Give Me Grace(18)

Arriving to the chaos had come as no surprise. The Jamieson and Valentine clan might have been my family, and don’t get me wrong, when everything was good with them, it was like the stars aligned and shimmery fairy dust fell from the heavens, but when it went to shit, it went there via the seventh circle of Hell.

Taking that into consideration, offering to collect their replacement guitarist from the airport with Travis had seemed like a good idea, until Travis opened his mouth about last night.

“You and Morgan?”

I shook my head in answer, focusing my attention on driving rather than explaining myself.

“Was she the one that went home with you on Friday night? You’re seeing her now?”

“Calm the fuck down, Trav.” Stopping at a red light, I turned to face him. “If we’re going to have a gossip session about my night out, maybe we should start with the outfit I chose first before discussing whether I put out or not.”

The light turned green and I accelerated, satisfied when the small burst of speed left the traffic behind me scrambling to catch up. The deflection would only work for so long. Travis and Coby had seen Morgan last night when I answered the door. The suggestive gleam in her eye and the overexposure of skin left no doubt to her intentions. Between that and the damn sex shop bag on the counter, it was obvious I’d been on board with those intentions.

“So?” Travis waved his hand. “What did you wear then?”

Smug sonofabitch.

“Fine.” My hands tightened on the steering wheel as I hit Sydney’s M1 freeway and opened the car up. “I fucked her, okay? I may plan on doing it again. Do I need to check every potential fuck with you first and get your approval in duplicate?”

“You know what?” Travis turned in his seat to glare at me. “Yes. You fucking do if you’re gonna pull shit like this. We have contracts with the government that includes the damn Sydney police. Our firm doesn’t need you going and poking your cock into the middle of all that. There is no doubt we will be dealing with her in an official capacity at some stage, and if she gets your customary brush-off, how are we supposed to trust her to have our backs? What is it, Casey, you like her that much she’s worth that kind of hit?”

Travis took a deep breath. He sat there fuming in the passenger seat, waiting for my answer as I navigated through traffic and took the airport exit off the motorway. I didn’t have one. Well, not one that wouldn’t give away my intentions, so I kept my mouth shut.

“If you’re just looking to get laid, find someone else,” he added, unwilling to leave it alone.

Reaching the domestic terminal of Sydney airport, I found a spot and parked the car. Turning off the ignition, I sat back in my seat and took a deep breath as I stared out the windshield. Travellers moved at a rapid pace, wheeling their suitcases between cars and over the pedestrian crossings.

“I’m not just looking to get laid. That’s the problem.”

Travis furrowed his brow. “I don’t get it.”

Yanking the keys, I got out of the car. Travis followed and I beeped the locks, shoving the keys in my jeans’ pocket. “She works cybercrime now,” I reminded him as we strode towards the building entrance. “You know how closed off those tech cops are.”

After a moment, he mumbled, “Ah hell. You think by fucking her, she might be willing to instigate a search for the wiped information.”

“No one else will do it,” I bitched. “As far as everyone else is concerned, the case was closed and the missing files are just one of those things that happen.”

The pileup of cars waiting for pedestrians to cross was long. We both jogged over the crossing and towards the front doors. They whooshed open automatically, emitting cool air as we strode inside.

“Let it go, Casey. It’s in the past. You can’t change it or fix it, and getting Morgan involved is going to make it all worse.”

Anger burned in my chest. I grabbed his bicep, effectively halting him, and looked him in the eye. “Fuck you, Trav.” My jaw ticked as I fought to lock the resentment down. “It’s not that simple. How can I let go when I’ve lost everything already? If I had answers, then maybe I …”

I, what? Could move on? Forgive myself?

“You could what?”

I shook my head and started walking again. “Let’s just collect whoever the hell it is we’re here to collect, okay?”

In tense silence, we arrived at the gate and waited as passengers started flowing out. That was when I saw her walking directly towards us, a guitar case slung casually over her back.

“Jesus,” I breathed, standing beside Travis as I took in the deep red tangle of hair flowing down her back and colourful tattoo that wound around the length of her bare arm and shoulder. Tiny black leather shorts displayed long slender legs that strode towards us with purpose. The blood in my veins heated as I fixed on her. My mind immediately had me bending her over from behind, pulling on that wild mass of hair, and yanking her head back as I thrust inside her, over and over. “Do you think that’s her?”