Revenge (Phoenix Undercover Book 3) (2 page)

Chapter 3

Josh

“Good morning,” I whispered as I kissed her. “How’d you sleep?”

She arched a brow at me and all I could do was laugh.

Maybe it wasn’t the best response to a woman who was just over seven months pregnant and had been sentenced to bedrest by her doctor. I say sentenced because she called it her own form of prison.

“How do you think I slept?” she asked with a scowl. “I’ve been invaded by your son, and he feels it necessary to kickbox my bladder whenever I manage to finally get comfortable. Oh and let’s not forget the matter of having to sleep sitting up because my diaphragm is crushed by junior whenever I lay too flat.”

When she went on and on, it only made me smile even more, because I knew she loved being pregnant. She couldn’t fool me even though at this moment she was on a hormonal rampage.

“Did I mention that my feet no longer look like feet?” she asked as she looked down, pointing in their direction. “Nope, they now look more like clubs. My ankles actually roll right in to my calves, and my fingers look like sausages.”

Her head fell backward, making a slight thud as it hit the headboard.

“I feel like a buffalo,” she grumbled.

I lay my hand over her protruding stomach and felt a gentle wave of movement beneath my palm.

I loved that feeling. Looking up at her, I found she was smiling as well, even though she was trying to hide it.

“But all of the blah is worth every moment,” she confessed as she lifted her head and her gaze locked on mine. “Because in just a couple months, he’ll be here with us.”

And there was the reassurance of my earlier thoughts. The love she felt for our son and the joy of his life outweighed all the swollen, uncomfortable struggles.

“Do you need me to rub your feet?” I asked without waiting for her to answer as I moved down toward the end of the bed.

It was our morning ritual.

Before I went in to the Bureau and began my day, I would make sure my fiancée was as comfortable as possible in her current state. I loved it, truthfully, because I got the chance to touch her.

Sex had taken a backseat lately, and I understood, due to the way she had been feeling. But what I wouldn’t give to get lost inside her and forget about all our problems and fears, even for just a day.

“Mmm,” she instantly moaned as I began pressing along the arch of her foot. “That feels so good.”

“Baby, you keep moaning like that, I’m gonna get excited.” My comment made her laugh, and damn, I loved that sound.

My phone began to ring from its place on the nightstand, and Gabby reached out to grab it for me. “It’s Gray,” she said as she held it out toward me.

“What the hell are you calling me from the next room for?” I asked as Gabby wrinkled up her nose at the comment.

My best friend is currently sleeping with Brook, my soon-to-be sister-in-law, and they are not shy about their bedroom aerobics. In fact, I am pretty sure the asshole taunts me because he knows I am currently cut off. Damn prick.

“Because I just walked by the bedroom and heard Gabby moan. I thought by some miracle you were getting some action, and the last thing I wanted to do was interrupt.” He chuckled. “Because we all know that shit ain’t happening too often anymore.”

“Funny, asshole,” I countered back.

“I’m ready when you are, boss,” Gray added. “Unless you’re gonna be a while, then I’m heading back to Brook’s room, because she’s wearing this tiny little pair of—” I cut him off by repeating “no” over and over. I hung up the phone to the dickhead’s laughter and looked back toward Gabby.

“I’m gonna have to head in to the office now.” Standing up, I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Do you need anything before I take off?”

She fisted the front of my shirt and held me close to her. “I just need you to be safe and come home to me and our son.”

“Always,” I replied, pressing my lips to hers. “There is nothing that could ever keep me away.”

***

Every day we worked to bring down Leo, and every day we came up empty-handed.

He made it a point to let us all know he was watching us and waiting for the time when he could make us pay. He put fear in me with the photos he had taken of Gabby and the information he collected regarding our lives. But now he had fallen back once more, leaving us all to wonder.

He had forced us all to walk around with fear, waiting for something to happen.

We were also forced to move on to other cases as well, which took away from the time I felt we should be focusing on Leo’s whereabouts. I was consumed with worry for the safety of those I love.

But I couldn’t let Leo know he had the upper hand.

Because I knew he was watching and waiting for the right time to attack. I had to be ready.

Always.

Chapter 4

Gabby

“They’re in the second drawer on the left side of my desk,” I directed Sierra, the agent who was taking my place at the office. “They’re in the red folder labeled ‘Anderson.’”

Sierra had not been my first choice to cover my clients. She was a bit scatter-brained, in my opinion, and tended to leave important things unattended. Plus, I think she was sleeping with Conrad and a few other agents, but there was nothing I could do about it. She was who Margo had assigned.

“Got ’em,” she announced. I could hear the slam of my desk drawer, and it grated on my nerves. I absolutely hated that she had the ability to riffle through my things. It only made me want to stab her eyeballs out with a letter opener.

“Things have been amazing around here. I mean it’s not like we don’t miss you, but truly, things couldn’t be running smoother.” Sierra’s chipper voice made me cringe.

“Well, that’s great,” I said forcefully.

I knew it was her way of telling me she loved having my clients and my commissions.

I take it back; I do dislike her, in a horrible way. And if this call did not end quickly, I might not be able to hold back my disdain.

“Well if that’s all, I’m going to let you go now.” I already felt like I was climbing the walls to get out of my cage, but conversations like this only enhanced those feelings even more.

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Sierra said happily. “Relax, and know that there is absolutely no reason for you to rush back.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to hold back my snarky comments and said a quick goodbye before hanging up.

I picked up the pillow next to me and heaved it at the bedroom door just as it opened and Brook stepped inside. It hit her hip and she held her hands out in surrender.

“Damn, Pregzilla, you need to tame that wild beast within you.” She smirked and I narrowed my eyes at her.

“I need to get out of this bed and go down to the office. There is a snotty little bitch that needs a beat down,” I said with irritation.

“Sierra?” Brook asked as she picked up the pillow and continued to approach.

“Yes,” I relaxed back against the pillows and let out a long exasperated breath. “I swear she only calls to torment me. She knows how irritated I get when I have to share.”

Brook laughed. “You never were good at sharing.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “I need to get out of here.” I groaned unhappily.

“And you will,” she said, and I immediately perked up. “When the doctor approves it.”

“You are such a bitch. You used to be my favorite.” I turned to the side and fluffed my pillow, avoiding her smirk.

“And here I was thinking I was your favorite.” I spun around to see Audrey standing next to Brook, holding a small bag in her hands. “I guess I’ll just take this strawberry glazed Danish and blueberry muffin and find someone else to eat my breakfast with.”

In that moment my stomach chose to scream in agony. A loud grumble filled the silence and Audrey smiled triumphantly.

“My little nephew loves me at least.” Audrey arched an eyebrow.

“You’re my favorite,” I whined. “You’ve always been my favorite.” I just wanted the yummy goodness she possessed, and at this moment I would say just about anything to convince her to come just a few steps closer. I just needed to be able to snatch that bag from her hands, and after that they could fight it out.

“What did you bring me?” Brook asked as she grabbed for the bag.

“Yours is on the counter. Chocolate chip muffin and a French vanilla coffee.” Brook darted off without saying another word as Audrey came closer.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and held out the bag, shaking it from side to side. I, of course, smiled brightly. For the last few weeks, Audrey had shown up daily with a treat for me.

She knew how being confined to the apartment, ordered to stay off my feet, was killing me. I was so tired of staring at the walls, unable to enjoy the outside, or simply go out to dinner.

I was showing extreme signs of preeclampsia when my blood pressure began to skyrocket about three weeks ago. Now my fingers and toes resembled tiny sausages, and at times, my face even appeared swollen. I was ordered to stay off my feet and monitored weekly for blood pressure spikes. But I swore they may have to check me for violent tendencies too, because being cooped up was making me homicidal.

Josh absolutely loved it though. It was all he hoped for, because I was safely tucked away inside my apartment. It meant he had less to worry about with Leo still out there somewhere.

Chapter 5

Josh

“Gabby’s gonna love this,” I mumbled as I looked over the file I held in my hands.

Gray, Mike, and Trevor sat around the conference table looking through their own copies of the items I held. Each folder contained the same breakdowns and photographs I had.

“Maybe she’ll go stay at her parents’ place,” Mike said, looking up at me, trying not to smile. Each one of us knew the probability of that happening was pretty slim.

“Yeah.” I leaned back in my chair and held Mike’s gaze. “How about I let you be the one to suggest it to her?”

His smile faltered as he looked at Trevor and Gray before returning his gaze back to me. “Dude, I love Gabby, don’t get me wrong, but hell no.” He shook his head and tossed his file to the table in front of him. “She looks all sweet and gentle, but she’s got a hidden tiger in there somewhere. I like my head being planted firmly on my shoulders, Josh. Your woman is a bit scary, and pregnancy only makes her more likely to strike.”

Tell me about it. I knew exactly what he meant.

“All the Shannon ladies are a little vicious when need be.” Gray added, but the gleam in his eye told me something I didn’t want to envision.

“Fuck, dude, seriously,” I said, tossing a pen in his direction. “Keep those looks off your face when thinking of Brook. I have to see that girl every morning and night. I already have a hard enough time after I walked in to find you two pounding away on the couch.”

Gray chuckled and Mike just shook his head. At least he had enough decency to take Audrey back to his own place when they decided to
play
.

“So back to this,” I said, shaking the file in my hands. “Gray, you and I will head to Jersey. Trevor, I’ll need you on standby in case we need access to any databases. Plus, you need to track us at all times. We’ll scope things out, see what we find.”

“What about me?” Mike asked.

I continued to look down at my file, trying to hide my smirk. “Since you’ve expressed such an interest in my fiancée’s moods, I am assigning you guard duty.” Trevor chuckled, and the hooting laughter that spilled from Gray broke me. I couldn’t hold back my own.

“You’re a dick,” Mike said, looking like a pouting child.

“Look at it this way—you’ll have Audrey with you, because all three of the Shannon beauties will be under your watchful eye until we return.” I tried to give him a vision of a light at the end of the dark tunnel, but he didn’t bite.

“You’re still a dick,” he complained as he stood from the table and left the conference room with slumped shoulders.

I loved Gabby, fuck, love didn’t even begin to describe what I felt for her. It was more like she was a part of me, a part I needed to survive. But lately she has definitely been a force to be reckoned with.

She was cranky and bored. Those two did not mix well when it came to a pregnant woman sentenced to stay off her feet.

In a way I kind of felt sorry for Mike.

Hell—who am I kidding? I didn’t feel guilty.

I did, however, feel a little fearful for my own well-being when I had to go home tonight and tell Gabriella that I would be leaving town for a few days.

Maybe I should stop by the bakery on the way and gather some reinforcements to make the news a little more tolerable.

***

When I arrived back at the apartment I found Gabby fast asleep on the couch. Next to her in the recliner was Audrey, and Brook was in the center of the living room floor wrapped inside a comforter, with only the dark strands of her hair sticking out of the top.

The girls had been right by Gabby’s side day after day.

They took shifts, and at times both found the time to crash with their sister. Until we found Leo, all three of them needed to remain on guard. Being here like this made keeping them safe that much easier.

“Hey J-Man.” Audrey stretched in the chair and kept her voice low. “Anything new today?”

I nodded as I made a motion to follow me with a nod of my head.

Walking into the kitchen I opened the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. Twisting the top off, I took a long swig before turning around to face Audrey.

“You remember that woman we saw on the video surveillance from Leo’s building?” She nodded as she sat down on the barstool on the opposite side of the counter. “We got a lead. But we need to go to Jersey and check it out. Gray and I are going. I want to keep it low key for now until I know for sure. The last thing I want to do is spook her if this is the woman.”

“True,” she added. “But you guys need to be careful. Going in shorthanded could be a huge mistake too.”

“I know, but this is a simple surveillance only. If it’s a match then I’ll call in more agents.”

“You sure you don’t want another set of eyes?” she asked. “I could go along.”

“I put Mike on Shannon sisters duty,” I told her, and she narrowed her eyes at me.

“I don’t need a babysitter.” Audrey hated feeling inferior.

“No,” I said, trying to hold back my laughter. “I never said you did. But Mike may need you to run interference whenever he pisses off Gabby. We both know that by the end, both Brook and Gabby will be planning his murder.”

“Yeah.” Her shoulders relaxed as she looked up at me with a smile. “That in itself may make the Shannon sisters comment tolerable. It may be fun watching him sweat.”

A few minutes later Gabby came waddling into the kitchen with her hair sticking up in all directions, with what looked like an imprint of her rings imbedded in her cheek.

Her eyes were still droopy and she wore one of my FBI sweatshirts that was three sizes too big for her, even with a protruding belly.

She still took my breath away.

“Hey, beautiful,” I said as I stepped up to her and took her face in my hands. “How’s my boy?”

She smiled and I leaned in to kiss her.

“Hungry,” she mumbled against my lips and I laughed.

She had always had a healthy appetite, but it had tripled with the pregnancy. For such a tiny thing, she could sure pack away the food.

“What sounds good?” I asked as she stepped around me, heading straight for the fridge.

I watched as she grabbed a jar of pickles.

Audrey and I both remained silent as she took two pieces of bread and placed them in the toaster.

She busied herself around the kitchen taking out items, leaving both Audrey and me a little speechless.

After the toast popped up she began spreading peanut butter on each slice, before she crunched up Lay’s potato chips on top of the peanut butter.

I looked over at Audrey to find her staring at her sister with a disgusted look on her face.

I turned back just in time to see Gabby place the last dill pickle atop the bread before pressing the two slices together to make one nasty as fuck sandwich.

She then leaned forward to take a big bite out of the revolting creation she held in her hands.

Audrey made a gagging sound which only made my stomach roll.

Gabby turned around chewing as she mumbled. “I don’t know, what sounds good to you?”

Both Audrey and I just stared at her as she chewed until we could no longer hold back our laughter.

Moments like these made me realize just how lucky I was. I could have lost it all, and at times I have this sick feeling I still could. Most people wouldn’t see the greatness in such an unimportant display, but to me this moment would be one I would remember. It would be one that I would remember years from now and tell our son about when he is old enough to laugh about how crazy his mommy’s appetite had gotten.