Page 21 of Sackett (Demented Souls #17)
“W hen you’ve had as much caffeine as we have, it doesn’t affect you the same.
” Sackett picked up one cup, removed the lid so he didn’t have to fuss with that fucking annoying fold back tab, and took a long drink.
The trip had taken long enough that he didn’t doubt it would be a drinkable temperature, and if wasn’t, it wouldn’t be the first time.
He watched as Maverick finished laying things out then motioned his brother to the sofa, and sat on the floor on the opposite side of the table from him.
He opened the foam clam shell container and found the burger he’d ordered and the fries it came with.
Picking up a fry, he popped it into his mouth then looked at Maverick, then to Selena and back again.
“You said something about needing to stay for court. Tell us more about your schedule for the week.” He watched Selena as he continued to eat.
She paused with her plastic fork halfway to her mouth, then continued to take the bite, her eyes on him as she chewed. He didn’t know if she was thinking about it or if she had something else entirely on her mind.
After a moment, she spoke, “I’ve got an appointment tomorrow afternoon, no wait, that’s this afternoon, with my client, then we have court at nine o’clock tomorrow.
I would like to think this matter shouldn’t take more than a day, but I’ve got the whole week clear, just in case it stretches on.
My client’s soon to be ex-wife is a piece of work and who knows what she’ll pull in order to cost him more money or even get more out of him than she’s entitled to. ”
“So you’re here at least until Thursday, possibly until the weekend.” He looked down at his plate a moment. Then back at her, waiting for her answer.
“I am, but I’m sure I’ve seen the last of these people. The only reason they found me was because I was there for Donna’s case. I will need to look at picking up my rental car, but otherwise I don’t need to go back to Fort Collins.”
“If not there, where do you need to go? The courthouse, I assume?”
“Yeah, but the one here in Boulder. They’re different counties so different courthouses.”
Savage glanced at Maverick, then back to Selena.
“You said you’re meeting with your client in the afternoon. What time?”
“Not until three. He couldn’t get off work any earlier. But at least that gives me time to get some sleep before I go get my car then can meet him.”
“How about you let us go get your car? Then you can sleep in or do whatever else you need to do here,” Maverick said before Sackett had a chance to suggest it.
“Are you sure?” She narrowed her eyes at him, as if he’d said something suspicious. Or maybe she was suspicious of why they would take the time to do it.
“Sure. We can go, get the car and bring it back. That will give you time to do whatever you need to, even if it’s just rest and let your feet heal a bit.
At the same time, it keeps the guys who took you yesterday from being able to see you and follow you back here.
” Maverick shrugged as if it didn’t matter to him if she let them do this or not.
Sackett wasn’t so sure he could have been so nonchalant.
And while he didn’t like the idea of leaving her here alone, at least he knew she was safe in her room, and if one of the fuckwads from the commune showed up, they could deal with him.
And while they hadn’t seen any of them on their excursion into the compound to rescue Selena, he knew their faces.
At least those Gizmo, Savage and Donna thought were most likely involved as the list of names, with photos attached, had been included in the file that had been sent to him and Maverick both while they’d been on the plane.
Selena turned and looked at him. “Do you agree, that you two going for my car is the best idea?”
“I do. I would like for you to stay in the room while we’re gone, but I can’t force you to do that.”
She stared at him for a moment, then watched Maverick a moment longer.
Sackett wished he could hear what she was thinking if only because then he’d have at least a little more insight into how her mind worked.
As it was, he was working on guess and intuition.
While the latter had never steered him wrong, the first often was.
“All right. I’ll give you the key tonight, so you can go when you wake, even if I’m not up yet. You’ve already got my spare key,” she said to Maverick. “Glad I make a habit of getting two in case I misplace one.”
Sackett frowned at that reasoning. Did she routinely leave a key to her room floating around the world where anyone could get it and have access to her?
He knew better than to ask, even if he didn’t know her that well.
She was not the kind of woman who would take that kind of question well from someone she barely knew.
If he wanted to change her habits, to keep her safer, he’d have to know her a hell of a lot better than he did now.
The idea was oddly appealing.
“I do ask that if you leave before I get up, leave me a note with what time you left so I have an idea when you might be back and I’m not constantly looking for you with every noise.”
“No problem. Have you ever been to Boulder before?” Sackett asked, trying to get to know her better and to get her thinking about other things.
“Several times. I actually went to law school here.”
“So you’re really familiar with the area,” Maverick said between bites.
“It’s been a few years, but I am.”
They continued to chat while they ate, both Sackett and Maverick asking questions about Boulder and the area, as well as about Selena.
She asked questions about them both and asked Maverick how he’d met Dana, then laughed at the incident that had sent him looking for a way to apologize to their VP’s wife.
Sackett lost track of how long they’d been talking when Selena’s yawn made him realize they’d all finished eating some time ago. He checked the clock, and it was closer to four in the morning than he would have liked.
“You’re beat. Don’t let us keep you up. Go, get some rest. We’ll take care of picking up your car.”
“Oh, that reminds me. My key.” She looked around and found where her briefcase had been set on the small desk like table between the seating area and the kitchenette.
She went to it and dug in one pocket for a moment before pulling out a key fob and hold it out.
“Here. All the information is on the tag.” She flipped the ring around and showed him the laminated tag that listed the make, model, color and even the license plate.
While it made it easy for the rental agency to know which key the car went to, it also made it easy for the assfucks from the commune to know which car to keep an eye on in the garage.
Sackett knew enough to keep that, or that he had any idea they might be watching it, off his face as he held out one hand and let her drop the key into it, her fingertips brushing his palm and sending sparks of desire through him.
Why did such a slight touch affect him so strongly?
She disappeared into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Neither he nor Maverick had said anything yet when a couple of minutes later she opened the other door from the inside.
“I wanted to make sure you have access to the restroom. In case you need it.”
“Thanks, ma’am,” Maverick said before Sackett could form the words. He nodded once showing his agreement.
He picked up the remote and turned on the TV. After taking the time to tune it to one of the twenty-four-hour news stations, he turned to Maverick.
“We need to figure out what we’re going to do. I don’t feel right leaving her here alone tomorrow while nothing has happened to the fuckers who took her in the first place.”
“I’m not disagreeing with you, but I need to get back. I might can do another day, but I can’t stay all week.”
Sackett shook his head. This wasn’t how he’d planned to spend his week. Not that he had anything important or special planned, but that wasn’t the point. Even if he’d had other plans, he would have changed them to make sure the woman sleeping or soon to be, in the next room would stay safe.
That was probably something he should look closer at, but now was not the time. Not when he was exhausted and probably not thinking clearly.
“How bout we get a little rest, then we can work out the details in the morning?” he suggested.
Maverick watched him for a moment then agreed. “Doesn’t look like there are many options,” Maverick said, looking around the room. “I’m not sure which would be the better option. The too short couch, the chair, or the floor.”
“The couch pulls out,” Sackett finished cleaning up the trash from their meal, then pushed the coffee table out of the way, finding that it fit under the desk quite nicely.
Then he took the cushions off the sofa and tossed them to the floor on one side.
“Whoever doesn’t take the couch can use those if they want,” he said as he pulled out and unfolded the bed frame.
“You take the bed. I’ll be heading home sooner, and I can sleep on the plane if I need to,” Maverick said.
“That reminds me,” Sackett said, then pulled out his phone after he’d finished unfolding the bed. “We need to let Gizmo know the plan, or at least that one of us needs to stay.”
“I sent him a couple letting him know we got her out safe while Colt was looking at her feet. Have you seen them by the way? How bad are they?”
“Several small cuts, but nothing too bad from what I saw. I did give them another coat of the spray bandage after her shower, so hopefully that will hold until she starts to heal. If she can keep from spending too much time on them until then.”
Maverick nodded, then pushed the cushions Sackett had tossed to the floor around so they looked more like a bed. “Do the back cushions come off?”
Sackett tugged and found that they did, so tossed the two cushions from the back of the couch to him. “You take the bathroom first. I’m going to finish this message to Gizmo.”
He heard his brother moving around, then the click of the bathroom door closing, but tuned it and the sound of the TV out as he painstakingly typed out what he felt the tech sgt.
needed to know. Once he hit send, he tilted his head back and started thinking about logistics.
He wouldn’t need a room, because there was no way he’d leave her unguarded, though he might get some argument from Selena over that.
He didn’t need to keep the rental, as once they’d picked hers up, she had that all week and where she went, he would be going.
How to get back to Tucson, he’d not yet planned.
But he’d check with her in the morning and work it out from there.
With that decided, he stood, stripped the thin blanket from the fold out bed, and dropped it and one of the two pillows onto the makeshift bed Maverick had made.
He was digging the running shorts out of his backpack to sleep in when Maverick stepped out of the bathroom.
“Oh,” he said, spotting the pillow and blanket, “thanks. I hadn’t thought about that, but are you sure you don’t need them?”
“There are two pillows, I only need one, and I’ll be fine with just the sheet.”
“All right.” Maverick shrugged, flipped the blanket out over the bed, then dug a couple things out of his own go bag, and plugged in his phone before lying down. “What time we going to go get that car?”
“Y ou hear back from Gizmo yet?” Maverick asked as they hit I-25 on their way to go pick up Selena’s rental car.
“Only to say he’d received the message and was looking into some things.”
“Damn.” Maverick’s attention didn’t waver from the road, both in front of them and behind, as traffic was heavy enough he needed to stay alert. “I double checked with Dana. I can stay tonight, if you need me, but I need to be back by tomorrow night. We’ve got something we can’t reschedule.”
Sackett glanced over at Maverick then turned his gaze back to his phone. He should have asked Selena what kind of phone she wanted and who her provider was before she’d gone to bed the night before. He hated that the only form of communication she had was the hotel phone in the room.
“No worries. I don’t have anything I can’t put off.
” He glanced up and wondered what she was doing.
Had she woken up yet? Had she found the note he’d left with his phone number?
Sackett shook his head and tried not to think about what she would look like sleeping, or even freshly awoken and sleep tousled.
He shifted in his seat hoping to make the way his cock was stiffening a bit less obvious, then turned his attention to what they were doing.