Chapter 21.
I hated waiting. At least I was out of the car. I was ok with hanging back but it would tear me apart to think about what could be happening if I couldn't see her. I stayed tight to the wall and was glad Ally stood in my direct line of sight, lit up by the cars lights she kept her hands out and palms up in a non threatening gesture to show she was unarmed. I frowned. She was.
I heard the car door open after the lights cut out. We were shrouded in silence before it was broken by the slam of a car door and heavy steps. I heard another door open and tensed studying Ally. She didn't look thrown off so I kept my place.
Shortly after the second door closed I heard the same heavy steps and then a man appeared in track pants and a white shirt carrying two heavy paper office boxes in his hand.
Setting them down he stood to his full height and studied Ally, while I tried to remember every detail about him in case I needed it. Tall, about 6'4, 210 pounds, peppered gray military cut black hair, broad shoulders, late thirties, several identifying tattoos. Who was this man?
"How you been?" He asked her.
"Alright." She gave him a sheepish grin and I relaxed. "I've come a crossed a few good people to make up for the rest."
"You grew up good, kid. Still kick ass like I taught you?" He tried to keep his tone light and failed.
Ally tilted her head to the side and studied him. "You're still looking good for an old man."
He chuckled and shook his head. "I brought you a few things. I missed a few birthdays." He ran his hands roughly through his hair and smiled. "Shit talking, brat! I'm not old." He chuckled making Ally smile.
"Yeah, now look who's sensitive." He shook his head and turned. "Hey!" She stopped him. "I'm here with a friend. I want you to meet him."
The man frowned and looked around quickly. I took that as my signal to step forward and the man trained his eyes on me before giving Ally a questioning look, his body still tense. "Alexandra?"
She cleared her throat and put a hand on his shoulder. "Good people." She nodded towards me and he relaxed.
"You growing soft?" He asked her eyeing me with a smirk.
Ally shook her head with a sad expression. "Just tired."
The man frowned at her and then looked to me with a worn expression that showed his age. Ally was now for the first time looking at the boxes he placed on the ground in front of her. It made me wonder just what they were. "Josh." I stuck my hand out and kept an eye on Ally.
"If you're good to her you're a friend of mine." The man gave me a strong shake but no name. I nodded. "I have a few treats for my girl if you don't mind." He gestured to the car.
I followed him to the back and helped him heave a trunk out and bring it around front to Ally. It wasn't to heavy just awkward for one person to carry. We set it in front of her and I put an hand on her back in comfort as she took in the box and the man. Her confused expression worried me but Ally never spoke up about it.
The man flipped the trunk open and pulled out a few things. "You know I never got around to having kids right." He pulled out a vest and held it up to Alex.
"Not to late you know?" She gave a weak smile taking the vest in her hands. "It's light."
"It's a test material. New. You can slide plates in and it's easier to adjust to woman's frame." He took it and flipped the bullet proof vest to show the sides. It was a tough fabric that had some give to it and a few straps under her arms and along the rib cage. He had to have done some serious hunting to find something like this.
"Nice hunting."
The man smiled at me. "For Alex...worth it. I've tested the plates myself, Alex. Keep this in case you need it. I know you'll avoid it because of the restriction it might give you fighting...I'll just feel better if you have it."
Ally ran a hand across the fabric. "Thank you. I mean it."
He huffed. "You better wear it and I'll save the cool stuff for you to open later." He pulled her in for a tight hug and she nodded her head. I felt my chest tighten as I watched the display. If this was the guy who taught her to fight when she was so young then I understood the expression and glossy eyes. "I got to go kid..." He choked out. "Don't think twice about using the shit I got you. Ok." He ordered her. She nodded. "Call me when you can. You let me know, ok."
He pulled away and gave her a tight smile and a nod, closing up the trunk he made sure it was tight and turned to me. "Can you guys load this up into some wheels on your own or you need a lift?"
I stuck my hands in my pockets and nodded. "We got it."
"You make her wear that vest." He needed reassuring and I nodded.
A few minutes later and Ally and I had the boxes and trunk loaded up in the rental. Without a word Ally got in the passenger seat and slammed the door. I settled in and started the engine, adjusted the seat and locked the doors.
"Kitten?" I asked and she sadly looked out the window.
"I'll be fine." She whispered. Putting the car in drive I pulled out of the lot and back towards the highway.
An hour later and Alex still hadn't said a word. She was tired so I pulled into a motel where you could park in front of your door and stopped in front of the office. Ally sat up and gave me a questioning look.
"I'll be back out. You're tired. I'm tired. It won't hurt to stop at this crappy place." She nodded and I got out of the car.
We brought the boxes in and dropped them beside the bed, Ally insisted it would be ok to leave the trunk locked up in the rear of the car.
"This wasn't a bad idea." Ally sighed and plopped on the bed and began removing her shoes.
"The front desk took cash." I slipped off my jacket and tossed it over the chair. It was actually a kid working at the desk and my SWAT badge freaked him out so he didn't put our stay in the books. Doesn't matter if he remembered me. He wouldn't see Alex.
"Name?" She tossed her own jacket and peeked through the blinds to the parking lot.
"Not yours." I responded. "Hungry?"
"No." She shook her head and glanced at the boxes.
"You sure. I could order something to the front desk instead of the room or find a gas station." Did she even eat today? I know I'm hungry. "I'm hungry too so I'll order a pizza that way if your hungry later it's here."
I called the kid at the desk and he informed me that there was a pizza oven and concessions at the desk. He offered to drop my order at the door, still thinking I was here on business, not wanting any trouble. I think he was high when I walked it and I smiled at his sudden eagerness to assist. Probably scarred him. I wasn't new. I know what's up.
Ally slipped her belt through the loops and stripped off her holster, hanging it on the headboard. Slipping my own side arm from my belt I set it on the night stand. Ally glanced at it and flipped the news channel on, pushing mute. "You knew I had it didn't you?"
"Yeah, Josh. I knew."
"I was a SWAT Agent. I still am I guess. Just taking a break. I was planning on a year of security work once I got back home before going back on a team." She paled slightly and I sat on the edge of the bed. "Don't freak out about it." I scooted closer so I could catch her expression. "Remember what I said about family." She nodded and there was a knock on the door. I nodded towards the bathroom and had Ally slip out of sight to be safe.
I slipped the kid a big tip for freaking him out and grabbed the bag and pizza box from his hand. Locking the door and setting the chips, soda, and pizza on the nightstand I called for Ally to come out.
She smiled and hoped on the bed. "Yeah, I guess I could eat." I laughed at her and leaned against the headboard, handing her a soda I grabbed the box.
"Good." I grabbed the remote and switched the channel trying to find a comedy while she dug into the pizza.
After Ally's first slice she crawled under the covers and kicked off her pants and settling back against the pillows. With a big yawn she looked at me and I chuckled shutting off the light, continuing to eat my pizza with enough light from the t.v.
"Why haven't you asked me about the box?" She asked now on her stomach, facing me.
I frowned and set everything aside. "I figured you would tell me when you were ready. It's not like I plan on letting you out of my sight any time soon."
She looked surprised for a moment and clearly hid it while she thought a while. "Most of my life is in those two boxes." She frowned.
"This is your contingency plan?" I frowned as understanding began to dawn on me.
"Those boxes." She pointed at them. "Those are my last cards. If they don't get played right I'm done. Elijah either kills me or I kill him. Those boxes might prevent both but either way I get hurt."
"What's in the boxes, kitten?" I asked when her eyes began to glaze with tears she refused to let go. Grabbing her hand, I squeezed and hated that she was under the covers and I couldn't hug her.
The first tear dropped and Alley pulled the first box to the bed and sat up. I frowned professionally I wanted to know but when I thought of Ally and how much hurt might be packed in just the one box in front of her, I wondered if it couldn't wait. She flipped the lid and It was packed with files of photographs, clippings, and papers. "This is the beginning of everything the police couldn't find because they didn't know where to look." More tears trailed down her cheek and Ally refused to ignore them. "I've been collecting all of this for years and it still might not be enough."
Alex shook her head and dropped her face in her hands. I put the box back and grabbed her hands. She looked like she was going into a panic. "Josh, he's creating his own army, its more than a gang. The government has no idea how big this has become. It has to stop. It might be about 200 if you're talking the family ties but it extends beyond that now." She took a big breath and I pulled her close. "I'm not just holding out for me. He has to be stopped, Josh. If Elijah is given enough time we are all screwed. He thinks he's a gift to society and he plays by none of the rules. He's brutal and he thinks people have gotten weak and has big ideas on how to impact society. He's fucking mad. I can't just give this stuff to anybody."
I pulled her into my arms and let her cry, pulling the blanket back up over her bare legs. "I know who can help and the boxes stay with us the whole time ok. I think it's time to get out of the city for a while and take a long weekend." I rubbed her back.
"Who? You can't know for sure. Elijah pays a lot of money to keep himself halfway clean." She stated shaking her head.
"My father." She sat up.
"Your dad?" She shared a look of disbelief. "Are you sure that's smart?"
I sighed. "I will only choose my father. I trust his judgment." She looked skeptical so I continued. "Ill reason with you. If something happens to you. Vance and I hurt. If we hurt our dad hurts, our family hurts. If something happens to those boxes a lot of people are hurt." I groaned. How do I explain this to her so she understands. "See... " I began having a hard time. "A mans instinct is supposed to drive them tho protect what's theirs. It's a territorial kind of thing that is naturally driven by our testosterone. Someone threatens your way of living or the people you care about, your family. Your instincts start to run on high drive. Our father will want to protect us, which will protect you. You'll see. He'll like you. I'll let you decide though."
"Kitten?" I questioned tiredly seeing her still awake, the clock showed 4am.
She was staring emptily up at the ceiling and I propped myself up on my elbows. "I can't sleep. I can't stop thinking." Ally whispered.
Pulling her into my chest I settled back on the pillow and brushed her hair from her neck, waiting for her body to relax against mine. "You need to try ok. You look like you haven't gotten to much rest in a while. Ill call Vance in a few hours and he can meet us at Dad's."
"Josh?" She started to relax against me and sighed.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you" She whispered and fell asleep. I smiled at the irony of how fast it happened and pulled the blankets around us, kissing the top of her head. I was relieved that she finally fell asleep and just enjoyed it. Someday we might figure out what's going on between us but for now I'm ok with just letting it be. She didn't need anything else to keep her up thinking and if this is all I could give her for now that was just fine with me. I don't plan on giving Ally up anytime soon so the way I looked at it...we got time.