Organized Crime: Unorganized

Chapter 54

Grace headed into the conference room, her team and her mother's eyes falling onto her as she entered the room. 
"You faked your own death" Rosaline began. 
"It wasn't that simple. Kurt Vonnegut once said 'Never trust a survivor until you find out what he did to stay alive.' Don't ask unless your ready for the answer" Grace told all of them. 
"Tell us the full story" James encouraged although Grace refused to meet his eye.
"I was recruited by the FBI right out of Yale. I was part of the group ALCO-7 targeted at apprehending terrorists. My last posting was with the Irish Mafia, more specifically the guy that runs it. Cormac O'Reilly was a known IRA terrorist, selling arms to whomever wanted them. The government paid me to go deep undercover, which included infiltration of Cormac's bedroom-"
"That's why you didn't flinch at flirting with our suspects" Lilly cut in.
"You get molested as a kid and opening your legs gets easy" Grace bit at herself. 
"But with him it was different" Marco reminded her. 
"Yeah. He made me feel loved, he made my job easy. So easy that I stopped doing it. I stopped asking questions, stopped passing on information. I didn't know they were pulling the plug that day and by the time I realized I was already being put into the back of an SUV. But then I went back to being me. I lived near the boys for a while until I started working here" Grace explained. 
"You loved him?" Sadie asked. 
"I did. I even told him that we could leave that we could go anywhere we wanted somewhere where no one would find us. But he refused because he was a criminal that raised criminals" Grace told them. 
"You were going to run with him?" Lorenzo asked. 
"Its not as bad as it sounds. I just meant that we could live a normal life, be normal people" Grace explained "He killed for me. I woke up screaming and he comforted me. He knew I couldn't...with the guy on top so when Kyle Murphy put his hands on me, Cor made it clear that no one else was to do it. In a weird, fucked up way, we loved each other" Grace told them. 
"You slept with a terrorist? You loved him? What were you thinking!?" Rosaline bit. 
"I was doing my job. A job that your government paid me to do. They made me their glorified prostitute for money" Grace bit. 
"How do we know that this isn't all made up?" 
"Of course you don't believe me, why do I even try with you?" Grace sighed deeply. 
"You fucked a criminal why wouldn't that be true" Rosaline laughed lightly "I'm done. I really can't do this anymore" she sighed heading to the door but Grace's words made her freeze in place. 
"You never cared anyway" Grace bit. 
"I gave you everything that you needed to be able to function without me" Rosaline frowned deeply over her shoulder. 
"All I needed was my mother. Money never mattered to me" Grace told her before she disappeared from the room. 
"I'm sorry she didn't understand" Marco apologized. 
"She'll never admit I'm fucked up because of her, I don't know why I try" Grace sighed.
"She was at your funeral. She tried to hide it but she cried" James told her. 
"She's still a bitch to my face and pretends like I wasn't raped as a child under her nose so, fuck her" Grace faked a smile "Can't we talk about something else?" 
"We can talk about the weapons we found on that compound but then that would make you and the boss want to change the subject" Aneesa told her. 
"Why?" Grace asked, her interest picking up. 
"The weapons we found led back to a black market auction which then led us back to...the Harlem mafia" Aneesa told them casting an awkward look towards James. 
"Can we nail them?" James asked. 
"Maybe, we just need someone to get us an in. Someone that knows how to play them-"
"I already know that you mean me" Grace sighed deeply. 
"No" James said plainly, meeting Grace's eye across the room "I won't ask you to do that, not after what happened last time" 
"As long as you don't shut out the lights and I keep my legs shut we'll be all good" Grace pulled a sarcastic smile. 
"Gracie-"
"I can do it. I want to do it. You, Molly and Abi deserve justice, let me do this" Grace told him, meeting his eye "Its not like I'll fall in love with this one" Grace joked lightly, giving him a small smile. 
"You don't have to do this" he assured her. 
"I know" she assured him back. James though it over for a moment, his eyes staying on Grace before he nodded. 
"Where do we begin?" he asked, moving his eyes back to Aneesa. 
"There's another auction tonight, all we need to do is set up an identity" Aneesa told her. 
"Sadie can you work on that?" James asked earning a nod. 
"Any preference on the name?" Sadie asked Grace with a black lipped smile. 
"Something mysterious" Grace smirked back. 
"And sexy?" Sadie asked her smirk only growing. 
"Of course" Grace smirked back. 
"You won't be disappointed" 

Grace straightened the straps of her dress in the mirror. It was a floor length black gown with a leg slit up one side and a slit in the front, showing off her cleavage. Grace applied her lipstick before she slammed the door to her locker shut, spotting James leaning against the wall next to the door. 
"Your always watching me" she commented as she took off her cross necklace and slipped it into her duffle bag. 
"I like watching you. Your beautiful Gracie" James admitted. Grace closed her eyes in annoyance, wishing to be anywhere else but here in this room with him. When Grace opened her eyes again James was just centimetres from her. He was so close that she could feel the heat radiating off of his body and his breath was mingling with hers, as he looked down at her. Grace didn't stop him as he brought his hand to her waist, instead she only let out an audible gasp. She didn't stop him as his hand moved to her stomach then upwards, landing on the snake tattoo between her breasts. She didn't stop him when his other hand moved to her waist. She definitely didn't stop him when he reached for the straps of her dress, she only watched as the gown fell to her waist and he bunched it in his hands. She didn't stop him when one hand released the dress and moved to trail over the scar that Cormac had given her. Grace let out a shuddering breath as James replaced his hand with his lips, his beard scratching against her skin sending her nerve endings on fire.
"God I love you" James groaned against her chest, the sound vibrating through her chest and right down to her core "Please Gracie" James begged. He wasn't really sure what he was begging for. Her? To hear her scream his name? For her to love him back? God, he wanted all of it, all of her. Every little messy thing. 
At the sound of the door opening James and Grace pulled her dress back into place before they turned to see who their intruder was. 
"Sorry, I can give you both a minute if you need it" Marco apologized. 
"No. Were done" Grace said as she met James's eye before she opened her locker again and applied some more lipstick. 
"Gracie-"
"Don't call me that" Grace bit before she slammed her locker shut again "Were done and we have a job to do" Grace told him before she left the room quickly, avoiding their eyes. 
"Fuck" James groaned, running a hand down his face before he kicked one of the lockers. 
"She's struggling, she just needs some time. If you love her you'll wait until she's ready" Marco told her. 
"I would wait a lifetime for her. All I want is for her to trust me because I would give her the world if she only asked for it. She doesn't realize how much she means to me. How much she is worth" James sighed deeply, his head resting on the cool metal of one of the lockers. 
"Patience is a virtue" Marco smiled, earning one back from James. 
"We screwed just weeks after she joined us" James laughed "I would wait forever for her" James sighed deeply. 
"I know"