picked up a folder and handed it to her.
Charli accepted and opened the folder. Before she was three pages in, she felt the anger of betrayal bubbling in her belly. “She played me.” She looked up at the Chief. “That little bitch played me.”
“Afraid so.”
Charli returned the folder to him. “Well, color me embarrassed and please accept my apology. I’m normally a better judge of character.”
“It could happen to anyone, so don’t beat yourself up about it.”
“It shouldn’t have happened.” She was more than a little upset. How could her intuition and judgement be so compromised? Grady? Surely she wasn’t letting her case of the hots for him interfere with her professional judgement.
Or was she? That rankled and scared her all at the same time. “Cut yourself some slack, Charli. We’re only human. Now get outta here and let me get this damn paperwork done.”
“Yes, sir.” Charli stood and left the room. She checked her phone as she headed for her desk. There were two voicemails, both from Grady. It took the wind from her sails when she listened.
He was gone, no telling where and no telling when or if he would be coming back. Charli understood. She’d been in his shoes. She’d just never worn the shoes of a person waiting. What was she supposed to do while she waited for him to come home?
And what if he didn’t? That thought made her realize just how much she was already emotionally invested in Grady, and just how tough it was going to be to wait and hope he’d soon walk through her door.
It also made her wonder just what she’d do if he didn’t.