An Internal Affair

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Chad drove to the restaurant, trying to make the drive last as long as he could so he could keep glancing over at Andrea. “Are you really going to wear that?” he asked her for what was probably the tenth time since they’d gotten in the car.

She raised her eyebrows at him. “No, Chad. I’m going to wait until you park the car, then I’m planning on taking off all my clothes and walk in with you stark naked.”

That thought was extremely appealing. “But you’d keep the heels on, right?”

“Chad!”

“Sorry, I’ll stop asking. You just look…”

Andrea made an angry sound in the back of her throat. “What, like a whore? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

His eyes widened. “What? No!” Damnit, I thought I was past the ‘saying stupid things’ part of this. He quickly stammered out an explanation as best he could. “No, I’ve just never seen you like this. You normally just wear casual stuff – which is good, casual is good,” he said hastily. “It’s just, you look slightly different – though still good – and… it’s really sexy. Not like you aren’t sexy all the time…” Another glance over at her showed that she had some expression on her face, but he had no idea what it meant. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, you’re pretty much evil for wearing that around me for the first time and I have to wait until dinner’s over to touch you,” he finished. “So, yeah. Evil. That’s you.”

Chad was greatly relieved when she started laughing at him as he parked the car. “So, you think you’re up to saving my wicked soul?” She teased.

“Hey, they don’t call it the ‘missionary position’ for nothing…” he held the door open for her, nodding when she told him she’d meet him at the table as she headed toward the ladies’ room. “Yeah, sure.” He found the rest of the SWAT team holding court in a corner of the restaurant, holding up a hand in greeting as they noticed him.

“Look who’s here, but look who’s not,” several of the wiseasses chorused as he sat down. He endured more good-natured jibes about his lack of a date, smiling to himself at the thought of their faces when Andrea came to join him – she’d waited until tonight to wear a short skirt and heels that had just about knocked him dead when he saw her get dressed. Ramiro leaned across the table to discuss something with him when the entire table went silent suddenly. “Isn’t that…” “Hey, man, she’s comin’ over!”

He stood as Andrea came over, her hips swaying slightly; Ramiro just looked curious. “Detective Battle? What brings you…” He trailed off as she slipped her arm through Chad’s, smiling around the table.

“Hey, guys.”

Chad couldn’t repress a smirk at all the surprised faces and guided her to sit beside him, stroking a thumb over her wrist when he felt how her pulse was racing. He knew how hard it was for her when she felt out of her element, so resolved to help put her back in it. “Andrea, you remember Emile over there? He was the one who fell flat on his face during that drug bust First Team was in on last week…” Chad felt her relax slowly as the tone around the table began to change subtly from surprise to acceptance, and her hand stole into his beneath the table while she looked at the menu.

God, she was sexy. He wanted to haul her straight back to his place and… he jerked back to reality as the waitress asked for his order and he sighed, ignoring the knowing smiles aimed at him from every conceivable direction. It’s going to be a long night.


_ _ _ _ _


Andrea had purposely selected one of the sexiest outfits she owned for this outing; it made her slightly uncomfortable at the thought of others seeing her in a get-up that was essentially chosen for Chad’s enjoyment, but she’d come to enjoy the way his eyes would run over her appreciatively whenever she dressed up for him. He’d seen her at her worst several times by now, after all… it was actually nice to dress up for someone who truly appreciated the effort she took. Admittedly, this was the first time she’d put on heels and a skirt this short for him but from the steamy looks he kept giving her, she might make it a regular occurrence.

The team practically fell all over themselves trying to make her feel at ease, and she had actually found herself confessing to some of them that this was their first official outing as an couple. After that, she had no problem feeling welcomed and she was glad that he would be joining such a tightly-knit group. She leaned against him like she’d wanted to ever since they’d ordered their food, feeling secure enough in their present company to do so. Chad automatically put his arm around her shoulders, rubbing a hand up and down her arm slowly – he probably didn’t even realize he was doing it. “I’ve got a replacement; he’ll be ready to take over by the end of next week,” he was telling Ramiro.

Andrea glanced over at him thoughtfully. He could be so arrogant… but she knew how sweet he was even though he’d made a reputation for himself by being a bastard. After whatever had happened with Rita, he’d built up walls so high it was amazing he could even see out – but each time he smiled at her, she could see the walls crack. Just by being here with her tonight, having his arm around her just like this… he opened up to her that much more.

She figured it was time she stopped pretending that she was unsure of what she felt for him, because looking at the way his face was animated as he discussed some sort of tactical maneuver with the man next to him, it was useless to pretend she wasn’t falling for him. Chad glanced down to smile at her, and she leaned forward. “Take me home,” she whispered in his ear.

He made their excuses and drove her to his place, the two of them so tightly wound that they didn’t even speak the entire ride back. They made it as far as the front door before a teasing brush of her ass against him caused Chad to pounce immediately.

Much later, she rolled her head over to look at him. “Not bad, Shelten…not bad.”

Chad sighed in contentment and smiled, his eyes still closed. “I’ve got skills they don’t teach you down in Narcotics.”

“What, is it some top secret IA thing? Black Belt Kama Sutra?”

He opened one eye. “This is one of those ‘if I told you, I’d have to hump you until you’re dehydrated’ type of deals.”

“Ah.” She nodded sagely. “One of those. I thought for a second you were going to tell me that you’d have to kill me.”

Chad sat up, glaring at her in mock-outrage. “What, and deprive myself of future liaisons on the Welcome mat?” He winced suddenly and stretched. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind if we moved this somewhere softer…”

“Mmm, good idea; you’ve gotta be rested for that massage you’re supposed to be giving me.” She scrambled up and into his bedroom where she flopped down on the bed expectantly.


_ _ _ _ _ _


Andrea was already in his bed when he caught up to her after making sure the drapes were closed and the doors were locked. She’d turned on the bedside lamp and placed the bag from the drugstore right beneath it so he couldn’t miss it; Chad smiled and climbed in beside her, patting her ass when she wiggled it at him playfully.

He pulled the bag over and stuck a hand inside, rummaging around until he found the massage oil and another condom. She looked over her shoulder at him expectantly, puffing a strand of blonde hair from her eyes before pouting when he set the bottle aside. Chad knew that the smart thing to do would be to avoid the issue and simply make love to her while she was still willing and eager for his touch, but… he needed to get this out of the way. God only knew he’d put it off long enough. “I have to ask you something.”

She rolled onto her side and let the sheet slip from her breasts as she tossed her hair from her face, giving him a sultry smile. “What’s on your mind, Sarge?”

Chad reached out to tug the sheet back up; if there was one thing he didn’t need, it was a distraction like that. He shifted uncomfortably, well aware that his next words might cause her to storm out. “It’s about work,” he hedged. Maybe she’d just come out with it on her own.

“If it’s about SWAT, I won’t tell anyone you’re joining,” she promised.

He cleared his throat. “Andy… what’s going on with your CI?”

Just as he feared, her eyes grew cold. “What do you mean?”

Andrea pulled the sheet tighter around her body, and he started to wish that he’d simply ignored the voice in his head that had made him ask. But he had to know what she’d be faced with after his successor inherited her case files and any chance she had was gone. “Your files, they came up for review a few months ago and…”

“You’re reviewing my files? ” She sat up straight, clutching the blankets to her as if he’d threatened to physically attack her or something. “What the hell is this, you’re trying to get me to spill some secret in bed so I incriminate myself? That’s sick,” she spat angrily. “I thought you were different, but I guess a bastard really can’t change his stripes – I’m out of here.”

He felt like someone had just punched him in the gut. “Andy, wait-”

She knocked his reaching hand away, furious. “Don’t you ever touch me again,” she snarled.

Chad watched, feeling sick while she leaped out of the bed and began to look for her clothes. He stood and pulled on a nearby pair of jeans, unwilling to just let her go without getting a chance to explain himself, when a loud crash made him hurry into the other room. Andrea had fallen and was laying on her stomach, sobbing angrily; a quick glance around showed that she’d tripped over his sidearm. He crossed to her quickly to check for injuries, terrified that she’d hurt herself because he hadn’t explained properly once again. “Andy, are you okay?” he fended off her furious blow easily and lifted her carefully to carry her into the living room where he set her on the couch.

“I said, don’t touch me!” she yelled.

His patience abruptly reached the end of its fuse. “You know what, Battle? Go, if you want to leave so badly – that’s fucking great. Have a wonderful life without the one person who can save your ass from the rest of IA. Because once I’m gone and your file gets opened by someone else, you can kiss your career goodbye,” he flared.

“I don’t have to listen to this-” she started to stand.

“Sit the fuck down!” Andrea fell back immediately, shocked. “I’m trying to help you here, in case you haven’t realized – which you clearly haven’t – and I resent your accusation that our time together has just been so I can get information,” he said angrily. “I thought you knew me better than that.”

She drew her legs up to her chest defensively, starting to look ashamed of her outburst. “I thought I did, too, but I just…”

“You just what?!?”

“You’re not exactly known as the sweetheart of IA, Chad,” she finally yelled back at him. “The only experiences I’ve had with you before we… you know… they haven’t been good ones.”

He threw up his hands. “I’m not there to make friends, Andrea – I’m there to do my job, and do it well. I can’t afford to let personal sentiment enter into anything there…which is why I asked you off the record about whatever the hell you’re doing with Slim over in Chinatown.”

Andrea sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes before slowly reaching out to him. “Look, I’m sorry I said what I did; I didn’t mean it and-”

“You meant it enough to say it out loud,” he interrupted, still feeling out of sorts about her accusations.

“I said I was sorry, Chad,” she said, starting to get angry again. “I’m trying to tell you something here, so would you mind letting me finish?”

He folded his arms across his chest expectantly. “Fine, then. Go right ahead.”

Another glare was aimed his way, but she drew in a deep breath and rubbed her knee instead of starting to yell at him again. “How much do you know?” she asked softly.

Chad settled on the couch beside her as she turned to look up into his face, her eyes worried. He hoped it wasn’t another situation like the one he’d bailed Rita out of when they’d still been married… but at least she was ready to tell him. “I’ve got surveillance photos of you giving payoffs to Danny Yan all over the place, as well as bank statements showing quite a few withdrawals – every time you go to meet him, you’ve been seen withdrawing up to $3,000 at a time.” She closed her eyes reflexively, plainly not having expected it. Chad reached out to touch her gently. “Andy, what’s going on? Whatever it is, I’ll help you as much as I can.”

She started to cry again, looking so hopeless that he didn’t know what to do. “It’s…. oh, God – you’re going to think I’m such an idiot.” Andrea wiped her eyes before she continued. “My ex, Eddie Reyes, he…”

“He do something to you?” Chad growled, trying to remember exactly what Reyes looked like – he could probably look him up in the precinct’s computer system, and when he found him…

“No, nothing like that. It’s just, he had a… problem, I guess you’d say.”

Chad interrupted again, unable to help himself. “You didn’t kill anyone with a flashlight, did you?”

“What? No! Why a flashlight?”

“No reason, go on…” He sighed in disgust when she started to tell him about Reyes’ gambling debts and the cocaine ‘problem’ that had caused him to be put on probation. His debts were so steep he’d been getting threats of retribution from the bookies who wanted their money back. Apparently she’d tried to help her ex by bringing the bookie’s payoffs to Slim, who would take the money to wherever it was owed… unfortunately for her, Reyes hadn’t stopped running up a tab so no matter how much she paid to help him out it was never enough. “Jesus Christ, Andrea! Why didn’t you tell anyone before now?”

She brushed tears from her eyes and sniffled. “Like anyone would believe me? I bet everyone in IA thinks I’m some kind of druggie or something; isn’t that what you thought before you got to know me?”

“Well….”

“See?” Andrea sighed. “I was just trying to help him out, but it just got out of control; somehow some of the debtors found out I was paying Eddie’s shit off, and now they’ve been trying to get more and more from me. I’ve got no idea what to do – they told me that if I didn’t keep paying for his habit, they’d kill him. But when I broke up with him, I told him I wouldn’t be covering for him anymore.”

Chad scrubbed his hands though his hair and groaned. “Why couldn’t you just be smuggling beagles or something?”

“Beagles?”

“Never mind.” He leaned forward, thinking hard. “When’s the last time you talked to Reyes? If we can get some sort of documentation about his debts and a few statements about your… help… I might be able to swing something.”

She looked up at him hopefully. “Really? You’d do that… for me?”

“You’d be surprised at what all I’d do for you,” he grumbled, annoyed that this entire dramatic scene was her junkie ex-boyfriend’s fault. At least now he knew what she was hiding, and he might even be able to deal with it in a straightforward manner – a clear contrast to Rita’s problems he’d had to cover up over the years. “Does this mean you’re done being pissed at me for wanting to help you?”

Andrea climbed into his lap, winding her arms around his neck. “I guess so.”


tbc…
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