Undercover (Boyxboy)

Chapter Four

He stirred in his sleep, pushing the blanket down off of his body. He was wearing only boxers – his tanned, muscular chest on display. I swallowed and forced myself to avert my eyes. Just because we were supposed to be a married couple, behind closed doors we were nothing more than two operatives set on taking down a drugs organisation. I had to remember that.

I tried to focus my eyes on the papers laid out in front of me over the bed covers. On them, the four other households in our estate were clearly mapped out, not sparing any detail on each individual.

Next door to us on the right hand side, we had a family of four – Grant, Audrey, William and Lindsay Jefferson. Even their names sounded posh and pretentious.

The Agency had their suspicions that Grant, the father of the family, was dealing large amounts of cocaine and pills to his trusted friends and neighbours in the area – they needed proof to accuse him, however. He had friends in high places, and anytime the law and police tried to get involved, his lawyers slapped them with loophole after loophole to get out of every rut.

If we gained his trust and gathered hard evidence against him, the smartest lawyer couldn’t save him.

On our left hand side, there was Hugh Lawman. He was a single bachelor in his mid to late thirties. His picture showed a handsome, confident face. He had never been married and had no known children. He built his wealth around nightclubs and strip-joints, scattered all over Europe. He was only recently bringing them to the US. Born in England, he decided his British charm was being missed out on by the people of America.

The Agency considered him a great person of interest, given his reputation and also, the easy access to drugs in the nightclubs he owned around the world. They also guess he had direct access with the supplier, and that himself and Grant Jefferson were partners in dealing.

Across the road we had Harvey and Jennifer Collins. They were in their late forties to early fifties and originally only summered in The Hamptons before making it their permanent home. We didn’t have much suspicion’s against them, only that they could potentially be buyers of illegal substances.

Finally, next door to the Collins’ lived a young family. Kyle and Stephanie Brant, along with their six-month old twins, Julia and Eva. They were of no interest to us really. Newly married with newborns, both had squeaky clean pasts and were the receivers of elaborate inheritance cheques. However, Stephanie was the daughter of an elite family of blue-bloods, who practically ran the high-class society. Gaining their trust and respect would undoubtedly give us access to the other families of the neighbourhood.

Harry stirred again, this time, rolling on his side facing me and throwing an arm around my torso. I stilled and barely breathed for a few seconds. I didn’t know why I was so anxious – he was out for the count. And anyway, he put his arm around me. I did nothing wrong. Not that this was wrong – just, unnerving.

I gathered my papers up carefully, trying not to touch off of his arm. I didn’t want to wake him. He was exhausted and when he was in bad mood, like he was today, it was better to let him sleep it off. It was his down-days that made me appreciate him so much more the rest of the time. It was also his down-days that made me as protective of him as I was.

Once I’d placed the papers on the ground and switched off the bedside lamp, Harry’s arm was still firmly stretched across my chest. I tried to turn onto my side and get his arm off me. It was no use – the more I tried to push him off, the tighter he wound his arm around me. I sighed and eventually lay back into him, my back and his chest inches from each other.

When I finally became comfortable, I found myself drifting to sleep much easier than I anticipated. I had expected to lie awake all night, knowing Harry’s arm was around me, but it seemed to calm me. As if it’s what I needed. I didn’t even have to imagine life without the agency as I tried to fall asleep – Harry’s arm around me provided enough comfort to close my eyes.