Mika's Note: Originally titled NEW STRINGS after the Miranda Lambert song of the same title - the song talks about starting over and that's kinda where Ali winds up in this chapter. No warnings to give, unless you have an adverse reaction to insane silliness. LOL
“Where’s Bryan?”
“Still shadowing Ms. Morgan. We’re erring on the side of caution this time around. The powers that be figure that if Mr. Matson is a target, she may be too.”
“Makes sense to me. But why pull me off my assignment and leave that poor, twenty-something girl in Bryan’s clutches?” She looked at Caleb and smiled. “And you were all worried about Blake’s innocence.”
Caleb just looked at her. “I thought your brother explained to you that we needed your expertise on this assignment.” He tapped the bulging manila folder in front of him.
“Yeah, I guess he mentioned it.”
“Good. Now here’s the situation…”
~*~
Leslie clawed her way out from under all the blankets pulled over her head and groggily groped for her phone. “Hullo?”
“Hey Lee, whatcha up to?”
“Um, sleeping, Blake. Yawn. What’s so important?”
“Nothin’ babe. Go back to sleep. Miss you.”
“Yeah, miss you… yaaaawn… too.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
“Who was that?” Bryan asked sleepily.
“Just Blake. Lay back down and keep me warm.”
“How could you possibly be cold…?”
Leslie gave him an ‘I can’t believe you just asked that’ look and fell back against her pillow.
“Oh… OH! You mean…”
“Shut up and kiss me you jarhead.”
~*~
Allyson still couldn’t believe the Brotherhood was so desperate to get some kind of foothold, any kind of foothold, that they’d start singling out country musicians and industry reps. “Ya gotta be kidding me,” she mumbled.
“No, unfortunately we are not,” General Stone lectured her. “There has been a rash of minor attacks on these people all across the country as of late, Mr. Matson being the most recent.”
Caleb looked into the folder spread out before him. “Others had included Martina McBride, Trace Adkins and Dierks Bentley.”
“Oooh, can I take that last assignment?”
“No!” they shouted in unison.
“You are both no fun!”
“Could you please take this seriously?” Stone huffed.
“I was taking this seriously until you saw fit to drag me off my assignment!”
Caleb and the general looked at each other. “We had our… concerns… about leaving you on that assignment so you’ve been reassigned.”
“Hmm… let me guess, Bryan was the concerned one, right?” The looks on their faces confirmed her suspicions. “Whatever. Just let me do my job and get on with my life.” She was fuming inside but she’d be damned if she was going to let them know that.
“Are you going to be up to handling this?”
“Yup.”
Stone sighed. “Can’t you ever be serious?”
“You asked, I answered.”
“Fine. You’ll be meeting with the coordinator for the Southern Music Association awards ceremony on Tuesday. That’s September 5th, with the awards show being in late October. That should be sufficient time to get things organized and possibly hunt down any conspirators.”
Ali gave a mental eye roll and nodded. “Sure thing, boss. I’ll get right on it.”
“It’s about time,” Caleb breathed.
And give me time to find a certain blue-eyed cowboy while I’m there, she thought to herself.
~*~
“But…”
“No buts! You are not sending my hats to be inspected for bombs!”
“Well, okay, but if your head blows up…”
“He won’t have to listen to your dumb ideas anymore at least.”
“My dumb ideas, Rogan? What about the time…”
And the argument ensued. Blake stared in awe at the two professional soldiers, and best friends, who never seemed to be able to not fight. But never seemed to get mad at each other either. “What is it with those two?” he asked an equally perplexed band mate.
Feeling a vibration at his hip, he pulled out his phone and smiled at the caller ID. “Hey, Cookie, what’s up?”
“Not much, Cowboy. Just heading for Vegas, and I thought you’d be interested to know.”
“Now, that is the best thing I’ve heard all day.”
“Hmm, Albie and Bazooka Joe at it again?’
A sigh escaped Blake’s lips. “Uh-huh.”
“Get used to it. They fight like a married couple.”
“How do they make up?”
“Very carefully.”
He loved the sound of the grin in her voice. “So, whatcha doing in Las Vegas?”
“Gonna be helping coordinate the SMA Awards Show for you fools this year. Not that anyone is going to listen to anything practical or that might actually save a life… but hey, all in a day’s work, right?”
Laughing, he replied, “Right!” Blake paused to gather his nerve. “But you’ll still be there for the show, right?”
“Should be, unless Caleb and General Stone decide to screw with me again. But being the one coordinating this whole mess, they won’t be able to get rid of me without a hassle. So, I’ll still be there.”
“Good, because we have a bit of unfinished business. And I’ll have some time off too.”
Grinning like a fool, she paused for dramatic effect. “Yeah, I think I have a day or two of vacation coming. I’ve always wanted to go see the Trump Taj Mahal.”
Blake stared at the phone in his hand dumbly. “That is in Atlantic City, Ali. And besides, that is NOT what I meant.”
Unable to hold back the laughter any longer, she giggled. “And I am so totally trying to get your goat, ya big dork. Looks like it worked.” Not to mention that she’d spent an awful lot of time in Vegas, she knew which hotels were and weren’t there. But he didn’t know that.
Growling he retorted, “You are so gonna get it when I see you.”
“You better watch it, choir boy. You never know – I just might see you first.” Ali smiled a lustful smile and hung up.
1 comment:
Such great chemistry between these two! Loving it!!
Post a Comment