Free Secret Maneuvers by Jessie Lane

words carefully.
    “That comm. link you got in your ear, what’s the range on that sucker?”
    With a knowing smile, Declan answered, “Oh, about two miles. So we’re safe for…” he looked down at his watch, “I’d say about another four or five minutes before they’re in range again.”
    “Good. While they’re out of earshot, I’d just like to say thank you for telling me that. No, I didn’t know Bobby ever looked for me after his ‘I-don’t-think-we-should-see-each-other-anymore’ letter. That being said, I don’t think anything can change between the two of us. My life changed forever after that letter. Things have happened that have made it impossible for Bobby and I to go back to the way things were. Yes, part of me will always be hurt or angry over what happened in the end between the two of us, but I also hope he has a good life. I’m not that much of a bitch to want it otherwise. I wish it could have ended differently, but it’s time for Bobby to move on.”
    Declan hung his head a little and sighed. “I think you still care for him, Annabelle. Otherwise, you wouldn’t still be this pissed off at him. If I’m right, and you do, then I don’t see why the two of you can’t work through whatever happened in the past. I know for a fact that Bobby would move Heaven and earth just to have a second chance with you.” As I was about to say something, he held his hand up to hold me off. “But I understand if you feel like you can’t make that leap. I’d like to ask a favor of you, then. Just talk to him once. Let him say he’s sorry. That way, maybe he can finally move on with his life instead of always looking back to the past he had with you.”
    I sat there, watching the sincerity in Declan’s face as he pleaded Bobby’s case. The man would have made a hell of a lawyer. Thousands of thoughts poured through my stunned brain. Did Bobby honestly think he was still in love with me? Was he genuinely sorry for doing the one thing he’d always promised never to do? Leave me behind? Could I ever trust him after what had happened before? My heart couldn’t handle that kind of rejection again.
    Riley shifted his butt on my other side, inadvertently reminding me that he’d been sitting there the whole time. Looking over to him I asked, “You’re too quiet, Riley Sullivan. What’s your two cents about all of this?”
    Riley shrugged his shoulders, then jerked his head in Declan’s direction. “I agree with him.”
    I laughed. “You don’t talk much do you?”
    Shrugging his broad shoulders, he replied, “Nope.”
    Shaking my head in amusement, I took a moment to look at Declan’s watch. “What have we got, Declan, two or three minutes until they’re in range again?”
    “That sounds about right, beautiful.”
    “Okay. I’ll think about talking to Bobby, but in the meantime, why don’t I tell you about the party at Jason Bueller’s house.” With a wistful smile I added, “You’re not gonna believe this shit…”
     
    Bobby
     
    The comm. link crackled in my ear when we came back into range of the bar. In just a few minutes we would be parked and hidden away in various positions in the woods behind the bar. As I checked my pockets on the black combat pants I was wearing again, making sure everything was in its place, I heard the roaring cackle of laughter pour through the link. It damn near blew my ear drum out.
    I barked in annoyance, “What the fuck, Declan! Are you trying to make us go deaf?”
    Declan continued to laugh. Hell, he was laughing so hard he was gasping for air, choking several times in the process. He was such a dumbass. When he finally had some self-control, he said something that stopped me dead in my tracks as I silently moved through the woods behind the Big Bull Bar.
    “Tell me, Bobby, just how much liquor do you have to drink to get chased by a truck through a cornfield? Or have a fist fight with a tree before you decide it would be a brilliant idea to try and