Chapter
10
Annabelle
My room was pitch-black when the shrill ring of the cell phone woke me. Since I’d left my curtains and blinds open to let the natural sunlight in during the day, I knew this meant it was still dark outside, too. Blindly reaching out, I patted around on the top of my nightstand until I found the monstrosity making that horrible noise, groaned when I saw it was only three o’clock in the morning, and flipped it open.
“Is somebody dying? If not, I might kill them for waking me…”
Boyd’s baritone sounded like gravel, presumably since he had been woken up at an ungodly hour, too. “Yeah, ‘cause waking you up is exactly what I want to do after you punched me in the nose last night. Get up, Annabelle. We’ve got to head in to Alamo Heights. The DEA called our Special Agent in Charge a few moments ago. They found several crates of assault rifles and hand guns at a bust they conducted. The SAC wants us up there five minutes ago. It looks like this could be related to the big hit we’ve been expecting.”
I groaned. “Ah, shit. Okay, I’ll be out of the house in fifteen minutes. Where do you want me to meet you?”
“Meet me at the hotel. I’m calling Commander Wall next. See if a couple of the EX Ops guys can go with us so we have some additional input from them at the scene.”
There was another reason to groan. The idea of seeing Bobby so soon after last night was torture. I’d rather have a hot branding iron poked in my eye.
“Got it. See you then.”
Hanging up my cell, I pulled myself out of the bed, quickly dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans, combat boots, a black t-shirt and my black ATF windbreaker, and then I headed to the bathroom to take care of personal concerns. Minutes later, with a fresh face, brushed teeth and my hair pulled back in a ponytail, I stopped in the kitchen to leave Seth a note as to where I was headed. Before walking out the door, I holstered my service weapon and my badge to my waist. With one last check of the house to make sure I had everything I needed and that all of the entrances to the house were locked and secure, I was gone.
A short drive later landed me at the front of the hotel where Commander Wall stood outside with Bobby, Declan and Arturo Chavez. I’d recently learned Arturo was the only non-military member of the group. Apparently, he was a former CIA agent. The men seemed to watch me warily as I hopped out of the truck to stride over to them. If it was my guess, I wasn’t on anyone’s friends list anymore after Bobby probably told them last night’s revelation about Seth. With all four of them standing there, shooting looks that could kill at me, arms crossed over their chests and feet planted firmly on the ground, it kind of felt as if I was meeting the firing squad for my death sentence. Yikes.
“Morning, boys. I take it Boyd isn’t here yet?”
Commander Wall shook his head.
“Alright. Well, did he tell any of you what’s going on so far?”
Commander Wall responded with a gruff, “Affirmative.”
“Good. I’m going to go sit back in my truck to wait ‘til Boyd gets here so we can go. Y’all stand there and look pretty, okay?”
Not staying to give anyone the chance to yell at me, I turned around and headed back to the safety of my truck. I heard Declan choke on a laugh behind me before I reached the vehicle. After climbing back in, I shoved in my homemade CD loaded with my favorite songs and Miranda Lambert’s Kerosene started pumping through the speakers. By the time Boyd pulled into the lot, the next song had already started. Moments later, Boyd showed up at my driver’s side window and I turned the radio down so I could hear him clearly.
“Hey, Boyd, I’ll follow you, okay?”
“That works. Look, before we leave, I want to say I’m sorry about last night.”
Rolling my eyes at my partner’s obvious discomfort, I cut him off before he started groveling. Although, in my opinion, he definitely deserved to grovel. “What’s done is done, Boyd. You can’t take it back or fix it, so let it go. From now on, you’ll leave my business to me, alright? My life’s screwed up enough without you trying to meddle in it with your bright ideas.”
Boyd’s face softened and it made me uncomfortable because it was the look of someone who felt sorry for me and wanted to make things better. I could appreciate the sentiment, but I didn’t deserve better for what I’d done. I deserved exactly what I had, which was a hard life with little or no give in it. Someone like me wasn’t meant to have some fairytale love story complete with a white knight in squeaky clean armor.
No, I was meant to have the heartbreak I’d been dealt as a sort of reminder that people born to run down, dirty, trailer parks weren’t meant to love and be loved by people born to good, clean, upstanding families that wanted them. It tipped the karmic scales too much and, when you did that, well somebody was going to pay. The problem was, instead of accepting the lesson for what it was, I’d screwed up and tipped those scales even more by having Bobby’s baby and never telling him about it. I figured last night’s emotional bitch-slap was karma’s way of paying me back again. I’d deserved everything I got and, really, the emotional hit was hard, but not as hard as the physical ones I’d been used to long ago. I’d been raised under the hard hand of a man who’d liked to mete out pain, and I was used to its lasting effects. Eventually, I would move on from this like I had from every other kick in the teeth life had given me.
The only problem I had to worry about now was whether Bobby was going to try and take my son from me. I may agree with the cosmic rule that people of my standards weren’t entitled to a whole lot in life, but I’d be damned if anyone was going to take the one pure, good thing in it. I loved my boy. I’d worked damn hard to give him a better life than I’d been given. I think, for that alone, I deserved for the cosmic powers to be to leave me alone and let me keep Seth.
The movement of my partner’s mouth as he started to say something brought me out of my thoughts. Not really wanting to hear one of his, ‘I want to see you happy’ lectures again, I cut him off. “I want to hit a coffee shop on the way out of town. Now, go tell those boys to load up with whoever they want to ride with and let’s get this over with.”
Boyd nodded his head in understanding before walking away to the four men several feet away on the other side of the truck. I started my truck as my front and back passenger doors opened. Bobby climbed into the front while Declan climbed into the back. Looked like awkward was going to be a constant companion this morning. Great.
After a quick run through the coffee shop drive-thru, we were on our way towards Alamo Heights on the northern outskirts of San Antonio. Nothing except loud, country music filled the strained silence. It was approximately an hour drive; we should arrive a little before five in the morning. When we were making our way through the San Antonio early morning traffic, I grabbed my cell phone, hitting the speed dial button that rang Charlie’s number.
His sexy, morning rough voice filled the line. “Mornin’, darlin’. It’s a bit early for you, isn’t it? Don’t tell me you got arrested and you need me to bail you out of my jail. Better yet, tell me you had a naughty dream about me.”
Laughing, I answered, “Thanks for the faith there, Charlie. Hell, no, I’m not sitting in your jail. I called because I need a favor from you today, if you’re not working.”
“Not working today. What’s up?”
“I got called out this morning. I’m outside northern San Antonio as we speak. Might be gone a good part of the day. Not sure yet. Seth should see the note on the kitchen counter, letting him know, but I’d feel better if you could take him out today to keep him out of trouble.”
Charlie chuckled. “That boy sure does have your sense of direction when it comes to trouble. Yeah, how about I pick him up and bring him back to the house. We can take the ATVs out on the trails today.”
“Sounds perfect, Charlie. I owe you big time.”
“Good. Then maybe you’ll take it easy on us next time we play poker. I’m tired of you cleaning me out, woman.” Clearing his throat he asked, “Hey, you okay after last night, darlin’?”
Glancing over at Bobby from the corner of my eye, I saw he was every bit aware of the conversation taking place. His jaw looked like it might snap in half if he clenched it any harder and his eyebrows were furrowed. “Don’t worry about me, Charlie; I’m fine. Sure do appreciate you keeping an eye on Seth, though. I’ll call one of you as soon as we’re headed back.”
“Anytime, darlin’. See you later.” I flipped my phone closed before tucking it in my jacket pocket. With the way Bobby looked like he wanted to tear my truck apart piece by piece with his bare hands, I knew his inner Neanderthal was about to make an appearance. I started silently reinforcing my emotional walls for the inquisition I knew was about to take place.
“Belle, are you seeing Sheriff Jenkins?” he snapped.
Well, that had taken all of two seconds. If it weren’t for the burning hatred I’d seen in his eyes last night, I would have thought a jealous, cave man Bobby would hit Charlie over the head with his club so he could drag me by my hair to his lair.
“No, Bobby, we’re not seeing each other right now. Just to clear the rest of the air, have Charlie and I dated? Yes. He’s also been a very good friend to me over the years. You’re not entitled to know anything else, so let’s do both of us a favor, and you not step on my toes about that, okay?”
Snorting, he lifted his coffee cup to drain the last of it. As he picked at the sides of the cup I could tell he wasn’t done asking questions. If his bottom lip weren’t poking out so far in his man-child pout, I would totally expect to look around and find myself in a small, dark room with no windows and a bright light shining in my face while he badgered me with his interrogation. I figured it was only a matter of seconds befo-
“Is Seth close to the Sheriff?”
Yep. There it was. I wondered if Declan felt awkward sitting in the back seat, having to listen to all of this. Peeking up in the rear view mirror, I saw Declan’s face was turned towards the passenger side window in an attempt to give us a semblance of privacy, but I would bet my last dollar that he would be able to give a full accounting of the entire conversation later if asked to.
Heaving a big sigh, I clenched the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. “Let’s get to the heart of what you’re really asking me. Is Charlie a father figure? That’s what you really want to know, right? The answer is no. No man has ever played a father figure to him. I have filled that role to the best of my ability. Now, has Seth had men who have been influential in his life? Yes. Charlie is one. Boyd is the other. They both have become quite close to Seth over the years, but neither has ever taken your place. Matter of fact, so you know, the two of them made it their mission in life to cuss me out for not telling you when they realized you were Seth’s father. They are thoroughly in your corner, no matter how long I’ve been friends with them, which I find downright disgusting. But so you feel better, though, Seth’s got a woman in his life he’s very close to. Teagan. In fact, she’s his godmother. She was even there the day he was born. Anything else sitting uncomfortable with you? Besides all of the obvious, that is?”
I used my right hand to smooth my hair back in frustration before letting it drop helplessly in my lap. I had the overwhelming urge to haul off and punch something. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that while on a case. Or while I was wearing my badge for that matter. That was the kind of shit that made my boss, Special Agent in Charge, Jeremy Evans, bust a vein in his large, shiny forehead. Not to mention, at my last required anger management class they told me punching things was bad. Unless it was a pillow.
Who wants to punch a pillow?
Bobby stayed quiet for a few minutes. As I was giving up hope of ever having a decent relationship with the father of my child, he spoke again. His voice was quiet, but clear.
“Teagan, huh? Somehow, I’m not surprised you two are still thick as thieves.” He let loose a big sigh. “No more questions for now, Belle. Maybe later, though.”
Declan’s amused tone carried from the back seat. “Soooooo… Belle. Tell me another wonderful story about Bobby being young and stupid. I’m working up a collection from you for blackmail purposes.”
Bobby tossed his empty, paper, coffee cup back at Declan’s head.
“Up yours, Sullivan. Keep it up and I’ll find a way to get Riley drunk enough to spill all of your secrets to me. Stop pumping her for information. I think she’s more than proven she can’t be trusted.”
Ouch. There it was again. Another reminder that lowly, little me didn’t belong in the breathing space of a good man like Bobby Baker and it was nobody’s fault but my own as to why he would say that about me. As we pulled up to park behind Boyd, I looked around at the street that was filled with black SUVs, the yard was littered with what must have been at least thirty people in various uniforms.
Let the fun begin.
~~~
After hours of talking to the DEA agents on scene, Boyd and I were huddled with the four members of the Ex Ops team, comparing notes.
Boyd was antsy. He kept patting his pants pocket unconsciously, looking for a pack of cigarettes that hadn’t been there for over a year. It was moments like this I wondered if he’d pick up his old habit. “So the DEA has been following a large heroin ring. They never expected for their heroin dealers to be in on the smuggling line for black market weapons. We’ve got ten crates of Colt 38s, AK-47s, M4s, M107 Barretts and FN Five Sevens. That’s some serious cargo. I think it’s more than likely a part of the big shipment we were warned about, but I doubt that’s all of it.”
I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we found the three crates in Big Bull Bar. Plus these makes thirteen crates total. Still, I bet there’s more to the shipment. The question now is, where are they hiding the rest of it? And what will they do now that part of their shipment has been confiscated?”
Commander Wall folded his arms across his chest. “Well, we can say it’s a safe bet they’ll be headed to the border soon. Too much has been compromised. The only other lead we’ve acquired is the Big Bull Bar. Even though we’ve had round the clock surveillance, we’ve seen no further activity. However, I still feel like there’s something more going on there. We’ll continue surveillance. See what they do next. Can you two get in touch with your contact? See if there are any new developments? Maybe we’ll have something helpful there.”
Boyd looked back to the huge house covered in crime scene tape. “We’ve got everything the DEA can give us for now. They promised to send copies of their files on this case over to us right away. Let’s head back to Poteet and I’ll see about getting in touch with our contact in Mexico.”
~~~
Heading back to the small town of Poteet, the truck was silent. When we were halfway home, Declan yawned loudly.
“Somebody say something before I fall asleep back here.”
“You’re an ass. There, something’s been said,” Bobby muttered.
I laughed as Declan attempted to smack the back of Bobby’s head in retaliation. As I maneuvered my massive truck in and out of traffic, Declan leaned forward until he was practically sitting in the middle of Bobby and me in the front seat.
“Come on, Annabelle. Entertain me here. Better yet, tell me another story for my blackmail book.”
Declan quickly ducked backwards in his seat when Bobby tried to hit him.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Come on, woman! I’m bored as shit back here.”
Bobby was studiously ignoring both of us by looking out of his passenger side window. What could it hurt? It wasn’t as if Bobby could hate me anymore than he already did. Maybe hearing some of the good times would remind him that it hadn’t always been bad between us. I could use all the help I could get when it came to hopefully having a working relationship with the father of my only child.
“Ok, Declan, you’ll appreciate this one. See, when Bobby joined our high school football team he had to go through an initiation; a hazing of sorts. What small town would be complete if they didn’t continue crazy rituals that would give all the gossipy, old, married ladies something to talk about all year long? Anyways, all the seniors wrote embarrassing tasks to be completed, then threw them in a hat to be drawn out by the freshman.”
“Bobby here was lucky enough to have to go through our local grocery store in nothing except a hot pink thong. They made him go through the checkout counter, buy a box of condoms and he couldn’t leave until he sang the school song at the register. All the while, the poor check out girl, who was sixteen, stood there staring at him with a river of drool coming out of the side of her mouth because, even at fifteen, Bobby looked and was built like a Chippendale stripper.”
Declan was roaring with laughter in the back seat. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bobby’s cheeks turn pink as he blushed.
“But don’t feel too bad for Bobby. My best friend Teagan had it much worse. You see she was the team’s punter and the only girl in the whole state of Georgia on a high school football team. Her initiation task was to streak through the school grounds while school was being dismissed. None of the guys thought she would do it and that it would be the quickest way to get a girl off of their championship winning team, but they underestimated Teagan; like most people did. The entire school got to see her naked itty bits and I drove the getaway car she dove in when she was done streaking around the school. Lord, she couldn’t get any of the guys at school to stop hitting on her after that, no matter how many times she kicked them in the nuts.”
Declan was laughing so hard tears rolled down his cheeks and he struggled to breathe. He promised through the entire tirade to spread that story to everyone they knew between his choking gasps for breath.
I glanced over to see Bobby watching me. “What?”
Shaking his head he mumbled, “For a minute there, I got a glimpse of the girl I used to know. Too bad that girl grew up into a deceitful woman without a heart.”