rust bucket when we started, but her engine always purred like a pussy cat. Although its purr was nothing on the one Melody made when my head was between her legs.
A lot of people assume deaf people can’t moan or laugh. They’re dead wrong. Our time between the sheets was when Melody was the most vocal. The only indication she had on how loud she was being was when her moans rumbled in her chest, so I did everything in my power to ensure she didn’t have a moment to register the heartiness of her moans.
I shake my head when I catch sight of my arrogant grin in the rearview mirror. Anyone would swear she’s under me now with how hard I’m smiling. It’s the first time I’ve recalled us sleeping together without wondering who else has experienced her seductive moans, so I guess a little cockiness is okay.
After throwing the gearshift into first gear, I ask Siri to dial Grayson’s private number. He answers a few seconds later, breathless and sounding sweaty. The fact he doesn’t greet me by name reveals he’s in a place he can’t talk freely, much less his comment about me finally returning his call. We only spoke an hour ago when he once again tried to convince me I had no legal reason to disclose my one-night hook-up with Olivia to Alex. He went quiet when I asked about her resurrection from the dead. Even he’s at a loss on what to do about that tidbit of information.
Recalling the reason for my call, I get back to the task at hand. “Albert Sokolov just landed in Ravenshoe.”
“I’m aware. Your quote just came through,” Grayson responds, still gasping. “I heard you’re not local. How’s Hopeton this time of the year? ”
Hearing the words he can’t speak, my tires lock up when I slam on the brakes. When I complete an illegal U-turn, horns honk, and the smell of burning rubber lingers in the air. “What’s at Hopeton for him?”
“That’s what I’m hoping you’ll work out. It’s a new fitting, so there’s no reason for the sudden leak.”
“Do you think it has anything to do with your placement?” He’s undercover at the Bobrov camp. Kirill arrived stateside approximately four weeks ago. He can’t enter US soil legally, so his method of transport was more modest than the private jets his competitors use, although I doubt he lived in shambles the past few weeks. “It seems suspicious the Popovs commenced sniffing around old Bobrov stomping grounds within weeks of Kirill’s return to the States. Are they aware of his return?”
A door slides open before birds chirping in the distance overtakes a group of men talking in Russian. “I doubt that’s the case. I tightened the connections. It didn’t fix the leak. There’s something more occurring here than a loose valve. If you can find out what that is, I might have a chance to stop wading through shitty waters every time I use the bathroom.”
I’m not surprised about his underhanded comment that he’s the shit-kicker of Bobrov’s crew. He’s blond-haired, blue-eyed, and has the worst Russian accent I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s just his size, arrogant face, and cocky attitude that convinces criminals he’s one of them. He also has no trouble pushing the boundaries undercover agents must use to prove they’re far from law-abiding. Drugs, prostitution, dismemberment of body parts, you name it, Grayson has dabbled in it at one stage during his career. He took any steps necessary to get him closer to the man he’s been chasing for almost a decade, and those steps walked him right into Kirill’s crew.
“I’ll pass on any information I find out.”
He murmurs out an agreement before our lines go dead. It was a mere second after a female voice sang out a string of text more lyrical than the bluebirds in the distance. They hint more to Grayson’s location than the cryptic messages he’s sent me the past two weeks.
22
Brandon
With traffic light and my foot heavy, I make it to Hopeton with ten minutes shaved off the usual commute time. I realize I’m not the only one with a lead foot when I spot Alex’s old sedan parked a few spots down from Westminster Family Planning Clinic. Even if I didn’t know his history with the location, the fact he took his car instead of the Navigator the Bureau assigned to him when he became supervisor of my division reveals he isn’t on the job.
I slot