X-Team Three

Part Twenty Three-(Az) Hierarchy

Five o'clock in the morning, I find myself carrying a sleeping Jocelyn into headquarters with a still pissed off Cora on my heels.

"You'd better not be taking her to your bunk," she says, the threat in her voice thick and merciless.

"Jesus Christ, Cora. She's got her own guest room."

"Yeah, well, I'm not deaf. I heard your conversation earlier in the car. She means a bit more to you than just a mission."

I turn on her, gently, so as not to jostle the precious woman in my arms. "Mind your own goddamn business, Cora. What happens between Jocelyn and I is between us. Back the fuck off."

I see her bristle and realize now is not the time to be getting into a fight with her, physically or verbally. She's overtired, and I'm mentally exhausted. I don't sleep, though, but I intend to sit in Jocelyn's room until she wakes up. She's not going to know where she is and will do well with a familiar face.

"Go to bed, Cora. I'm not doing this right now. We can fight later."

She huffs and heads off in the opposite direction. Life is really going to suck later. Not that it doesn't suck now. I head down the guest room hall and choose a room with an open door. I know Gina's here somewhere, and the last thing I need is to waltz into a strange woman's room, waking her up, and listening to her scream.

After pulling back the blankets on the bed, I gently lay Jocelyn down. I pull her shoes off and cover her up. She's still in her filthy clothes, but I'm not about to undress her. That's crossing a line.

Then my thoughts come to a screeching halt. Wow. Not 24 hours ago, undressing a woman was something I looked forward to and never thought twice about. Granted, I'd never do it if the woman wasn't awake or didn't want me to, but still. I'd never consider it crossing a line. I'd wake the woman up or do whatever I could, legally, to convince her. With Jocelyn, however, doing any of that would be out of the question.

I drop to my knees next to the bed and cover my face with my hands. What is this woman doing to me? I used to be the guy that would head out to a different bar every night and go home with a different woman every night. Then I'd leave as soon as she fell asleep, never giving out a cell phone number, an address, or a promise to see her again. Whenever I ran into a specific woman a second time, which happened quite often, she'd sashay over, give me a kiss on my cheek, and tell me it was the best sex of her life. Then she'd wander off back to her group of friends to giggle and gossip or whatever it is women do together, and that was that. It was the perfect bachelor life-sex every night with no strings attached.

I uncover my face, taking in the beautiful angel fast asleep in front of me. I don't miss that life at all now, and I doubt I ever will again. As long as she's still in my life. And maybe even after.

Getting back to my feet, my knees shaking for some strange reason, I lean over her sleeping form and kiss her forehead lightly. The pure rightness of the gesture sends warmth blasting through my entire body. I lumber over to the bench under the window, sit down, and proceed to watch the sunrise.

About an hour later, just as the sun is breaching the concrete wall surrounding the compound, I hear Jocelyn stir. She rolls over, and her sleepy eyes instantly find mine.

"Go back to sleep," I murmur, standing up and heading for the bed.

"What time is it?" she croaks, searching on either side of the bed for a clock that isn't there.

I check my watch. "Too early to be awake."

She struggles into a sitting position, placing a hand on the side of her head. "I need to call my family. Make sure they know I'm okay. Geez, they've probably got the cops out looking for me." She's now wide awake, eyes filling with anxiety.