Secured Undercover (3 page)

Shannon glanced away, his eyes moving over the crowd once more, before he admitted. “I asked her to sit with me at dinner.”

Weave let out a low whistle. “And she agreed? Sweet.”

Shannon nodded. He hadn’t really expected her to say yes. She flirted with him the night before, but there wasn’t any denying, she was way too classy for the likes of him. His father was a professional MMA fighter and the owner of a club that trained other fighters. Shannon’s mother was a military woman and she was just as rough-and-tumble as the men. Shannon was raised around a tough crowd, leaving him a little rough around the edges. He could wear a penguin suit just as well as the next guy, but it didn’t change who he was on the inside, and this wasn’t his scene. Despite that, he was going to wade into this classy gathering in an attempt to get to know Flower a little better. She truly was one hot woman and worth the attempt that would most likely end in utter failure.

Bradley wondered if his smile was as evil as if felt. Every time that he tried to smooth out the lines of his face, the damn smile popped back up again. When he was a child, he was teased constantly, but Flower always stuck by his side. She seemed not to care that he was overweight or that he preferred Barbie over Trucks; she only wanted to be his friend. That was the wonderful thing about Flower; she loved everyone. She didn’t care about the color of their skin or their sexual preference. She only wanted to make people smile. That was why people like Chad Williams preyed upon her. The Chad’s of the world were given everything in life, and they never knew, even for a moment, what it felt like to be looked down upon for whom or what they were. There was one person in the world that loved him no matter what, and that person was Flower. Now he couldn’t shake this stupid grin because Flower unwittingly gave him permission to take Chad down. Chad was a user, and he didn’t care who he hurt, or maybe he didn’t even realize other people experienced feelings, but nonetheless, Bradley did know.

There was a time in Bradley’s life, right after he lost the weight and the headgear, when girls started to notice him. Back then he worked his way through quite a few of them. Sometimes it was a form of revenge, since all the girls he used and threw away were the same girls that teased him just a few years before. But when he moved to Abernathy, his life changed, and the lessons he learned as a child reared their head, forcing him to straighten out his life.

But not Chad, he was still a prick, and he was still chasing Flower—thankfully, so far without success, but Bradley feared Chad would eventually wear her down. The flowers he sent to the boutique were only the beginning. This new guy she spent all night talking to was a little more problematic because he might actually have what it took to win Flower over, but he wasn’t that worried about him either. Bradley would make damn sure he didn’t get enough alone time with her to be able to do much more than flirt. He spotted Chad across the room making his way towards Flower, and he moved to intercede before Chad got the chance to catch up with her. Throwing his arms wide, he pitched his voice as high as it would go. “Chad my darling.”

Chad cringed at the sound, and Bradley mentally chuckled. He was so going to fuck up Chad’s world and have the time of his life doing it.

“You look beautiful by the way. I don’t think I got a chance to tell you earlier.”

Flower smiled at the compliment. “You’re not too shabby yourself. Who designed this?” Grabbing Shannon by the collar she tried to pull his neck towards her for further inspection, but she froze at his look. “I’m sorry,” she said trying to smooth his collar back down while working at stifling her nervous laughter. “You must think I’m insane attacking you like that, or in the least really rude.”

“No, that was just a first for me. Most women at least let me finish eating my dinner before they try to rip my clothes off, or they at least wait until we’re in private.”

Flower wrung her hands uncomfortably. She really didn’t mean to attack him like that and she didn’t have a single doubt that every word he said was the truth. She felt the need to explain her actions. “I get excited about other people’s fashion lines, and I’ve been hanging around this group for far too long,” she said the last as if she was reading her own death sentence.

“I thought you had a lot of friends amongst this crowd.”

Flower looked around at the faces that surrounded them and took special note of some wonderful people. As far as good friends went, she could only lay claim to one of those, and he wouldn’t be keeping her warm at night, not to mention as much as she loved him, she wanted someone to love her for more than friendship. “I do have a lot of friends here, but I’m open to meeting a new friend,” she said it in a way as to leave no doubt about her meaning. He smiled showing a sexy set of dimples, and she knew he hadn’t missed it.

“What are you doing after this?”

“I have to go to the fashion show and auction. Since it’s my pieces up for sale, I can’t miss it.”

“I meant what are you doing after this, like tomorrow?”

Flower blushed. “It’ll take a day or two for the crew to load everything up so I’ll be here until then with no plans.”

“Spend the day with me tomorrow then,” he suggested.

“Okay,” she agreed shyly. He smiled down into her eyes. Then his eyes locked on something over her shoulder. “Damn it, that guy just stuck an entire candle holder in his purse.”

“That’d be Steven. See ya later,” she said, knowing he was as good as gone now.

CHAPTER FOUR

The morning wasn’t going at all the way Flower planned. She thought to meet up with Shannon early, and take in some of the sights since she this was her first trip to Nashville, but, apparently, keeping up with security issues on the charity pieces was a bigger job than she could’ve ever imagined. Finally, around eleven thirty, he called her room letting her know he was downstairs waiting with a car. As she stepped out of her room, the door across the hall opened, and Chad stepped out looking nervous. His hair was standing up in every direction, and his normally clean suit was wrinkled beyond repair. Under normal circumstances, she would’ve tried to avoid talking to him as much as possible, but her curiosity was getting the best of her since Chad prided himself on his appearance.

“What happened to you?”

He looked right and left as if planning his escape. “What to do you mean?”

She waved in the direction of his clothes, and he glanced down as if just noticing what he was wearing. “Good God,” he breathed, horrified.

“You’ve just noticed?” she asked. Then she wanted to kick herself for extending a conversation she was sure to pay for later with at least two weeks of flowers that made her sneeze, and dinner offers that came three times a day. There were only so many times you could be shaving your legs, washing your hair, or making a list of the merits of becoming a lesbian.

“I looked fine last time I looked in the mirror. What time is it?”

Flower glanced at her watch. “Its 11:35.”

Chad stood in shock for a moment before rallying. “In the morning?” he asked, sounding mortified.

Flower nodded. “Yep, how come you didn’t know what time it was? I thought you were wearing some really expensive watch last night. You felt the need to show me at least five times,” she added wryly.

“I don’t know what happened to it.”

“We’re you robbed?” She asked, exasperated with the entire conversation. Not to mention he was making her late for her date.

“I don’t know.”

Flower rolled her eyes. She was really tired of it now. “Well. Why don’t you know?”

“I fell asleep, and then I don’t know.”

Flower sighed loudly. Having her fill of Chad’s drama for the day, she cut their conversation off before she got dragged into God knows what. Tossing a quick wave over her shoulder she headed out as quickly as her feet would take her without looking like she was making a run for it.

Down in the lobby, she found Shannon waiting by the front door. Unfortunately, her good mood was ruined after her run in with Chad. She still tried valiantly to smile.

“Hey, Shannon. How’s it going?”

He didn’t look any happier than her. “This job is shit. It was supposed to be simple, but every time I turn around, someone has stolen something, and I’m forced to run in circles, chasing my tail, never getting anything accomplished.”

She patted him on the arm in sympathy, unable to keep from noticing how hard his muscles were. “You know what you need?”

“What?”

“A very strong drink. Is there any place around here serving alcohol this early?”

Shannon was quick to warm up to Flower’s suggestion. “As it happens, I know just the place.”

“Cool.” She followed him out to his SUV, and in an exaggerated motion, he turned his cell phone off before tossing it into the back seat. They climbed in and peeled out as if they robbed the joint. It only took ten minutes to get to the bar Shannon was thinking of.

By two thirty in the morning, Shannon and Flower partook of every redneck bar in the greater Nashville area. Back at the hotel, Shannon carried a passed out Flower past a six foot Marilyn Monroe on the way through her hotel room. Twenty minutes later, after he managed to get her comfortably tucked into bed, he turned his cell phone on to find he missed several calls. He listened to the messages while watching Flower sleep. He was seriously considering climbing in next to her, when Bob’s voice sounded in his ear telling him he was arrested earlier in the evening for trespassing on hotel property.

“What kind of fucked up job is this?” he muttered to himself, hanging up the phone.

He debated on whether to wake up Flower to let her know he was leaving, but, in the end, he decided to leave a note.

Shannon stepped out of the bedroom, freezing in his tracks when he spotted a blonde giant of a man leaning against the kitchen counter. His brain suffered this awkward moment when it started to switch to fight mode before being saved by the realization that it was Bradley as himself. The difference between the way he looked now and the way he looked as Marilyn Monroe was nothing short of extraordinary. He wore only a pair of pajama pants slung low on his hips leaving his upper torso bare, and he looked more like several of the cage fighters he’d seen over the years than a drag queen. There was no way Shannon could have guessed that such a hardcore dude existed underneath the costume Bradley normally wore. A day’s growth of beard shadowed his jaw, and his shaggy blonde hair stood out in every direction as if he spent too much time running his hands through it. But what caught Shannon’s attention, more than anything, was the look in Bradley’s eyes. His dark blue gaze was narrowed dangerously at Shannon, and he felt a moment of confusion before realizing it must look to Bradley as if he were trying to sneak away. He couldn’t blame the man for looking out for Flower.

“How’s it going Bradley?”

Bradley lifted his coffee cup to his lips, taking a sip before asking, “Leaving so soon?”

His voice remained light, but there was no mistaking the thread of steel behind his words.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. One of my men got arrested last night, and I need to go spring him from jail. I’m going to leave a note for Flower since I hate to wake her up. Will you make sure she gets it?”

A small smile touched Bradley’s lips. “Of course. There is a pad of paper over by the phone.”

With a nod of thanks, Shannon moved to the small table and scratched out a quick note. By the time he finished, Bradley was stretched out on the couch in front of the T.V. Shannon called out a goodbye, and Bradley threw a wave over his shoulder. Shannon left with a strange feeling about the entire encounter, but was unable to pinpoint exactly from where his feeling of unease sprang.

When Flower’s bedroom door opened a second time, Bradley looked up to find Flower padding out. She wore only a t-shirt and panties and glanced around the room before her gaze landed on him.

“Have you seen Shannon?”

“Nope.”

She nodded absently at his answer before moving to the kitchen. He followed her with his eyes. She reached above her head to pull out a coffee mug, and her shirt rode up over her hip giving him a peek at her beautiful ass. After pouring herself a cup of coffee, she walked over to the side table and glanced down at the pad of paper by the phone.

“Is something wrong?”

She shook her head then moved to join him on the couch. She set her cup on the table, and in a move she’d exhibited a thousand times before, curled up in his lap, tucking her head underneath his chin. His nipples hardened, and goose bumps formed across his skin as her hair tickled his neck. Her ass was pressed firmly against his growing erection, and he shifted her slightly on his lap before she could feel it. He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her lightly. She pressed a light kiss to his chest. “I love you.”

Her words caused his throat to swell with unshed tears, and a muscle began to tick in his jaw as Shannon’s note burned a hole in his pocket. He knew he was a horrible friend, a horrible person, but God how he loved her, and prayed that one day she’d choose him. Longing ate at his gut; she was the only thing in the world that he wanted for himself.

She hoped, if only for a moment, that Shannon had, in the very least, left a note, but it wasn’t to be.

It was, after all, the story of her life. Everyone left her, even her own parents. There was only Bradley. He was the only person in the world that had stayed in her life. She placed another light kiss upon his chest before pressing her ear against it to listen to his steady heartbeat. That was Bradley, steady.

“Let’s go home.”

Bradley touched his lips to her forehead letting her know he heard her words, but he remained silent. “Please?” she added.

He ran his fingers through her hair, pulling it over one of her shoulders before answering. “If that’s what you really want. I’m not sure how hard it will be to change our flights though.”

“I say we rent a car and drive back,” she suggested, taking even herself by surprise.

He chuckled. “Are you serious? You do realize it’s at least a fifteen hour drive, right?”