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Crowds of happy people milled about the hotel lobby, full of spirit, either by mirth or the liquid variety as the sounds of slot machines dinged, right arms jerked on metal bars all with hopes of scoring big. Gabriel Neary also held a similar hope that the attractive woman walking next to him would use her right arm later to jerk on a hard rod that was attached to his body. Feeling more like a jerk for wanting such intimacy with her so soon, he could not help the draw he felt towards the lady. The photo of her did not do her justice and in person, she was a stunning woman with an air about her which resonated a deep thinker. The soulful brown eyes intimated her brain actually worked before her mouth opened and it struck him hard in the recesses of his belly that she was a force he needed a moment to reckon with. Cabrina Roberts was different. A different he could feel all the way down to his toes. She was, by all accounts at the basest of his male, verbally challenged vocabulary of brain descriptors for a woman, a babe.
“Where are we going?” She asked him, giving the man a side eye view. He’d provided only a handful of information about her friend Aisha Miller who’d gone missing over 11 months ago. She could not disregard what the matchmaker had spoken only moments prior and she was even more incensed that her good friend DeShondra had left her alone with this guy to traipse after the man’s bearded brother.
“I’m hungry. We are going for food,” Gabe told her, leading her into a nationally known restaurant chain inside of the hotel. Cut was one of his favorite eateries and he looked forward to sharing the meal and a bottle of wine with his new companion. He wasn’t a glutton by any means, but he would forgo many pleasures in life for the beauty of a good meal. Her company was an added bonus.
“I hope you like steak. They have a bone-in Tomahawk rib chop for two that is absolutely perfect with a bottle of red and caramelized onions. Do you eat red meat?” he asked, giving her the same side eye glance, she’d given him earlier.
“I do, but not a lot of it,” she replied. Her stomach was growling like a lion wanting to be let out of its cage to hunt. In the last three days, she hadn’t eaten much. The worry and excitement over finding a lead on Aisha had taken precedence over everything else. “I could go for a steak.”
“Perfect,” he said. His warm hand rested on the small of her back, urging her through the doors of the eatery. “Table for two, in a corner please, away from the door.”
The waiter led them to a small table in the rear of the establishment as the sound of clanking forks reverberated off half-empty plates. Gabriel, after helping Cabrina with her seat, took the chair furthest away from the entrance, looking out towards the door. He inquired if she was okay with shellfish. Cabrina gave her consent for the man to request the appetizer, and he ordered the king crab and shrimp cocktail with a bowl of Sunchoke soup to start.
“We are ready to place our order,” Gabe said to the handsome waiter, who took too long staring at Cabrina, which Gabe didn’t appreciate. “We will have the rib chop for two, medium well, with caramelized onions, along with the heirloom apple salad, the Tuscan black kale with polenta, and a side of fries. Please bring a bottle of Domaine La Tour Vieille, Vin Doux Naturel, Banyuls to accompany the meal.”
He’d ordered it all without looking at the menu.
“How do you know that is what I wanted?” Cabrina asked, somewhat impressed, yet offended that he ordered for her without asking her preferences.
“I figured the last few days your nerves have been on edge with worry over your friend. Tonight will be easy. I will take some of the burdens off you,” he said.
“By making decisions for me and taking care of the details,” she said with one eyebrow arched.
“My dear lady, I am willing to take care of anything you need tonight, next week, and possibly for the rest of our lives,” he said, removing his black-rimmed eyeglasses. He closed the eyelids slowly, allowing the dark, almost unnaturally long, lashes to sweep under his eyes as thick fingers rubbed his tired lids. Slowly, he opened his deep brown eyes, giving her a smoldering look, which she was certain was his first move in operation remove the undies.
Her hands were in her lap as Cabrina observed him. In less than five minutes of sitting and not saying a word or responding to the first move in his game of chess, she summed him up. This man was used to airheaded women who fell at his feet. She knew the wine and the restaurant, and he’d just ordered nearly $300 worth of food. It was beyond her to be rude and not eat since he was going to pay for it. She knew like hell she wasn’t paying since he invited her to the meal, ordered everything to eat without asking what she wanted, and just being, in her estimation, an overconfident ass.
“Tell me, Mr. Neary, how did my friend manage to become married to your brother when she went to Georgia to marry another man? I have not heard from her since she landed 11 months ago, and you are now telling me she is a mother,” Cabrina said.
“You don’t waste any time, do you? I was hoping we could at least enjoy the meal before we got into the details,” he said, putting his glasses back on his face.
“We are having the meal to discuss my friend,” she said. “I’m not here to idolize you or be impressed with your long eyelashes or the expensive meal you ordered.”
“I’m hungry,” he said, looking up at the waiter who returned to the table and was uncorking the wine. He handed Gabriel the cork to sniff and poured a sample into a glass. Swirling the contents, Gabriel held up the goblet, looking for sediment in the crystal, then sniffing and sipping. The wine coated his tongue with the most delightful hints of fruits and Moka. Nodding his acceptance, he requested the lady have a sample as well of his selection.
Taking the glass, she followed his lead, sniffing, tasting, and nodding. “Waiter, can you bring us a blue cheese board to go with this wine?”
“Oui, Madam,” he said, pouring them both half full goblets and leaving.
Gabriel didn’t want to admit it, but he too was impressed. He looked forward enjoyed sharing a meal with the dashing figure of a woman across the table from him. Stimulated him at the basest levels making him feel a moment of shame. He wanted to know more about Tameka’s friend who did not give up on searching for her whereabouts.
“Mr. Neary, details, please. Let’s get this party moving with the information I need,” she said.
“You enjoy a good bottle of wine as well I see,” he replied, ignoring her cut to the chase.
“Yes. You are paying probably $80 bucks for a twenty-dollar bottle of wine that if we walked two blocks in any direction, we could get at a corner liquor store,” she said.
“True, but the experience of enjoying the glass would be ruined by drunk revelers, depressed people who have lost all of their money, and homeless lost souls on the street,” he said, adding a smile. “Sitting across from the table with you, a big steak, and exceptional starters make it worth every penny.”
She didn’t want to do it, but she smiled. He was good. However, he was diverting. Too many diversions had kept her from finding her friend. Tonight, she needed answers. Throwing up her hands, she shook them in frustration. Gabriel noticed.
“I’m sorry, you came here for answers. Allow me to provide them to you,” he said, laying out the details of what he knew. He explained Aisha’s kidnapping and escape, and how she ended up on Zeke’s doorstep. The expression on Cabrina’s face didn’t change when he told her his brother delivered the baby, what Nathaniel Mann did to save her life, the name of the child, and that he married them to get them off the mountain as a protection device.
After everything he told her, she took one point to heart.
“You? Married them?”
“I am an ordained minister,” he said to her.
“Okay, and I’m a virgin,” she replied.
“Well, dang,” he said softly, eyeballing the cocktail which just arrived. “I wasn’t planning to get married any time soon, but if I have to before deflowering you, then so be it.”
Cabrina squinted her eyes as she watched him. He took her hand, which also surprised her, as he lowered his head, blessed the food, and forked a shrimp in one motion. The crustacean dangled from the fork as he offered her the first bite.
“You are being so casual about all of this. My friend was imprisoned by a crazy man and your solution was to marry her off to your brother?” She asked before accepting the crustacean delight in her mouth, still in total disbelief at his words as she fought hard to keep her eyes from rolling up in her head at the succulent shrimp on her tongue.
“I’m not being casual about it at all. They took their vows seriously and to be perfectly honest, it is a real win-win for them both,” he said. “She is going to need some deep counseling and Michelle, the baby will be a constant reminder of her faith. My brother, who is also healing, will now have a reason to get up every morning, allowing them both to stay in the present and not give in to the past horrors of their pain.”
“Hold up. What is wrong with your brother?” Cabrina wanted to know, feeling a moment of panic.
“He was shot in Rwanda. His left leg is gimpy, and he had to have his shoulder joint replaced,” he said. “The PTSD is not bad enough for him to be a danger to anyone, but he can’t go back to doing the job that he loved, which was really depressing him. We convinced him to go to Georgia for a moment to recuperate and see what he wanted to do next, and he arrived in the nick of time to save your friend. I call it Divine Intervention.”
“I call it meddling on your part,” she said.
“No. Had he not been there, the moment she found a way to get free, she would have died and so would the child. Tameka arrived on his doorstep in labor with Michelle’s head almost out. She was full of infection, dehydrated, malnourished, and from what I understand, butt spanking naked,” he said. “My brother saved her life and in return, she is going to save his.”
“I want to see her. Give me the address,” she said.
“The place is hard to find,” he said. “Plus, you showing up alone will give them clues that Tameka is Aisha. Please understand, they know who you are. Right now, if those men show up, and I know they will, they have to believe she is Tameka. You arriving in Georgia alone, asking for directions to the cabin is a sure-fire way to get all three of them dead.”
She shook her head. She wanted to see her friend. It had been a year and they’d left things between them unsaid.
“Mr. Neary, I have to see her for myself and know that she is not being held there against her will,” she said.
“I will take you to her,” he said. “How much time off did you take from your job at the insurance company?”
Cabrina couldn’t hide the look of astonishment at this man knowing where she worked. How much else did he know about her?
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “If I know where you work, they do as well. Now, how much time off did you take?”
“I took off all of next week,” she mumbled.
“Perfect. That is roughly nine days,” he said with a smile. “We can do it the easy way or we can do it the fun way.”
“Fun way?” She asked as if he’d said a dirty word. Cabrina couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually had fun since the past year had been fraught with worry over her best friend, and by all accounts, her sister.
His eyes rolled up as his fingers moved over an imaginary calculator. The dumbest idea came over him, but he wanted to do it. His heart thudded in his chest with excitement and when he looked up at her, she was watching him with those eyes. The soulful eyes which read that she could understand him. Eyes that were able to see the man who was struggling with his own demons trying to find the light. Then she did something he wasn’t prepared to handle. She gave him a smile so pure, so genuine, and so full of hope that he wanted to give her everything he had to keep that look on her face for the rest of her life. Gabriel Neary was convinced. He wanted her for more than just one night.
“Yes. It is roughly a 29-hour drive from here to Georgia, then another 8-10 to Ohio. We can leave in the morning, driving all day, stopping at night for a fabulous dinner at some of the best diners across the southwest. Each morning, we have a quick breakfast, you be the navigator, and we will get into the Peach State on late Monday, early Tuesday, stay through the week, and then drive up to Ohio,” he said.
The hopeful smile faded into a sarcastic glare, as she asked, “You are going to drive me to Ohio?”
“I live in Elyria and you live in Cleveland,” he said.
“Mr. Neary, you seem to know a great deal about me, and I feel like I’m at a disadvantage here,” she said.
Gabriel leaned to the side, removing his wallet, giving the weathered leather ID holder to her.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” she asked.
“Go through it. Everything you need to know about me is in my wallet,” he said. “Snap photos, send them to Ms. Leman so she will know what you know, and we can make plans to rent us a vehicle,” he said adding that charming smile again.
He was drawing her into the game where he held all the cards. Intrigued, she opened his wallet, and found his identification badge for the CIA, looking up at him noticing he was waiting for a response. She didn’t give him one. Thumbing through, she located his license as an ordained minister, two credit cards, a driver’s license, and a condom. The condom was next to the minister’s license.
“I used to be a Boy Scout,” he said with a wink, indicating he was always prepared.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Neary. I would rather just fly to Georgia if that is okay with you,” she told him.
“We could do that, but what fun would that be? It will cost the same, if not more, and you will be stuck on a stuffy flight with hungover people who either lost all their money or morality while in Vegas. Or...,” he said, licking his lips at the arrival of the steak and side dishes.
He lost his train of thought when the food was sat on the table. The appetizer only made him hungrier. Knife and fork in hand, he was through talking. The scent of the seared meat took over his primary brain function.
Meat.
Man.
Knife.
Eat.
“...Or what, Mr. Neary,” she stated. He seemed to have turned off his ability to speak as he cut into the steak, shoveling a wad of meat into his mouth. Chewing as if Zeus had sliced him off a piece of manna, and she could have sworn the man had just had an orgasm. He held up one finger, begging her to wait as he savored the chunk of cow flesh. Happily, Gabriel encouraged her to take a bite. She did, and he was right. It was almost orgasmic.
“Sorry, that was a mouthful of awesomeness,” he said, grinning at her. He sliced another piece, this time holding it on his fork. “...or we can take a break and have some fun. Work will be there when we get back. Tameka is safe, my parents will be there over the weekend, and you and I can get to know each other as we have a really fun road trip.”
“I’m not sleeping with you,” she stated bluntly.
“Now, that is a disappointment, although I didn’t ask you to,” he said. “But, if that’s the way you want it.”
He took the condom out of his wallet, placing it on the table. Leaning to the side, he put his wallet into his back pocket. The condom sat there staring at her. She threw her napkin over it as if he just placed a vibrating sex toy on the table. He suggested she put it in her purse if she wasn’t comfortable leaving on the table like it was a suggestive tip for the waiter. Reluctantly, using the napkin, she dropped the prophylactic into her handbag. Her eyes went to him in a challenge, waiting for his next move, which didn’t come.
He let it go. Just like that. He didn’t argue or try to convince her otherwise, which in truth, left her disappointed as well. She crinkled her forehead, looking at him. It was a game. He’d pulled her into the game and good heavens, she wanted to play.
“There is this great little eatery in Flagstaff which serves grilled cactus like you’ve never tasted. They also have prickly pear jam which is delightful on an English muffin,” he said to her.
“What?” She said not understanding the moves he was making to draw her into the web of interesting he was weaving.
“Oh, I’m a foodie. I love great food and good wine. I have a wine cellar at my place with about 150 bottles thus far. Each state has a great wine, and some of the vineyards across the southwest have really been stepping up their game. If we drive, we can dine and collect cool stuff,” he said, grinning at her. “I am trying to perfect my bar-b-que sauce, so driving would be an awesome means to gather the best sauces from each area.”
Her face held a somber expression as she watched him dip a French fry in the bleu cheese crumbles. The idea of stopping in each state they passed through to pick up small items sounded fun. She hadn’t traveled a great deal across America and the thought of doing so truly would be a welcome relief after 11 months of constant worry about Aisha, now named Tameka.
“You are a collector?”
“Not really, but I like wine, so I could add to my collection. I am redoing my Grandmother’s old house and I can’t decide on a theme, so maybe I could get some inspiration,” he said. “Do you collect anything?”
“Shot glasses,” she said.
“Well, good for you,” he said, cutting another hunk of meat. She could not fathom where he was going to put all the food, let alone eat the entire meal.
“I also scrapbook,” she told him.
“Cool, let’s snap a selfie to add to your new book about the start of our adventure, and then head to the show to see the hypnotist. You can add the dinner check from here, plus the tickets to the starter page!”
“Okay,” she said, not realizing she’d just given in to his play. “But just so you know, I don’t believe in hypnosis.”
“Me either. I’m trained against it,” he said. “You know, secret agent and all.”
That was the cue for her to ask the question about what he did for a living. He, of course, would counter with “If I tell you, I would have to kill you.” The game was afoot, but she was smarter than he gave her credit for. Instead, she made her move. The idea of driving across the Southwest sounded a whole lot more fun than taking another flight, getting into Georgia and possibly ending up in the same fate as her friend.
“I will rent the car and get the map. We alternate on paying for hotel stays. I have a few reward programs we can use for chains like the Holiday Inn, but we are still talking about $100 bucks a night, plus food, collectibles, gas, and snacks,” she said. “If we plot it outright, we can probably get it all done for less than $800 total.”
Gabriel gave her his undivided attention. Practical. Smart. She just outmaneuvered him on his spy play. He found the woman to be stimulating. Shifting in his seat, he countered back.
“For safety purposes, we can share a room, but I get my own bed, with no funny stuff from you, okay?” He said it with a somber expression.
The expression on her face was priceless when she asked, “Funny stuff? From me?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to wake up and find you in my bed or on top of me trying to take advantage of my good nature in sharing a room with you,” he said with a straight face.
She couldn’t help it, and she burst into laughter.
“Fair enough,” she said with a genuinely warm smile. “We split everything evenly?”
“No problem,” he said as the waiter brought the check. Gabriel handed it to her. “We can start with the dinner check.”
