Overflow: The Carpino Series (9 page)

Lilly yells across the restaurant, “Bye Cody!  Good luck
with the car!”

“And nailing some hot chicks!” Reagan yells just as loud. 

“See ya ladies, thanks!” the punk kid says from behind the
bar.  I narrow my eyes to glare at him thinking he must have enjoyed these
three drunk women this evening and that pisses me off.  I put my arm around
Gabby and pull her to my side as we walk out to the car and Gabby starts
rambling.

“I’m so sick of summer!  I hate the humidity, it makes my
hair frizzy.  In another few weeks, I’m gonna get to buy pumpkins!  And mums!
And Halloween candy!” she describes this with great joy like she knows for a
fact she is going to win the lottery. 

“Gabby loves fall.  Like,
a lot
,” Reagan whispers
loudly as if she’s letting me in on a state secret.  I get all three women
loaded up, buckled in and Gabby directs me to the first destination. 

“Jude, can I mess with the radio?” Gabby asks.

“Sure, babe,” she starts flipping through the stations so
fast there is no way she can tell what she’s listening to.

“Jude Ortiz,” Lilly starts, “I have a question for you!”

“Shoot.”

“Do you sing?” she asks and I immediately hear a horrified
gasp from Gabby and Reagan laughs out loud. 

“No,” I answer.

“Not at all?” she goes for clarification.

“No,” I repeat. 

“Hmm,” she says.  “Just curious, you sound like someone I
know, is all.”

This time, Gabby fully turns around from the front seat to
stare at her friend with her mouth open. 

“What?” Lilly mutters, “Just checking.”  Gabby gives her a
glare and turns back to the radio. 

“Maroon 5!” Gabby yells!  “I love Maroon 5!”  All three
drunkards start singing
One More Night
, emphasizing the oo, oo’s.

It takes way longer than I would have liked, but we got both
Lilly and Reagan home, all three women professing their BFF love for each
other. 

Now it’s just Gabby and I on our way back to her house.  I
can tell she’s starting to come down from the crazy drunkenness and is getting
tired.  She’s leaning her head on her window looking out at the night, so I try
and get her talking.

“I’m glad you had fun, Gabby.  They seem to good friends,” I
start.

“Yeah, they’re the best.  I wish Leigh could have come, but
her husband is a controlling
ass-hole
.  He never lets her go out with us
anymore,” she turns to me and keeps talking.  “Can you believe that?  I mean,
this isn’t nineteen fifty for heaven’s sake! The only time we can get her out
is if he’s out of town on business.  I
do not
know why she married that
man.”

“So, who’s James?” I ask, changing the subject.

“James?”

“Yeah, James,” I look over at her and she’s got an
uncomfortable look on her face. 

“Well,” she looks back out her window.  “He’s just a guy I
dated.”

“Recently?”

“No-no, not recently, years ago.”

“Why do people keep talking about him?” I find myself
needing to know more.

“I don’t know,” she says, now looking back at me waving her
hand around a bit.  “Probably because he’s the last guy I dated and I thought
he was the last guy I was ever gonna date.”

Okay, now I really need to know everything there is to know
about James.  “You haven’t dated anyone since him?  How many years Gabby?”

“Mmm…probably like three and a half-ish years.  I mean, I’ve
been on a couple of dates here and there, but dat-ing anyone?  Nope!”

She said she lost her parents about three and a half years
ago.  “How long did you date this James?”

“One year,” she lets out a big sigh, “and three months.  Too
long.”

“Too long?”

“Yeah, I probably dodged Leigh’s fate.”

“What do you mean?”

She turns to me and lays it out, “You see James wanted to do
what James wanted to do.  He wanted me at his side all the time and under his
conditions.  I’m an easy going person, so I went with it.  But he was plain
selfish, so in the end when my parents died, I wasn’t so easy going anymore.  
I apparently didn’t fit into his life as well as I did previously and he broke
up with me.  Really it’s not that big of a deal, worse things happen to other
people.  But I do think I avoided the life my friend Leigh is now living
because I have a feeling his selfishness could have turned controlling, but who
knows.”

What a fucking asshole!  I reach over, take her hand and put
it on the console to hold. I pull into her driveway and press the button of the
garage door opener she gave me this morning.  I throw my truck in park, turn to
her, pull her close and say, “Gabby, I’m sorry you had that asshole in your
life when you lost your parents.  He should have fucking turned himself inside
out for you, but selfishly I’m glad he broke up with you.  Because he was a
selfish jackass, I get to be the one to bring you home drunk from a night with
your girls and I get to watch you laugh at nothing at all and I get to be the
one to make sure your sweet drunk ass gets to bed safe and hopefully you’ll be
coherent enough to kiss me first.  So I’m sorry you had to deal with him, but
I’m feeling fucking grateful right now that he was an asshole.”  She stares at
me and I hope she remembers this tomorrow. 

All of a sudden, she exclaims, “I don’t even know how old
you are!”

“What?”

“I don’t know anything about you!  How old are you?  Where
are you from? I feel like you know everything about me, but these last few days
have been crazy and I know you but I don’t
know
you!”

“I’m thirty three.  We’ll start with that and if you don’t
fall asleep I’ll even tell you where I’m from,” I say, grinning at her.

“You’re thirty three?  I thought you were twenty nine or
thirty,” she says. 

“Am I too old for you, Gabby?” I tease, grinning and slide
my hand in her thick hair so I can pull her closer to me. 

“I’m almost twenty eight.  So, no, you’re not too old me,
Jude,” she answers and I pull her in for a kiss. 

“Let’s get you inside, Gabby,” I say against her mouth.

“Okay,” she breathes back.  I let her go, get out to go
around and make sure she doesn’t fall on her face in her shoes.  I get her into
the house, she greets Mia quickly and heads straight to her pink childhood
room.

“Gabby?” I call.  She turns around while yanking her shoes
off and tossing them, letting them land where they may.  “Where’s your Motrin? 
I’ll get you some, you’re gonna need it.”

“It’s in my closet off the bathroom, thanks Jude,” now she’s
looking really tired.

I head into her master and the bathroom looks top of the
line.  Two sinks on either side of the room with long counters on each, a
freestanding huge bath tub, a walk in shower with a long bench across one side
and still enough room to do cartwheels.  I find the door to her closet.  Shit,
she has a lot of clothes and shoes, I’m pretty sure two people are supposed to
share this closet.  Eyeing the medicine shelf, I find the Motrin and head back
to the kitchen for a glass of water.  I walk into Gabby’s childhood room and
stop dead in my tracks. 

I should have knocked.  Standing with her back to me, she
has ditched her skirt and is standing there in black lace panties and pulling
her black bra out from under her armpits through her tank.  Not able to move, I
watch her take two steps forward and put a knee in the bed and collapse face
first. 

I try not to get hard just from standing here looking at her
lying in front of me in her black panties.  Doing my best, I move forward and
say, “Sugar?  You need to take these.  Can you sit up?”

“Hmm?” she answers. 

I move closer, put a knee to the bed and lean over her. 
“Gabby, sit up, babe, take these and drink some water.”

She pushes up to an elbow and rolls over, looks up at me and
holds out her hand.  I give her the pills, she takes them with a full gulp of
water and lays down on her side with her back to me.  Putting the water on the
nightstand, I lean down, kiss her head and she mumbles, “Jude?”

I lean over, putting a fist in the bed so I can see her face
and whisper, “Right here, sugar.” 

She grabs my arm and pulls it down.  Running her hand down
my arm to my hand, she threads her fingers through the back of mine and turns
my arm to tuck it into her chest.  I have to come down on a hip to the bed in
back of her and lean on my elbow to not fall on her.  “Gabby?” I call to her.

Before I know it, she snuggles in so her back is against my
chest and wiggles her ass tight into my lap.  Pulling my arm in tighter, she
mumbles, “I like you in my house, Jude.”

I still and ask, “What?”

“I like you and I like you here, my house has been so quiet
and lonely for so long.  Thank you for being here and taking care of me,” she
says softly with her eyes still closed.

“It’s okay, sugar,” I whisper into the back of her head. 
Pulling her thick hair out of her face, I go on, “I think I like being here
with you, Gabby.”

“I can’t believe you’re thirty three.  You look thirty,” she
mutters, all of the sudden getting talkative.

“Good to know,” I say, dryly.

“And everyone is right, you’re way hotter than James,” she
goes on.

“That’s good to know, too.”

“But you’re way nicer and you were happy that I had fun with
my friends and then you came and got us and then you were nice to my friends
and you let me pick the music in the car,” she mumbles on and on.  “So you’re
way better than James and I’ve only known you…well, I don’t know what day it
is, but not very long.”

“It’s Wednesday, Gabby.”

“Huh…then I’ve known you for…five whole days and it’s been
way better than the one year and three months I was with James.”

I just squeeze her and kiss the back of her head and
whisper, “It’s been a good five days, babe.”

“Wait!” she says tightening her grip on my arm but not
moving otherwise.  “Where are you from?  Are you from here?”

“No, babe.  Colorado.  Denver.”

“Denver?” she asks and I just give her a squeeze.  All she
has to say to that is, “Oh, I get it.  Broncos.”

“Go to sleep, Gabby,” I say. 

Gabby snuggles in closer, pulls my arm up her chest to her
neck and mutters, “You’re so bossy.”

Smiling to myself, I settle in until she goes to sleep and I
finally feel her weight fall back against me.  I detangle from her, head out
into the house, let the dog out for the last time, check the doors and arm her
security system.  I head to the guest bath to get ready for the night. 

Then I walk right back to Gabby, in her pink room with her
stuffed animals and bad boy band posters.  Stripping down to my boxers, I climb
in, flip the covers over us and pull Gabby back into my chest like she was
earlier.  In her sleep she leans back against me and tangles her long legs with
mine.  This time her dog jumps up and cuddles into the front of Gabby.  I bury
my face into the back of her head, smelling her hair and feeling it against my
face.  Searching for sleep, I can’t help but think about how I thought tonight
was going to end differently.  But lying in her tiny bed, in her pink room with
her fucking dog and Gabby tucked close against me, I wouldn’t have it another
way.  

Well, for tonight anyway.

I’m hot.  And my pillow is super hard.  What is up with my
pillow?  I try to push back, find some cool air and I am immediately pulled
back into a vice grip.  My eyes fly open.  All I see is sculpted abs and lots
of skin.  My eyes move up and I see Jude’s kickass tattoo again. 

Holy shit! 

I jerk back, surprised by my current surroundings when I
hear Jude boss me in a delicious sleepy rasp, “Be still, sugar, it’s early.”

“Ohmygoodness!” I whisper.  I still my body, telling myself
it isn’t because Jude told me to, but rather because I am freaked way the hell
out!  Again!  Trying my best to take stock of my current situation, I feel like
I still have on my panties and a top at least.  My leg is hitched, tucked over
Jude’s thick muscular thigh as I’m pressed to his side and I’m pretty sure I
can feel material there, so I hoping that means he’s not naked.  Not that I
haven’t thought about being naked with Jude Ortiz, especially since the other
night when we were almost half naked, but I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet. 
I haven’t even known him a week and I’m not that kind of girl!  James was my
first (not to mention my only!) plus, we were together a long time before I
gave it up.  James said it felt like forever, which clearly it was not but
still, I’m not slutty and never have been.  Even though I’ve had lots of
thoughts about being naked with Jude, I didn’t want it to be last night and I
especially don’t want to be drunk for the experience, either!  So, as I’m
making a mental list of pros and cons in my head, I’m putting it in my pros
column that at least we are still dressed, although the clothing is minimal,
it’s still a pro!  I also, surprisingly enough, don’t have a headache. 
Definitely one for the pros column. 

I can see a little light coming through the drapes, so it
can’t be that early.  I peek up over Jude to look at the clock on the
nightstand and its seven forty five.  I don’t know why Jude said it’s early,
he’s been leaving here in the mornings no later than seven thirty.  I decide to
whisper, “Jude, it’s seven forty five, don’t you need to go?”

Jude, lying on his back, his arm around me in a vice grip
starts to roll into me and onto his side to face me. His other hand comes to my
waist, slowly slides down over my ass, my leg and catches the back of my knee
yanking it over his hip.  As he hitches his thigh tight between my legs at my
core, his mouth goes straight to my ear and he rasps, “No.”

Okay.  As much as I don’t want to admit it, this new
position was really nice.  So nice, it’s going into the pros column.  Still, my
mouth feels like cotton and if it smells as bad as it tastes, I don’t need to
be anywhere near Jude’s face, hence, one for the cons column.  “Jude, I need to
get up, brush my teeth.  I never go to bed without brushing my teeth.  Can we
get up now?”

“No,” he repeats, giving me a squeeze as his mouth dips
under my ear and I can feel his lips working their way down my neck.  He makes
his way down to the dip in my collar bone and I lift my head because it feels
really great with the added bonus of getting my mouth far away from his face. 

Licking my dry lips and trying to swallow away my bad
breath, I whisper slash plead this time, “Please, Jude, just let me go and
brush my teeth.”

Now, with one arm angled up my back and the other hand on my
ass, he says firmly into my neck, “Babe, I don’t care about your teeth.  Now
that I’ve got you here, if you think I’m gonna let you go just to brush your
teeth, you’re fuckin crazy.”  He gives my ass a squeeze as he pulls up and I
look into his amazing face with those melty eyes.  My hands plunge into his
sleepy hair.  His eyes flare, he rolls me to my back, his hips falling between
my legs and his mouth slams down on mine.  Still worried about my breath, I
refuse to open my mouth.  Wearing me down, he nips my lower lip and I finally
give him the opening he wants as he dips his tongue in, clearly not caring what
my mouth smells or tastes like.  Again, I’m liking our new position so I pull
my legs up to wrap one around his waist and the other around his big strong
thigh.  He presses into the core of me and his weight feels as good as it did
the other night. 

He slows down our kiss and as his head comes up he rasps,
“Baby, you fit perfect.”

Wow. 

Forgetting about my breath, forgetting that I’m not that
kind of girl and definitely forgetting that I’m not slutty, all I can think
about is fitting perfectly.  I lift my hips and dig my feet in to get even
closer to him.  His mouth slams down on mine again and something on the floor
starts ringing. 

He stops mid kiss and doesn’t move his head, saying against
my lips, “You’ve got to be shitting me!”

“That’s not my phone,” I say, defending myself from our
latest interruption.  I feel him grin against my mouth and the ringing keeps
on. 

“I’m sorry, sugar.  That’s work, I’ve gotta get that.”

“Okay,” I breathe, as he pushes up and I lose his heat and
weight.  He stands up and I get a look at his back side in boxers as he bends
over to grab his phone out of his jeans. 

Standing, he turns to me and puts the phone to his ear and
says, “Yeah?” 

I sit up on the side of the bed and grab my skirt.  Looking
up to him, I appreciate the view of Jude in chambray blue boxers and nothing
else.  The evidence is plain to see why he’s so upset by our latest
interruption.  I can’t help but grin at the sight.  He runs his hand through
his hair, clearly frustrated.  I stand to slip my skirt up and feeling brave, I
move to put my hands flat on his abs fitting myself to him, reach up on my tip
toes, I kiss the underside of his jaw.  With heated eyes on me, he says into
the phone through gritted teeth, “Fine, I’ll be there in an hour after I swing
by the office. Have you checked the transcripts from last night?”  I come back
down to my feet and turn to the door but he grabs my hand pulling me back him. 
“Gotcha.  See you in an hour,” he hangs up and tosses his phone to the bed.

“I told you we needed to get up.”  I say, but he wasn’t
done, he pulls me into him and his mouth hits mine.  With his hand in my hair
and the other at my back, he kisses me deep and long, showing me how much he
didn’t want to be interrupted. 

He brings his head up again and he says, “I’m sorry sugar, I
gotta get to work.  We thought we had a line on Harper last night, but it went
cold.  Mac has an informant that gave him some new intel this morning and we
gotta follow it.”

“It’s okay.”

“What do you have going today?  I still want you texting
me.”

“I have to work here at my office for a few hours and this
afternoon I have some shopping to do.”

“Shopping?” he asks, like this is some foreign notion, only
performed in faraway lands.

“Yes.  Shopping,” I answer, speaking slowly.

“For what?” he presses.

“Ac-ces-sor-ies.  Remember, I’m a dec-or-a-tor?” I reply,
raising my eyebrows while annunciating every syllable to get my point across
that his questions are ridiculous. 

His brows come together and he says, “No need to be a
smartass, Gabby. I really don’t want you in and out of places all day, not
until we get Harper.  Although we didn’t get any prints off your door or deck
area, it’s too much of a coincidence for it not to be him.  You need to be
cautious.”

Well aware that I was being a smartass, I respond, “I won’t
be a smartass when you stop being ridiculous.  I told you I’d text you when I
come and go and I will.  I’ll do it so much you’ll get sick of hearing from
me.  I’ll carry my gun and watch my surroundings.  I’ll be fine,” I give him a
smug smile.  I feel his fingers press into my hips, he looks down at me and
just shakes his head. 

I realize I’ve won. 

Yay! 

I beat Bossy Jude! 

Not wanting to be a poor sport and gloat because that’s just
not nice, I run my hands up his chest lightly to trace his tattoo with my index
finger while saying, “Jude, as much as I’m enjoying having this conversation
with you in your boxers, I need to make us coffee and you need to go.”

He pulls me closer and shocks me by saying, “I brought
clothes, I’m showering here.”

I hear myself gasp and not feeling smug at all anymore, I
ask, “What?”

Proving he can still boss me around, he replies, “Make
coffee, I gotta get goin’.”  And with that, he leans down to kiss me quick,
lets me go and heads for his jeans on the floor.  Still shocked that Jude is
going to be wet and naked in my house, I walk to the guest bath as I really
have to go to the bathroom.  I look up into the mirror and let out a scream!

“Gabby?” Jude yells back for me. 

I put my hand up to my face and wince.  I wore heavier
makeup last night and it is not looking good now.  My Charlie’s Angels curls
which looked fantastic now look like a rats nest!  Double con!  I pull my hair
away from my face, realizing Jude has not only been looking at me like this
since we woke up, but kissing me and I say into the mirror, “Oh shit!”

Jude walks in behind me and looks at me in the mirror. 
“Gabby, what’s wrong?”

With one hand in my hair and one over my eye and cheek, I
whisper, “I can’t believe you kissed me like this, I look awful.”

Jude puts his arms around my upper chest and yanks me into
him again.  He leans down and kisses my head and simply says, “Sugar,” and
walks out in his jeans and bare chest. 

I hear the security system beep off and the garage door open
and shut.  I go to let Mia out and head to my master bath to wash my face, make
some semblance of my hair and brush my teeth.  With the toothbrush in my mouth,
Jude comes in to my master bathroom with a gym bag, still wearing just his
jeans.  I spit, rinse and turn to him.  He moves close to me putting his hand
on the back of my head tipping it back and whispers, “You going to join me or
make coffee?”

My eyes get big and he smiles even bigger.  All I can say
is, “Towels are in the drawer.  I’ll make coffee.”  I can hear Jude chuckling
as I skedaddle out of the bathroom.

The coffee is brewing, I hear the water go off and all my
thoughts are on Jude in my shower, so I’m not paying much attention to details
when I hear my purse ringing from the island where I dumped it last night in my
state of drunkenness.  Not thinking clearly, I dig my phone out and slide my
thumb across the screen.  “Hello?”

“Gabby?  Why haven’t you called me?”

All of a sudden I’m whisked back to reality by the voice on
the other end.  “Megan?”

“Yes, it’s Megan!  Have you forgotten who I am?  That you’re
my friend?  You were at my house with police barged in and you haven’t even
call to check on me?”

Even this level of drama is a bit much for Megan, so I try
and calm her down, “Megan, are you okay?  I’m sorry, Tony didn’t think it would
be a good idea for me to contact you--”

“So you’re abandoning me?  My life is upside down!  They are
accusing Trevor of terrible things that aren’t true.  He can’t even come home
for fear of what they will do to him!”

“Megan, do you know where Trevor is?”

“No!  He says he can’t tell me where is.  He’s trying to
clear his name, gather evidence he needs apparently to convince all those
agents he’s not doing what they’re accusing him of doing for some reason!”

“Megan, slow down.  He won’t tell you where he is?  Don’t
you think that’s strange?”

“This whole thing is crazy, Gabby!  All of our funds have
been frozen!  Trevor’s not here and I have zero access to any money!” she
screams.

“Megan, maybe he should just talk to the authorities,
explain what he--” then, for the second time this week, I feel my phone being
plucked out of my hand. 

“Megan Harper?” Jude starts.  “Yeah.  This is Special Agent
Jude Ortiz with the FBI.  That’s right.  I was at your house the day the
warrants were served.  You are not to contact Gabrielle Carpino, do you
understand?  No, I don’t think you do understand.  You are not to contact her
again.  Gabrielle has nothing to do with this and until everything is over, you
will not see her or communicate with her in any way.  Do I make myself clear? 
Good.”  With that, he slams my phone down on the counter. 

“We told you not to talk to her, Gabby,” Jude warns me in a
serious voice.

“I just answered, I was distracted and didn’t look at my
phone, I’m sorry,” I say, feeling a little petulant.  “You didn’t have to be
mean to her.  I was just asking about Trevor and where he was for you.” 

“Gabby, I don’t need your help, but more importantly, I do
not want your help on this.  You need to stay out of it.”

“What’s going on, Jude?  Megan said their funds are frozen
and he hasn’t come home, something about him needing evidence he’s not doing
what you think he’s doing.  I know Trevor Harper isn’t a good guy and I need
protected from something.  Just tell me what he’s done.”

Jude doesn’t say a word.  He stands there assessing me. 
Assessing me with wet hair, in a clean pair of jeans that are old and faded but
fit like a glove topped with a black ribbed V-neck t-shirt.  He’s not touching
me but I can smell my soap and shampoo on him.  Something about him standing in
my kitchen with wet hair smelling like my stuff feels more intimate than ever. 
So I take the step separating us and fit myself to the front of him, placing my
hands flat on his chest, look up and him and say quietly, “Please don’t keep
this from me.  I’m a bigger girl than you think I am, Jude.”

He sighs, puts his hands on his hips and looks at my
ceiling.  I guess finding the answer he needs up there he looks back down at
me, puts his hands on both sides of my neck and lays it out, “Harper is a
transporter, a smuggler and a big one.  He manages it through different
companies he uses for cover.  His network is big and he’s tied to top level
cartel members.”

“Smuggler?”