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“I was hoping it would. But…” My mind wanders to the look of fear in her eyes that I desperately want to take away.
“But nothing. What do you need from me? Because Lord knows you’re going to need help to get through this alive, with your job still secure and your dick still in one piece.”
“I’m not a rookie at this!” I snap, sitting up, his words pissing me off.
“Really, says the guy that has just laid claim to his client and made the most fateful mistake we can make in this job. Tie a knot in that dick before you make this any worse than you already have.”
“Fuck, I’m not that stupid,” I say, defending myself when I don’t need to, but I can’t help it.
“Famous last words.” His laugh rumbles deep in his chest.
“Whatever!” Trying to tamper down my annoyance, I change the subject.
“So, what’s your lazy ass doing these days in retirement?” I know full well there is no way Badger could sit still, even if he tried.
“You did not say the R word to me, did you? I’ll be kicking your ass next time I see you.” He's old enough he could have taken his military pension combined with the payout from WITSEC and taken life easy. Obviously, it’s not an option for him.
“Who, me? Not a chance I said that.” My mood settles a little the more we keep talking.
“Good.” Pausing a second, he then continues, “A bit of private security work. There's a company that gives some of the military guys, who are either home on leave or just got out, work to keep them occupied. With brains like ours and what we’ve seen, we can’t sit idle. Beauty is, I can take jobs when I feel like it or walk away at any time.” Although Badger never talks about it, I know the visions haunt him. His eyes tell you that. The way he keeps a blank demeanor and never shows any emotion. He has learned to block it all out, which can’t be healthy, but it’s not my life to live.
“Money is probably better too.” Not that it would be hard. What we get paid for putting our lives on the line for people we don’t even know is a pittance. After all, we are just government public servants.
“You know it, but like it matters to you, Richie Rich.” Asshole, he was always going to throw that back at me.
“Should never have told you, smartass.”
“What did you call me before, the Wizard? I would have known even if you didn’t tell me. I hear and see all.” I hear movement in the background of his voice, a woman’s whisper.
“Fuck, why didn’t you tell me you had company?” I ask, hoping like hell she didn't hear any of the conversation we'd been having.
“Because you needed me, and that always trumps a wet pussy. And before you panic, I was far enough away, but now, you’re boring me. I have a better option standing in front of me.”
“Well, far be it from me to stop you from getting your dick some action.”
“As long as it’s only mine and not yours having all the fun.”
“Way to make it shrivel up, knowing you are thinking about my dick. Now go, don’t keep your lady waiting.” My mind is already drifting off, picturing Cassie asleep across the hall.
“Ghost… think about what I said. Okay?” The concern in his voice comes from years of friendship.
“I will. Thanks, buddy. Talk soon.”
“I'm here if you need me, just not for the next hour.”
“Like you need more than five minutes. I’m out.” Without even giving him time to reply, all I hear as the call disconnects is him laughing.
I sit watching the cameras on my screen, where there is no movement except for a few branches on the trees. My thoughts go back to what he said. I need to try to pull away. I should schedule different agents to come in and out so I’m only here sometimes. I scroll through the database to see who's not on a case currently, and for some reason, I find a problem with each and every one of them.
The only one I trust is Bull, and there is no way I’m pulling him off his leave to cover me. I’m just going to have to keep my head on straight and enough distance that I can still do my job but that’s all.
Thoughts are coming to me of how I can fix this and help Cassie at the same time. It's time to get a few things in motion so by tomorrow things can start to change.
I get started searching for everything I’m after. Ordering online for a curbside pickup that I’ll send one of my agents to collect in the morning gives me some satisfaction that I have achieved something tonight.
Looking at the time on the screen, I know I should be hitting the pillow for at least a few hours, anyway. I don’t need much sleep, which is lucky because in this job you never know what is around the corner. I never allow myself to fall into that deep state where you aren’t aware of your surroundings either. I set my phone to alert me if any of the sensors go off.
I strip down out of my clothes and into my gray sweatpants that are comfortable enough to sleep in but also easy enough to move quickly if I need to. My gun under my pillow for quick access, finally my muscles slowly relax into the mattress. Tomorrow is a new day, and I need to go back to being just an agent on the job. Nobody’s friend, just the hired protection.
