Chapter Eight
By the time they had reached their first destination, Alana was exhausted. They’d been on the bus for almost 8 hours and she’d been unable to sleep the entire time. She wasn’t used to the constant motion of riding on a bus and trying to sleep. She had changed into her pajamas earlier, hoping that it would make her more comfortable and she’d be able to fall asleep easily, but it hadn’t helped.
When JC noticed she wasn’t coming to the front of the bus, he frowned and headed into the bunk area, throwing the curtain open to her bunk. She was curled up on her side, headphones covering her ears but he knew she wasn’t asleep. Not wishing to startle her and get kicked in the face as a result, he reached out and touched her arm tentatively.
Alana turned, her eyes wide but she relaxed slightly when she saw who it was. “What?”
“Time to get off the bus. Let’s go.”
“Oh no! I didn’t realize we were here already. I’ve got to change!”
“Why?”
“I’m wearing my pajamas!”
“And? You’ll be fine. There’s no time to change. Come on,” he told her. He held out his hand to help her down from the top bunk instinctively, though it was obvious she didn’t need it. She ignored his hand and hopped down before she looked up at him.
“Are you sure this appropriate?”
“It’s fine. We go in dressed in our pajamas sometimes. It’s okay. Besides, it’s not like you’re going to prance inside in just your bra and panties.” He could, however, see that she still wasn’t convinced, so he grabbed a discarded hoodie from his bunk and handed it to her. “It won’t make much of a different but at least it’ll look a little more appropriate than your tank top,” he told her.
Though she didn’t particularly want to wear his hoodie, she wasn’t really looking forward to going inside in her pink cotton pajama pants and her white tank top so she slid the hoodie on and immediately inhaled his scent.
“Are you ready now?”
“Uh yeah… I… let’s go,” she said quietly. He reached for her hand and at first, her face flushed slightly until she realized that it was perfectly normal, considering the circumstances they were in. She hoped that her hand didn’t feel too sweaty in his. After all of the training she’d been through in the academy, one would have thought they’d have prepared her for this!
~*~
While the guards got everyone checked in, the boys and Alana headed over to the small waiting area and took a seat. Due to the fact that she was so tired and they were playing boyfriend and girlfriend anyway, she figured she might as well take advantage of the situation and she dropped her head to his shoulder, milking it for all it was worth.
“Are you uhh… comfortable there, baby?” He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he dropped his arm around her shoulder.
“Absolutely sweetie,” she fired back. “Although you could stand to gain a couple of pounds. Your shoulder is too bony.”
“Well I’m so sorry to inconvenience you, honey.”
“It’s not a problem darling,” she smirked as she lifted her head up to look over at him. Although the words exchanged weren’t exactly of the sweetest nature, she was pretty sure that she caught a mischievous look in his eye, meaning he wasn’t as upset about it as she thought he would be.
“Alright love birds!” The sound of the deep voice caused Alana’s head to snap up as she glanced over at Tony before she rolled her eyes. “Let’s get you guys up to your rooms.”
Although the case was Alana’s, Tony was staying on for moral support until she got settled and was confident in what she was doing. Until it was time for him to leave, however, he was staying on as an extra guard for the boys. He’d taken right up with the other guards and was fitting in nicely.
Alana and JC trudged along behind the guards as they got the other guys settled into their rooms. They headed to the end of the hallway and Tony stopped before turning. “Well… here we are,” he announced as he slid the keycard into the door.
“Who’s room? Mine or his?” Alana asked.
“Both.”
“WHAT?” The two had spoken simultaneously, unable to believe that this was true. “You’ve got to be KIDDING me!”
Tony shook his head. “’Fraid not. You’re playing the part of boyfriend and girlfriend. We couldn’t very well get you two separate rooms, could we?” He asked. Alana’s jaw dropped as she looked over at JC. She had never agreed to share a room with this man! Frankly, if she had to, she was afraid she’d be arrested for murder in the first!
JC was sharing her sentiments. He couldn’t believe that his guards would do this to him. They knew how he was about his space and he didn’t like one bit that he had to share a room with a practical stranger!
The two of them were ushered into the room by Tony who stepped in as well. He looked around in the room and whistled. “This sure is a big room.”
“Not big enough,” JC mumbled angrily.
“Tony, you don’t like life very much, do you?” Alana asked as she glared at him. She watched as he walked over to the far end of the room and pulled a door open.
“Wow! Come check this out!” He exclaimed, a little overly excited. Alana rolled her eyes and stomped over to him, snatching the door open rather violently, her jaw dropped when she saw… an extra bedroom?
“What the hell Tony?”
He couldn’t help but laugh at the look of relief on her and JC’s faces. “You didn’t really think we’d shove you two in here together, did you? Jesus Alana. You’re here to protect his life, not take it!”
Alana rolled her eyes once more and located her bag near the entrance to JC’s room. She walked over and snatched it up before she turned to her charge. “Get some sleep, alright? I’ll leave this door unlocked and if anyone, and I mean ANYONE calls that you’re unsure of, please come and get me,” she said.
Though he would have loved to offer some smart comment in response to her request, he found himself staring into her blues eyes and was suddenly speechless. It was several moments before he found his voice, and by the time he did, she was already on her way through the door, bickering with Tony.
Maybe this wouldn’t be so horrible after all.
~*~
He was an insomniac. Well, he probably wasn’t a real insomniac and he certainly hadn’t been diagnosed as such, but unless he was absolutely exhausted, sleep was impossible. Which is why at 2:30 in the morning, he still wasn’t asleep.
The glow from the computer lit his face as his finger clicked the mouse once more. He was a Solitaire master. If there had been a tournament, he would have been the champion several times over by now. Not something he’d ever admit in front of an audience, or on the radio.
Just as he went to make his next move, the tell tale sound of a new email arriving hit his ears and his eyes immediately scanned to the popup message. His heart starting beating painfully in his chest as he snapped his head over to the doorway that separated him from Alana. Should he wake her?
She had told him if he had received any more phone calls that he should wake her immediately, but what about an email? He bit his lip and pondered if for only a moment before he pushed himself to his feet. That’s what they were paying them for after all, right? It was only right that he woke her. She wouldn’t be mad… would she?
As promised, the feisty agent had left her door unlocked, so he pushed it open slowly, peeking in. The room, as he’d suspected, was dark. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the pitch black room before he scanned the bed. He frowned, not seeing her, though upon closer inspection, he found an Alana-shaped lump curled up in the center of the bed, under the covers.
He started to step further into the room before he hesitated slightly. Was he going to get his ass kicked for waking her? Probably not. But was he really willing to take the chance?
He glanced back at the laptop, still sitting open at the desk in his room. Whoever was sending these emails was obviously getting some sick thrill from them. It wasn’t fair. Something had to be done. That’s what Alana was there for. So of course he was justified in waking her.
He shook his head and stepped further into the room, walking over to the bed. He wondered if she was a light sleeper or if he’d have to do everything short of pulling the mattress off the bed to wake her. He leaned over and pulled the covers back slightly to see her face before he shook her gently, calling her name.
“Alana?” No response. He cleared his throat and raised his voice slightly. “Alana?” He stood back in case her foot went flying into his face as she stretched out on the bed, groaning slightly.
“JC? Is something wrong?” She asked, her voice heavy with sleep.
“I just got an email.”
He had thought it would take forever to get her out of bed, but he was wrong. In no time at all, she was out of the bed, reaching for her glasses beside her bed. He had no idea she wore glasses!
The tiny agent made her way from her room to his before she turned to look at him. “May I?” She asked, gesturing towards the computer. She waited for his approval before she took the seat at the desk and clicked on the email to open it.
JC stood back, letting her do all the work. He noticed that she was still wearing his hoodie. Even though he was as thin as a rail, the girl could practically swim in his shirt. Her chestnut brown hair was a mess, with little strands sticking up thanks to the wonders of static electricity. A little tiny patch of skin between the waist band of her pajamas and his hoodie was visible and for just a split second, he wondered how her skin felt. He was sure it was smooth and silky, though he knew she’d probably break his hand if he ever dared touch. He quickly snapped himself out of his thoughts. If she could read minds, she probably would have crushed his larynx or something.
It was her voice that made him tear his gaze away from that visible part of her back. Actually, it was her voice that had startled him into thinking that she COULD read minds and that she WAS going to crush his larynx, which in turn, caused him to look away.
“What?” Could he have SOUNDED any more like a dope?
“I said come here,” she repeated, slightly more irritated. He had woken her up in the middle of the night, and then he had enough nerve to go off into la-la land while she looked into this whole email mess! Not wishing to piss off the FBI lady who probably had access to a gun in just a matter of seconds, he quickly stepped up beside her before he knelt down beside her.
Because of the fact that he waited until she was in the room, he hadn’t glanced at the email, so this was his first time reading it. His eyes widened as he read over the words thoroughly, his heart racing even more than it had. His mouth felt so dry, it was like someone had stuffed it with cotton.
“So,” he started, his voice cracking only slightly. “Looks like I really pissed someone off, huh?”
Alana turned her gaze to the man beside her, and even in the dim glow of the laptop light, she could see how pale his face had grown in a matter of seconds. Her heart went out to him.
“It looks that way, yes,” she said quietly, reaching over to drop a hand onto his shoulder comfortingly. “It also looks like we need to find them… before they find you.”
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