by Margaret Kay
Brielle looked away. She didn’t realize that she was that transparent.
“Brielle come up north with me. I need you there to willingly walk into rehab again.” Bobby wrapped his arms around her.
She placed a kiss on Bobby’s cheek. Then she nodded her head yes.
“Okay, now let’s run through the script for the phone call between you two once you’re in New Orleans and your phone is turned back on,” Cooper said.
“Is this all really necessary?” Brielle asked.
“Very,” Sherman said.
Foxtrot
Sherman’s phone vibrated and rang softly. Sloan. “Are you on the ground?” He asked as he answered.
“Yep, just taxiing to the hangar. I should be off in the next fifteen minutes. The DEA maintains a hangar here. I guess there is a lot of DEA activity at Port Fourchon.”
Made sense to Sherman. With all the oil and other things that came in down there, he bet multiple agencies had a heavy presence at that port. They’d see when they got down there. “Take the road out of the airport west and head south on Highway One. Go west on Oakridge Lane till you come to Oakridge Boat Launch. We’ll meet you there.”
“I’ll text you when I get there,” Sloan said. He disconnected the call and then squeezed Kaylee’s hand. He gazed into her beautiful blue eyes. “I shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours.” Kaylee ran her fingers through her rich auburn hair. Sloan’s eyes tracked her movements. Then his eyes focused on her ring finger and the ring he’d put there the previous night. “I love you.”
Kaylee smiled wide. “I love you too. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“I’m sorry we had to leave Cleveland early.”
“Don’t be. It’s your job. I understand.” Though it had been jarring. One second they were planning on dinner at Gary’s brother and sister-in-law’s home, the next second his boss, Shepherd, called and ordered them to the airport right away. The company Lear was en route, and they’d be flying to Louisiana. She’d been with him long enough to understand that it was some sort of emergency, and she knew not to ask too many questions.
He kissed her as the plane pulled up in front of the hangar. He saw multiple cars and two aircraft within. “The pilot will be around the whole time you’re in the hangar in New Orleans. Let him know if you need anything.”
“I’ll be fine,” she reiterated. She picked the paperback book up from her lap. “It’s nice to have some time to read for pleasure.”
Sloan kissed her again and then exited the plane, realizing that she fit into his life perfectly. The Lear took back off within twenty minutes after it had landed, the destination, Louis Armstrong International Airport, New Orleans.
“Brielle we’ll all be up top while we cruise over to the south side of the lake. Don’t come out of this cabin till one of us comes to get you,” Sherman said.
“I know. I’ve got it,” she assured him. How she’d really love to be able to be up top in the sun.
Madison handed her a ballcap. “Hide your hair and wear your sunglasses when you get off the boat.”
Brielle took the hat from her.
As Sherman went topside to prepare to cast off, he glanced at the boat two over where he could see the deputy, still staked out within the main cabin. He slid his sunglasses on and then hopped from his boat and crossed the short distance on the pier. He stepped onto the Windsor, a thirty-two-foot Bayliner, and made eye contact with the man. He went right up to the glass door and opened it.
The deputy was startled.
“Hey, just wanted to let you know that we’re going to take the Vulture out for an hour or so. I promised my girlfriend and her brother a ride. You can tell the Sheriff I’m flying my brother out of New Orleans this evening to get him checked into rehab. Are you gonna follow? Because if so, I’ll just invite you to come on board with us.”
The man obviously didn’t know what to say. His face contorted into a scowl. “Um, no, that’s all right,” he stammered.
“Okay, we’ll see you in about an hour or so then.” Sherman smiled to himself as he stepped off the other boat and returned to his own. By this time, Cooper, Madison, and Bobby were out of the cabin.
Cooper chuckled at him. “You had to poke the bear, didn’t you?”
Sherman laughed. He climbed the ladder to the fly bridge. “Bobby, are my binoculars still up in that compartment?”
“Sure are. I haven’t moved or touched any of your things, Brian.”
Brian rolled his eyes. Sure, he had. From what it looked like; Bobby was living on his boat. He’d have to ask him about that at some point. He figured Bobby had lost his apartment and had nowhere else to go, so he just moved in here. After all, it was free.
The afternoon sun shone brightly as the Vulture cut through the water. The lake was busy. There were a lot of charters out as well as personal fishing boats and some pleasure craft. Cooper kept his eyes trained through the binoculars, watching the nearby boats. After thirty minutes of Sherman pushing the boat’s top speed, it didn’t appear anyone followed, but he couldn’t be sure. Hell, they couldn’t be sure there wasn’t a tracker some place on the boat. They’d have to be fast, cutting into the inlet that led to the boat launch after they knew Sloan was there, drop Brielle, and then get the hell out of there even faster.
Sherman circled the area, staying as close to shore as he could until he got the text message from Sloan. He stood on the boat launch. Sherman navigated into the channel. It was just deep enough here for him to nose up to the furthermost pier before he’d bottom out.
“Coop, go out on the bow and keep watch for me. And Madison, get our girl and tell her to go out on the bow too,” Sherman said.
Both moved right away. Bobby sat back, watching.
Brielle peeked out of the windows. They were in the channel. It wouldn’t be long now. She stuffed her hair in the ballcap, not an easy feat as her hair was so thick. The door opened, and Madison poked her head in. “Time to move. When we get into position, you need to move fast. No conversation, just go with our man and do what he says.”
Brielle shook her head and grinned an amused smile. Jeez, these people were so serious. You’d think they were in Russia or China spying on our enemies. She grabbed her backpack and followed Madison out. Madison pointed to Cooper on the bow. Brielle could see they were creeping towards the dock. She put her backpack on and carefully moved forward.
By the time she came up beside Cooper, the nose of the boat was within a foot of the narrow pier where another man stood. She felt the telltale vibration from below, indicating the boat had made contact with the sandy bottom. This was the closest the boat would get to the pier.
She grabbed onto the railing and swung a leg over it. “Help to steady me,” she said to Cooper. Then she reached her hand to the man on the pier. He took her hand and helped to muscle her over. When both of her feet were on the narrow piece of wood, she gazed at the stranger’s sunglass covered eyes. He stood the same height as her. “You’re Sloan?”
He nodded at her, glanced at Cooper, and then took hold of her upper arm and led her at a quick pace up the pier and towards land. “Don’t say another word till we’re in the car.”
Brielle hurried to keep up with him. He had long strides. He brought her to the passenger side of a black SUV, closed the door once she was within, and then hurried to the driver’s door. He turned the engine over and drove away at a normal speed. She’d half expected he would tear out of the parking lot.
“Keep the hat and glasses on until I drop you at the hotel,” he said.
“Sure.” She gazed at this man. He wore a t-shirt and blue jeans. His hair was on the longer side, like Brian’s. She assumed he was an ATF agent too. “You’re Sloan, right?”
His eyes flickered to her. His lips cracked a small smile. “Gary. And you’re Brielle.” He presented his right hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She shook his hand, feeling a bit more relaxed. “You too.”
Once
Sloan turned onto Highway One north, he set the cruise control for the posted speed limit. They had plenty of time to make it into New Orleans before Sherman would arrive, and there was no reason to draw any attention from law enforcement to them.
Sloan pulled the SUV up in front of the hotel. “Power your phone up and I’ll give you my phone number in case you need anything before Sherman gets here.”
Once she had his number programmed in, she gazed at him, waiting for further instructions.
“Go inside and do your posts but stay in the lobby in view at all times. I’ll let Sherman know you’re set, and he’ll have Bobby call you.”
“Do you really think someone could be monitoring Bobby’s or my phone?”
“We’re taking nothing for granted. Trust us, Brielle. This is what we do, and we do it better than just about anyone else out there. I’ve known Sherman for over a decade. He’s my best friend and my partner. If he’s worried, there must be a good reason. He’s not a man that worries easily.”
Brielle nodded as she processed that. What occurred to her was that she was probably safer now than she had been in the last few months. She was definitely much safer now than she had been since she broke into the BioDynamix facility, before Brian found her. Why was it that she felt more afraid than she ever had?
“Go on,” Sloan said with a nod towards the hotel. “I’ll be out here watching until Sherman gets here. You have my phone number. Call me if you need me.”
Brielle nodded and forced a smile. Sloan knew it was forced. He could see the fear in her features, in the choppiness of her movements as she grabbed her backpack from between her feet and got out of the car. She didn’t look back as she walked to the front door to the hotel and entered, disappearing into the crowd of people who came and went through the glass double doors.
The lobby was crowded. She managed to find a seat at the counter in the bistro area to the left of the main doors. She laid her phone onto the counter beside her and waited for it to ring. Two minutes later, the ringtone startled her. “Hey, Bobby. How’s it going?”
“Not so good, Brielle. I, um, I got arrested a few nights ago.”
“What? Why didn’t you call me before now?” She asked.
“I did, your phone went right to voicemail.”
“Oh, my battery was dead. I forgot to bring my charger with me. I borrowed some guy’s earlier. I’m still in the Quarter, at that demonstration I told you about. I wish you’d come with me. Why’d you get arrested?”
“Long story, but I have a favor to ask.”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Where are you right now?”
“At my hotel.”
“In the Quarter?”
“Yes. Now what do you need, Bobby? If you need me to come home, I can. I’ll check out and,” she began, but he interrupted.
“No, stay there. I’ll be there in about an hour. Which hotel are you at?”
As planned, she gave him the name of the hotel and which street it was on.
“Check out and I’ll call you when we arrive. My brother Brian is here.”
“Okay,” Brielle agreed. “But what is going on, Bobby?”
“I’ll tell you when I get there,” Bobby said as scripted.
“Bye,” she said, feeling foolish. That whole call had been stupid, as far as she was concerned. She didn’t believe that anyone had access to listen in on their phone calls.
Sherman reached to Bobby’s phone and hit the end button. “Good.”
“I still think that was stupid. I doubt anyone has hacked into either of our phones.”
Sherman shot Bobby a glare. “It happens more than you’d believe.” He wouldn’t tell his brother his team did it on a regular basis.
“Let’s roll,” Cooper said. Both he and Madison stood by the door, backpacks in hand.
The four of them left the boat. Sherman had it all buttoned up, with the power and AC disengaged. “Do we need to stop at your apartment and get you more of your things? You’ll be up north a month,” Sherman said to Bobby.
“I kind of don’t have an apartment no more. I lost my lease a few months ago and have been staying on the boat. I have my warmer clothes in this bag,” Bobby replied, swinging his backpack onto his shoulder. “Some of my stuff is in boxes at Brielle’s. I’ll probably have to borrow some of your clothes, if that’s okay.”
“Like the way you borrowed my boat,” Sherman said as he unlocked the Mustang.
“We’ll catch you guys later,” Cooper said from near the SUV he and Madison had rented.
Madison came up beside Sherman. “Bye baby.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Sherman pulled his little red rental car onto Highway One and pointed it north. It was still warm, a seasonable seventy-seven. The top was down. He figured they’d reach New Orleans just before sunset. He felt relieved to be leaving the Parish and Sheriff Henderson behind. Knowing that Sloan had Brielle, brought him peace of mind.
“About Brielle,” Bobby said from nowhere. “She’s not a casual sex kind of girl, believes in relationships and commitment.”
Sherman’s head snapped to view his brother. “Why would you tell me that?”
“Come on, Brian. I’ve seen how you look at her. And even though I am not attracted to women, even I can appreciate that she’s beautiful and has all the right curves in all the right places.”
“Oh, so you finally admit to me that you’re gay. Thank God!” Sherman said. “Bobby, you have to know I love you and accept you for whoever you are and only want the best for you.”
“Maybe, I just never knew how to tell you.” The truth was, his brother had quite a reputation with the girls. He’d been a Navy SEAL, was a real man in every way. Bobby never felt like he measured up to Brian. Add in that he liked men instead of women, plus all the trouble with drugs he’d gotten into, and he was sure his brother would be disappointed in him if he knew he was gay.
“Just like that.” There was a silence for a few moments. “So, do you have anyone special in your life?”
Bobby chuckled. “You mean like a boyfriend? No. I had a guy I really liked, thought we had a future together, but the last time I got sober, he didn’t, and he wasn’t going to. He wasn’t healthy for me to be around.”
“Wow, I’m sorry, Bobby. But that sounds like it was a very mature decision, choosing your health over him.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t easy,” Bobby admitted. “But back to Brielle. Her last two boyfriends really did her wrong, hurt her bad. They both cheated on her. She doesn’t need anyone who isn’t looking for a committed relationship, who won’t be faithful to her. She deserves that and more. So, if you can’t be that person, don’t go there with her. That would really piss me off and I don’t think I’d ever forgive you.”
“You really care about her.”
“I love her like a sister,” Bobby said.
“I’d say. Don’t worry, Bobby, I don’t plan to hurt Brielle.” Even as he said it, he evaluated his motives. He was attracted to her. There was no doubt about that. And if he could get her into bed for more than just snuggling, hell yeah, he’d definitely go there, but a committed relationship? He knew that was not a destination he’d planned on. He wouldn’t purposely hurt her, or anyone for that matter. Well, fuck. This conversation definitely changed things. He just wasn’t sure how.
The remainder of the drive was mostly in silence. Occasionally, one of them would throw out a memory about some place they passed on the route. Sherman’s mind was stuck on what Bobby had said about Brielle though.
They crossed over the Mississippi, pulled into the Quarter, and up in front of the hotel at eighteen-twenty hours. The sun was just setting. They’d made it in just over an hour. Sherman wasn’t known for going the speed limit. Bobby sent Brielle a text message that they waited out front. Sherman glanced around. He didn’t see Sloan, but he knew he was there, covering Brielle.
A few minutes later Brielle came out of the hotel, backpack slung over her shoulde
r. She’d changed into blue jeans and she wore them quite well, Sherman noticed. Yes, there was something about Miss Brielle Jarboe that captured his attention. Had it been a few years earlier, the agency protocol of not getting involved with anyone related to a case would have been enough, but hell, all of Alpha Team had broken that protocol as did Sloan. He hardly considered it a protocol any longer.
Bobby got out of the car and gave her a hug. He followed the script and introduced her to Sherman. They shook hands. Then Sherman handed her several bills. “Do me a favor and go into that sandwich shop. Get five footlongs and bags of chips. We’re going to need to eat.” Bobby took her backpack and threw it into the backseat with theirs. Then he began to step away from the car to follow her. “Not you. You’re in my custody and cannot be out of my sight.”