Chapter 252
985 Words
Two hours later, Cordelia tapped at the office door and opened it up. She stuck her head in, grinning.
“The coast is clear. You can come out now.”
“Thank God.” Sully got to his feet. “I’m starving.”
“I’m heating up some of the lasagna that Roberta brought us. It’ll be ready in about twenty minutes.”
“Roberta?”
“Yeah. Pamela’s the blonde, Roberta’s the redhead and Karen’s the brunette.” She paused. “They sound like a girl band, huh?”
“Were they nice?”
“Very, actually.” She turned to go back to the kitchen. “Smart, funny, sweet, kind.”
“Good.” He followed her, enjoying watching her generous ass in those tailored black pants. “They say anything interesting?”
“Not for our purposes, but yes. They did say one thing.” Her dark eyes sparkled as she shot him a look over her shoulder.
“OK,” he said warily, knowing that look. “What?”
“Karen’s having a barbecue next week and we’re invited.”
“We are?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I guess we’d better blend in and be friendly, huh?”
“I thought so too, but as it turns out, Roberta’s husband is a forensic accountant.”
“Oh.” Sully sighed. “So he’ll have lots of genuine financial knowledge. I just bet he’ll want to talk to Garrett the M&A analyst about it all.”
“Yeah, I figured that too.”
“So you said no to the barbecue?”
“I said I’d ask my husband if he was busy. You are meant to be here on business, after all, so you may have a work commitment that I don't know about.”
“Aw, sweet of you to think of me. And now that you mention it, we do have a dinner with a new client that night… so you’ll have to send Karen our regrets.” He sniffed the air as they entered the kitchen. “God. That smells amazing.”
“I know, right?” Cordelia uncovered the salad and tossed it a bit. “So, we’ll eat and then head out to the meeting place? Check it out?”
“Yeah.” He refocused now. “I want to find a few different ways to approach and leave it. Just in case.”
She nodded quietly. She knew what that meant.
“Hey,” he said. “You doing OK with all of this?”
She shrugged, shook her head, then nodded. He laughed a bit at her conflicting responses.
“I guess,” she said. “I mean, I feel like I shouldn’t really be OK with any of this, but my feelings don’t matter in the end. This is about those kids, and as long as I remember that, I’ll be fine. I’ll deal with any feelings I have later. When it’s over.”
“That’s the only way to handle ugly s**t like this.”
She looked up at him. “It is?”
“Yeah. Just – just put any feelings you may have about it into a box, lock it up, shove it on a high shelf, forget about it. When it’s all done and dusted, you can go back and get the box, open it up. Let yourself feel.”
Cordelia bit her lip. “Is that what you do?”
“Yes.” He set his large hands flat on the counter. “I put it all away and deal with it when I can.” He didn’t mention the fact that his closet was full of unopened boxes, boxes that he had no intention of ever opening. If he did, surely the house would collapse around him.
She nodded. “OK. I’ll – I’ll try.”
“I know you will.”
“Hunter?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you worried about tomorrow?”
He hesitated, trying to decide how much to share with her. “A bit. People like this are unpredictable and untrustworthy, and they can do odd things.”
“Like?”
“Like separate us for questioning, check our stories that way.”
She blinked in horror. “Really?”
“Yes. They can also take the money and then disappear, or ask for more and change conditions mid-flow.” He shrugged. “But we stay cool, OK? We stay on point, and we never offer more information than they ask for. Just like we practiced.”
She swallowed hard. “OK.”
“Hey.” He came over to her now, gently took her shoulders in his hands. “You’re going to do great, Cordelia.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” He started to stroke her hair, not able to stop himself from wanting to comfort her a bit. “You’re the best at whatever the hell it is that Jack has taught you, so you’ll know what they’re really asking from us. You’ll know what they’re thinking and feeling just as well as they do – maybe even better than they do. You’ll see so much in their faces and bodies, and you can use that. Don’t be afraid to use it, Cordelia. It’s an asset and a weapon and you wield it, baby, no f*****g apologies. You turn it back on them and you help me get those kids home.” His thick fingers moved to her delicate cheekbone, stroked it tenderly. “You with me?”
She nodded, her throat tight at his blinding belief in her. “I’m with you.”
“That’s my girl.” He lowered his lips to her forehead, gave her a soft kiss. She closed her eyes and inhaled him, his strength and solidity. “You hang on and we’ll get through this. Together.”
- Writer
