Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 72

Cabin Pressure!

Pressure builds, and Marcus find's release.

Thursday, September 12th, 4:29 pm

Chloe stood in front of a mirror dressed in a green silk robe that fell just above her knees. It was loosely cinched around her waist, but the opening of the lapels fell low enough where I could see the swell of her inner breasts. She looked up through damp hair, staring at my reflection as I shut the door.

It was the first time we’d been alone together since that night I held her. I’d brushed hair from her face and felt the tears in her eyes. Now it felt like business as usual—her with her resting bitch face as she waited for me to say something.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey.”

Not having much to work with, I grasped for anything to keep things from getting more awkward than they already were. “Have you napped at all?”

Have you napped at all? What kind of question was that?

Based on the side-eye I was getting, she thought the same thing.

“A little. Fell asleep in that hot tub. Can’t tell you how nice that was after being in the woods for so long.”

“Yeah, I imagine,” I said, lost in the sudden vision of Chloe slipping into a hot tub, wearing nothing as she extended her long, toned legs to step in before lowering herself into the bubbling water.

Chloe set down a brush and turned away from the mirror. The edges of the robe fluttered with every movement, showing tantalizing glimpses of thigh. “What do you want to talk about?”

Here goes nothing…

“You leaving.”

“There’s nothing to discuss,” Chloe said, turning her back to me and picking up the brush again as if we were done.

“Yeah,” I said. “There is.”

“Sorry, Marcus,” Chloe said unfazed. “You don’t get everything you want.”

I didn’t fucking deserve that.

“Why are you being like this!? Did I do something!?”

Chloe sighed. “It’s not you. It’s me.”

The utter uselessness of that statement blew my mind.

“What the fuck does that mean!?”

Chloe whirled on me. “It means I slept with my charge. It’s unprofessional, and I can’t do my job properly.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, which did a lovely job of showing off a healthy amount of cleavage. She was calculating enough that I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d done it on purpose to throw me off.

I wasn’t falling for it.

“What do you mean? Just because I saw you naked, you can’t watch my back anymore?”

“Basically, yes,” Chloe said.

Chloe was smart and disciplined. There had to be a better reason than this, so I did my best to calm down and work through the logic.

“Erin juggles my schedule, makes sure I’m fed, fends off the crazies, and gives me a phone whenever mine breaks or gets lost. Somehow we manage to find time to fuck like rabbits, and my calender is pristine. Same with Helen.”

“I’m not Helen or Erin,” Chloe said, “and their jobs are different.”

“Easier?”

“Different,” Chloe repeated. “I have to pay attention to a level of detail that would drive you insane, Marcus. The type of clothes people wear, or if there’s a plausible amount of dirt on some guy’s shoes… it takes all my concentration when I’m on the job.”

I thought about that… I mean, really thought about that. What would it be like to have to pay attention to every little detail constantly? I couldn’t tell you how many people we interacted with between Astrid’s house and boarding the plane. I’d bet anything that Chloe could tell me, though. What kind of Holmesian brain was needed to store all that information, and how did someone who could do that not go insane?

Chloe continued, “If I’m on the job, I have to be focused. I’ve already screwed up, more than—”

“When?” I asked, cutting her off.

“The coffee shop. When Cartwright pulled a gun on you.”

“You were dealing with my brother,” I waved her off.

“Doesn’t matter. I should have gone with you or sent John.”

“You’re not omniscient.”

“I have to be pretty cl—”

“What was the other time?” I asked.

Chloe sighed. “Vegas.”

“That’s not on you,” I said. “I had plenty of protection, and you were on the other side of town with the girls.”

“I’m not paid to protect the girls,” Chloe said. “I’m paid to—”

“You’re paid to protect who I say you’re paid to protect!” I was getting heated again.

“I can’t protect anybody if I’m admiring your ass at the wrong moment!” Chloe matched my venom with her own.

“So hire more Johns!” I barked.

“Then what’s the point of me being there!?” Chloe snarled. It was some of the most anger I’d ever seen from her.

I took two steps toward her. “Because you’ve saved my life, you idiot!”

Chloe didn’t have an immediate response, so I pushed.

I raised a hand and ticked off one finger. “You showed up at that warehouse and gunned down a hundred guys!”

“It was eigh—”

“Whatever! You pulled my ass out of the fire!”

I took another step and ticked off another finger.”And do you think I’d be standing here now if I hadn’t had you with me in the forest? It might have been me trapped instead of Astrid… or worse. You think I could have built that shelter? Or taken on all those mercenaries at the cabin?”

“You had Henry,” Chloe said.