Coffee and Portraits

"You're a fucking bore if I ever met one," he sighed, shaking his head. "You understand my mind better than I'm comfortable with. I realize that now. You're the bastard that found me two years ago. I know that hillbilly friend of yours wasn't smart enough to do it. HOW did you find me?" he demanded, slamming his hand on the table.

I flinched and jumped halfway out of my seat, but Caleb didn't move. I was shaking and willing my stomach to stop churning as Caleb maintained a bored, indifferent gaze.

"We are at an impasse then," Fowler continued, looking miffed. "You know I can't do much right now without getting caught and losing what little assets I have left. I would like to propose a ceasefire. I'll leave you, Blake Law, Scarlet, and Sam alone for a year, and you do the same for me. If the truce is broken by either side, then anything goes. I still want to kill you, Caleb, but it's no fun if I can't get away with it. Do we have a deal?" he grinned.

Caleb was silent for another long, tense moment. I feared we would both be shot soon enough. Suddenly, Caleb sighed and scratched his chin as if he were utterly bored.

"I guess it's a fair deal," he shrugged, offering Fowler his hand.

They shook on it, then Fowler put on his mask, shoved his gun in his coat, and left the shop. A few seconds later, I let out a string of curses and laid my head on the table. I was too scared to even faint at that point.

"Sorry, Sam. That won't happen again," Caleb whispered as he gently rubbed my back.

"Shit... WHAT the fuck just happened?" I yelled.

I was calculating my chances of making it to the bathroom before I vomited.

"That's how you deal with Bruce Fowler and live. Cold, logical indifference. He loves drama. Drama keeps the predator interested, like a cat toying with a mouse. I'm glad that theory proved true," he breathed and slumped down in his seat.

He looked as green as I felt, but I made it to the bathroom first. After some cleaning up and a drink of water, we rescued Lesley from her office. She was shaken and crying but relieved more than anything else.

"We need to act like nothing happened," Caleb warned. "I hate to ask this of you two, but it's the best way to make sure Fowler loses interest in the shop. This place is boring to him right now. Let's keep it that way."

We put our trust in Caleb and did as he asked. I could see the terror on his face as he kissed me goodbye and left the shop with the Blake coffee order. My nerves were wrecked for the rest of the day. My walk back to Caleb's apartment that afternoon was the scariest two blocks of my life, but I safely reached my destination. Caleb called an emergency meeting in his living room as soon as I was safely inside the building. We sat with Rusty and Scarlet and told them what happened. They looked as sick as we felt at the shop earlier.

"Fuck, no!" Rusty growled. "We can't trust him to keep his word!"

"Yes, we can," Caleb insisted.

"You're kidding me, right? We're just going to let that psychopath call the shots? What do you think, Scarlet? Will Fowler keep his word?"

She sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"It makes sense. His cheap shot didn't work like last time. He has nothing to gloat over. Sam and Caleb bested him. I honestly think he'll leave us alone for a year. He'll start his sick games again when he's in a better position."

"I agree," Caleb nodded. "Also, it gives me an entire year to track his moves and find the people helping him. You know I'm better than the FBI and the CIA and definitely less corrupt."

I raised an eyebrow at Caleb after that bold remark.

"Fuck..." Rusty groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Do what you want, Caleb. If Fowler doesn't kill you and turns around and hurts one of us, I'll be hunting you next. Remember that."

Caleb smiled and nodded in understanding.

Later that evening, my stomach finally calmed enough for me to eat. Caleb ordered Chinese, and we sat at the kitchen island to decompress and talk.

"So, are you some kind of anti-criminal mastermind?" I asked.

"You could say that," he nodded.

I stared at him for a moment, trying to judge his mood.

"How do you feel right now, Caleb?"

"I'm okay. I have a job to do and a year to get it done. That's a relief."

"That's good to hear. By the way, what you did today was really sexy," I chuckled.

"The part where we almost died or the part where I vomited over your shoulder?"

"No. The part where you kept your cool in the face of death. It was brilliant. I could not have done that."

"You would be surprised at what you can do when you're protecting someone you love."

I stared at him as he picked carrots out of his noodles and dropped them into my bowl. He knew I liked them. His actions constantly told me he loved me, but hearing him say it was wonderful.

"I love you too, Caleb."

He gave me a big smile and stared at me a little dreamily as I slurped noodles off my chopsticks.

"What? Are you planning another portrait already?" I asked with my mouth full.

"I am. I think I'll call it Noodle Samantha."

**That's the end, folks! For now, at least. I hope you enjoyed it. Rusty and Scarlet's earlier adventures can be found in my Sordid Details story. Happy reading!**