Double Infiltration (The Sinful 7 of Delite, Texas 4)

“I suppose it does.” She smiled.

“Hey, the Delite Fire Department is setting up for the fair this weekend. I need some help tomorrow and Saturday morning. Any volunteers?” he asked.

“What time do you mean by morning?” Alexa asked.

“Nine o’clock or so?”

“I’m in. I think Susanna and Ava are setting up a booth for a few hours to help raise money. We’re doing some raffles to win a few free dance lessons here at Dixie Chix,” Juliet stated.

“Yeah, I think Susanna mentioned donating a flat-screen television and home theater setup to raise some funds, too,” Alexa said.

“She sure did. I’m planning on buying some of those raffle tickets. Although at night, I r

arely watch television anymore.” Chad kissed Alexa’s neck as he squeezed her to him. Alexa giggled then gave him a little slap on the arm.

“I need to go back to work. Break’s over. Let me down.”

“Give me some sugar first, sugar,” he teased, and she kissed him.

Juliet shyly looked away, and just as Alexa left, along came Richie.

Alexa turned to give Juliet a wave and a wink. As Richie passed, Alexa waved her hand in front of her as if saying that Richie looked hot. Chad seemed to catch the signal, and Juliet knew Alexa would pay for that gesture later. She laughed to herself.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Richie stated, and she whispered a “hi” before turning toward the bar tap. She was grateful when three new customers sat at the bar.

“Excuse me,” she stated then walked away.

* * * *

Richie watched Juliet walk over to the three new cowboys that sat at the bar. She smiled, and they flirted with her. His stomach clenched with annoyance and jealousy.

“So when are you and Carl going to set that woman straight?” Chad asked as he took a sip from the beer Juliet had poured him.

Richie turned toward Chad then realized that he couldn’t keep an eye on Juliet if he remained on this side of Chad. He moved to the other side, and Chad laughed.

“Can you see her better now?” Chad asked, and Richie nodded his head.

“So, what’s the deal?”

“The deal is she won’t go out with us.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Beats the hell out of me. We’ve been flirting with her, tricked her into going to lunch, and that went really well. When we’re with her, she’s sort of responsive, yet reserved. It’s like she’s on guard and hesitant.”

“Maybe she’s afraid.”

Richie took his eyes off of Juliet to look at Chad. He squinted his eyes at him. Chad leaned back and looked at Richie.

“What I’ve come to learn, and I’m certain you and Carl have picked up on it working here, is that these women are complicated but also very mysterious in their own ways. We may be ex-soldiers, Richie, but these women have pasts. Michael and I joke around about Alexa being the hardest thing we’ve ever had to infiltrate. Once she revealed her past, a little bit at a time, we learned why and we understand even the reservations she still has. It’s not easy. We’re all men who like to be in charge and are used to giving orders and acting instantly on those orders.”

“You have a point, Chad. I think that Carl and I are in the same boat here. We’ve been watching Juliet for quite some time. She’s young, too. That’s a definite concern for us, but watching other guys flirt with her? Forget it. I see fucking red, and it’s eating me up inside.”

Chad chuckled then nodded his head in agreement.

“I know what you mean. Your cousins basically had to corner Susanna and demand she pay attention to the attraction they felt.”

“Yeah, that made for some uncomfortable moments for Carl and me while running the surveillance cameras upstairs.”