“Oh, Mars was downright thrilled when he found out you’d fucked up,” he replied, waaay too gleefully.
Yeah, I’d just bet. Marshall Clifford was our driver as well as being a backup sniper just in case two were needed, taking different angles, at any given scene. It was also his job to maintain our vehicles and in every other case I could think of, do clean up when we were done with them. He kept our BearCat pristine because that’s what Candy demanded. But because the larger vehicle was shared by all the Tac Teams in the office, technically, whoever last used the vehicle was responsible for its cleaning.
“And why didn’t Ford Blakeley’s team clean up after themselves?”
He cackled. “Because Ford was in my office when Cassidy and Mike called.”
“Meanin’ you found out about the incident at the club as well as the fact that I hadn’t reported it and decided on my punishment then and there.”
He grinned widely. “You’re a smart man, Monroe…always thought as much, at least until last night.”
I groaned. “But, Captain, cleanin’ both of those vehicles by myself is gonna take all night.” As hard as I tried, I couldn’t keep the whine out of my voice. I was supposed to pick up Cachi at eleven-thirty when he got off.
He nodded. “Then I suspect you should get cleaning if you plan on getting home before midnight.”
I nodded, feeling utterly defeated. “Yes, sir.” The urge to salute him with my middle finger was overwhelming, but instead, I pivoted and stomped out of the office.
I tossed the last of the filthy towels into a bucket filled with dirty water twenty-five minutes after midnight. I was fucking exhausted, filthy, and reeked of sweat. It’d taken me just overseven hours to clean both trucks and I’d completely missed my date picking Cachi up at eleven-thirty. I’d thought of nothing but him the entire time I’d been cleaning, worried that he was pissed because I hadn’t heard from him. I hadn’t gotten a single call or text even though I’d checked my phone several times during the evening.
I’d wanted to stop cleaning and call him, but I’d figured that finishing the job and getting to him as fast as I could was more important. Plus, he’d have to get cleaned up, maybe relax after the show… Also, he had his car at the club, so he’d have a way home. I’d decided that I’d call him and explain as soon as I finished the job. Maybe with a little groveling, he’d go out with me again. I’d almost convinced myself of it when I finally grabbed my phone and trudged upstairs to the locker room to shower and change out of my disgusting garb.
The second I got out of the elevator at the basement level, one story up from the garage, my phone beeped. I looked down at it, only then realizing I hadn’t had service all night, most likely because reception down there was complete shit. When four missed calls from Cachi’s number appeared on the screen, I wanted to throw my phone against the wall. On my way to the locker room, I tried calling him several times. It immediately went to voicemail which meant he’d seen my call come in and decided to let the machine pick up.
While I showered, I debated driving all the way to The Valley to speak to him. I’d pretty much made up my mind to do just that by the time I shut off the water and got out to dry off. I texted next, only to find out my message was in green, not blue. He’d probably blocked my number. I growled. Talking to him in person seemed to be the only viable solution.
When my phone beeped with an incoming message, I was hoping and praying Cachi had reconsidered and unblocked me.Instead, there was a team group chat message from Candy letting all of us know to be in the office at five a.m. so we could go over a new assignment. Apparently, something was going down, and he needed all hands on deck.
For the third time today, I wanted to chuck my phone across the room. Any plans I had for driving to Cachi’s house to speak to him tonight were gone. By the time I drove forty minutes to get there, completed my groveling, provided he’d let me into the house at all this late, and then came back home to sleep, I knew I’d never be able to function. Then I remembered Lola, my poor, sick, little girl. I’d left her home alone all day. I drove home, feeling like the piece of shit I was.
CACHI
I was surprised when Rex hadn’t shown up by midnight. When I’d called, it had gone straight to voicemail. I was angry when he still hadn’t come to the club by then, and I’d called him a second time. I was downright livid when I’d gotten in my car at quarter past twelve after calling two more times before finally deciding to drive home. When he’d taken me to the club to drop me off with the promise to wait for him until I left the club because he didn’t want me walking across the dark parking lot alone, I’d thought it was so sweet.
The big, strong man I’d met last night, had practically swept me off my feet and rocked my world in every way a man could. Rex was so polite, so dreamy, so utterly beautiful, that he’d bowled me over. When he’d taken me to bed and fucked me so hard, it’d made my eyes cross, I’d been left breathless and panting. I’d never had a lover like the big Texan. He was so strong and yet gentle, running those huge, callused hands overmy skin as I came down from the most intense orgasm I’d ever had.
When I’d met Lola and found out what an animal lover Rex was and seen how deeply he was adored at the vet hospital, it had proven to me that we shared much more than physical attraction to each other. The whole afternoon had been magical. I’d thought the man was my soul mate.
As I’d gone into the club and danced tonight, I’d been walking on cloud nine. I’d even been tolerant of Larry, the manager at Dance Hall Boys when he’d come into the dancer’s dressing room without knocking, supposedly to check on my welfare after hearing what’d happened. I didn’t like him, but I wasn’t alone in that. None of the other dancers thought he was a good guy either.
He was in his late fifties, but that wasn’t the reason why. Larry had come on to every guy in the place, promising us raises and perks to sleep with him. No amount of money in the world had allowed me to take him up on his offer. I knew some of the other guys had, justifying it somehow. None of them had reported being forced to blow Larry, but with every notch in his bedpost, I’d become more wary of him. If I hadn’t needed the job as badly as I did, I would have quit.
Rex was an entirely different sort of man…at least I’d thought so. He’d been so kind, loving, and caring, that I’d fallen fast and hard for him. I’d been driving when he’d finally called. I’d groaned, not wanting to hear his voice, still angry that he hadn’t even bothered to call earlier to say he was running late. I would probably have accepted any explanation or apology. He hadn’t even bothered to text. I would’ve gotten his messages as soon as I finished work. I kept my phone in my locker while I worked and there had been no new messages.
When he finally did call several times—well after twelve-thirty—I’d sent his calls to voicemail and finally decided to block him in case he tried to text. I was still mad and didn’t want to hear any excuses. The time for that had passed. Most of all, I didn’t want to hear any lies. Maybe in the morning, I’d unblock him when I had time to cool off. Right now, though, I was exhausted. I set my phone back on the table, closing my eyes to get some peace.
My father had been a liar. He’d been a gambler and a drunk to make things worse. When he’d lost his paycheck at the races and came home drunk, he’d beat mamá until she was bruised and bleeding. I’d learned to hate liars and tired of listening to endless groveling and excuses afterward. My childhood had made me wary of men. Pigs like Larry at work only deepened my distrust. Men were inherently untrustworthy. They never failed to disillusion me. And Rex was only the most recent man in a long line of men who’d disappointed me.
I put Rex in the rearview mirror and lamented the loss of what had begun. Guarding my heart was the smartest thing to do, no matter how much he’d appeared to be a knight in shining armor the moment he’d stepped in to save my life last night. Let’s hope he didn’t come sniffing around, hoping to ask me out again, because I hated scenes like that.
Besides, he’d gotten what he wanted and that’s all there was to it. I learned my lesson. Men never turned out to be what they claimed to be. The door to my heart had shut tight, and I’d twisted the lock. I mourned the loss of what could have been until falling asleep again, sure that I’d be waking up knowing I wasn’t going back, no matter what he said.
I was sure of that.
Chapter Seven
REX
I was grumpy as hell when I got to the office just before five a.m. Operating on very little sleep, hadn’t put me in the best of moods. I’d tried calling Cachi as soon as I woke up, knowing it was way too early, but just praying he’d unblocked me and would answer my calls. A call failed notification happened as soon as I hit his number. I guessed I’d be forced to show up at the club after work, but I promised myself the man was worth whatever groveling I had to do. I wanted Cachi in my life, not only in my bed. There was something special about the adorable Puerto Rican man with the curly dark hair, golden skin, and haunting brown eyes. He just did it for me.
