Framing Felipe (15 page)

shockingly,
no
words
came
out.
He
looked
from
Sarah,
to
Dana,
whose
eyes
had
narrowed

into
slits,
and
back
to
Sarah,
who
sighed.

“I
hate
feeling
out
of
the
loop
on
these
group
things,”
she
confessed.

“Sweetie,
you’re
worried
about
feeling
replaceable
at
a
time
like
this?
What
happened

to
you
up
in
Baltimore
during
those
six
weeks?”

Sarah
lowered
her
gaze
to
the
tabletop.

What
had
happened
that
would
make
a
woman
like
her
turn
red
from
the
neck
up
at

the
mere
mention
of
that
time?
Whatever
it
was,
if
there
was
even
a
small
way
he
could

make
her
forget
it,
he
was
willing
to
try.
Seeing
her
anxious
sparked
emotions
him
he
didn’t

know
how
to
tamp
down.
He
squeezed
her
hand,
and
this
time
she
didn’t
pull
it
back.

FRAMING FELIPE
–
57
–
Holley Trent

Dana’s
voice
softened.
“Don’t
worry
about
it.
Like
I
said,
we’ll
debrief
tomorrow.
Have
a

good
meal
on
us
and
sleep
well.
You
too,
Felipe.”
With
one
final
wan
smile,
she
turned
on

her
heel
and
walked
out.

A
heavy
quiet
settled
into
the
room
now
that
they
were
alone
again.
Before
they’d
been

interrupted
by
Tamara,
Felipe
had
been
feeling
amorous.
Flirty.
Now
he
felt
something
on

the
other
end
of
the
spectrum.
Territorial.
Protective.
Not
even
twenty-‐four
hours,
and
he

knew
without
a
doubt
that,
yes,
they
were
pairing
off
just
like
Tamara
said.
Maybe
Sarah

didn’t
know
it
yet,
though.

He
twined
the
fingers
of
his
left
hand
through
those
on
Sarah’s
right
and
pulled
her
to

standing
along
with
him.
She
didn’t
struggle—just
followed.
On
the
way
through
the
living

room,
he
picked
up
her
keys
and
her
bag
without
breaking
his
grip,
and
drew
her
out
the

front
door.
“I’m
sitting
in
the
front
seat
this
time,”
he
said.

Her
face
was
a
blank
as
they
descended
the
stairs,
but
her
eyes
were
the
red
of

exhausted
defeat.
“Fine.”

FRAMING FELIPE
–
58
–
Holley Trent

They
sat
in
silence
as
Sarah
steered
the
pick-‐up
down
the
mountain
toward
a
small

nearby
town.
Occasionally,
she
felt
Felipe’s
scrutinizing
gaze
on
her
right
cheek,
but
didn’t

turn
to
him.
Didn’t
acknowledge
him.
Her
body
was
aware
of
his
presence
enough
without

her
having
to
look
at
him.
She
was
thankful
for
the
blessed
silence,
and
not
because
she
was

so
averse
to
conversation,
but
because
her
mind
reeled
from
that
last
interaction
with
Dana

and
Patrick.

Sarah
had
left
the
impromptu
meeting
feeling
a
bit
dressed
down—maybe
a
bit

worthless.
Like
her
opinions
didn’t
matter.
But,
of
course
they
did.
They
always
had
to

Dana.
Hell,
Dana
would
follow
Sarah
into
a
firefight
with
no
questions
asked,
but
having

Felipe
there,
inserting
his
two
cents
and
making
Dana
reshuffle
Shrew
priorities,
had

chafed
her.

If
she
had
her
druthers,
she’d
deposit
Felipe
at
the
safehouse
as
planned,
lock
him
up

like
they
had
the
Visas,
return
to
the
circus
and
burn
it
to
the
ground
with
Jacques
in
it,

then
return
to
Paddy’s
mountain
to
deal
with
the
were-‐bear
bullshit.
That’s
the
way
Sarah’s

mind
had
always
worked.
She
was
constantly
triaging
things,
making
fast
choices.

Now
a
stranger
had
gone
and
pulled
the
rug
out
from
under
her
and
made
her
second-‐

guess
her
place.
Her
usefulness.
Certainly
Dana
didn’t
want
it
to
seem
that
way,
but
Sarah

couldn’t
help
how
she
felt.
Whether
she
was
sickeningly
tired
or
not,
she
felt
her
place
was

with
the
Shrews
and
being
sent
away
like
this
to
“rest”
after
being
away
from
her
girls
for

six
weeks
had
a
special
kind
of
sting.

She
parked
the
borrowed
pick-‐up
on
the
backside
of
the
lodge
she
and
Shrews
so
often

frequented.
Astrid’s
immigrant
grandparents
had
built
the
Bavarian-‐style
three-‐story

structure
during
the
mid-‐twentieth
century,
but
it
was
now
owned
and
operated
by
her

brother.
He
liked
to
call
his
style
of
inn-‐keeping
“German
Nouveau.”
All
that
really
meant

was
that
sometimes
there
was
bratwurst
for
supper,
and
other
times
there
was
barbecue.

“I
hope
you
like
good
Southern
cooking,”
she
said
to
Felipe,
finally
meeting
his
gaze
as

she
cut
the
ignition.
“Eric
has
a
fondness
for
white
gravy.”

“I’m
sure
it’ll
be
a
special
treat.
Better
than
the
anemic
buffets
I’m
used
to.”

FRAMING FELIPE
–
59
–
Holley Trent

“Maybe.”

They
sat
there
in
the
silence
for
a
while,
Sarah
drumming
her
fingertips
against
the

steering
wheel
sides
and
Felipe
occasionally
shifting
in
his
seat.
When
Sarah
swiveled
her

head
to
face
him,
he
was
giving
her
an
inscrutable
look.

“What?”
she
asked.

“Are
we
waiting
for
something?
Valet
service,
perhaps?”
His
lips
twitched
up
at
the

corners.

Something
inside
her
uncoiled
and
she
let
the
irrepressible
laugh
escape.
“No.
I…I’m

just
feeling
a
bit
ill
at
ease.
Makes
it
hard
for
me
to
concentrate.
I
hate
being
away
from
the

Shrews
when
things
are
up
in
the
air.”

“But
Dana
told
you
to
go.
It
was
an
order,
not
a
suggestion,
best
I
could
tell.”

“That
doesn’t
make
it
any
easier.
Aren’t
you
feeling
out
of
sorts
being
away
from

Fabian?”

“Yes,
but
I
try
not
to
fret
over
things
beyond
my
control.”

“That’s
a
nice
trick.
I
hope
to
master
that
one
some
day.”

“When
you
come
from
a
world
like
mine,
you
learn
all
sorts
of
tricks
to
stay
sane.”

His
smile
wilted
a
bit
at
the
corners.
She
didn’t
know
anything
about
him,
really,
but

from
all
she’d
learned
so
far,
it
was
possible
that
in
his
own
way
Fabian
had
seen
more

“war”
than
she
had.
Smaller
scale,
but
just
as
demoralizing.
He’d
seen
senseless
death
and

known
hopelessness,
too.
She
needed
to
stop
thinking
of
him
as
some
defenseless
civilian.

Just
because
he
had
never
worn
a
uniform
didn’t
mean
he
didn’t
have
some
fight
in
him.

“
Ven
.”

The
pad
of
his
thumb
stroking
her
jaw
startled
her
back
into
reality.

“Good
hot
meal
will
do
us
both
good,
I
think?”
His
smile,
now
returned,
warm
instead
of

mocking.
Comforting,
even.
It
was
obviously
meant
to
disarm
her,
and
as
much
as
she
hated

to
admit
it,
it
worked.
Why
he
cared
enough
to
disarm
her—well,
that
was
something
she

didn’t
have
energy
enough
to
speculate
on.

Since
she
wasn’t
going
to
argue
with
him,
she
toggled
the
lock
switch
and
pushed
open

her
door.
She
hopped
down
from
the
vehicle,
but
before
she
could
slam
her
door,
Eric
had

appeared
in
the
attached
tavern’s
rear
entrance.
The
handsome,
auburn
charmer
grinned

and
waved
a
kitchen
towel
at
her.

FRAMING FELIPE
–
60
–
Holley Trent

“Hey,
hot
stuff.
Astrid
called
about
five
minutes
ago.
Said
you
were
on
the
way
on
the

boss
lady’s
orders.
I’ve
got
chicken
in
the
fryer.”

Felipe
met
Sarah
at
the
front
of
the
truck
and
looped
an
arm
around
her
back,
pulling

her
close.

She
let
her
forehead
furrow,
and
when
she
tilted
her
face
up
to
give
him
that
look
,
she

found
his
expression
was
a
friendly
blank.
She’d
seen
that
same
blank
an
hour
earlier
on

Patrick’s
face,
right
before
Patrick
had
assessed
Felipe
as
non-‐threatening.
Right
before

Tamara
had
accused
them
of
pairing
off.
Is
that
what
he
was
doing?
Making
a
pair?
Was
this

guy
crazy?

He’d
probably
fallen
off
his
trapeze
onto
his
head
a
couple
of
times
too
many,
but
she

didn’t
bother
shrugging
off
his
arm.
It
really
didn’t
annoy
her
that
much,
and
apparently
he

thought
he
had
something
to
prove.
Lord
knew
what,
though.

“Hope
there
is
enough
for
two,”
he
said.

Eric
raised
one
auburn
eyebrow
and
gave
Felipe
a
studious
stare.
His
gaze
flitted
from

Felipe,
to
Sarah,
back
to
Felipe
again,
and
then
ended
on
Sarah.

She
shrugged.

Eric
whistled
low
and
scratched
his
head.
“Surprised
that
didn’t
shake
out
of
the
Shrew

grapevine.”

“It’s
very
new.”
Felipe
grazed
his
left
hand
down
Sarah’s
left
arm
and
gave
her
a

squeeze
that
in
a
small
way
reminded
her
of
that
much-‐needed
massage
back
in
the
cabin’s

kitchen.
For
the
first
time
in
a
long
while,
she’d
experienced
complete
distraction
when
his

hands,
then
lips,
roved
over
her.
She
didn’t
ponder
about
the
fate
of
those
sex
workers
at

the
club.
She
didn’t
think
about
those
Visas
locked
in
the
bread
truck.
She
didn’t

contemplate
the
results
of
her
last
testing
array
with
Doc
and
wonder
what
they’d
meant

for
her
long-‐term
livelihood.
Her
only
thoughts
had
been
things
like
Lower
,
and
Oh
yeah,

right
there.

She
didn’t
know
if
she
was
just
that
tired,
or
if
he
really
did
make
her
feel
that
safe.
She

suspected
the
former,
but
either
way,
she
could
just
talk
to
Eric
later
and
explain
it
all.

Felipe
could
have
his
little
ruse
for
the
moment.

“I’ve
got
the
game
turned
on
in
the
great
room,”
Eric
said.
“Go
on
in
and
make
yourself