Page 23 of Code Bravo

Oh fuck! Okay, so...it doesn't sound great but...

Ana keeps talking, "That he needed to get you back to your life; the way it was before all of this."

Yeah, I fucked up. I fucked up hard. Thank God Ezra was gone when I woke up and I didn't come off all clingy and needy and...utterly pathetic. He wants everything to just go back to the way it was...when he didn't have anything to do with me.

My brain is spinning trying to rewrite a new ending to this fucked up story. Of course, this is just another job for him. He's completely used to working with the things at hand to get the outcome he wants and that probably means the people around him too. I was the one that went to him after all. I was the one who pushed myself on him and what man is going to turn down free sex when it is offered up? Last night meant nothing to him.

I barely keep from face-palming as reality hits me full in the face. This isn't one of my books. It doesn't have a guaranteed happy-ever-after and I am hardly the heroine that gets her man in the end.

"Can you do me a favor?" I launch into my reasons for wanting to do what I want to do. "I left my laptop there and all my work is on it. I'm on a deadline with this one story and if I don't start working on it again, I'm dead meat. Is there any way someone can take me back to the beach house to grab it real fast?"

They don't need to know I'm going to make a grab for my clothes so when it's time for me to exit off the page I'll already be gone. No need to hang around where I'm not wanted and let this whole thing drag out longer than it needs to.

"Oh, um...I don't know if we should leave..."

"I just thought...since Ezra and the other guys are out doing their kung fu ass-kicking thing it wouldn't hurt anything to go grab it real quick."

I wait to see what she is going to do. She's probably right about it being safer to stay here until we're certain the people aren't anywhere near the beach house. But I don't really care either. I just want to grab my shit so I can disappear and start to put my life back in order.

"I mean...they probably aren't going to stay at the beach house anyway since they know we're not there anymore."

"I guess if we hurry it won't be so bad. I mean, they probably already have the guys all rounded up and stuff."

"I can be fast. You won't even have to get out of the car if you don't want to. It won't even take me a full minute."

"Alright. I'll take you. What trouble can we get into in just a minute, right?"

Both of us give a nervous chuckle like we might be foreshadowing something dark and morbid coming soon. But I push it down. There's no way I am backing out of this and letting Ezra tell me to pack my shit so he can dump me somewhere and never have to look at me again.

I just keep thanking Ana the entire way there. And as soon as we're there and she lets me in I am running up the stairs to the room I shared with Ezra. Surely it won't take me long. Once upstairs I continue my yell conversation with Ana as I start throwing things in the duffle bag I brought with me. I really do need to grab my computer that was no lie. I just didn't tell her I was packing everything else while I was here.

My back is turned when someone walks into the room. I can tell someone is behind me the same way you can tell a stranger is staring at you from across the room at a party or gathering. It’s not until I hear the voice that I realize I am in so much trouble.

"Hello love."

Oh shit!

I only heard that voice once but I don't need any help recalling who it belongs to. I stand up straight and slowly turn around to meet the eyes of none other than Muffy. Or was it Muffin? Whatever the hell her name is doesn't really matter anymore because the gun she is pointing at me far outweighs getting her name right when I speak to her.

My first thought is not for me. It's for Ana. Is she alright? Does she know what is going on up here or is someone trying to hurt her downstairs while I'm up here being kept submissive by Mumfy? God damn it, why did I have to come back here? I could have had someone else come and pack my shit. I just didn't want anyone to realize what caused my sprint to parts unknown.

I was hoping to keep it secret and just disappear. It wouldn't have hurt me as much if I had done it like that. Stupid me can't think about anyone but my-fucking-self. And poor Ana is going to pay the price for that.

"You know they hired me to seduce him."

I have a pretty good idea of which 'him' we’re talking about. She should have tried sneaking into his room and sitting on him naked. It did work for me after all.

"And he wouldn't even look at me!"

I can't hide the frown that forms on my face. "You're mad about that?" 'Cause she sounds mad.

"I thought he was a cold fish, maybe even gay." All very good conclusions. "Until he just kept fucking you day and night!"

Oh shit!

This is a woman not used to being told no and the fact she was spurned is making this situation even more deadly than it would be without that driving her. I start moving to the side but Muffler just keeps pointing her gun at me.

Then Ana comes through the door, sounding out of breath and excited. Muffer turns, surprised maybe that I'm not alone in the house after all. She's about to take the gun off me and point it towards Ana and I can't have that. So I tighten the grip I have on my laptop and take my chance.

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