surely maim a man for life, but wouldn't necessarily stop him from shooting back at you. Come on, little one. You need to adjust your trajectory now that you're shooting from a sitting position. Different ballgame."
"Bahahaha... You're funny. I thought you wanted me to stay away from the genital area. I'll have to remember that."
The little tease. I lean down and grumble in her ear, "Just remember I can exercise great control, sweets."
From the way she squirms in her seat, I can tell she knows exactly what I'm referring to.
Just as I'm about to give her some pointers, my phone rings. I step outside so I can take the call, indicating to Katie where I'm going.
"Gus, what's up?"
"Change of plans. There were two meth-related deaths last night in Albuquerque and the Feds are cranking up the heat. They want this pipeline closed and closed fast. This was a deal gone bad, and one of the casualties was a member of the Klesh; it wasn’t your brother," he adds quickly when he hears my sharp hiss, "but this might be a good time to get some decent intel. Tongues will be wagging after losing one of their own."
"Alright," I hesitate, looking through the glass in the door to where Katie is emptying yet another clip into the target's crotch. "When do you want me to go?"
"As soon as you can get on the road. Neil is on his way here already; I got hold of him before you. He'll stick around Katie. You sorted your shit with her?"
"Not that it's any of your goddamn business, but we're good for now, so yes." I answer reluctantly. What's between Katie and I is just that; between us.
"Don't need to know anything but that, jackass. Keep your panties on. Oh, and I'm fucking thrilled for you. Now get your ass in gear." Gus is chuckling when he hangs up. Dick.
"I'll be fine, really."
Katie is doing her best to convince me she's not disappointed, but her smile is strained and I'm not thrilled myself to lose out on another night with her in my arms.
"Sooner I can get this job done, the sooner I'll get back. Would you make sure Clint gets the keys to the padlock at the barn so he can get going on Monday? I'll hurry and program all the pertinent numbers in your phone when we get home, and I’d also wanted to talk to you about transportation. I have a small SUV lined up, a rental, with a swivel seat and a manual gearbox, so you can start getting yourself around. The chair will slide back once you're seated so you can easily pull in your folded wheelchair beside you in the passenger space. It's been specially adapted, but had to be ordered from Freewheel mobility and isn't going to be here until Monday. You can get Neil or Emma to take you to Cortez to pick it up. I'll leave the number for you."
When Katie doesn't respond, I check to find big tears rolling down her face. I reach over and wipe at them with the back of my hand.
"Hey, what's with the tears?"
"You got me a car," she sobs, tears coming in earnest now.
" Yázhí , I want you to be able to get around. I know Neil is going to be there to keep an eye on things, but you need your independence."
"See? How am I gonna keep myself from falling for you when you do shit like this, Caleb? It's impossible."
"First of all, I hate that we’re needing to have this conversation on the road, and I can't have you in my lap where you should be when you're crying and we're talking about stuff like this. Second, why the fuck do you want to keep from falling for me? I'm already out for the count, Katie. Balls to the wall, remember?"
Frustrated out of my mind, I pull over on the side of the road, just outside of Cedar Tree and make quick work of getting her in my lap anyway.
"There. Now I feel slightly better. Talk to me," I urge her with one arm anchoring her to me and a hand in her short hair, pressing her head in my neck where she is getting my shirt soaked.
"I... I just don't know that I'm worth all this," she mutters.
"Worth to whom? To me? When all I could call you was my friend, you were
"Bahahaha... You're funny. I thought you wanted me to stay away from the genital area. I'll have to remember that."
The little tease. I lean down and grumble in her ear, "Just remember I can exercise great control, sweets."
From the way she squirms in her seat, I can tell she knows exactly what I'm referring to.
Just as I'm about to give her some pointers, my phone rings. I step outside so I can take the call, indicating to Katie where I'm going.
"Gus, what's up?"
"Change of plans. There were two meth-related deaths last night in Albuquerque and the Feds are cranking up the heat. They want this pipeline closed and closed fast. This was a deal gone bad, and one of the casualties was a member of the Klesh; it wasn’t your brother," he adds quickly when he hears my sharp hiss, "but this might be a good time to get some decent intel. Tongues will be wagging after losing one of their own."
"Alright," I hesitate, looking through the glass in the door to where Katie is emptying yet another clip into the target's crotch. "When do you want me to go?"
"As soon as you can get on the road. Neil is on his way here already; I got hold of him before you. He'll stick around Katie. You sorted your shit with her?"
"Not that it's any of your goddamn business, but we're good for now, so yes." I answer reluctantly. What's between Katie and I is just that; between us.
"Don't need to know anything but that, jackass. Keep your panties on. Oh, and I'm fucking thrilled for you. Now get your ass in gear." Gus is chuckling when he hangs up. Dick.
"I'll be fine, really."
Katie is doing her best to convince me she's not disappointed, but her smile is strained and I'm not thrilled myself to lose out on another night with her in my arms.
"Sooner I can get this job done, the sooner I'll get back. Would you make sure Clint gets the keys to the padlock at the barn so he can get going on Monday? I'll hurry and program all the pertinent numbers in your phone when we get home, and I’d also wanted to talk to you about transportation. I have a small SUV lined up, a rental, with a swivel seat and a manual gearbox, so you can start getting yourself around. The chair will slide back once you're seated so you can easily pull in your folded wheelchair beside you in the passenger space. It's been specially adapted, but had to be ordered from Freewheel mobility and isn't going to be here until Monday. You can get Neil or Emma to take you to Cortez to pick it up. I'll leave the number for you."
When Katie doesn't respond, I check to find big tears rolling down her face. I reach over and wipe at them with the back of my hand.
"Hey, what's with the tears?"
"You got me a car," she sobs, tears coming in earnest now.
" Yázhí , I want you to be able to get around. I know Neil is going to be there to keep an eye on things, but you need your independence."
"See? How am I gonna keep myself from falling for you when you do shit like this, Caleb? It's impossible."
"First of all, I hate that we’re needing to have this conversation on the road, and I can't have you in my lap where you should be when you're crying and we're talking about stuff like this. Second, why the fuck do you want to keep from falling for me? I'm already out for the count, Katie. Balls to the wall, remember?"
Frustrated out of my mind, I pull over on the side of the road, just outside of Cedar Tree and make quick work of getting her in my lap anyway.
"There. Now I feel slightly better. Talk to me," I urge her with one arm anchoring her to me and a hand in her short hair, pressing her head in my neck where she is getting my shirt soaked.
"I... I just don't know that I'm worth all this," she mutters.
"Worth to whom? To me? When all I could call you was my friend, you were
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