June Bug
Author: Daniela
Fandom: The Closer
Pairing: Brenda/Flynn
Rating: NC17
Category: Angst, Romance, Humor, Smut, AU
Series/Sequel: No
Summary: An unexpected event triggers an avalanche.
Disclaimer: Love is not about ownership.
Warning: Adult Fanfiction, Agent Fritz Howard doesn't exist in my world.
Feedback: ...is most welcome. Thank you.
Email: daniforblue@yahoo.de
Released: November 2008
Revised: September 2024
Beta: Amber
Word Count: 5705
"Flynn." No answer. Ridiculously annoyed by his silence, she kicked him against the shin.
"Ouch! What, Chief?"
"Talk to me."
"About what?"
"About... anything. This darkness makes me uncomfortable." Oh sure, it's the darkness. Tell yourself that a million times and you might believe it. He might believe it.
"I'm right here," he grumbled, stretching his leg.
"I know," she snapped. I feel more of you than I ever wanted.
"We shouldn't have come here."
"You think, Lieutenant?"
"I just said so."
Ooohhh! She wanted to kick him again. "Will they find us?"
"I told Gabriel where we were headed."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"You better be." Her arms hurt. She shifted slightly to make it better.
"Stop it."
"What?"
"Stop moving around. These knots are too tight. It won't help..."
"I know, but I'm hurting. It seems like hours since we've been here."
"Well, one thing's for sure, this is as awkward for me as it is for you."
Oh, really? He didn't sound annoyed or angry though, but strained as if he was in pain, too. Her body was hot due their closeness, despite the fact they were locked up in an icy-cold room. Is that a gun in your pocket or are you happy to feel me? she was tempted to say. Oh, come on... you know it's no gun. The dumbass who had put them here had taken their guns away. The pressure against her right thigh was simply... simply...
"Sorry, Chief."
"It's... it's fine."
"It...is?" he said, sounding bewildered.
"Of course it's not," she snapped. "But fact is, we're as close as..."
"..."
"...we're too close. There is nothing I can do to prevent this. Neither can you."
"Got it."
"I'm just... confused. I always thought you hated me..."
"Uh... I'm still a guy," he breathed against her ear.
I figured that, she inferred, disgruntled.
As if he had sensed her feelings, he pulled back. Well, as much as he could. The tight bonds forced him to stay close. "And you are wrong. I don't hate you. Once... I did... at the beginning... thinking of you as the bitch."
There. The pressure against her leg increased. Oh hell. She swallowed.
"But then you saved my ass... and not just once..." He shifted. "Also, you're the one who hates my guts."
She felt more than surprise now. "I don't." She felt his arousal moving along her leg and pressing into her crotch. "Not anymore." Her face burnt as fierce as her body. For heaven's sake. We must get out of here.
"Also... at the beginning... you only liked Gabriel."
"So?" A mess of sensations stunned her.
"Well, you favored Gabriel, and to keep up, I tried to annoy you in any way possible..."
"Flynn, that's..." Oh my. Feeling his breath caressing her neck, his hard-on pressing against her flesh was too much. Having him this close was too much. The one man she always had kept at a distance. The one annoyingly attractive man. Hey! Stop thinking that! Never think that!
"...immature? Yeah, well. I was never famous for my common sense. Emotional, that's me, right?"
"How did you work that out?" she razzed him.
"You told me," he dismissed the tease.
A strange sweetness swept over her. She shuddered and bit her lip.
"Are you cold?"
"Yeah, sure," she lied to keep her face.
"Uh...huh."
She knew, he knew, she was lying. So, it wasn't such a surprise as she felt his lips gliding over the rim of her ear. "Don't."
"Sorry."
Oh shoot. He wasn't sorry. He didn't go further, but he didn't pull back either. The crazy situation was getting out of hand, because now he smoothed his body to hers. He was careful but still she couldn't miss it. His lips brushed over her cheek... searching... wanting... and she couldn't think straight anymore, nor could she order him to stop. She didn't know why. She just let him be. There. His sassy lips found hers. No pressure though. Just nibbling at her softness. No more. No less. Say something. Make him stop. One word would be enough. He's not the kind of guy who would... Well. She opened her lips and let him nibble. So gently she was inflamed to the core of her body, aching with longing, drifting to him... No. This is wrong... don't let him...
Sudden noises from outside interrupted the tight and steamy stillness. Hurried steps. Agitated voices. A second later someone was banging at the door. "Chief, are you in there?" Oh! I can't believe it! Located by my favorite.
Flynn startled back from her. "We're here!" His voice was quivering.
She exhaled and braced herself. The door crashed open. Light flooded into the room. Now, now. Look at Flynn's face. The confusion and pain were remarkable. "Get us out of here!" she ordered, only now licking Flynn's saliva off her lips. How dare him to taste this good!
Sanchez ran into the room, his gun pulled, and stopped in his tracks, laughing.
"Stop that, Detective!" she yelled into Gabriel's face who was hovering over her and Flynn.
Yet her much-tested sergeant not only didn't flinch but also cut the bonds neatly.
"Easy!" Flynn snapped anyway.
"Sorry, Chief." Sanchez put his gun into the holster. "But you two look like one cozy package."
Gabriel helped Brenda to her feet. "Are you alright?"
"Well, it was just being held against our will," Brenda said, shaking her arms and legs.
"That's always a drag, huh?" Gabriel deadpanned.
Flynn struggled to his feet. "Not always."
Brenda glared at him. She expected a smirk in return, or even a satisfied, arrogant grin. She didn't get any of it. Slightly bent over, Flynn looked the other way, brushing the dirt off his suit.
Okay. Whatever. Brenda rubbed her sore wrists. It was over. They had made it through this without embarrassing themselves more than necessary. Oh, yeah? Are you sure? You're talking about Flynn.
Right then he looked at her with shiny eyes lingering longer as appropriate on her face, breasts, and legs. Chief, you have really great legs. He said no such thing now though only whirled around suddenly and walked outside.
Brenda frowned. Oh shoot! She followed him outside, finding him standing next to one of the police cars. "Lieutenant Flynn, are you okay?"
"Are you?" he muttered, rubbing his chin.
"I'm fine."
"Really?"
"Sure. Why shouldn't I be?"
He shrugged. "Just... we..."
"It's done. Over. Understood?"
"So we won't talk about what happened?"
"I don't think so. No."
"I just thought..."
"I said no."
"But Chief... Brenda..."
What the hell? Let it go! "Go home, Lieutenant. Take a couple of days to recover."
"But Chief!"
"Right now!" She turned around and walked back to Gabriel and Sanchez. Sanchez smirked. Gabriel looked damn curious. Brenda grimaced. This was supposed to be a routine day. And now there is a hilarious office story to be retold repeatedly. Oh shoot!
*****
Two days later Flynn was back on duty. He was glad to be back. Work was good to keep his mind busy. Jesus Louise! His mind and his body. He needed every distraction available. He had an itch he wanted to have scratched, an itch he couldn't make go away until she... well, no surprise there. Brenda Leigh Johnson was more than one man could chew. Oh yeah. A slice of yearning ran through him. So what? He shrugged. Yearning was for sure better than feeling nothing, yearning for her was better than the longing for a drink. Yeah! Okay. Yet he hurt and just wanted her to scratch... scratch hard... He stopped in his tracks. Gabriel and Sanchez were running past him. "Hey! What's going on?"
Brenda followed them seconds later. "An actress was killed in a beauty shop."
"I'll come with you, Chief."
"No, you won't, Lieutenant."
"Why not?"
"Just... because."
"But Chief..."
"You stay here and get updated by Lieutenant Provenza." She scurried after Gabriel and Sanchez.
Gabriel. Why am I not surprised? He rolled his eyes and walked over to Provenza.
His longtime buddy chuckled. "Isn't that the man who was closer to the Closer than anyone else?"
"Anything else I need to know?" he countered the effrontery.
"Nah, whereas I wanna know every detail."
"Tell me when you have anything to say that matters," he brushed him off once more. He walked to his desk and dropped into his chair, sensing Provenza's hurt surprise. Well. Usually, they told each other everything. Yeah, but this wasn't the usual stuff. This was a natural disaster. I should have stayed home forever. I should ask for a transfer. The only way to avoid her indefinitely.
*****
Brenda came back an hour later. Gabriel and Sanchez weren't with her. She went on to her office and made a call.
Flynn watched her while he played with his pen. She hung up and met his gaze. There! She glared at him. He snorted and dropped his eyes. Scribbled something futile on a paper. She called Provenza to her office. He returned to watching her. She talked to Provenza for a long time. Are they talking about me? Is Provenza telling her stuff only he knows? He crushed the tip of his pen. Jeez! Give it a rest!
Finally, Provenza left her office and walked back to his desk. He hummed.
All right! Flynn clenched his jaw. Cut the bullshit!
Brenda rushed out of her office and over to him. "Lieutenant Flynn, with me, with me, with me."
What! He blinked at her.
She rushed back into her office.
He got up and stumbled after her. He closed the door. Trying to keep calm. Not thinking the unthinkable. Not making another mistake.
She pulled the blinds to guard them from any curious looks. "What were you doing?"
"When?"
"Just now."
"My work."
"Really? Lt. Provenza told me you refused to work with him."
"Provenza is the one who didn't wanna do any work. The only thing he was eager to find out are the details about you and me wrapped up in that cellar room."
"Lieutenant Flynn!"
"What are you yelling at me for? I didn't tell him... anything. I kept my mouth shut."
"There is nothing to tell."
"Isn't there? What about me and you... getting it on..." He couldn't miss the tight dress she wore, the shimmer of her hair and the fierce light in her eyes. He couldn't stop thinking about the feeling of her body stuck to him, the thrilling scent of her...
"Knock it off!"
He shrugged and stared at her glittering lips. Scarlet red. Begging to be kissed.
She handed him a paper. "There are plenty of cell numbers we have to verify."
"Yeah, right!" He touched her hand while taking the paper.
She flinched back. "Get started."
"Sure, Chief." He remembered the disarming softness of her lips. Giving him permission to do whatever he wanted. Why did it have to be right that second for Gabriel to save her? He certainly didn't come to save me. I hadn't wanted to be saved. He smirked and threw the paper on his desk.
Immediately, Provenza strolled by. "There's something going on. I'm telling you. Something."
"So? And who's going to ask her about it?"
"You."
"Why me?" As if I didn't see that coming.
"Aren't you the one who had a tête-á-tête in the cellar with her?"
"Let it go. I won't talk about it."
"Meaning something is going on," Provenza figured, smiling.
"Leave me alone," he growled. "I have work to do."
"So eager to get to work? Something's definitely going on." He strolled away, humming.
Flynn glared at his friend's back. Damn. I wish I could brag about something going on. But nothing happened. We didn't even kiss properly. Almost doesn't count. That's the tragedy.
*****
The team assembled for a meeting to share the results of the current investigation. Gabriel was going first.
College boy. If looks could kill..., Flynn sulked, lost in more pleasant fantasies.
"Flynn!" Brenda flew into his face.
"What?" He reveled on her twitching lips and intoxicating spirit. Jesus Louise! I got it bad.
"Go on."
"So I can talk again?"
Miss Atlanta snorted. "Please! If it isn't too much trouble."
"Well, then..." He gave a listless summary about his results on the cell numbers.
Sanchez and Provenza shared a grin.
Brenda frowned. Yet she didn't complain about his lack of zeal.
He finished and walked to his desk. There! Happy now? I know, I'm not.
*****
We can't go on like this. I need to make this tension go away. After the team was about to leave for home, she tried to talk to Flynn alone, though Will engaged her in a discussion, and Flynn escaped unseen. Shoot! She needed to do this. So, she drove to his home. Simply to keep their successful teamwork up and running. Oh, well! That was what she kept telling herself, dismissing the flustering dreams she had at night.
"Chief! What...? Did something happen?"
"Can I come in?"
"Sure." He led her into the living room.
Brenda forbade herself to check his way of living and came right to the point. "There's something I have to tell you. Something I should have told you right after we were locked up in that cellar."
"Suddenly you wanna talk?" he replied, sounding bitter.
"Well, I didn't thank you for being so respectful. You behaved... decent."
"Decent?" he spat at her, grimacing.
"What's wrong with that?" she snapped back. This man was a pain in the ass. "I want to tell you how grateful..."
"I didn't behave decent. Nothing happened because I couldn't do anything. My hands were bound. I couldn't take my chances."
He presented that arrogant smile now, the one she had missed for days. Missed? Am I nuts? "Chances?" she barked, exasperated. "What chances? You have none whatsoever." Damn it! She had been naive to think that their intimate closeness in the cellar wouldn't have any consequences. Naive to trust this man of all guys. Stupid even.
"Really?" he rasped. "Okay. Fine. Hang on!"
She couldn't even blink before she found herself in his embrace, smelling his rich aftershave. "Flynn!"
He pulled her head back and kissed her. Kissed her like he had every right to. Kissed her as sweetly and intensely as unexpectedly. The kiss was the consequence to their foreplay in the cellar. An inevitable consequence chasing them down.
Oh shoot! At that she wasn't appalled or disgusted by his attack. She liked the way he tasted. The way he smelled. The way he kissed every sense out of her. Anyway. She grabbed his shoulders to push him away - and failed. Yeah. She even pulled him closer. At once his furious kiss deepened and the unexpected and sudden intimacy made her legs shake. She swaggered. Oh! He tightened his grip around her waist and swept her onto his arms. His lips didn't lose touch with hers while he carried her through the room. Her head was spinning. She knew she had to fight him off. Now or never, before it was too late. But as she found herself on a cozy sofa, with the Lieutenant on top of her, she figured it was already too late. Why did I come here anyway? How could I be so stupid? I should have known better...
He broke the kiss. His brown eyes were meeting her gaze. Shining like a dark and starlit night. He didn't say anything. He didn't smirk. He wasn't the man she thought she knew. He gave her an insecure and boyish look.
How can a man of his age look so young and...? She cleared her throat. She had to say the right thing. Though she felt the need to lick her trembling lips first. That was enough to make him grunt and kiss her again. She struggled only a bit and then his tongue entered her mouth and caressed the insides so gently it was unbearable. A moan climbed up her throat and was muffled by his mouth. Oh my. She kissed him back, feeling her skirt sliding upwards and her legs going all tingly. Chief, you have really great legs. She spread on impulse.
He groaned and pulled her closer. "I want you... I've wanted you for so long..." The sound of his voice was even more surprising than his look. Broken and husky. "...since the day you came to save me..."
She buried her hands in his short, grey hair, rubbing her body against him. She even whispered his name. It sounded strange to her ears. Soft yet spicy. He bent her head back, was kissing slowly along the line of her neck, whispering naughty things into her ear, leaving her needy for more - more of him and this exciting madness. His ragged breathing turned into begging, her name into an enchantment. In no time, he stripped her naked, leaving her at his mercy. She feared he would gloat in victory anytime now, but he didn't. He caressed her breasts with a feverish tenderness, teased and insisted, beautifully arousing, but leaving her unsatisfied anyhow. She wanted more. She needed more. "Come on," she whispered, rubbing against his hardness. "Get on with it."
"Whatever you say." He pinched her nipples. Slowly yet rough. Oh yeah! His way of taking control made her defenseless, his sensitivity made her mind shut down, and she yanked his clothes off. He growled with pleasure, pressing his keen body against hers, caressing her skin, licking, kissing, sucking at every inch he got hold of. She constantly urged him on, dripping wet. Needy. Covetous.
He stopped and pinned her against the sofa. "Do you want me to go on?" he choked out, nuzzling his cock against her left thigh.
That's it. Tell him to stop. That he is way out of line. Though the sweetest thrilling captured her under his gaze, and she nodded, arching into him.
He didn't hesitate but entered her with a grunt, gliding in easily.
She wrapped her legs around him, making him stay inside. "Slowly."
"Sure," he groaned, settling in her tightness, making her trust him. She smoothed against him, taking his cock and his lips, savoring the overwhelming intimacy she had missed for too long and not hoped to receive here and now and with him least of all. He kissed back erratically and started moving. Oh shoot! Fired up already she met with his rhythm, feeling like flowing silk in a volatile flurry. Open and ready for anything. Whatever he wanted to do.
Before long both of them moaned in bliss, their hands touching and titillating everywhere, their bodies slamming against each other, the friction sweet and brisk and gratifying. Yet Brenda's climax hit her unexpected, and the spike of heat shaking her body was strong enough to make her scream. He joined her delight shortly after, spilling himself with sharp thrusts and indistinct but pleased sounds. For now, it was good, and they rested, glued together in the lapping afterglow, while he remained inside of her. Well. Coming back down to earth she was considering her actions and as soon as she felt him sliding out, she tried to get up and away from him. In vain. He grabbed her by the arms and hugged her from behind, and nuzzling his body against her, he let her feel his unsated hunger.
"No, Flynn," she objected without force, while delight and yearning raced through her like a frenetic wildfire.
"Shut up," he whispered, turning the insult into an endearment by cupping her breasts and kissing her neck.
His caresses made every nerve in her body sing, and she eased back into his embrace. Oh shoot.
He sighed and slipped once again into her warmth, moving slowly.
Impossible man! She hated him for making her feel this horny and vulnerable, for making her feel for him, making her want more of him. Everything that was Flynn. Right. Here we go again. And she did nothing to stop him. In fair time his rhythm increased to a powerful thrusting, seducing her to put her hands on his to glory in the hot and rough nature of his skin. Men's hands. Arrogant and confident. Keeping her in check.
"Do you like this? Do you like this, Chief?" In long strides he fucked her, his balls smacking against her ass. His boss. The woman who made the rules. Not now though. Not here.
She shuddered to the core. Cried out. Twice. Sucked his cock in.
"Yeah, babe." He pounded her harder. "Come on. Let go. Come again."
Having him this deep inside was heaven and hell at the same time. Having him this close was punishment. The sweetest sort of punishment. Yet permitting him to control her was amazingly satisfying. Bad Flynn. Good Flynn. Annoyingly hot and naughty Flynn. The man she had never wanted to fuck her. Having his way with her. And yet she was feeling nothing but shameless glee that the stubborn troublemaker served the once by him despised 'Miss Atlanta' like this. Devoted to her needs. Uh... Oh... fuck! She clenched around his slick hardness and came again. Gratifying hard and yet as sweet as the taste of chocolate as she was floating on clouds of bliss comforted by his burning hot embrace. Then her eyes became wet while she felt his seed filling her womb once more. We haven't... Oh God! With her climax fading she crumbled to a boneless heap, musing about bad choices, and how to fix them. Not right now, though, when he pulled out of her and covered them both with a blanket. Behaving nice and tender. Not like Flynn at all.
Shoot! She should push him off anyway and just make a run for it. Yet she couldn't move. She let him comfort her wallowing in the second afterglow squeezing her eyes shut. Yeah, well... turning a blind eye wasn't working. The epiphany of what she had done hit her like a blow and made her cringe with regret and a sense of disgrace. She struggled out of his arms. Get out of here. Get away from his endearing hotness. He kept still while she got dressed in a rush, proud that her hands didn't tremble. Half done, she dared to give him a glance to show this unfortunate incident meant nothing to her.
Oh my! Messed-up hair. Rosy cheeks. Clueless expression.
She shook her head. He is not. He is one of my best Lieutenants. One 'pain in the ass' Lieutenant. What have I done, for heaven's sake?
Right. His expression changed. Turned possessive. And then he moved.
No. Not again. She fled out of the room, shoes in one hand. She ran like a headless chicken. Oh shoot!
*****
For days Brenda avoided Flynn like he was the plague. She buried him in paperwork. She loaned him to Captain Taylor. She didn't dare to be alone with him for a second. She held on to Gabriel like he was her guardian angel. She denied what had happened. She even denied he existed. He was the invisible man. Though by night she dreamed of him fucking her. Over and over again. That made her even more desperate to cut him out of her life.
Well. Flynn took the hint and disappeared out of her sight. She thought she had made it through this mess without having to confront the issue of them. She hoped he saw reason after all. She was wrong. Coming home in the dead of night one month after going nuts she found him waiting at her doorstep. "How dare you to come here!"
"Yeah, right!"
"Go home."
"You've been to my place, too."
"We have nothing to discuss, Lieutenant Flynn."
"Lieutenant, huh?" He smirked. "I thought we were way beyond that - Chief."
"What's done is done. Now - leave." She unlocked her door and flitted into her house, trying to get the drop on him.
In vain though. He sneaked in with her and slammed the door shut. "Hell no! I'm done pretending that nothing happened. I'm done being ignored."
"I didn't..."
"Yeah, you did. It's like at the beginning. It's like we've started getting to know each other all over again. I don't like it." He paced through the room and suddenly grabbed her without a warning. "Here or in your bedroom?"
"Nowhere!" she snapped. Oh shoot! Now what?
"Right," he agreed, and kissed her impetuously.
Oh! The nerve of him! And what about me, huh? How easily her anger melted away under his touch. How quickly she was kissing him back. Just like that their tongues were sweeping together like they had never been apart. Before there was time to think straight, they were falling into her comfortable bed making love for hours. On and off Brenda tried to come back to her senses, scolding him, making him understand how bad this was. Without any effect. So, she joined in his lewdness, until the early morning embraced them at last to take needed rest.
*****
The phone rang. She jerked awake and fumbled for it. It was Gabriel. My favorite, right? She listened. "Yes, I understand," she replied on instinct because her brain was pretty jumbled. "Yes... okay. No. No problem. I believe I know the place." She hung up.
"Where do we have to go?" He was awake. Already pulling her closer.
Madness. "Don't. We have to go. He's expecting me."
"As far as Gabriel knows about your sense of direction it will take you some time to get there." He caressed the line of her back and went further down.
"That's not the point." She slapped his hand away and jumped out of bed.
He sighed. "Okay. Let's go to work. Let's behave." He threw the blanket off and showed himself imprudently.
She fled to the bathroom. Well. In the mirror she was watching him coming after her. Shoot! A snowball's chance in hell to shun him. This was Andy Flynn. Brazen to the core.
Right. He grabbed her from behind passing his hunger over to her.
"Stop it."
"Why? I can feel you want me."
"That's not..." His arousal pushing against her back made her ridiculously horny. She didn't like he was having so much power over her. She didn't like she was not in control. Oh no. You like it. You need it.
A few gentle quick motions and he was inside. He was fucking her gently though, giving her time to get as ready as he was.
"I knew you were trouble. I always knew," she whispered, gripping the sink. Her nipples turned thrillingly hard.
He smirked against her ear. "I knew you knew." He quickened his pace, locking her between his hips and the sink. "That's why you tried to get rid of me, didn't you?"
She met his heated gaze in the mirror. "No. It was you who tried to get ridden off."
He laughed and drove into her. "Maybe because you made me feel spurred on. You hit my spot right away."
"No," she panted. "You hit mine." She was watching them getting off in the mirror. That image of lust and desire and... love? No. God no. No way. There. She clenched already around his hardness and came in impetuous waves.
"My pleasure!" He grabbed her tighter, drove into her to the hilt. "Ah... babe..." He went rigid and spurted into her depths.
With glistening lips and blazing eyes, she rested against the sink. "Will you leave me alone for a second now? I need to get ready."
He slid out of her. "Sure, Brenda."
She sighed. The image of her naked body mocked her. She was glowing. How could she look so satisfied - so content. "Damn." She jumped into the shower and almost slipped. Just grabbed the slide bar in time. Oh. Cut it out! Focus!
As soon as she was out of the shower Flynn went into the bathroom to take a shower himself.
She heard him whistle and rolled her eyes. For heaven's sake. Don't push it.
Their silence lasted until they sat in the car.
"Are you okay, Chief?"
"Sure - Lieutenant."
He grabbed the wheel tighter, his knuckles turned white.
"I'm fine. Last night was..." Yeah? What? Great? Satisfying? Unexpected? Perfect even?
A muscle in his cheek twitched though he didn't urge her to continue.
Not like Flynn at all. She felt vulnerable but also sorry. She touched his arm. "Nothing like I had expected it to be."
He smiled and relaxed. "Good." The mood changed. The silence turned peaceful. Surprisingly, that truce lasted for hours, and it wasn't even their fault that it was broken.
*****
An ordinary stakeout. A simple routine task. Two shots. A cry. Not in pain but anger. Brenda knew at once who it was. "Man down! Call an ambulance!" she ordered Buzz before sprinting out of the van. She reached the scene seconds later, confronted with a tangle of bodies and blood, so much blood, spreading over the ground. "Flynn!"
He didn't respond. His eyes were closed, his face a sickish white, the usual cocky lips a pasty line.
Gabriel kneeled at his side, pressing his valued jacket against the bleeding on the thigh. "The main artery. He's already lost a lot of blood."
Brenda dropped down. She touched Flynn's face. His eyelids fluttered but didn't open. "Help is on the way," she murmured, "you're gonna make it. You hear me?"
"Hey," he rasped. "Don't get excited. I'm just a June bug in July..."
"Don't say that!" she snapped, then bit her lip.
Gabriel stared at her.
Flynn's breathing became alarmingly shallow. Thank God. Right then Brenda heard sirens wailing in the distance. "Don't you dare die. You are an important member of this team."
The ambulance bounced over the lawn and stopped with screeching brakes. Two men with a stretcher jumped out and rushed over.
"They are here, you hear me, Flynn? You're going to the hospital now." No answer. Brenda froze.
The medics put him on the stretcher and shoved him into the back of the ambulance. One medic put pressure on Flynn's injury. The second one closed the door and the van left in a hurry, its sirens wailing even more annoyingly now. Brenda watched them leave, holding Gabriel's bloodied jacket, saying a silent prayer.
"Chief?" Gabriel said, touching her arm.
She whirled around. "How could this happen? This was a simple observation."
"The suspect pulled a gun and started shooting."
"Just like that?"
"Yeah. Flynn was only saying 'May we have a word' and this asshole shot him." He glanced at the John Doe on the ground. There was a hole in his chest, smeared with blood. "I had no other choice but to shoot him. He wanted to... kill both of us."
Gabriel was shaking. Well, he just killed a man. Brenda squeezed his shoulder, then gave the lifeless bundle of flesh a glance. Right. It was the man who had locked Flynn and her in the cellar one month ago. The crazy asshole. "It's fine, Gabriel. You did the right thing."
The reinforcement arrived at the scene, and she ordered them in her usual way around. She didn't want to think about Flynn bleeding to... No. Don't even! Pope came too and she reported to him. At last, the tedious process was done, and they could leave the scene. Will was driving her to the office.
"How is he?" Her voice was trembling. Shit!
"Stable."
"Thank god." She didn't dare to elaborate because she feared she would lose it, crying or worse.
Will glanced at her soiled hands. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Sure. This is not my blood." No. I'm not okay. The man I'm sleeping with was gunned down. "It's his." Oh no. Don't say that. Never that.
"His?" One hard look. "Since when...? Is this more than concern for a team member?"
"I don't know..."
"Don't bullshit me, Brenda. Do you care for him, yes or no?"
"None of your business."
"Jesus, Brenda. We're talking about Flynn here."
"So?"
"Don't you remember he was the one..."
"He was," she stressed. "But he's doing well now. He's an important member of my team. A clever man with great skills."
"I don't doubt that," he mocked, huffing.
"Well, he's in your league then, isn't he?" That hit the mark. Will went silent.
At the office, she jumped out of the car. "Thank you," she called out and hurried to her own car. Only to drove to the hospital and bother the nurse in charge, until she was allowed to visit Flynn.
He was sleeping, of course, drugged with pain killers. It didn't matter. She dropped into the chair by the bed, overjoyed he was alive. Hearing him breathe in and out was soothing her aching heart and she fell asleep as well.
Only the nurse doing her morning rounds startled Brenda awake.
Shortly after, Flynn opened his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"You're welcome."
"People will talk."
"So?"
His expression was priceless. "What?"
"Pope already knows and... well..."
"You told Pope?"
"Nah. He figured it out himself."
"But why? I'm just a June bug in July."
"Stop saying that."
He smirked. "It was you who said so first."
"Whatever, I forbid you to ever say that again, Andrew."
"No one calls me Andrew."
"I will. It's a good name for a good man."
"But I like you calling me Flynn. Shouting or grumbling is even better. It excites me."
"Does it?"
"Yeah - Chief." He seized her by the arms and pulled her onto the bed.
"For heaven's sake, your injury...." She wriggled to go easy on his leg.
"I'm in need of your medicine."
"You're an ass," she scolded, then she giggled.
He pulled her closer. "Yet you feared for my life."
"Arrogant bastard."
"Yet you..."
She stuffed his mouth, and he let her take the lead having no objections. Duh!
Everybody said it was a miracle of how quickly Flynn had healed and came back to work.
Flynn agreed smugly. Having swept 'Miss Atlanta' Brenda Leigh Johnson off her feet was for sure a miracle.
