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asphaltcowgrrlTitle: One Ride in Vegas Chapter 6
Fandom: Romani Detective original fiction
Pairing: James Rosewood + Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,549
Summary: James and Zayne keep digging to find the guy they’re looking for.
Author’s Note: Written for the September bingo challenge at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
1_million_words. Nothing else to say right now.
Continued from here.
That bright, desert sunshine poked between the Airstream’s makeshift curtains and shone warmly on Zayne’s face. After giving his body a good stretch, he reached for the covers only to find the narco sprawled on top of the sheets and half of Reyes’ body. Grunting, Zayne gave the narco a shove. “Get up,” he growled.
“Okay, okay,” James muttered, rolling off the cowboy’s body. “Stop shouting.”
“Why are you even here,” Zayne asked. “I don’t remember asking you to stay.”
“You didn’t,” James yawned. “We came back here, you crawled into bed, passed out, and I followed you.” He gave Reyes a sheepish look. “I was too tired to go all the way back home.”
Zayne was too worn out to argue, so he let it go. “What’s going on this morning, narco? You have any plans for me before we meet up with Jolene tonight?”
“Lena,” Rosewood corrected, stretching his lanky body as best he could in the tight quarters. “Her name was Lena, Reyes. And not exactly plans, although there are a few things I could always be convinced to do to you.”
“Har, har,” Zayne mocked, rolling his eyes. “There’s time for all that shit later,” he said, forcing himself to be the responsible adult for once. But damn, the redhead was tempting, all long limbs and pale skin stretched out across the small space.
“Your loss, cowboy,” James teased, settling back onto the pillow, arms folded behind his head.
“But you said ‘not exactly plans’,” Zayne repeated, reclining beside the redhead, far enough away that he wouldn’t be as tempted to touch him. “What does that mean?”
“I thought we could mingle,” James said, crossing one leg over the other. “Get in good with a few of the high earners waiting for their events to start.”
“And the hangers-on like us,” Reyes finished for him. “Makes sense. We can probably get more out of the bums than the ones here looking for the gold. Guess I ought to get up and get dressed.”
“Yeah,” James said, rising up onto his elbows as Zayne left the bed. “And put those tight ass Wranglers back on, too.”
“Oh Jimmy,” Zayne drawled, wriggling his cotton-covered ass, “don’tcha know I own more than one pair of painted on jeans?”
Stripping down, he tossed his t-shirt and sweats into a pile on the floor. Grabbing the nearest pair of worn jeans, Zayne pulled them on. Turning, he found the redhead watching him from the bed. “What?”
“You need a belt buckle,” James said, pointing at Zayne’s crotch.
“I got one,” he grinned, rummaging around in the suitcase he’d packed. Finding his spare belt, he pulled it out and held the buckle up for inspection.
“Where on earth did you find that, cowboy?” Rosewood sat up and leaned towards Zayne, bringing the buckle in for a closer look. It was almost bigger than both of the narco’s hands put together.
“I didn’t find it,” Reyes said, affronted that he’d buy something so damn gaudy, despite the fact he loved the damn thing. “I won it by placing first in my event in the National High School Rodeo Association’s finals.”
“Before your mama dragged you away, kicking and screaming,” James laughed.
“Yeah, something like that,” Zayne muttered, grabbing the belt and buckle away from the ginger. “Shouldn’t you be crawling off somewhere to get dressed?”
“About that,” Rosewood said, scratching at the stubble growing on his chin. “I really don’t own anything that would allow me to fit in here. I was hoping you could uh, loan me some clothes?”
Zayne gave the redhead a heated look. Nothing made him crazier than seeing Zek in one of his old t-shirts or that hoodie he’d borrowed and never given back. But having the redhead in his clothes, too? That was hot. Rosewood was slimmer than he was, not nearly as broad across the shoulders, but what he’d brought with him should work. “I think I can help you out,” Zayne said. “Just gotta find the right color for your pale ass.”
xx
They’d been walking around, chatting, for nearly four hours. Zayne’s stomach was rumbling and the ginger was getting cranky. “You wanna eat or would you rather continue to bitch at me until I punch you?”
“Depends,” James grunted. “You going to continue to be a pig and flirt with everything on two legs?”
“Dude, you’re the one who said we needed to mingle,” Zayne grouched. “I was mingling. I can’t help it if my natural charm comes off like flirting.” He rolled his eyes at the detective. “Let’s go get some food. I heard two of the calf ropers talking about a steak joint not far from here. I think it’s up the road somewhere.”
“Right next to a stretch of gay bars, bookstores, and bondage clothing stores,” Rosewood added.
“Yeah, well, maybe not that close to here then.” Zayne nudged Rosewood in the side. “C’mon, baby. Let’s go eat and make nice.”
A hint of a smile tugged at James’ face. “I tried to make nice this morning and you wouldn’t let me,” he teased. “But god, let’s eat. I’m starving. And I need to check in with Jake anyway. See if he got any hits off that picture I took of Lena last night.”
“When did you get her picture,” Zayne asked. He turned his head to survey the redhead, liking the way his old grey and white flannel looked against James’ coppery hair and snowy skin.
“The second you started hitting on her,” James laughed. “I was going to text it to Andy if you got too comfy with her, but when I realized she might lead us to our dealer, I thought I’d send it to Jake instead. You’re welcome, by the way.”
“Whatever,” Zayne said, rolling his eyes. He pointed at James’ car. “You can drive, narco. And besides, I wasn’t hitting on her, she was coming onto me.”
“Yeah, but you weren’t discouraging her from what I could see.” James unlocked his car and climbed inside.
“Shut up and drive,” Zayne sighed. “We’ve got a lot to do before tonight, I think.”
Once they were seated in the restaurant, meals ordered, James took out his cell phone. “Jake says that her name is Merlena Givens and she hails from Cheyenne, Wyoming.”
“Merlena?” Zayne snorted and shook his head. “I’d go by Lena, too, with a name like that. Bad enough no one can spell my damn name, but that’s even worse.”
“And to think I used to hate having such a common name,” James said. “No record for this chick, however. Despite being a rodeo bunny, she’s clean as far as the law goes.”
“In cases like this,” Zayne asked, leaning across the table towards Zayne, “how often are these girls really clean? Just because they haven’t been caught doesn’t mean they haven’t been doing something illegal.”
“That’s a very good observation, actually.” James pulled a cheese-covered fry off the plate that sat between them and stuffed it into his mouth. “The big time drug runners in the city like using young people or those without a rap sheet to do their dirty work. I guess they figure if they can get someone with a clean record to pass messages or set up appointments, it’ll look less suspicious. This Lena chick might be doing exactly that or she might have her own reasons for getting involved.”
“Like a habit of her own?” Zayne’s smile broadened when he saw the waitress approaching with a large tray.
“Exactly,” James confirmed. “And I can tell by your face that our food is here. Not a moment too soon.”
xx
Reyes looked at his watch again. He still had plenty of time before he had to leave to make his appointment with Lena. The goddamned narco wanted him to go meet her alone tonight. Not that he’d actually be alone, because Rosewood would be somewhere in the bar, hiding out and looking inconspicuous. But James figured that Zayne would have a better chance of scoring something illegal without him tagging along. On one hand, Zayne preferred not to have the narco on his ass, but on the other… he wasn’t dealing with a murder suspect, either. The protocols were completely different when you were nabbing someone you thought had committed a murder. There, all you had to do was have suspicion and you could haul them in. With a drug bust, they had to try and sell you something first.
How did he get himself into these situations? He thought of Zeklos and smiled. Although this wasn’t Zek’s fault, in a lot of ways, he’d only said yes because Rosewood had asked. And if he made the narco happy, then Zek would be happy too. Zayne could only hope that all that happiness found its way back to him eventually. While Zeklos was on his mind, he took out his cell phone and sent a quick text.
Still alive, still unbroken. Miss you baby.
He could feel the reluctance emanating off the text when the reply came.
Promise me you will stay that way. Please?
How could he resist a plea like that? He checked his watch again and groaned. This was not his idea of a fun night.
Continues here.
Fandom: Romani Detective original fiction
Pairing: James Rosewood + Zayne Reyes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,549
Summary: James and Zayne keep digging to find the guy they’re looking for.
Author’s Note: Written for the September bingo challenge at
1_million_words. Nothing else to say right now.Continued from here.
That bright, desert sunshine poked between the Airstream’s makeshift curtains and shone warmly on Zayne’s face. After giving his body a good stretch, he reached for the covers only to find the narco sprawled on top of the sheets and half of Reyes’ body. Grunting, Zayne gave the narco a shove. “Get up,” he growled.
“Okay, okay,” James muttered, rolling off the cowboy’s body. “Stop shouting.”
“Why are you even here,” Zayne asked. “I don’t remember asking you to stay.”
“You didn’t,” James yawned. “We came back here, you crawled into bed, passed out, and I followed you.” He gave Reyes a sheepish look. “I was too tired to go all the way back home.”
Zayne was too worn out to argue, so he let it go. “What’s going on this morning, narco? You have any plans for me before we meet up with Jolene tonight?”
“Lena,” Rosewood corrected, stretching his lanky body as best he could in the tight quarters. “Her name was Lena, Reyes. And not exactly plans, although there are a few things I could always be convinced to do to you.”
“Har, har,” Zayne mocked, rolling his eyes. “There’s time for all that shit later,” he said, forcing himself to be the responsible adult for once. But damn, the redhead was tempting, all long limbs and pale skin stretched out across the small space.
“Your loss, cowboy,” James teased, settling back onto the pillow, arms folded behind his head.
“But you said ‘not exactly plans’,” Zayne repeated, reclining beside the redhead, far enough away that he wouldn’t be as tempted to touch him. “What does that mean?”
“I thought we could mingle,” James said, crossing one leg over the other. “Get in good with a few of the high earners waiting for their events to start.”
“And the hangers-on like us,” Reyes finished for him. “Makes sense. We can probably get more out of the bums than the ones here looking for the gold. Guess I ought to get up and get dressed.”
“Yeah,” James said, rising up onto his elbows as Zayne left the bed. “And put those tight ass Wranglers back on, too.”
“Oh Jimmy,” Zayne drawled, wriggling his cotton-covered ass, “don’tcha know I own more than one pair of painted on jeans?”
Stripping down, he tossed his t-shirt and sweats into a pile on the floor. Grabbing the nearest pair of worn jeans, Zayne pulled them on. Turning, he found the redhead watching him from the bed. “What?”
“You need a belt buckle,” James said, pointing at Zayne’s crotch.
“I got one,” he grinned, rummaging around in the suitcase he’d packed. Finding his spare belt, he pulled it out and held the buckle up for inspection.
“Where on earth did you find that, cowboy?” Rosewood sat up and leaned towards Zayne, bringing the buckle in for a closer look. It was almost bigger than both of the narco’s hands put together.
“I didn’t find it,” Reyes said, affronted that he’d buy something so damn gaudy, despite the fact he loved the damn thing. “I won it by placing first in my event in the National High School Rodeo Association’s finals.”
“Before your mama dragged you away, kicking and screaming,” James laughed.
“Yeah, something like that,” Zayne muttered, grabbing the belt and buckle away from the ginger. “Shouldn’t you be crawling off somewhere to get dressed?”
“About that,” Rosewood said, scratching at the stubble growing on his chin. “I really don’t own anything that would allow me to fit in here. I was hoping you could uh, loan me some clothes?”
Zayne gave the redhead a heated look. Nothing made him crazier than seeing Zek in one of his old t-shirts or that hoodie he’d borrowed and never given back. But having the redhead in his clothes, too? That was hot. Rosewood was slimmer than he was, not nearly as broad across the shoulders, but what he’d brought with him should work. “I think I can help you out,” Zayne said. “Just gotta find the right color for your pale ass.”
xx
They’d been walking around, chatting, for nearly four hours. Zayne’s stomach was rumbling and the ginger was getting cranky. “You wanna eat or would you rather continue to bitch at me until I punch you?”
“Depends,” James grunted. “You going to continue to be a pig and flirt with everything on two legs?”
“Dude, you’re the one who said we needed to mingle,” Zayne grouched. “I was mingling. I can’t help it if my natural charm comes off like flirting.” He rolled his eyes at the detective. “Let’s go get some food. I heard two of the calf ropers talking about a steak joint not far from here. I think it’s up the road somewhere.”
“Right next to a stretch of gay bars, bookstores, and bondage clothing stores,” Rosewood added.
“Yeah, well, maybe not that close to here then.” Zayne nudged Rosewood in the side. “C’mon, baby. Let’s go eat and make nice.”
A hint of a smile tugged at James’ face. “I tried to make nice this morning and you wouldn’t let me,” he teased. “But god, let’s eat. I’m starving. And I need to check in with Jake anyway. See if he got any hits off that picture I took of Lena last night.”
“When did you get her picture,” Zayne asked. He turned his head to survey the redhead, liking the way his old grey and white flannel looked against James’ coppery hair and snowy skin.
“The second you started hitting on her,” James laughed. “I was going to text it to Andy if you got too comfy with her, but when I realized she might lead us to our dealer, I thought I’d send it to Jake instead. You’re welcome, by the way.”
“Whatever,” Zayne said, rolling his eyes. He pointed at James’ car. “You can drive, narco. And besides, I wasn’t hitting on her, she was coming onto me.”
“Yeah, but you weren’t discouraging her from what I could see.” James unlocked his car and climbed inside.
“Shut up and drive,” Zayne sighed. “We’ve got a lot to do before tonight, I think.”
Once they were seated in the restaurant, meals ordered, James took out his cell phone. “Jake says that her name is Merlena Givens and she hails from Cheyenne, Wyoming.”
“Merlena?” Zayne snorted and shook his head. “I’d go by Lena, too, with a name like that. Bad enough no one can spell my damn name, but that’s even worse.”
“And to think I used to hate having such a common name,” James said. “No record for this chick, however. Despite being a rodeo bunny, she’s clean as far as the law goes.”
“In cases like this,” Zayne asked, leaning across the table towards Zayne, “how often are these girls really clean? Just because they haven’t been caught doesn’t mean they haven’t been doing something illegal.”
“That’s a very good observation, actually.” James pulled a cheese-covered fry off the plate that sat between them and stuffed it into his mouth. “The big time drug runners in the city like using young people or those without a rap sheet to do their dirty work. I guess they figure if they can get someone with a clean record to pass messages or set up appointments, it’ll look less suspicious. This Lena chick might be doing exactly that or she might have her own reasons for getting involved.”
“Like a habit of her own?” Zayne’s smile broadened when he saw the waitress approaching with a large tray.
“Exactly,” James confirmed. “And I can tell by your face that our food is here. Not a moment too soon.”
xx
Reyes looked at his watch again. He still had plenty of time before he had to leave to make his appointment with Lena. The goddamned narco wanted him to go meet her alone tonight. Not that he’d actually be alone, because Rosewood would be somewhere in the bar, hiding out and looking inconspicuous. But James figured that Zayne would have a better chance of scoring something illegal without him tagging along. On one hand, Zayne preferred not to have the narco on his ass, but on the other… he wasn’t dealing with a murder suspect, either. The protocols were completely different when you were nabbing someone you thought had committed a murder. There, all you had to do was have suspicion and you could haul them in. With a drug bust, they had to try and sell you something first.
How did he get himself into these situations? He thought of Zeklos and smiled. Although this wasn’t Zek’s fault, in a lot of ways, he’d only said yes because Rosewood had asked. And if he made the narco happy, then Zek would be happy too. Zayne could only hope that all that happiness found its way back to him eventually. While Zeklos was on his mind, he took out his cell phone and sent a quick text.
Still alive, still unbroken. Miss you baby.
He could feel the reluctance emanating off the text when the reply came.
Promise me you will stay that way. Please?
How could he resist a plea like that? He checked his watch again and groaned. This was not his idea of a fun night.
Continues here.
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