Leave Me Breathless

Her little head shakes from side to side, and she presents me with a bear. ‘But he stomped on Paddington.’

‘He did?’ I shudder for effect just as Jake bowls into the room, looking ready to attack. He soon finds me on the floor. ‘Hi,’ I say, grinning up at him. ‘Got any cuffs?’

He visibly relaxes and shouts down the corridor for backup, and we’re quickly joined by six more men, all kitted out in armor, all armed. ‘What took you so long?’ I ask drily, letting them claim my prey. I get up, dust myself off, and slip my gun into the waistband of my trousers. ‘Come on, you.’ I scoop the little girl into my arms. ‘Let’s get you and Paddington back to Mummy.’ I pace out the kitchen and hear Miss Warren before I see her, crying her heart out.

‘Oh, thank God!’ She charges for me and grabs her daughter, squeezing her tightly.

‘She’s fine.’

She smiles up at me through glassy eyes. ‘Thank you.’

‘All in a day’s work,’ I lie, heading through the crowds to find some air. I make it outside, hearing the angry yells of Corey Felton as I go, and prop myself up against a fence, my heart still going ballistic in my chest.

‘What the fuck were you thinking?’ Jake bellows, stomping toward me, and just like that my adrenaline drains from my body and I blink a few times, checking myself over. ‘You should have let backup deal with it, for fuck’s sake, Ryan.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ I retort for the sake of it, not needing Jake to kick my arse. I’m suddenly doing a damn fine job of that myself. Fucking hell, what was I thinking?

Jake must notice my sudden shakiness, because he wraps an arm around my shoulder on a sigh and starts walking us to the gates. ‘You’re such a fucking maverick.’

He’s right, I am. ‘Guess it never leaves you, huh?’

‘And stupid. You could’ve gotten yourself killed.’

‘I’m breathing, aren’t I?’

‘Yep. And now you’re gonna get a severe headache from the top.’

I snort. Coming from Jake Sharp, that’s fucking rich. Besides, it’s not my damn fault we weren’t furnished with the whole story. ‘I can deal with a headache.’ What I’m struggling to deal with is how fucking stupid I’ve just been. Damn instinct. I need a drink.

‘You of all people know that when you care about shit, you look after yourself,’ Jake reminds me.

‘All right, you can stop lecturing me now.’

He releases me when we get to the gates. ‘It’s not only yourself you’re putting in danger,’ he mutters moodily.

Guilt. More of it sweeps right on in and punches me in the gut. Jake’s wife is heavily pregnant, and now she’s worrying even more every time he leaves for work. ‘How’s Cami?’

‘Ready to pop.’ His cheeks inflate, and I laugh a little. ‘Three weeks left.’

‘Excited?’

He’s quiet for a second, and I know why. He was a lone wolf for so long, swamped by his demons. He’s had it tough. I’ve spent so much time with Jake over the past couple of years, we’ve had no choice but to get along. He’s talked. I’ve listened. He deserves his happiness. ‘Yeah,’ he eventually says, looking across to me. ‘I’m looking forward to doing it right this time.’

And there’s me putting us in unnecessary danger. I reach up and slap his shoulder, all manly, as I always do when things get a little deep from time to time. ‘Beer later?’ I ask, nodding to the pub over the road.

‘I’m game.’

We both slow to a stop when we see Lucinda’s car screech around the corner. Fuck me, that car sounds angry. I look at Jake as Jake looks at me. ‘Beer now?’ I ask, heading away from our fiery handler who is about to go fiery on my arse.

Jake’s with me, both of us backing up. No one wants to be around Lucinda when she’s after blood, and she’s currently after mine. So I’m running scared.

We enter a quiet space, with only a few patrons scattered around. ‘Two Buds, thanks.’ I toss a note on the bar and pull up two stools. We’re both silent as the barman gets our drinks, reflective, and we chink bottles and slurp together, releasing appreciative gasps at the same time. I haven’t even placed my bottle down before Lucinda stalks in and scans the bar. Oh boy. She finds us, and I recoil somewhat, her formidable glare making me shrink.

‘Should’ve known.’ She strides past us toward the back of the pub. ‘Come.’

I look at Jake, who’s in the middle of an epic eye roll. ‘If I wasn’t so fond of her, I’d tell her to fuck off at least ten times a day.’ He slips down from his stool, and I follow on a light chuckle.

Taking a seat on the opposite side of a booth from her, we sit like good little boys and wait for her to rip our balls off. After all, we deserve it. Or at least, I do. Jake’s got nothing to do with my momentary lapse in focus.