Club de Fleurs 2: Sadie

“Ten hundred hours, here at the club.”

“See you there. Thanks again.” Dave sat, sipping another glass of scotch and pondering all the options. The only one that worked for his was to have Sadie stay with him until the situation resolved itself. That way when he was not available to watch her, Evan or a member of his team would be. In his eyes there really was no other way. Now to convince Sadie of it. Sitting there and thinking, Dave realized how tired he was and decided to go to bed. Sadie was waiting in his bed and he couldn’t think of any place else he would rather be.

Chapter Three

Dave woke later than usual the next morning. Having Sadie in his arms for the second night in a row felt wonderful. Could he ever go back to sleeping alone again, he wondered? Feeling rushed, he called to the kitchen to have breakfast delivered and woke Sadie. He wanted her awake and alert for their talk before the meeting with Evan and the DEA.

Heading her toward the shower, he went to his kitchen to make coffee to go with their breakfast. He could have ordered it with their meal, but he liked a special blend that was only available in his kitchen.

Hearing the shower end, he took a cup to Sadie and sat to watch her dress. When she started to brush out her hair, he sat on the bed and pulled her between his legs and did it himself. He had always enjoyed brushing a woman’s hair and found it very soothing for both of them.

Taking Sadie out to the living room he sat her in a chair. Explaining what Evan had told him and what was going to happen at the meeting with the DEA, he asked her to consider the use of her apartment for the surveillance operation.

Just as he finished, a knock came at the door. Thinking it was their breakfast, he opened to find Evan standing there.

“Dave, I have a report. Oh…good morning, Sadie. I forgot you were here,” he said, looking a little sheepish. Thinking he should have called Dave, he wondered how much Dave had been able to brief Sadie before he arrived.

“It’s okay, Evan. I’ve already talked to Sadie and she’s up to speed. What new information do you have?”

Letting out a sigh, Evan answered, “The condo next to yours has been being used for illegal drug running. Apparently there are several operatives moving in and out of the place and the DEA has been watching it for quite some time. By calling the police last night you threw a little wrench into their operations, but I think we can make it work in our favor. They have proposed and I’m recommending that you temporarily move out and rent the place to the DEA. After last night it’s reasonable that you would not want to be there and making it a rental makes perfect sense. The DEA can then step up their operations and it will be safer for you when you go home. I can have some of my men help you get everything out and we’ll put it in storage until you can move back. The DEA will pay all moving expenses and storage fees for you as long as they need your condo. We’ll find a place for you here at the club, where my team and I can keep you safe as long as necessary. Any questions?”

Yeah, thought Sadie, ab

out two million. Where should she start? She felt very overwhelmed at this point and as was usual for her when she got overwhelmed she just shut down. Staring blankly ahead, she just sat there.

Dave looked at Evan. “What the fuck?”

Evan quietly answered, “I think she shut down, man. I’ve seen this before, give her a few minutes to process and if she doesn’t come back, then we’ll see what we can do to reengage her. Right now she needs time to process everything that’s going on. Keep quiet and give her some space, but don’t leave her alone.”

“Shit,” answered Dave. They sat watching Sadie, and after a few moments it was like a switch being turned back on and she came out of her silence.

“Oh shit, I did it again, didn’t I?” she said.

“Did what, girl?” Dave asked her.

“Went blank. I do it when I’m overwhelmed. Sometimes I have to shut down for a few and then I regroup and come back on. I tried counseling for a while, but they said it was normal for me and as long as I didn’t get hurt or hurt anyone else in the process it was okay. The only way it would be a problem was if I did it while I was driving or if I didn’t come back. But it still scares me. The doctor compared it to a computer rebooting.”

“Are you okay, girl? If this is too much for you, you can stay here and Evan and I will handle the meeting.” Dave was very concerned and didn’t want to push Sadie anymore.

“Do you think they meant it?” Sadie asked quietly.

“Who meant what, girl?” What was she talking about now, Dave wondered.

“That they would come after me, hurt me. Oh my God, what if they tried to hurt you or someone in my family. I have to get out of here, I need to hide, Maybe I could go to Mexico or….” In a panic now Sadie got up and started running around the room in circles.

Dave looked at Evan, who was as puzzled as he was and they cornered Sadie, trying to slow her down before she hurt herself. “Whoa, girl. Settle down a minute and talk to us. No one can harm you here and no one knows you are here. I’ll make sure you and your family are safe. Come sit with me.” Dave had her in his arms and was trying to calm her down and get her settled.

Sitting on the couch with her in his lap, Evan beside them, he rubbed her back, while Evan pulled her legs into his lap and started rubbing her legs and feet, trying to calm her down.

“I…uh…need…I…I…” Sadie stuttered and couldn’t seem to make a complete sentence. She was very upset and not sure what to do. She didn’t want to put anyone else in danger. Where could she go, what should she do? Struggling to get up, she needed to leave and go…somewhere.

“Evan, go turn the shower on cold. We have to shock her out of this before she’s too far gone. It’s either that or medicate her and I don’t think she wants to go to the hospital and I know we couldn’t keep her safe there.”

“Right, I agree,” Evan jumped up to turn on the shower, while Dave followed with a struggling Sadie in his arms.

Walking into the shower with Sadie in his arms, he held her under the cold water until she stopped struggling. Quickly stripping her clothes off of her, he handed her to Evan while he stripped his own clothes off, adjusting the shower to warmer water.

Evan also stripped and they all stood in the shower letting the warm water run over them. As soon as the water started to cool, Dave carried Sadie out of the shower, and Evan wrapped her in a warm towel. Quickly drying themselves, Dave and Evan then took Sadie into the bedroom and both of the crawled into bed with her, sandwiching her between their naked bodies.