Chapter 8

They were only about a third of the way through the boxes; it was taking longer than it should as they found themselves discussing the pros and cons of each pistol as it was unboxed. Carol was strictly into the autoloaders, and greatly admired his collection of 1911s and Browning Hi Powers. Doug also had a half dozen revolvers, running the gamut from an original cap and ball .44 Russian conversion to a matching set of Taurus snub-nosed .357 magnums.

There were amiably arguing the merits of decockers when his tablet lit up with an incoming call.

“Lane! Are you back in town?” Doug answered, smiling widely.

“Hi Doug! Just landed, wanted to let you know I was back and see if you were busy later. I picked up a case of Christine’s favorite merlot while I was in California and was going to drop it off, minus a couple of bottles as a carrying fee, of course. Interested?”

“Of course, what time?”

“Eight sound alright? I need to get showered and unpacked, run an errand.”

“Sounds perfect. Oh, the guards are in place on the elevators, but your name is on the all-access list.”

“All access?” she asked, sounding confused.

“It just means that you can come up here any time you want, day or night.” He replied, blushing a bit to Carol’s amusement”

“Well now ... isn’t that interesting?” Lane’s voice took on a teasing tone. “Was that your idea?”

Doug glanced at Carol, who was busy looking anywhere but at Doug, and winced. “Of course, um ... when you get here, I’ll introduce you to Carol Wysnewski, my keeper.”

“Carol?” Lane’s voice sounded cautious.

“One of JJ’s people, ex-Secret Service, a gun toting badass.” Doug explained, winking when he caught Carol staring at him, open mouthed.

“I see!” Lane replied, sounding a little more relaxed. “Look, let me get out of these clothes. Flying commercial always makes me feel like I need disinfecting. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Doug said before disconnecting.

Carol was watching him, grinning but shaking her head. “She must be something.”

“Eh,” Doug asked, confused by her comment.

“According to JJ, you were a Ranger and badass, but you are sweating after talking to a girl. She must really be something.” She said, shrugging but looking at him from the corner of her eye as she pretended to examine the Coonan she was holding.

“And how,” Doug said softly, mostly to himself.

Just after seven that evening, Carol placed the last pistol in the safe, stacking the box back on the pile of empties, dusted off her hands. “Got about an hour before your friend is due. You want a shower? I’ll make sure things are cleaned up out here while you do your thing, then be out of here after the introductions.”

“You leaving?” Doug asked.

Carol just rolled her eyes at him. “I’ll stay and meet your lady, then make myself scarce. I’m going to need to go out anyway. I need to pick up some things and explain to my lady why I’ll be gone a lot on this new job. She’s used to it, doesn’t like it, mind you, but used to it.”

“You know, you could bring her here if you like. I could even lock myself in the office, it’s not like I don’t spend way too much time in there anyway,” Doug offered.

“Don’t like her to get mixed up in my work.” Carol said, shaking her head. “So, shower?” she said, changing the topic. Doug understood that her personal life was not up for discussion.

“I suppose I have to get over this sooner or later, and I would like not to smell when Lane arrives.” He said, looking sheepish.

Doug grabbed a pair of slacks, a shirt, and some fresh undergarments and laid them out on the bed before rolling into the bathroom, Carol following silently behind.

Carol examined the walk-in shower with interest. It was a waist-high tub, to her anyway, with an entry door in the side. There was a six-inch sill at the bottom of the door, and when she looked inside, she could see that the tub could be completely filled and had Jacuzzi jets studding all over the inside. There was a swiveling seat that could be extended so that the user could actually sit down and pull themselves into the tub, closing the door behind them. In addition to the tub jets, there was a fully functional shower setup so that a person seated on the chair could wash up without having to stand.

Hanging from the ceiling, over where the seat would be when it was extended out the door of the tub, was a hanging bar that looked similar to a trapeze bar. It was connected to a set of eye bolts in a ceiling joist and hung from a length of half inch steel cable. It looked capable of supporting much more weight than a single person. She could see how Doug, before he was injured, would have been able to grab the bar and move himself from the wheelchair to the seat without much struggle.

She turned back to Doug and saw that he’d undressed himself and was sitting, nude, in his chair. She quickly looked from him to the tub, judging the movements she would need to make, then crouched down so her face was on a level with his, looking him in the eye.

“Ready?”

Doug, blushing, just nodded.

Carol looking at the still slightly suppurating wound on his chest, realized that simply gripping him under the arms wouldn’t be the brightest move and shifted, turning her back to him and crouching.

“Can’t grab near your chest, might open the wound. You can grab me around the neck, and I’ll piggy back you to the seat,” she explained.

“Wait, let me raise up.” She glanced back and saw the chair begin to rise, a scissor lift style arrangement under the seat lifting him until he was high enough easily to grab her from behind without her having to squat.

“Nice,” she commented.

Doug, nude and distinctly not comfortable, was made even more so when he realized he was getting hard. It wasn’t so much that he was attracted to Carol, although she was definitely attractive, and even more so after spending the afternoon with her and learning how much they had in common. It was that he had not been undressed in front of a woman in two years or more.

Her back was to him, so he snaked his one hand around her neck, making sure to grab her opposite shoulder, he didn’t want to choke her. He placed his leg stumps against her lower ass, trying to keep her from feeling his erection against her back, and pulled himself up.

Carol pivoted and squatted slowly until she felt him release her, then glanced back to make sure he was securely in the seat and not in danger of falling. When her eye fell on his erection, it was her turn to blush. She wasn’t a man-hating type, and she liked Doug a lot; she’d just never been romantically attracted to men. That didn’t mean she couldn’t feel some physical attraction. Maybe not specifically to Doug and not enough generally to overcome her devotion to women, but enough that this made her a little uncomfortable.

It would never do to let him know that though, she was a professional. When she saw he was secure, she simply said, “Holler if you need anything,” and exited the bathroom.

Taking a shower with only one arm was a bit more involved than it would be if he had both, so it was just almost a quarter before eight when he was done and dried off. He called out to Carol and was gratified at her instant response.

He was back in his chair and in his room, struggling into his clothes when the doorbell rang.

“Fuck!” he groused, torn between finishing the task of buttoning his shirt, and wanting to rush to the door.

“I got it, Doug. Take your time.” Carol called, and he heard her head away from his room.

When he finally got the shirt buttoned and tucked in, then ran a brush through his hair, he rolled his chair out into the living room, not sure what he would find. He shouldn’t have been worried.

Carol and Lane were sitting at the island bar in the kitchen. Carol had a cup of coffee in her hand and Lane had opened a bottle of wine, pouring two glasses. They were chatting, clearly at ease with one another, and Doug let out a silent sigh of relief.

“Lane, you look lovely this evening. Sorry about not greeting you at the door, we got carried away going through my guns, and I lost track of time.” He rolled over to her, about to offer her his hand when Lane stood and leaned in for a kiss.

“Carol was telling me about your toys. Sounds like the two of you have a lot in common.” Lane said with a twinkle in her eye. “Now that you are roommates, I expect you will be ... sharing a lot.” Her teasing tone made Doug raise an eyebrow.

“Um...” he wasn’t sure how to respond to that without getting himself in deeper.

Carol just laughed. “Doug, I bet I get the same thing when I tell my girl about your collection.” She stood, offered her hand to Lane. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Lane. I’ll call before I come back,” she added, winking at her.

Lane just smiled and shook her hand.