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drabbles-mc · 10 days

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Far From Over (5)

Gilly Lopez x OC Josephine Costa

Chapter Index

Warnings: 18+, language, smoking

Word Count: 3.4k

A/N: nothing like the release of a breakup album to make me bring back my own personal favorite pair of exes 😂 it's been 500000 years since i last updated but enjoy this little chapter nonetheless! also enjoy a little guest feature from a little side character because i was thinking about her 😌 xo

Taglist now located at the bottom of the fic because tumblr has Formatting Fuckery going on but you can always comment/message if you want to be added to any of my taglists!

She looked up when she heard the door chime upon being opened. The breath she was taking in preparation for her standard greeting to people, asking them who they were here to see and if they had an appointment, died on her tongue when she saw who it was that had walked in. Bishop and Taza never had appointments on the books to see Antonia, but Josie had figured out quickly that they weren’t the people who got turned away because of something like that. It was uncomfortable at first but it didn’t make her stomach tighten anymore like it used to.

Her hand was already reaching for the phone by the time they were standing on the other side of her desk. She was able to get out a quick, “Hey guys,” before Antonia answered on the other end of the line and she switched tracks. “Hey, yeah, Bishop is here for you. Okay. Thanks.” Setting the phone back on the receiver she looked at them from the other side of the desk, having to look up just slightly from her seated position. “She’ll be out in a second.”

Bishop nodded but it was Taza that spoke up with a smile. “Appreciate it.”

It wasn’t any of her business, but she still ventured to ask, “Everything okay?”

The beat of hesitation that followed from all of them was just long enough for her to catch the differences in their facial expressions. Bishop’s face contorted into a pensive frown, like he was trying to figure out what her angle was in asking. The grin still on Taza’s face said that he knew that Josie was just being nosey because she could, because she had them more or less hostage until the mayor walked out to collect them. The look of slight surprise on Gilly’s face, however, had her wondering if he would be willing to give her any crumbs.

Bishop cleared his throat and shook his head. “All good—nothing you need to worry about.”

Josie smiled because she knew that she shouldn’t laugh. “Very comforting, thank you.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Peña’s shoes clacking against the floor. All four of them turned to look at her. The smile on her face was just enough to come across as professional, but Bishop knew her too well to be convinced that there was anything genuine about it. Josie had been working for the town just long enough to start figuring out the changes in the mayor’s posture and energy. Granted, in the current situation it didn’t take a pro to figure out that Antonia probably didn’t want to be dealing with whatever problems the MC was bringing to her doorstep this time.

Antonia took a breath, setting her shoulders back before she addressed them. “Something I can help you with?” she asked, voice tight but still professional.

The smirk on Bishop’s face was one that Josie wished she could slap off on her boss’s behalf as he said, “Yeah, you got a minute?”

Antonia lifted her eyebrows just slightly. “Nice of you to say that like a question, Obispo.” She motioned for them to follow her. “Come on.”

Silent but knowing looks were exchanged among the three men. Taza and Bishop started to follow Peña back towards her office but Gilly remained by the front desk with Josie. Once the three of them rounded the corner out of view, Gilly stepped up and leaned against the reception desk. His forearms were braced flat on top of it, one hand resting over the other.

Josie leaned back in her seat, a smile coming across her face as she looked up at him. “What super secret motorcycle business do they have to talk to Peña about today?”

Gilly chuckled and shook his head. “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

Josie rolled her eyes with a grin as she toyed with the pen in her hand. “Actually I think if you told me then they would have to kill you.”

He laughed. “Yeah. That too.”

“Can I ask you something?” She paused and when she saw the amused look on Gilly’s face, she continued right on the way he knew she would no matter what he said in response to that. “Do they ask you to come with them to make you wait in the lobby while the grownups go and talk? Or do you ask to come along because you know I’ll be here waiting with you?”

He was shaking his head like she was asking something ridiculous, but the smile on his face was subverting it. “I don’t just—”

“Because I mean, I’m just saying, it’s not like you can weigh in on anything going on in there from out here. Unless you’ve got really good hearing.”

“I’m here just in case,” he said with a shrug.

Titling her head to the side, she mocked his shrug back at him. “Just in case what? Just in case Peña decides she’s into concealed carry now?”

That got Gilly to laugh in a way that he couldn’t hide. “You never know.”

Josie was laughing too as she said, “Yeah, that’s true. If Bishop was my ex-husband, I guess I’d be looking into that.”

He tried to stifle his laugh at that but wasn’t successful. “Damn, brutal.”

Her laughter faded into a hum. “I don’t hear you disagreeing, though.”

Gilly could’ve easily gone down the rabbit hole of that conversation, but he remembered where he was currently standing and stopped himself. Instead, he pedaled them both back to the original question that Josie had asked. “They don’t bother asking me anymore.”

Her brows met in confusion. “What?”

He nodded in the direction that Bishop and Taza had gone with Peña a few minutes before. “You asked if they ask me to come with them.” He shook his head. “They don’t bother asking anymore.”

Josie could feel her lips wanting to pull into a smile but she tried to fight it. “Why’s that?”

Gilly scoffed, gaze dropping to the woodgrain of the desk beneath his arms as he tried to keep his own facial expression under control. “’Cause they know I’ll fuckin’ come here—they don’t gotta ask.” He tried to say it casually but he knew that he didn’t quite come off that way.

She twirled the pen between her fingers as she nodded, feeling the traces of warmth creeping across her face. “They’re not worried that you’re out here fraternizing with the enemy when you tag along?”

The ease in her tone got him to meet her eyes again. “Didn’t realize you were the enemy,” he said with a laugh.

Leaning forward, she propped her elbows on the desk and clasped her hands, still holding her pen. “I just figured that was the general sentiment towards us here, that’s all,” she said sarcastically.

He laughed as he shook his head. “Trust me, you’re not the enemy we gotta worry about.”

“Oh, okay, so,” she unclasped her hands and pointed at him with her pen, a smirk growing across her face, “the fraternization is okay then. That’s what you’re saying.”

He gave a half-hearted roll of his eyes that didn’t stand a chance at being convincing with the grin that was on his face. It was hard to be convincing about anything when he realized how close they were now, each of them leaning farther than necessary from their respective sides of her desk. It’d take almost nothing for him to reach out and take her hands in his.

He fought the urge to do that as he said, “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Well, that works out nicely then, doesn’t it?”

Gilly opened his mouth to come back with something but before he could, the sound of Bishop clearing his throat as he approached with Taza and Antonia cut their conversation short. And even though neither Gilly nor Josie were technically doing anything wrong, they both recoiled from each other. Gilly stood up straight, and Josie situated herself back in her chair, not leaning so comfortably on the desk like she had been.

Bishop only looked at Josie for a brief moment before his focus landed on Gilly. “Good to go?”

He cleared his throat awkwardly as he nodded. “Yeah, yeah I’m good.”

There was a round of brief goodbyes, ones that never felt like they were being handled quite right. There were no clear compartments to put anyone in among them, which made exits a little odd to navigate. But it was over quickly and then the three of them were heading back out the same door they’d come in through. None of them turned to look back but both Josie and Peña watched them leave until they were out of sight.

When they were gone, Antonia turned and looked at Josie. Her expression was almost completely neutral, hard to piece apart. It made the unease in Josie’s stomach intensify more and more with each second that crept by.

She set her pen down on the desk before running her hand back through her hair. “I wasn’t—”

Peña held up her hand to stop her. She didn’t need an explanation. The reality was that maybe it would be better if Josie didn’t give her one. “I didn’t ask.”

“Yeah, but I know it looks like—”

“You can do what you want, Josephine. I’m your boss, not your mother. But I have to tell you—be smart. Be careful.”

Josie laughed nervously. “Thanks, but there’s, there’s really nothing going on.”

Antonia didn’t argue it one way or the other, simply nodding along. “Okay. Just keep that in mind, alright?”

When Josie gave her a nod in response, Antonia let it close out their conversation as she turned and started to head back to her office. Josie let out a quiet sigh of relief at that, dropping her face into her hands once she was out of sight. The only thing that got her to look up again was the sound of motorcycles flying past their building on the street.

The ringing of her desk phone pulled Josie back to the present against her will. She hadn’t even realized that her eyes were glued to the cellphone screen in front of her. The text from Peña was innocuous enough, just three sentences long, but three sentences was all it took to throw her right down memory lane whether she wanted to take that trip or not.

By the time she went to reach for the phone she’d already missed the call. She leaned back in her chair, cellphone still clutched tightly in her hand as she read the text again. “Heard through the grapevine that things have been rough there. Hope you’re well. If you ever want to talk you can call”

Josie didn’t even know what she was supposed to say to that. She didn’t know what she wanted to say to that. Peña had been gone from Santo Padre for months, and as much as Josie had hated to see her go, she completely understood it. She never pried more than she should when it came to whatever was happening with her and Bishop. She caught the overflow of it sometimes, especially after she had started dating Gilly, but Peña had always been the type to play things a little closer to the vest at work. It was the only way to stay somewhat safe and sane in the job. And even then, it clearly hadn’t been enough because she was gone now.

She typed out the starts to a few different sentences and ended up deleting them all because none of them felt right. Heaving out a deep sigh, she pushed her chair back away from her desk and stood up. She wound her way through the building until she walked out onto the steps. She quickly put one foot in front of the other until she was on the sidewalk right by the road. Pulling out her pack of cigarettes and her lighter, she sparked one up before hitting the call button at the top of the screen.

After a couple rings, there was a confused, “Hello?” greeting her from the other end of the line.

Josie chuckled, smoke creeping out past her lips as she did. “You should cut down whatever grapevines you’re still hearing things through. For your own sanity.”

It got Antonia to laugh, her tone easing. “I really don’t hear much anymore. I just,” there was a shred of a pause, “I had to call the bank about some stuff to finally close on the house out there.”

“Ohh, got it.”

“Yeah. You know how it is there. You’ll know everything even if you don’t want to.”

Josie hummed as she shook her head because she knew now more than ever just how right Antonia was. “I know how it is.” She pulled a drag off her cigarette. “You sold the house though?”

The sigh that Antonia let out sounded like one of relief. “Yes. Took long enough, but yes.”

“That’s good.”

“It is.” She paused. “How’ve you been, Josie?”

“Any chance you need an assistant at your new job?” she joked. She gave them both a beat to laugh before continuing. “I’m alright. It’s different without you here.”

There was a pause and Josie had to imagine that Antonia wanted to ask about what had been going on, with the town, with the club. How could she not wonder? But she didn’t ask. If Josie wasn’t going to offer it up, it was no longer her right to pry.

“That your nice way of saying better?” Antonia joked.

Josie laughed, shaking her head even though the woman on the other end of the line couldn’t see it. “No, no. If that was the case I would’ve just said better.”

“Nothing if not honest.” A beat passed. “Something going on?”

Josie let out a dry laugh. “It’s Santo Padre—there’s always something going on.”

Antonia didn’t let it derail the conversation. “Something going on with you, I mean.”

Josie took a deep breath. “Same shit. Sorry, if, um,” she tapped ash off the end of her cigarette, “me calling freaked you out. I saw your text and just figured, you know…”

“Don’t apologize. It’s good to hear from you.”

“Now who’s just being nice?” Josie joked.

Antonia laughed quietly. “Doesn’t mean it’s a lie, though.” She took a deep breath. “Look, I have to go. But really, I mean it, if you need—”

“I know. And, you know, thanks. But don’t worry about me or this place. Block the area code or something.”

“I’ll look into that. Stay safe, Josie.”

“Doing my best,” she said as she dropped her cigarette onto the sidewalk to snub it out.

They exchanged a quick goodbye before Josie hung up the phone. She tucked it back into the pocket of her slacks, not sure if she felt better or worse having had the conversation. She plucked her cigarette butt up off the ground and tossed it into the trash can before heading back towards the office building.

When she walked back in, she looked at the young woman sitting behind the desk. She briefly looked up when Josie came back in, but once she saw who it was she went back to her computer. Josie frowned slightly in thought. She thought about the mild panic that had been on Lena’s face when Gilly and Bishop had stopped by before. Even the first time she saw them Josie wasn’t sure she was ever that worried about them. Maybe she should’ve been. Maybe if she had been none of it would’ve played out the way it did and she wouldn’t be stuck in the position that she’s in now. She just hung up on one of the only people who had tried to give her an out from it all.

She wanted to say something to Lena, but she didn’t know what. She must’ve been lingering a little too long for it to be comfortable, because she looked up once more from her computer. “You okay, Josie?”

Clearing her throat, Josie nodded as she tried to get her facial expression back under control. “Yeah, just zoned out for a second there. Thanks, Lena.”

The last thing that Josie wanted to do was go back to her desk and work. There was a knowing twinge in the back of her mind that her focus was going to be shot for the remainder of the afternoon. Part of her wanted to just up and leave, but she didn’t really know where she would go if she did.

When she sat back down, she saw that whoever had called earlier left a voicemail. She didn’t recognize the number off the top of her head, but it was a local area code, so with a deep breath she took the phone off the receiver and hit the button to play it back.

The second that she heard her name on the recording, she knew who was calling and her stomach dropped immediately. “Miss Costa,” Miguel’s tone was as even and calm as it had ever been, “I guess I missed you. Call me back at this number when you get this. I think it’s time I sit down with our new mayor now that she’s gotten some time to settle in.”

The message ended and Josie all but slammed the phone back down onto the receiver. She huffed out a deep sigh, but it wasn’t enough to get out her frustration. Pushing her hands back through her hair, she grit out a quiet, “Fuck,” as she managed to set her hands on the surface of her desk without slamming them.

As much as she didn’t want to remain involved in any of it, she knew that right now there was no getting out of it. So she pulled her cellphone back out. Without thinking she went right to Gilly’s name in her contacts. When she opened their old thread of messages, though, she felt the cold sting of reality across her face—all of her last messages to him months beforehand never having gone through. She knew that it wouldn’t be any different now.

Pinning her lips into a thin line, she went and found EZ’s name instead. “Call me ASAP”. She knew that there was no guarantee of an instant response. For all she knew he was out in the middle of the desert somewhere with no service.

For the first time in a long time, luck was on her side. Before she could spiral out too far, her phone started ringing. She snatched it up off her desk before the second ring ended. “Hello?”

“What’s going on?” EZ’s voice came through from the other end of the line, a little breathless and Josie didn’t want to think too much on why that might’ve been.

She looked around to make sure that no one else was around. “The mayor.”

“What about her?”

“Galindo called asking to meet. I’m going to have to set him up with something or he’s just gonna fucking show up uninvited.”

There was a long pause and for a moment Josie was about to ask if EZ had heard what she said. Finally, “Set it up. Let them meet.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. See what she says afterwards and let me know.”

“Don’t you want to get—”

“We’re an easier sell if we’re coming in to solve a problem that she has.”

Josie scoffed and shook her head. “You’re just gonna give her a different one.”

The pause that followed let her know that EZ wasn’t looking for the extra commentary. However he must’ve had too many other things on his mind because he didn’t say anything about it. “Let me know when you hear anything else.”

She couldn’t hide the bubbling sense of frustration as she said, “Yeah, okay. Got it.”

EZ heard it, too. She could tell by the way he changed his tone when he spoke up again. It wasn’t quite apologetic, but something akin to it. “Josie?”

She sighed. “What?”

Whatever minute kindness he was going to try and extend, he backpedaled on. “Nothing. Never mind.”

For a moment Josie wished that he could see the way that she rolled her eyes at him. “Good talk.”

She heard the telltale breath of someone gearing up to say something to try and defend themselves and she hung up before he could even try. As she reached for the office phone on her desk to call Galindo back she couldn’t help but miss the days when she didn’t know much of anything at all. Back when fraternizing with the enemy was just a bad joke that got her and Gilly laughing harder than it should’ve because they were trying to keep each other on the hook.

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