#ppcu fics

most are one-shots. ratings, tags , and warnings are listed in each post. emotions, angst, with various levels of heat.

JAVIER PEÑA

more than words

doubting myself

3:01

tug

a stranger in need, a helping hand

FRANKIE MORALES

“are you wearing my shirt?”

“just one more chapter”

“why are you crying?”

you notice his chain

DAVE YORK

pull me into your embrace

ruin me

overwhelming

JOEL MILLER

your heart feels like my home

DIETER BRAVO

supporting at a movie premiere

give me a sign

CLINT FLOOD

against all odds

MARCUS PIKE

doors opening

TED GARCIA

focus

MISC.

imagines and drabbles and ficlets |

Joel Miller

Construction Corner with Joel Miller - Part 2 by @for-a-longlongtime

JM is Live by @astr0veil

Struggling to pay the bills, Joel finds a rather unique way to make ends meet.

Portus Salutis by @lillaydee

Your childhood friend Joel Miller needs you. But ONLY when he needs you.

Season of the Wolf - Pt. 5 by @mcthsman

The giant wolf that has been killing people around town shares a very striking feature with the quiet man that keeps breaking into your home— They both have the saddest, warmest brown eyes you've ever seen.

sharp edges by @jinxispunk

Joel thinks loving him means eventually seeing something ugly enough to leave over. That is until the worst parts of him finally surface, and you stay anyway.

Sloth by @milla-frenchy

after you promised Joel to try something new in bed and managed to make him skip patrol and stay home, he makes sure you mean it. So you enjoy a chill morning with him, and then you make good on your promise

Taco Tuesday by @time-for-my-weekly-spanking

Take my hand where you want it by @time-for-my-weekly-spanking

After you discover that your husband is cheating on you with Joel's secretary, Joel becomes your confidant. One night, after your husband comes home late yet again, you rush to Joel for comfort. And Joel makes sure you get everything you deserve

What are the Odds? by @inept-the-magnificent

Harry Castillo

Psyche & Eros - Ch. 3 by @madpanda75

You play “tour guide” with Harry and show him around Athens.

Javier Peña

The buttoned dress by @milla-frenchy

after coming back from Judy Moncada’s house, Javi can’t stop thinking about fucking her

Dave York

two lives by @toomanystoriessolittletime

Dave never planned to cheat on his wife. He never planned to fall in love with another woman. He never planned to live two separate lives. And he never planned to be attending the funeral of the love of his life after their mission went wrong.

Jack Daniels

Change of Plans by @the-blind-assassin-12

Jack is there on business. You're there for pleasure.

Mr. Ben (SNL)

Landslide by @broad-shouldrs

it's been 15 years since you last saw ben.

Frankie Morales

Control by @tateypots

Already feeling fragile about your reluctance to take things to the next level with Frankie, your mom pours gas on the flames. Frankie is there to put them out.

Over the Andes - Ch. 4 & Ch. 5 by @bergamote-catsandbooks

The Party by @juletheghoul

Tim Rockford

The Nebble Files - Ch. 48 , Ch. 48.1 by @inept-the-magnificent

Din Djarin

Lovesick by @petalonthepavement

One nasty fever and too much medicine are all it takes for Din Djarin to finally admit what months of stolen glances and terrible flirting couldn't. The good news: you remember every word. The even better news: you've been waiting for him to say it.

Javi Gutierrrez

history stopped in 1936 by @pascalispretty

The Spanish Civil War threatens the slice of paradise you and Javi have found together.

Multi

Couples Getaway by @katareyoudrilling

Partner swapping adventures with Marcus Pike and Dave York

The Detective and the Agent (Part 3: Until Next Time) by @604to647

You, Tim and Marcus make a souvenir of your time together.

Going Down by @aurorawritestoescape

you have a hot boyfriend and a hot ex who’s still obsessed with you. Why not get the best of both worlds?

Self Recs

Guitar Gig ~ dbf!Joel Miller x f!reader

You show up for Joel's gig when your dad can't make it.

Guy Crazy: Clint - The Helping Hand and Joel - The Summer Fling

Happy Campers ~ camp counselor!Joel Miller x f!reader

Joel Miller, the new head counselor at Camp Happy Trail, makes sure this summer will be one you won't forget.

Office Hours Part 5: Council Meeting ~ Ted Garcia x f!reader

Amid a busy day at City Hall, you and Ted can hardly keep away from each other.

The Sleepover ~ best friend’s stepdad!Joel Miller x f!reader

“Eat it. José is going to untie you, if you try anything while you eat it, this conversation will be much less pleasant.” With her hands freed Esie, cracked the water bottle and downed the pills, then ate the bar like a good little hostage. She wasn’t a fool, she’d surveyed the room. There was no way she’d be able to get out of the room. And even if she did, she had no idea where she was, it could be a house an abandoned factory or an office building. There was no way she could physically out -match the men too. She needed to do what she did best, talk to her captor, get information. Strategize.

“So, did you just bring me here for a lovely picnic, or is there something I can do for you…” she knew the man across from her, but there was no reason he needed to know that. The more he told her and the less she could tell him, the better.

“My name’s Bill Stechner. I’m an old friend of your “father’s”. But I think you already knew that, didn’t you?”

The man threw a book down on the table. One she knew well. She had won her second Pulitzer with it after all.  “Hunting Escobar”. The summer she came back from Afghanistan they’d started. It took them ten years to get the thing right, to tell the story, as much of the story as they could. She’d interviewed both Steve and Javier. They’d both been honest, too honest sometimes. That had been part of the challenge. It was why it had taken so long to craft the story, one that painted a picture and one that neither lionized nor villainized the DEA agents too much.

 Esie held onto the story for years, guarding it, guarding Javier’s life’s work, one that he had trusted her with. It had been a show of respect at first from him. Javier had told her that he thought enough time had past, that there were things the world ought to understand about what happened. But he didn’t trust anybody else with it, he wanted her to tell it properly. He’d sat down in the ranch study with her, and pulled out stacks of paper, newspaper clipping of articles. Her articles, highlighted and noted by him. He told her how talented she was. that it would be hard for him, that he couldn’t tell her everything, and that some stories weren’t his to share. That he could tell her things that she couldn’t put in her story too, not if she didn’t want to visit him in federal prison every Christmas. But if she’d agreed, he’d tell her about Columbia. And she did.

“I never identified the CIA agent in this book,” she reminded Stechner.

“No, just in your fucking arms dealing article, you bitch.” A loophole, Esie had gone hunting too, she couldn’t quite leave alone what her adopted country had done to South America. So, she figured if they’d been up to shit in the eighties and nineties, they were still probably up to shit in twenty twelve, which was how she’d ended up in Peru. Stechner had still been playing his games there then, and Esie had hunted him like a fucking bloodhound.  “I had to go underground; I was reassigned to the fucking jungle for the rest my life. You know I used to fucking run this entire continent?” His rage was simmering, but he didn’t yell, in fact he ended his rant with a little smile which was even creepier.

“Ah, so this is personal.”

“It’s not fucking personal.” The man with the balding wiry grey hair snarled.  Esie smirked, she’d struck a chord. Despite what the man said. “It’s about you being here and fucking up my work… again.”

“I’m sorry that I made being an asshole harder for you. But you seem to be thriving still. I’m not surprised, you CIA assholes love screwing around down here. What are you up to now? Putting Fentanyl in baby formula? Or are you starting some sort of preschool for future dictators?”

“You know your, papi, Javier, wasn’t all sunshine and roses either, sure I set it up, but he’s the reason Los Pepes where able to conduct their reign of terror here in the nineties.”

She did, it was the first time she’d seen Javier as more than her sweet, slightly lame, adopted father. The first time she’d realized he was a man, a man with a complicated past. But the way he’d explained it, the guilt, the complexity, well, she’d ended up coming to an understanding. “A book both critical and sympathetic of it’s subjects.” The New York times had said. Esie hadn’t hidden the fact that she was related to Javier, but she’d kept her name in the byline of her works all those years ‘Ezperanza Cordona’ for a reason. The name still Peña carried weight, it carried a history, one that was darker than it first appeared. 

“I know, I wrote the book after all.”

“That wasn’t in the book.”

“Yes. It’s called confidential information. So what? You brought me here for fucking revenge? Why am I still alive then?”

“A good question. But I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Despite you being a pain in the ass, you and I do have something in common. We both trade in information. Now, I want to know why the fuck you’re sniffing around Arturo Vega.”

And just like that, all the little pieces snapped into place. “You’re working for Vega.”

“With him, for the time being, we have certain goals that align. Now why is a fucking Peña back here looking into another one of my fucking operations.”

It was Esie’s turn to laugh. She finally saw her escape route. “You wouldn’t fucking believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“I think he’s my father, so if want to go tell him his daughter’s here to see him… that’d be great. A family reunion.”

The man’s face cracked as he cackled.  Not the reaction she’d been hoping for. He tapped the book in front of him, “I noticed something else wasn’t in your dear old papi’s recollection of events. Did he tell you how he got most of his information?”

Esie assumed Stechner was trying to find out if she knew about Don Berna, at least his involvement with her, Javier said he figured the old cartel man was still operating somewhere deep in the jungle too. A competitor for Vega. “The concept of confidential informant shouldn’t be that much of a surprise to a CIA chief”

Stechner actually laughed in bitter disbelief, then said ruefully, almost to himself, “Javier Peña fucks a whore in Bogotá, falls in love, and now there’s another fucking Peña in Columbia that’s a pain in my ass.”

Esie rolled her eyes, how cliché, “You calling my mother a whore, very original, you gonna tell me I’m a slut next too?”

The man leaned forward, beady eyes sparkling, now. A cat ready to toy with its prey.

“Ah so you don’t know everything do you?” Stechner grinned, “do you even know your real last name should be Sotomayor?”

“Yes.”

“But you don’t know that your mother, was Helena Sotomayor, who was Javier Pena’s CI?”

“What part of, I wrote the fucking book, is so hard for you to understand?” But Esie was beginning to see an escape route form in her mind. If this man could vouch that she was Helena Sotomayor’s daughter… Vega’s daughter, then maybe, just maybe, she could figure out a way to get out of this alive.

“She wasn’t in the book though, was she?”

That was true. It had been Javier’s biggest stipulation. All his confidential informants would remain anonymous. And he didn’t want her mother mentioned at all. He said he was worried it might impact her mother’s career. She had a reputation with the clinic, one that needed to be protected. It hadn’t been a big deal leaving her out. Some bartender at a salsa club informing on who was meeting with who wasn’t exactly a major key to the case. “Most of my father’s CI’s weren’t mentioned in detail. It’s not like I was writing a love story.”

“No, no, you sure weren’t. Did he tell you how he got most of his CI’s?” Esie didn’t answer, she hadn’t thought too much about that, Javier never provided those kind of details, unless it was a big fish like his CI, Don Berna.  One of the only informants she’d been able, and allowed to name. Her silence told Stechner what he wanted to know. The man had been looking for leverage, something to lord over her, throw her off kilter.

The yellow lamplight glistened off the top of the man’s head as he told her. “Your dear old daddy used to get most of his information from prostitutes. Javier Peña was famously the DEA’s man whore. He used to go to the brothels, pay them with American DEA cash, fuck them until they liked him and trusted him enough to give him information. If they were lucky, they got out alive.”

Not exactly the image someone wants to have of their beloved father, but Esie held his gaze, unmoved, “So?”

Stechner continued, knowing he’d yet to deliver the real blow. “Which is where he met your mother, she was a was a whore in Bogotá, as in the kind who took money and let narcos fuck her, and apparently asshole DEA agents too.” Esie perhaps for the first time in her entire life, was actually too stunned to speak. Stechner smiled as he read her face, then continued, “If it makes you feel any better, she was at least a successful one, until your dear old papi, Javier, made a bad call, got too ambitious, wanted information too badly. He sent her into the lion’s den, dangled American citizenship to her and the other girls like a shiny fucking carrot. So, he sent her in, the night of la Margita, to get fucked by monsters and find out what she could. A real gentleman that guy, anyway your mami fucked up, they caught on to her, and they raped her so bad she nearly died. Bad enough he had to send his sweet little whore away. Just as well, she wasn’t useful to him anymore.”

Esie’s stomach dropped but she said nothing. She wanted to believe he was lying; it didn’t reconcile with the parents she knew. But her brain couldn’t come up with a reason he had to lie about it. Instead that cursed reporter mind of hers started to place the pieces together… the way they never seemed to reminisce about old times in Columbia, the way Javier had been cagey, when he talked about his female informants. How valuable would a bartender a salsa club really be as a long-time informant, the loud music, the dark room, how would she know who to look for in the first place… Stechner’s story sounded less like a fairytale romance, something closer to a Grimm and dirty truth. Still, she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of letting him see her rattled.

 Unfortunately, Stechner was trained in reading people. “Ahh so papi Peña didn’t tell you everything. Vega isn’t going to take the word of a whore, especially not a DEA snitch, that you are his blood. I’m your only shot of making it out of here alive. So, I would start being a little more cooperative.”

“Fuck you.”

The man raised his arm and for a moment Esie braced for a blow. But instead, he slapped down a file in front of her. “It’s not my fault that’s what happened. Now if you’re a very good girl you might even be able to ask your mami about it one day. Now that I’ve helped illuminate your past, there’s one thing I don’t understand. I’m hoping you’ll have some answers. I don’t think I need to explain to you that I know ways to get them, with or with out your willing cooperation.”

She did, you don’t get to be a man like Stechner without being well versed in all manner of torture. “Well, then I guess I’m happy to help.”

Stechner opened the file, and pointed at photo, it was clearly from a surveillance camera, one from Lorea’s compound, similar to the ones Trujillo had showed her, but not an angle the Columbian police had. And it showed in grainy black and white a man in a standard oil cap, with and assault rifle pointed at the lense. Brown eyes she knew all too well, but they weren’t soft like she knew them, they were hard and deadly almost detached. But there was no question, that was Frankie.

“I can’t figure out why your little boyfriend raided Lorea’s compound five years ago.”

Next Chapter

AN: I always hate the part of fic where the romantic leads separate... oh well...

Taglist: @bardot49 , @midnights-temptation, @bergamote-catsandbooks, @awkwardpaws, @petalsinblood, @queenofslowburn

(let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!)

Taylor greeted me and helped me carry my luggage upstairs. A few of our friends were already on the beach. I quickly got changed and joined them.

The powdery sand was warm and soft beneath my feet as I brought my towel, sandals, sunscreen and a good book. Life was perfect as I popped open a High Noon, rubbed in a little more coconut SPF on my shoulders and laid back with my novel.

“Hello,” Taylor said seductively, sitting up in her chair. “Who is that?”

I lifted my sunglasses. “Who?”

“Ten o’clock. Dad bod in the red and white trunks.”

I sat up and checked him out. Late forties/early fifties, nice dark head of hair starting to go gray, biceps as big as tree trunks, and a soft belly I found oddly cute.

“Cute,” I said appreciatively.

“Married,” Taylor said with a sigh. A pretty woman his age appeared at his side, holding a young child. Another kid tugged on the mom’s shorts.

“With kids,” I added.

“Boo.” Taylor sat back.

However, I kept my eyes on him longer, watching the way he dealt with his crying daughter, trying to get her to play in the sand, disrupted by the small shallow waves that washed ashore. He must have felt my gaze, because he looked up suddenly, meeting my eyes. I smiled and he smiled back.

The next day most of the house was still asleep when I got up for a sunrise jog on the beach. There was something calming for the soul about being in a place with no people, just nature.

I started my jog, Reeboks thwapping pleasantly along the damp sand as I avoided seaweed and washed up driftwood. One or two fishermen were out in waist-deep water as the sun, pink and orange on the horizon, peeked through the pale clouds.

A man jogged from the opposite direction, heather gray shirt stained with sweat at the collar, navy shorts perfectly accentuating his front. He lifted the hem to wipe sweat from his face, revealing a soft belly.

“Hey,” I smiled as we passed. He slowed and smiled at me. “Good morning,” he greeted. “You were on the beach yesterday, right?”

“Yeah,” I slowed to a stop and so did he. “Just got on the island yesterday.”

He nodded. “Bridge or ferry?”

“Bridge. I’m trying to face my fear of heights. You?”

“Ferry.” He shrugged. “My wife likes our kids to get on the boat, experience new things.”

“That’s sweet.” I smiled.

“You got any? Kids, I mean.”

“No.. I need to find the right guy before I even think about kids.”

“Smart. Name’s Joel by the way.”

“Daisy.” We shook hands, laughing at the sweat and sand accumulated on our skin. “How long are you here for, Joel?”

“The rest of the week,” he said, voice tinged with exhaustion. “My wife, our two kids, her sister and her two kids.”

“Sounds like fun,” I joked.

“I’m out here to get a little peace and quiet before the day starts, y’know?”

“Same. It’s so beautiful.. peaceful..” The waves crashed poetically in the background, the salt air already sharp, the buttery sun preparing for its full glory in just a few hours.

“Are you coming to the beach today?” I asked him.

“Should be. See you there?”

“Definitely.”

He walked me back to the house, pointing out his own, right next door, painted pale peach.

I did indeed see him at the beach, setting up a canopy for shade. He did a double take as he saw me, my new white bikini giving a generous view of my cleavage. “Aren’t you gonna offer a girl a drink?” I smirked, boldly flirting. Joel glanced back at the women playing in the water with the kids then reached into the cooler, producing a cold beer.

“Thanks,” I said, popping open the tab.

“Hot day,” he commented, brazenly checking out my breasts.

“It’s always cooler at night,” I replied, smirking. “Especially after everyone’s asleep.”

Joel nodded, catching my drift. “Midnight okay?”

“Midnight is perfect.” I sauntered off, giving a little wave and heading to my spot on the sand. My friends came by soon after. We played Frisbee, devoured jello shots and cold cut sandwiches, played in the water. All the time I knew Joel watched me.

Midnight couldn’t come any faster. I wore a short lightweight dress, making some excuse to the others about wanting to see the beach at night but most of them who were still awake didn’t seem to mind.

I found Joel on the beach, near a grassy dune, a blanket spread out, a couple of bottles of beer for us.

We talked about our lives, the minutiae that people typically save for small talk like that. Joel was a contractor from Austin, supporting his wife and kids. This was their yearly beach vacation, made all the more fun by his wife’s sister brought along.

“Sounds like you’re not enjoying yourself on your vacation,” I empathized.

“I am now,” he said, eyes dropping to my lips.

Finally we kissed. His lips were cool, tasting of the clean crispness of the beer. He kissed like he was hungry for me, tongue sweeping my mouth, hands groping my breasts, my hips, my ass. I straddled him, feeling him grow hard beneath me. He pulled down the front of my sundress and took my nipple in his mouth, tongue swirling over the hardened point before sucking on it, his dark eyes looking for mine.

I shook my head. “You’re fucking married,” I muttered.

“Didn’t think it mattered,” he grumbled as I got off his lap.

“Ordinarily it wouldn’t,” I admitted. “I thought I was going to take a break from guys, but evidently I can’t.”

“We don’t have to do anything,” he assured me.

But he was hot and the moon was full and before I could stop myself I was undoing his pants, fisting his cock, dribbling a little spit on it to make it wet. Joel leaned his head back, groaning in relief. It didn’t take long for him to come, spilling thick white over the top of my fist.

“Sorry,” he panted. “It’s been awhile.”

“I can tell.” He finally stopped oozing cum, but he wasn’t softening.

“Jesus,” Joel laughed a bit uncomfortably. “I guess he’s not done.”

He? That was so adorable.”That must be a sign,” I said, kissing him again and getting on his lap. Dress hiked up, panties moved out of the way, I rubbed against him, his cock teasing my folds until I moved up and slid down on him.

“Fuck,” I whispered, rubbing my clit as I let him shallowly thrust up into me.

“God you’re so tight,” he gasped, grabbing my hips, spreading my thighs further apart so he slid all the way inside me.

I whimpered, holding onto him as he desperately fucked up into me.

“So good, so good,” he chanted, eyes shut tight, probably trying not to come again too soon. I doubted he would, as evidenced by the cum I’d wiped onto the blanket earlier.

He grabbed my ass, guiding me up and down on his cock, our soft sighs lost in the thick summer air. He didn’t stop until I came, and even then he fucked me through it, prolonging my orgasm, letting me ride it out towards my next one, during which he sped up, breathing hard, spilling inside me with a deep and satisfied groan.

“That was..” Joel grunted out, “that was fucking amazing. We are definitely doing that again.”

I chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Tomorrow? A jog on the beach?”

Hidden among the dunes, my mouth wrapped around Joel’s cock, my hands grabbed his ass as he fucked my throat. “Need this,” he rasped, “need you.. so much..” I let him spill, hot and salty down my throat.

During the day, when both our parties were down at the beach, we snuck back to mine. It was a thrill to know any one of my housemates could walk in on us. Still, we had to make it quick so his wife wouldn’t get too suspicious and come looking for him.

“It’s not enough,” he said, thrusting into me with my legs over his shoulders. “I need you again.”

That night he insisted we go slow. Another blanket behind the sand dunes, I sat on his face, trying to keep from crying out as his tongue delved inside me. I leaned forward and took his dick into my mouth. After, laying where we landed after our mutual bliss, we watched the stars.

“My wife and her sister are taking the kids to the carnival tomorrow,” Joel said. “The house will be empty.”

So of course as soon as I saw the Millers’ red minivan leave their driveway I was at his door.

“Told them I wasn’t feeling well,” he explained, kissing me and ripping my clothes off. “Said I’d probably meet them later.”

“Probably?” I smirked as he bent me over the kitchen island.

He smirked back. “Maybe.”

Joel was insatiable. Probably because I was on his turf. More likely because he was stuck in a sexless marriage. He took me against the table, on the sofa, over the balcony, and finally in his bed.

“I could fuck this pretty pussy day and night,” he murmured, thumbing my folds and watching his spend dribble out of me.

“Don’t you ever wear out?” I chuckled.

“Not with you.” Then he ducked his head to lick up the mess he made.

“I can’t believe tomorrow’s the last day.”

We sat side by side on the beach, not bothering to hide when there was so little time left. The waves lapped over our feet. Down the beach a ways a group dug for clams with flashlights to guide them.

“Did you ever do this when you were younger?” I asked him. “Have a summer fling?”

“Once,” he answered. “I was in high school and she was older – my neighbor’s daughter, home from college. Engaged, too.”

“Scandalous,” I teased him, resting my chin on his shoulder.

“Our families rented a summer house on Lake Travis. She and I found opportunities to be alone. I’d drive into town for supplies and she’d join me, or we’d go for a swim late at night. She taught me so much that summer.”

“Do you still think of her?”

“Now and then. And now I’ll be thinking of you.”

I kept that in mind as we packed up our cars the next morning. Out of the corner of my eye I watched him stuff beach toys, luggage, extra towels into the back of his van. Right before he went back inside he caught my eye and we exchanged a wave goodbye.

I took the ferry back to the mainland instead of the bridge, watching the island grow smaller and smaller as I sailed away.

dividers by @/saradika-graphics 👑

The next morning when Frankie still hadn’t heard from her, he had gone from concerned to the edge of panic. When he found Javier in the barn office he told him as much. “She still hasn’t responded to me, I asked my friend Santi to go to her rental place, but it’ll take him an hour to get there.”

“Relax kid, its not even 8 am, she probably went to bed early with some jetlag and hasn’t woken up yet. That’s why we have the check in time. She knows how to handle herself.” But Javier said it softer than he normally talked to Frankie, he wasn’t trying to dismiss him, he was trying to calm the man down. Javier knew high-stress, it had cloaked him for years like a well-worn suit. Clearly, Frankie knew it too. Even if the younger man seemed visibly still, Jaiver knew the signs of a stressed out solider when he saw it.

“Right.” Frankie nodded breathing properly for the first time that morning. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“If she misses check-in, then we can worry, that’s the deal. For now, we have hungry cows and horses to worry about.”

“Right.” Frankie turned to leave.

“Frankie, one more thing? This Santi guy, is he solid?”

“He’s um… he’s my brother sir, I can and have trusted him with my life.”

Javier nodded, “Always good to have one of those.”

“It is, sir. I’ll saddle up Bandit for you.”

“Thank-you.” Javier said.

Despite Javier’s casual demeanour with Frankie, the moment the door closed behind Frankie, he reached for his cell, scrolling through his phone he pulled up Trujillo’s private number.

They never made it to check in time.

Frankie burst back into the barn the office a couple hours later. Javier was on the phone, but wary dark eyes met Frankie’s as he said to whoever was on the other end, “‘Okay just fucking fax it to me. Yes, I have a fucking fax machine still.” Javier said before rattling off the fax number. When he hung up he looked at Frankie expectantly.

Frankie didn’t wait for further permission to speak.

“Santi called, there was no trace of her, only a few flower petals on the ground at her door. They looked like the ones from the picture she sent me. He spoke to the woman who runs the rental, she hasn’t seen her since check in. She let him in and there was no sign she’d been there since the night before. Her suitcase wasn’t even opened. He’s checking the local hospital now.”

“Fuck.” Javier said, he picked his phone back up and dialled, whoever he was calling picked up immediately, as though they’d been waiting on that call. “It’s me, yeah, she’s not there…looks like I’m going to need that visa… actually,” he said glancing at Frankie. “Make that two, it’ll email you the information.”  When he hung up, he said. “Pack your shit kid, Lilly will stay with Chucho and Ana.” Frankie stood for a moment processing what was happening. It didn’t feel real. “Better move, we’re leaving tonight. I’ll brief you on the flight.”

Frankie crouched in front of Lilly as he explained. “I have to go away for a little while with Mr Javi for work.” He lied smoothly, “But you’re going to have lots fun with Mrs. Ana and Mr. Chucho.”

“You mean Grampo!?”

“What? Fuck, yes, Grampo.”

“Daddy, that’s a bad word!”

“You’re right Lils, I’m sorry.”

“Daddy… is Esie okay?”

“Yes, she just needs a bit of help, that’s why we’re going.” He prayed to deities he wasn’t sure existed that he wasn’t lying about that. Then he started to pack, neatly methodically, just like he’d been trained to do. Frankie told himself he could do this. That this would be just like any other mission. He knew damn well that was a lie.

Javier was packing too, his list included a few more interesting items than Frankie’s did. “See cariño, I knew keeping this here would come in handy.” Javier told Ana as he shoved stacks of cash into his bag from the safe in their walk-in closet. When he got no response, he walked out to find Ana sitting on the edge of the bed staring, catatonic, into the middle distance.

“Cariño?... Ana...” he knelt in front of her, “Ana?” he said again softly. “Ana…” her eyes didn’t see him, so he tried her real name, not in the anglicised version they used for their youngest, but in the gentle Spanish he’d used many years ago he said, “Helena?” She finally lifted her gaze to meet his. “Helena, can I touch you?” he asked softly. At her nod, he took her hand kissing it lightly before holding it to his cheek. 

Finally, she spoke, asking in a small, haunted voice. “What if they attack her…what if… what if… they hurt her, like they did me.”

“Then I will find her and kill them. Then I'll bring her home and you will fix her, just like you did for yourself.”

“Javi, promise me you’ll find her.”

“I will burn down the entire country and kill every drug lord I find before I will come home without our daughter. I promise.’

She nodded, and he sat beside her and pulled her to his side. “I don’t know what else to do.”

He squeezed her hand with gentle reassurance. “You booked the flight, you made the arrangements, I need you to stay by the phone, in case I need a wire transfer and to look after their niña until we bring her back, okay? You can do that.”

“I can.”

“Good.” He held her to him and kissed her forehead. “I have to finish packing.”

Ana once again drove to the airport. Lilly was at the ranch with Chucho, they’d said their goodbyes to them earlier since Javier and Frankie were taking the red-eye to Columbia.

Frankie said goodbye to Ana with the promise. “We’ll do everything we can to get her back. I have experience with these kinds of missions. My unit’s success rate was excellent.” Esie’s mother suspected he was assuring himself of that as much as her.

“I know you will Frankie.” Ana said but her eyes started to glaze, she cleared her throat and looked away, clearly trying to keep it together. Frankie stepped back as Javier stepped in to say goodbye. Frankie stood off to the side waiting for them to finish before they went through security.

“I’m going to get her back” Javier told her softly.

Ana had lost faith in many things long ago, a woman of logic and science as much as she was a woman of emotions. But she believed in evidence, the concrete and the tangible, and many years with Javier Peña had taught her that when he set his mind to something, no god or man would stand in his way, “I know you will Javi. Just try not to burn down the whole country while you’re at it.” She joked but the humour didn’t reach her eyes.

“No promises.” he whispered before kissing her lightly, and Ana hoped he only meant that about the fire.

As Frankie watched them, he wondered if he’d ever get the chance to have that with Esie. To get to have so many years, to know each other so completely. He’d seen love before, but having that sort of thing in a family, having the kind of home they’d given him and Lilly… He’d believed Esie’s word that day in the barn, when she told him that if anything happened to her it wouldn’t matter, that the Peña’s would still be there for them. That he and his daughter finally had a home and family. It had been a good reassurance, but not because he’d ever imagined it would be her who went too soon. Once again, it was supposed to be him, once again, he got the short end of the stick. His mind started going over everything they might need to get when they landed.

“Ready?” Javier said shifting his carry-on briefcase on his shoulder. One Frankie knew contained every bit of intelligence the Columbian police had. That they, for some reason, in the year 2017, had faxed to Javier that afternoon. Frankie had experience in missions, but the old agent had apparently run many recovery missions before too, at least that’s what Chucho had told him as he’d paced in the living room waiting for Javier.

On the plane, Frankie and Javier sat side by side, with Javier in the isle seat and Frankie in the window. When the plane reached cruising altitude and after the flight attendant came by to take drink orders, they took down their trays and Javier slapped down a couple of benign looking tan file folders in front of them. “I had General Trujillo send me what they had on Esie’s father, if she was taken with intent, there’s a good chance her presence was leaked to him. You already know she went because they wanted a DNA sample. Five years ago, they lifted prints from a crime scene in the amazon, at a drug lord’s compound.” Javier flipped open the folder and handed Frankie a photo of devastating scene. One that had been burned into Frankie’s psyche for years. Frankie felt his heart in his throat. Worlds collided in that moment, as Frankie’s past came to haunt his present.

“Frankie?” Javier said quietly but firmly. Looking at the younger man’s ghost-white face. “I understand this is difficult, more than you’ll ever know. But I need you to focus solider. Esie needs you to focus.”

Frankie knew in that moment what he needed to do. Frankie understood how to execute a successful mission. That it required logic over emotion. That facts needed to be shared. The team needed a full briefing. Javier was a skilled and experienced agent, but he didn’t have all of the information. But Frankie did. And Javier would need it to be successful. And Frankie needed this mission to be successful. He needed Esie back safe, even if that meant losing her, and his job, and his daughter’s stupid horse, and the beautiful cabin by the river. He knew he had to let go of his life if he had even one chance of saving hers.

“Sir I…” he paused as the flight attendant dropped off Javier’s whiskey. “Actually, could I have one of those as well, please," he asked her. She nodded before returning to the bulkhead.

Javier stared at him brows drawn wondering why the young man looked so on edge. “Sir, 5 years ago I engaged in a private tactical mission in the southwest amazon region of Columbia.”

“So, you know the area.”

“Sir…”

“Fuck sakes kid, call me Javier already you’re practically family.”

“Uh – I… The mission was to take out, and subsequently… um rob a drug lord, that drug lord by the name of Lorea.”

Javier’s expression darkened as he realized that Frankie had been at the crime scene, the cause of the destruction in the pictures in that file folder. The  one he’d studied every spare second before getting on that plane.  “Then you better tell me fucking everything right now.”

So, Frankie told Javier what he’d sworn he’d never do, betraying his unit, his brothers, his only family, for his would-be - but perhaps no longer - future one. He told him about the money, the crash, the villagers, Tom, the shoot out and he even told him about the fucking mules.

As if on cue the flight attendant dropped off the second glass of whiskey. Frankie nodded and muttered a soft, “thank-you,” as she placed it in front of him. But his eyes never left the scowling dark gaze of the man next to him. Waiting for the blow of his response.

Frankie imagined many, many, outcomes in that moment of silence that felt like decades. But he never imagined the stern Peña patriarch would… fucking smile. But he did. Then Javier scoffed, his tone somewhere between mocking humour and patronizing sympathy, “So you killed your first drug lord and committed your first non-US sanctioned crime huh? Adorable. Breath kid, you look fucking pale.“And give me that,” he reached over to grab the untouched glass of whiskey on Frankie’s tray. “I can’t have you fucking relapsing or whatever when we get Esie back. She’ll be pissed at me. And I don’t want to fucking hear it, alright?”  Then he poured the whiskey into his glass took a sip and waved over the flight attendant, “Hello miss, this shit’s too strong for him, can you give him some of whatever your weakest beer is, thank-you.”

Frankie stared at the man in shock. Javier rolled his eyes. “Close your mouth kid, I’ve got a record that would make all this bullshot look like child’s play. But to be clear, now that you’re with Esie I don’t want you playing fucking mercenary anymore. Understood?”

“Yes… sir…Javier.”

“Good. Now, I assume you’re familiar with the topography in the area.” He pulled out an areal shot. “Trujilo believes Vega is operating in a similar area but it’s even more remote. Accessible only by plane and boat, there’s a little fucking runway for old bush plans here for trafficking. Esie was staying in the closest city. I’m hoping she’s there but since your little shit-head accomplice Priest or whatever the fuck you call him, is operating there I think it’s better we spread a wider net. Search his suspected home base. But we’ll be on our own. Army won’t fucking touch the area its too remote and still crawling with cartels and militias. I called an old contact who managed to get us a plane. You can fly a plane, right? Not just a chopper.”

“Yes, sir I can fly anything.”

“That’s good, because my old “friend” said it was the best he could find on short notice. Sounds like it might be an old piece of shit so…”

“Anything sir.” Anything to get her back, he’d fly the fucking Wright brother’s plane if he had to.

“Well then, at least you aren’t fucking useless, criminal or not.” Javier said mostly to himself before plopping the picture of a tiny overgrown runway slip in front of Frankie. “That’s where we’re headed.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the drip of a leaky tap she heard first. She cracked open her eyes, mercifully it was still dark in there. She allowed her vision to adjust. There was no natural sunlight, just the dim glow of a lamp in the corner of the room. There was a table in front of her, she was sitting on a chair… no, she was tied to a chair.

Out of the darkness she heard. “Hello ‘Esperanza Cordona Peña,” He spat the last name like it tasted bad in his mouth. “I’ve waited a long time to meet you. Do you know who I am?”

“Should I?” She asked feigning ignorance.

AN: I always hate the part of fic where the romantic leads separate... oh well...

Taglist: @bardot49 , @midnights-temptation, @bergamote-catsandbooks, @awkwardpaws, @petalsinblood

(let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!)

“I understand.”

“But, if I’m honest, I was curious too. Your reputation proceeds you. Not just as a journalist, which is very impressive work. Truth be told, I’ve been hearing about you for years, it sounds like you keep my old friend on his toes.” A rare mischievous smile crept over Trujillo’s face. “Which is a good thing.”

“Thank-you… I think. That said, I must admit, my DNA does come with a condition. I want to know, at least what you can tell me, about my birth father’s case.”

“I didn’t expect much less, is this off the record?”

“Yes, off the record. I’m retired now anyway.”

Trujillo laughed, “I know better than to trust a Peña’s ‘retirement’. Follow me, I’ll walk you through what I can in my office.”

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Esie didn’t sit in the chair in his office right away. It was large, befitting of a man the General’s rank. There were a few photos, him in his dress uniform, him with politicians, a couple with a woman and two children, his family she assumed, but one stood out. It was a bunch of much younger men on a terracotta roof top, one man stood out because she recognized him, a blond man, another stood out because he was lying there dead. A younger version of Trujillo crouched triumphantly over the body.

“I recognize this…” Esie said as she inspected the photo.

“It’s a bit gruesome, I know, but that was one of the best days of my life. I only wish your father… Javier I mean, could had been there to see it. He deserved to be. Escobar hurt many people we cared about.” The man’s eyes looked far away for a moment, lost in memory before he seemed to shake it off, meeting her eyes again.

“Well, I think you’ll find if you ask him now, that he’s of the opinion that he shouldn’t have been here at all.”

Surprise crossed the man’s face, “That doesn’t sound like the Javier Peña I knew.”

“I think it may have more to do with wishing he spent more years with my mother.” Esie said tactfully, no wanting to disparage the man’s recollection of Javier.

Trujillo nodded, accepting that rational, “That makes sense, it was obvious that cared very deeply for her.”

That surprised Esie, “You knew her too? Back then?”

“…no…ummm… I never did meet her,” Trujillo said cautiously unsure of what their daughter knew of Javier and Ana’s past, “But I knew of her, and he never care about any of.. anyone else, like he did, her. Clearly.”

“But you knew Uncle Steve.” She said, more so to lead him back to the case at hand.

“Yes, I did, though his Spanish was atrocious. When he did finally figure out how to speak it.” Trujillo said cracking a smile at the memory of the blonde agent stumbling over his words even after ten years in the country.

“I see Javi didn’t exaggerate that.”

“No, he didn’t. Now have a seat.” He said pulling a few filed from a locked drawer “I’ll show you what we’re looking at.”

**************************************************************************

Laredo, Texas. 2017

Frankie, a quiet man by nature, had come to love the early mornings at the Ranch. He rose, even before Chucho, who had since appointed himself the roll of breakfast man, all too happy to pass the torch of the early morning feed to a man with much younger joints. Even the animals were quiet at 430 am, before the feed hit their bowls and the sun cracked the sky.

Which was why, when Frankie walked into the barn that morning, he was more than just surprised to see the man there, with his dark assessing eyes, clearly waiting for him. “Good morning.” Javier said, in a tone that was perhaps more surprising than his very presence there, it was almost … pleasant? “Do you put a bunch garbage in your coffee, syrup and all that shit to hide the flavour?”

Frankie was not yet awake enough for whatever the hell this was, so he stumbled to find a suitable answer, “Umm no.” Sometimes, when he was in town with Esie he’d get one of the fancier things she liked to order, but Frankie would keel over right then and there before tell that to her strange coffee obsessed old man.

“So you take it black?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” He held out the coffee mug in his hand to Frankie. “This is for you, it’s medium roast, I picked the one with the broadest range of appeal, we can narrow down your roast preferers later.”

“Okay.” Frankie said cautiously, as he took the mug from the man. Javier stared at him until he took a sip, “It’s good?” Frankie told him, it actually was, he assumed it came from the machine in Javier’s suite. The ranch kitchen still had drip coffee in it, since Chucho didn’t, “like to fuck around with all that fancy shit.” with his morning cup of joe.

“Follow me.” Javier led him into the barn office. He pulled out then flipped over his cork board, revealing the other side had a bunch of things tacked to it. Frankie said a slightest prayer of gratitude that the older man hadn’t taken down all of his schedules and notes on the other side for whatever the fuck this was.

“Since it seems you’ll be sticking around.” Javier said, as though he’d just discovered that fact the day before. “And Chucho mentioned you have some ideas about the cattle; I figured I’d brief you on the big picture of the future of this place. Which, since we’re a cow to calf operation, has less to do with cattle and more to do with horses.” Frankie winced at what he was sure was a back handed criticism of his previous plans.

“We can’t get rid of the long horns for some fucking reason and the wagyu are still a profitable niche. But if you haven’t noticed, these days, when people talk about this place, they talk about the horses. And ours are some of the best. But if you want to expand this place, we’re going to need another barn, more pens, and more hands, ones who know how to fucking ride, preferably. The good news is we got more fucking 20-year-old Peñas then we know what to do with. The bad news is most of ‘em fuck off after college.”

“You want to hire more staff?”

“Not yet,” he said pinning a blueprint and an areal photo of the main barn area of the ranch. “We gotta put the infrastructure in place first.” He tapped the map of the ranch. “If you were going to put a 40-stall barn here, an indoor and outdoor area and three more turn out paddocks, where would you put them?”

“I…you want my opinion?”

“You’re the fucking ranch manager, aren’t you? You’re a little slow in the morning huh? You have that in common with your girlfriend, though she makes up for it the rest of the day.” If he wasn’t so shocked he would have realized that was the first time Javier had ever blatantly acknowledge his relationship with Esie. Before that morning, Javier had always approached Frankie like staff, or a guest who had appeared without any forewarning. Frankie wondered briefly if Esie had said anything to the man, though he supposed that Esie was probably preoccupied with going to Columbia. He knew his lady well, but he didn’t understand her relationship with the man who stood in as her father. Frankie figured it was more likely that the man was actually looking for his insight. A surprising show of respect from the grumpy old man, but Frankie was going to take what he could get. So he walked up to the map and explained what he thought might work.

 *************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

That same morning, though slightly later in the day, Trujillo sat with Esie in his office looking over a case file with her, “Five years ago, a drug lord by the name of Gabriel Martin Lorea was raided robbed and burned. It was a professional job, we assume by one of the other cartels in the region.” Trujillo told her as he handed her a file. When she opened it there were pictures of half burnt corpses, cash and furnishings. “No one but a rival gang would have the balls, weaponry and skill level to pull something like this off. For a while we even considered it could have even been hired mercenaries. We got lucky, it rained heavily after they set fire to the compound, even for the rainforest and the walls were packed so tight with cash, it didn’t burn. When paper is stacked so thick and tightly it actually needs a lot of heat to burn.”

“Like books.”

“Exactly. What was interesting was the night before, intelligence suggested that Lorea held a meeting with a few of the other Don’s in the region. Not entirely strange, we believe he was their bank of sorts, a lot more than his own funds were stored in that house. We think one of them cased the joint during the meeting and sent some men the next day, while Lorea’s guards and family were at church.”

“And we believe Vega - the alias I believe your would-be relative now goes by - was the one to do it. That’s just a theory since he seems to have risen to a Don of Don’s status in the region. There are only a few cartel operations out of the jungle that don’t seem to have affiliation to him now.”

“Well, at least he is good at something.” Esie joked, which pulled an amused look from Trujillo before he handed her a few surveillance footage pictures.

“We also pulled what we could from the camera’s. we didn’t get much from the robbers, they shot out the security footage. But, we got some arriving the night before. Most didn’t have their faces to the camera, and there was nothing in the room that they met in but we were able to lift prints from there. That’s where you come in…”

Esie focused in on the gun the robber held, in the photo you could only see the gun and his hand and the edge of a night vison goggle, an imagine likely taken moments before the camera was shot out. “Not to tell you how to do your job but can I ask; did you try to trace these weapons or the gear they had in the photos?”

“I don’t mind, but they took the weapons with them, and they are common enough here, it would be nearly impossible to trace something like that.”

“Nearly impossible, yes. And depending on when they were acquired perhaps entirely impossible. But they were raiding this place with precision, right? They must have gone in with serious skill and firepower to do that. If it was mercenaries, they’d need to acquire all that in country. Or at least at a boarder crossing location.”

“Senorita Peña, I admire your eye, but we don’t really have the resources to spend on something like that, a drug lord taking out another drug lord deep in the amazon isn’t really a crime we get a lot of interest in solving here.”

“No, I imagine so, but I did a story about five years ago in Peru… I worked with some local guys, they helped me track every single weapon coming and going out of Peru, Argentina, Columbia, and Brazil. It was right around the time this happened. Funnily enough. I know it’s a long shot, but I imagine you took ballistics on the bullets. Plus, anything else you have on the attackers. We could draw on those old resources.”

“I see that you are as good as they say. I remember the article you wrote, about CIA involvement in smuggling weapons to drug dealer and militias alike.”

“My adopted country does seem to love destabilizing this area, fuck I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing was a covert operation by us too.” Esie said with a sigh of disapproval.

“You took down their CIA head here, Javier called me to brag that a Peña finally got rid of the Stechner asshole, a thorn in all our sides. And you won your Pulitzer for it too. He was very proud that day, for your old man.”

“One of my Pulitzers. I promise if you let me pull this thread, if there’s anything to be found I’ll find it.”

Trujillo debated for a moment, “These sources, they are dangerous?”

“Not to me.”

“You can be covert about this, I imagine?”

“Sir, I never give up my sources, I have a code when it comes to that sort of thing.”

Amusement danced in the general’s eyes at that, but they seemed to land on a decision nonetheless, “Okay, I’ll get you a list of what they believed they had, don’t do anything stupid, just inquires. Bring what you find back to me directly, Do Not mention the names Vega and Lorea to anyone. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Esie said standing up to shake the man’s hand, now that she had the answer she wanted, she was eager to leave before he thought better of it. “Thank-you general.”

*************************************************************************************** She was back at her hotel room when she did her required calls that evening. “Hey pops, Trujillo says hi. He seems nice. And you’ll be happy to hear he even gave me a bodyguard while I’m in Bogotá. You’ll be less happy to hear that I think I can help him with his case.”

“What?” Javier said, as though he was actually surprised. He wasn’t, he knew his daughter too well for that.

“Just information, some of my old contacts from the Peru story might be useful.”

“Alright kid, so long as it stays just information. I’m glad Trujillo’s keeping up his end of the bargain.”

“Bargain? Never mind I don’t want to know. Anyway, I gotta get going…”

“Wait! One more thing, did you call me or your boyfriend first?”

Esie rolled her eyes, “Careful or I’ll tell mama you’re projecting your competitive feelings about me discovering my birth father onto my boyfriend.”

“I’m just kidding, mija. I was nice to him today. I even made him one of my Americanos. And he actually had some worthwhile suggestions about the new barn plans. So at least he isn’t an idiot.”

“High praise.” Esie said dryly, but she was smiling imagining Frankie’s face trying to comprehend the grumpy mustached man shoving a diligently made americano into his hand before dawn.

“I’m joking, no one has a sense of humour these days… anyway I’ll let you go, I’m sure that boy is just sitting there in that cabin staring at his phone screen waiting for you to call, like a lovesick puppy.”

“You didn’t even wait the standard 48 hours the first time you called mama from the ranch, remember, I had to play it cool for you both." She said, as though she’d ever played anything cool successfully in her entire life.

“You didn’t play it cool, you forgot to pass on my message!”

“Same thing, okay love you, bye!”

Next, she called Frankie, filling him in on her meeting with Trujillo and some details she’d left out of Javier’s summary, she recounted everything that had happened since her arrival in Bogotá, speaking even faster than normal in her excitement from the day, “…and I saw a picture of my bio father, they think he goes by the name Vega now, he was tall, it was black and white, an old mugshot… no freckles though, which was weirdly a relief. I like my freckles and I don’t want to have to share that with that asshole. I know that sounds silly…”

“It doesn’t,” Frankie understood that all too well, “I hate that I share my dad’s name.” And a few other things he didn’t feel like bringing up at that moment. “At least all you seem to have in common so far is ‘tall’.”

“Well, you improved greatly on the name, honey. Trust me…” She said supportively before launching back into her monolog about the day, and what she'd learned of her father, “He sounds like he might actually be smart too. You know, in an evil way so maybe my deviousness come from him.”

“No, you get your brains from your mother, I think maybe your sense of humour too, though she is a little more…ah, subtle.”

“Wow Frankie are you into my mama?” She teased, “That’s not going to help your relationship with Javi.”

“No, though I am hoping you age like her.”

“I’m going to tell her you said that.”

“Please don’t.”

“I’m just kidding. I heard you just made it into the coffee club, wouldn’t want to ruin that for you… by the way how’s that going?”

“No, you need to finish telling me everything about the visit.”

“I can’t tell you everything, its confidential.”

“Well, tell me everything you can then.” So, she told him about Trujillo and the photo and Javier being obsessed with her mother even back then.

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Frankie said.

Her next question hit him out of nowhere, though he supposed it should have been expected, “Frankie have you ever been to Columbia?”

“Uhh, only passed through it.” He said not wanting to lie to her completely. That was close enough to the truth.

“We’ll have to come back together, you’ll love it. The food is insane. Its beautiful here, like Peru but also so different. Its nice, not too hot, actually its kinda chilly here in the mountains, even though it’s the start of their summer. Oh, and the flowers are beautiful, there’s a big flower market I’m going to tomorrow.”

“I wish I could be there with you.” He told her a slight longing tinged his voice,

“Me too, I’ll make you a deal, I’ll scope out all the best spots then we can come back together! Oh, we could go to Cali too, show off some of those salsa moves I taught you.”

Frankie chuckled leaning back against the couch in their cozy cabin living room. “That sounds perfect. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Say, how do you feel about revisiting the phone sex thing? Could be hot and I’m all alone in this big empty hotel room.”

“Mhmm, did you realize you didn’t pack a vibrator?”

“What?” She shot up then rifled through her bag. When she realized she had in fact forgotten to pack one she said. “Wait how did you know?’

Frankie might have been shy admitting this at some point in their relationship, but now, he’d been looking forward too it. Especially since he’d concocted his scheme as soon as he’d realized she forgot to pack one. “I got curios last night, I wanted to see what what toy you packed, then I realized there were none missing”

“And you just have categorical knowledge every single one of my sex toys?” Esie smirked, “What am I saying of course you do. Freak.”

“Now, you’re stuck all alone in a hotel room with no toys.” He said with mock sympathy.

“I am…fuck… so… what are you wearing?”

“No, no I think I have a better idea…”

“Oh?” Esie said intrigued.

“I think we should play a game this week, while you’re away.”

“I’m listening.” Just as much as she loved the physical aspect, Frankie also knew she loved the mental aspect to sex.

“You have to play by my rules. And you can only cum when I say.”

“Oh, well … that does sound like it could be hot.” If poorly enforceable. But they both knew that wasn’t the point.

“Do we have a deal?” Frankie said trying to hide his excitement.

“Deal.”

“I want you to touch yourself, slow circles on your clit, for now.”

“Okay.” She said ridding herself of her clothing and sliding a little lower into bed.

“How does that feel?” She wondered how he did that, made his voice both soothing and sexy all at once.

“Good Frankie, I miss your cock, I want it inside me.” She said always the impatient one.

“Yeah, Trouble, I do too. Move quicker now,” He commanded.

He told her the things he’d like to do to her is he was there with her. He was surprisingly creative. “Okay, I’m getting closer. Are you going to cum with me?” Esie moaned in her sultriest voice, trying to drive him crazy too, she was certain by now he was stroking himself along with her.

“No,” She could hear the smile in his voice, that should have been her first warning. “I think I’m going make you wait, for now, for your orgasm.”

“Mmm, till when?” She thought maybe he would want to come first for once, she didn’t mind, she liked hearing him fall apart.

“Until you come back, and I can do it for you. It’ll give you nice incentive to come back soon.”

She sat straight up. “What?!”

“You heard me.”

“That’s bullshit!”

“Well, a deal’s a deal. Anyway, I should go, I’ve got a hand and some of these sex toys look like they could be fun…”

“Fuck you!”

“I love you too, baby.” He teased.

“You’re such an asshole. I’m both annoyed and impressed.” She said with a laugh in disbelief. She knew she could disregard their ‘deal’ but, well, she was too intrigued by the idea. And a little surprised her sweet Frankie had come up with something so creatively diabolical. “I love you, but you’ll pay for this.” Frankie was still laughing as she hung up. Had she created a devious sex monster? If so, that wasn’t a bad thing by her estimation

Esie stayed true to their deal, but that didn’t mean she didn’t pout about it to him at each check in call. The first time she didn’t was also the first time she didn’t was also the first time she didn’t call on time, but she figured that still counted because she was calling early. Just so they wouldn’t worry.

“Hey honey, I know I’m calling a little early for check in, spread the word to the other warden, I imagine you two are still out working the ranch together, adorable. Anyway, I’m headed to Florencia, I have a lead. I’m going to extend the trip a tiny bit… I’m sorry. But I have an old contact who found something interesting about my father’s case. Anyway, I’m grabbing a flight to Florencia now, so I won’t be able to call you right on time. And yes, before you ask, I gave Santiago the details of my rental place. You’ll be happy to know he’s only an hour away from there. So it should be even safer than Bogotá. And yes, I’ll text you once I get to my rental place, so you don’t worry all night too. Love you, give Lilly a kiss for me!”

Esie, landed, took a rental car to her place. Met the host who let her in. She sent both Frankie and Javier a text message saying she’d arrived. Then she headed to a little cantina to grab some food for the fridge. She picked up a bouquet of flowers, lilies to remind her of her mother and little Lilly while she worked. She would meet her source the following afternoon. Apparently, he had some interesting information about the robbery of Lorea’s compound. But he wasn’t willing to share it over the phone. Esie didn’t mind, she liked that she got to see another part of the country. Florencia wasn’t as flashy as the capital city, which had its grand colonial architecture and was very much a modern bustling metropolis.

Florencia by contrast, was settled for the rubber trade in the early 1900s. It was nestled in the amazon region of Columbia. It sat along the Hacha River, with a population of less than 200,000 people. The last vestige of civilization before the unfathomable expanse of the untamed amazon rainforest and the Andes it nestled up against. It was remote, not set up for tourists like Bogotá, which was a plus by Esie’s estimation. The streets were surprisingly flat given the evaluation of the region. The most ornate build predicably was a grand Neo Colonial style church. The other attraction, the one that interested Esie a little more, was the El Encanto Petroglyphs, they were just a kilometre down the river, and Esie had every intention of setting eyes on those too. She wondered if that was something Frankie would like to do, she thought, if was possible for him to be there with her. He’d probably be a big old nerd about it too. She liked that, idea. Though they’d probably have to wait until Lilly was a bit older for that kind of vacation.

She sighed and adjusted the bag of groceries as she rounded the narrow street corner to her little place for the next few days. It had been a long day, the kind of day, she thought ruefully, that would have Frankie hovering around her a little nervously. Trying not to ask how she was feeling, and not so subtly suggesting that she relax while he made dinner. She missed him already. That crazy odd, sweet man. She was almost at her rental door when she started to feel it, that awful woozy lightheaded feeling. Not dissimilar to how she felt that day on the cabin porch. As if reality was quickly slipping through her grasp. Then, darkness.

Next Chapter

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