Georgetown January, 2015
Derek clenched his teeth tight as pain shot up and down his entire left leg, mostly centering on his knee. He was drenched in sweat and his knee hurt like a mother- but there was no way he was going to give up. It helped that his anger fueled him on. He needed to heal fast and his doctors timetable just didn’t work for him. Eight months they’d said to just get half of his normal mobility back in his knee. Well, he’d already hit half that time and he could already jog with minimal pain. By the time month eight hit he would be sprinting. He used to hate running—he got too sweaty, a little smelly and it was just too exhausting. But now that he was faced with the possibility of never being able to run again, it was like being doused with cold water. You never appreciate what you have until it’s taken away. Once he was fully back on his feet, he was going to run every day for the rest of his life.
He pushed again stretching his knee determinedly. When month eight hit he was going to Damien’s cabin, the one he’d bought after spending the best months of his life in—his words—and run the trails along the stream and in the back woods each morning. Then he would swim in the stream each night before dinner, probably pull a girl or two in with him and fool around with the setting sun at their backs. Tasha would hate that last part, him using her wedding gift for debauchery, but Derek was determined to go back to his old self. He wanted to feel whole again and he needed a fully working knee to do that.
He missed his life. He’d been out of the game six months now. First it was just a few weeks for some rest and relaxation after a particularly hairy mission which he’d caught a bullet in the gut. Then a day before he was set to return to active duty, that bitch walked into his apartment and put a bullet in his knee. And if that wasn’t enough, she blew his cover. The latter hurt a fucking lot worse than having his knee replaced.
His rage climbed a degree higher and he pushed his leg harder. When, not if, but when he found her, he was going to strangle her! Wrap his hand around her swan-like neck and squeeze.
“Hey big D, take a break would ya? You’re making us look bad,” Damien, his cousin joked.
“And you might just worsen the knee,” practical Dale added coming behind Damien.
Derek ignored them and pushed on the leg press machine a few more times, but once his left leg began to shake, he knew he would have to stop soon. His knee couldn’t take the strain any longer.
“Besides, this is our bonding time. We finally have you around more often and we want to catch up, spend time together not escort you to the gym like we’re your groupies.”
Derek chuckled at Damien’s pouty face. Since he became a dad and a husband he didn’t take life too seriously, rather he made it a point to enjoy each day with his family. And he was right. This time at the gym two times a week in the evenings was for the three of them to get close again and bond. For Dale and Damien having families took most of their time when they weren’t working. Derek didn’t envy them, he didn’t feel like he was missing something by not having a family of his own, much to his own mother’s disappointment. In fact, he applauded his cousins. Not many men in their line of work—Dale who chased after psycho serial killers and Damien working to take down gangs and mobs—would have the courage to have families with all the evils that they knew first hand existed in the world. If only Derek could explain that to his mother, but that would mean going into details he was legally bound not to.
Derek never wanted kids, ever, but that choice had been taken away from him. It was the only reason why he couldn’t, wouldn’t kill that bitch. Strangle her yes, but kill… he was going to have to find a way to restrain himself.
He eased his legs off the press machine and sat up. He pulled his towel from the hand rest and dabbed his wet face. “I’m determined to get my life back.”
“We get that, but the doctors told you not to overdo it.”
Derek glared up at Dale, “No Dale, you don’t get anything.”
Dale glared back, “Yeah because you’re the only person in the entire world who’s ever been shot and had his life turned upside down.”
Derek felt well and truly ashamed. It was such a damn ass comment, he regretted making it.
Dale knew exactly how difficult it was to get his career back on track after being derailed. The two bullets to his back had caused enough damage to have him sitting out of the game for months and on desk duty for even more. He was out on the field after a year and his boss only let him because he was hunting down his psycho sister-in-law who had shot him as he body shielded his wife. But that ended okay, a little weird, but okay. Damien was now married to psycho sister-in-law with three kids and she didn’t remember a thing about her life prior and no one was going to tell her. She had been a victim of a mind control experiment gone wrong. She was Tasha Smith, now Tasha Chan. As far as everyone was concerned Ellsa Jabari the assassin and the psycho was dead and long gone. But even though Ellie was content to have her twin back and Damien was as happy as a clam, Dale was still a little tense around Tasha. How could he not be? The woman had kidnaped both his kids, one was still in uetro and Ellie had almost died because of it. She was also having trouble conceiving again, so yeah Dale had every right to be reserved and alert around her.
When Derek had found out that Ellsa—Tasha was the White Widow, shock wasn’t word enough to express what he felt at that moment. At first he’d thought it was Ellie. Dale had sent him his wedding picture and his jaw hit the floor. She’d looked exactly like the woman he’d spotted with Katarina six years ago in Holland. He’d looked her up then and there was nothing that hinted about her clandestine line of work. He thought he’d finally found the elusive White Widow, a definite boost in his career, but he was apprehensive about her being married to his cousin. He’d planned on going home, introducing himself to his new family member when a new assignment disrupted his plans. By the time he was done, Dale had been shot and Damien had disappeared to Mexico searching for some phantom girlfriend.
He felt guilty that he wasn’t there when their lives were falling apart at the seams and yet they were with him when his own life had collapsed around his ears, his career dead in the water.
“I’m sorry man. I just… it’s the only life I know and I can’t accept that I’ve lost it.”
Damien patted his shoulder, “It may be hard now, but once you start moving on, it will get better. You could start with visiting-”
Derek shot to his feet, cutting Damien off and forcing him to take a step back. He bit down hard on his back teeth from the pain. The quick movement sent spasms of piercing pain into his knee, but he was pissed enough to walk away without limping.
“You can’t run from her forever!” Damien shouted after him.
“Watch me,” Derek gritted out, punching the locker room door open and letting it bang shut behind him. He didn’t even bother to take a shower. He just grabbed his stuff out of his locker, shoved it into his gym bag and quickly left before his cousins cornered him. He drove his Mustang like a madman to his apartment building. He took the elevator up to the eleventh floor and limped to his door when he noticed someone standing there, with her back to him. Discreetly he unzipped his gym bag and slid his hand in, wrapping it around the barrel of his forty-five.
“May I help you?” He called out, courteous enough, even though, his body was rigid preparing for an attack. The woman turned around with a deep red smile on her lips. Derek relaxed and smiled back, letting go of his gun and pulling his hand out of his bag.
“Gwen, how did you get up here?”
The red head with lips to match leaning against the door jamb pushed her hip out more exposing milky white skin of her waist, “I flashed my FBI badge and the doorman let me up.”
Derek shook his head. One day, Erne the doorman will let up a hot chick who’ll kill them both. The man couldn’t resist a big pair of breasts.
“Your badge had nothing to do with it,” he looked, pointed at her exposed cleavage, “trust me.”
She looked down at her chest and when she looked up, there was a sultry smile on her lips, “Oh really?”
Damn straight, there was a tent already forming in his gym shorts as he stared at those beautiful babies. No bra, judging by those hard points pressing against the cotton fabric.
“That shirt was most definitely your ticket in. Did you carry a jacket? It’s pretty cold to be walking around without one.”
“I like this shirt too,” she ran her finger down between her breasts, pushing a button open and exposing a little of her bra. It was red and lacey. His favorite. So she was wearing a bra and one that wasn’t padded. He liked those- no false representation. Gwen’s breast were all real, but he knew that already. “I left my jacket in the car. I knew I wouldn’t need it when I came up.”
“Did you tell Dale?” Conversation was the last thing he wanted to have with her, but the question had to be asked.
Her smile quickly disappeared and Derek sighed heavily. He and Gwen had been sneaking around ever since he could stand with just one crutch and a knee brace, so for a few months now. But, even though, the sex was fantastic, he didn’t want to cause problems with his cousin. Dale and Gwen weren’t just partners before his promotion, they were also lovers before he met and fell in love with Ellie.
“He’s a happily married man, he doesn’t care who I screw Derek.”
Dale never liked sharing as a kid, even stuff he no longer held interest for. So yeah, he might have something to say about him burning the sheets with his ex.
“Even though…” he shook his head from side to side.
She rolled her eyes, “Fine. How about we go to his birthday party tomorrow, together.”
Ah hell! Derek blew out a breath making a motor boat noise with his lips. Going out together in public, worse off, going to a family function as a couple with no heads up? His aunts and his mom would have his head. What about Ellie and Tasha? He would definitely have an angry wife with her psycho assassin sister on his back, that scared him a little. Going to Dale’s birthday party together was definitely a bad idea, especially since all they were doing was screwing. They were not in a relationship. Maybe she needed reminding.
“Gwen-”
“Look Derek,” she started cutting him off, “I’m horny as hell and my patience is running out. Why not open the door, screw me and then we can talk later. Much, much later.”
Well, when she put it so point blank like that… Derek opened the door and proceeded to do just that, screw her until they both could barely move after.
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