A chill shot up Cassie’s spine. “Shooting someone in cold blood in my apartment doesn’t sound very neat to me.”
“No, it’s not.”
“But now that Fagnelio is behind bars this will all be over as soon as I testify, right?”
Jake glanced at Cassie and sighed. “I know it's been hard on you.”
“Yeah, I want my life back. Don't you? I don't want to have to worry about strange packages coming in the mail or looking over my shoulder when you're not around.”
A smile tipped the corners of his mouth and made her pulse quicken. She remembered that smile looking down at her last night as they made love. “You still want me around when all this is over?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. It felt good to make that affirmation. “But not like this. Not if it means always being afraid.”
She turned in her seat and plunged her hands deep into the pocket of the leather jacket. Her heart ached with the emptiness of not having Jake's hand firmly clasping hers. She wanted his comfort, but the sudden weight of leaving the safety of what they'd shared last night left her feeling utterly exposed.
Jake pulled over to the shoulder of the road and parked the Jeep, keeping it idling.
“I'm sorry. I keep forgetting you're not just the normal average citizen who swallows every line that's fed to them.”
“Is that what you do to people? You tell them things they want to hear, feed them some fairy tale and take them to bed?”
She'd gone too far and instantly regretted her words. A dark shadow clouded Jake's features, making the lines on his face deepen.
“You really think I made love to you as some way to trick you into believing you weren't in any danger?”
“No,” she said, regret filling her. “I don’t believe that at all. The fact is, I’m having a hard time believing much of anything lately.”
“Cassie, I have to bring you in to testify in front of a grand jury in just two days. Over these next two days, the federal prosecutor is going to hold you and occupy every waking moment of your time to shape your testimony so their case against Angel Fagnelio is ironclad. In the meantime, I'll be sitting back at the station taking it for all it's worth from Captain Russo for not bringing you in sooner. Not to mention how Charley will rip me to shreds and I still don't know who to trust.”
Jake slammed his palm against the steering wheel and they sat silently for an agonizingly long time. Her fear made her lash out at Jake when she knew damn well this whole situation was eating him up inside the same way it was destroying her.
An eighteen-wheel truck whizzed past them, rocking the Jeep with its momentum and spraying it with a mass of dirt and slush from the road.
“I don't know if the threat is gone,” Jake said, staring at the truck as it sped down the road ahead of them. “I don't know if Bellows was working alone, or if there is someone else. With all this upset in Ritchie Trumbella's organization, someone could still be worried about Fagnelio running his mouth. They might just hang him out to dry and rot in a federal prison. There’s so much spinning around in my head and so much has happened I don't know what to think.
“The only thing I know for sure is how I feel, Cassie. The idea of bringing you back is eating at me.” He reached across the seat and brushed his fingers against her cheek. “I just want to hold you and make love to you again. Not because I'm trying to feed you a line of bull. But because I need it, Cassie. I need to have you close to me. I don't like what we're going back to face. But we have no choice. We're out of time.”
“No,” she said softly, reaching up and holding his hand to her cheek. “We at least have time for this.”
She reached over and wrapped her arms around him. Lacing her fingers behind his neck, she kissed him. He pulled her hard against him, kissing her back with all the raging fear that threatened to eat at every bit of control they had.
“If nothing else, we have time for this,” she whispered against his lips.
Jake jammed the car back into gear and punched the gas. Skidding back onto the highway, the Jeep left a spray of mud and gravel in its wake.
They stayed in the motel longer than Cassie knew they should. Daylight was slipping away when they finally headed back on the road toward the city.
Jake held her hand as they drove in silence, the pad of his thumb rubbing against her skin. The rumbling of the tires on the pavement invaded the quiet compartment, chipping into Cassie’s thoughts. But she didn't want to think about what was ahead of them.
Along the way Jake periodically reassured her that everything would be okay. It would be—as long as she was with Jake. How could she have come to depend on his strength in such a short period of time?
It had only been a few days since they'd met and this whole nightmare began. They'd come a long way since then. She wasn't just an ordinary citizen that Jake was assigned to protect. And Jake was no ordinary man.
Three years ago, she'd broken her engagement because she couldn't feel anything for her fiancé. Dennis had tried to be patient but in the end, his frustration had him lashing out at her, calling her bitter names that still brought pain in remembrance.
She thought she had loved Dennis, but now she wasn't so sure. She'd genuinely cared for him, but she never felt about Dennis the way she did for Jake. She never melted in his arms with his touch.
Maybe Jake was right. It wasn't that she was all wrong for romance. She just hadn't been with the right man.
The short time they’d been together felt like a lifetime, but the circumstances were unusual. Outside the little world she and Jake had been thrust into, they hardly knew anything about each other.
When this was all over, things would be different. They’d have time. She could only hope that she wouldn’t wake up the morning after and find out all these powerful emotions pulling her and Jake together like a magnet were just an illusion.
She couldn’t let her fear of the past destroy what could be between her and Jake. Dennis and his bitter names were no longer part of her life. Jake was here and now, and as soon as they got through the trial and Angel Fagnelio was locked away for life, she and Jake would have all the time in the world to discover all there was to know about each other.
It was only a few more days of waiting. If what Jake said was true, the federal prosecutor was not going to let her out of his sight for the next forty-eight hours. She'd go over and over her statement to the police. They'd drill her on how to answer, what to reveal, so that Angel Fagnelio's lawyer didn't stand a chance.
Cassie had been through this before when she testified in her cousin’s murder. It would be no different this time. And when it was over, her life would be her own again.
Until then she’d just have to accept the fact that she was the FBI’s one and only witness to place Angel Fagnelio at the scene of the crime. The only one who'd seen him lean out the car window and blast the life out of Rory's and all the people inside. He didn't care who he'd hit. He didn't care that he'd taken another person's life. Just like with the man who sneered at her after killing Emilio’s, Cassie would do her part and make sure Angel Fagnelio cared each and every day he sat in prison.
As they drew closer to the city, Cassie noticed the deep lines etched at the corners of Jake’s mouth. Serious and intense. She knew that well. Kevin claimed Jake was born serious and intense. But Jake was much more. Cassie had seen firsthand the tender side of him when he touched her, the vulnerable side when he spoke of his sisters, right alongside the rough-edged exterior he held out for the rest of the world to see.
She'd seen it all and wanted it, wanted Jake Santos in her life. It was the only thing about this nightmare that was bearable.
* * *
“You've got to be kidding,” Jake raged, bolting out of his chair in Russo’s office.
Captain Russo waved him back in his seat. “Calm down.”
“An accident? That's what you're blaming that inferno on?”
“That’s the official word. The
FBI hasn’t uncovered any evidence that the system was tampered with.”
Jake turned to Charley, who was sitting on the edge of the credenza. “We were locked inside. If we hadn’t been able to escape from the window we would have blown up with the house. That’s no damned accident, Charley.”
“Though our investigation is still open, all evidence is leading toward an accident,” Charley said coolly.
“How about the evidence I saw with my own damned eyes.”
“Unfortunately you weren't around until today to give that bit information to our investigators. It might have helped.”
“Someone had to keep your star witness alive.”
Kevin had been leaning back, balancing his chair on the back two legs. He pushed forward and the chair hit the floor with a thud. “He's been a little busy,” he said, his witty sarcasm seeming to grate on Charley's nerves.
“So I gathered.” She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him in his corner seat. She released a quick sigh. “Write it up in your statement, Santos, and I’ll include that information in the final report. If there was any tampering, we'll uncover the evidence eventually. I'm expecting Agent Radcowski in any time now with the preliminary report. I sent him down to Virginia to oversee the investigation. In the meantime, I need to deal with why you decided to take matters into your own hands and flee with the FBI’s material witness.”
“You handpicked Bellows and sent him down to the safe house.”
She was standing now, face to face with Jake. “I've worked with him for three years and have never had any reason to believe he'd betray me. I've trusted him with my life more times than I can count.”
“And you trusted him with Cassie's.”
“That’s right!”
It was at precisely that moment that Agent Radcowski blew into Captain Russo's office with barely a knock on the door. He gave a casual nod to Charley.
“Did I come at a bad time?” he said, taking in the mood of the room.
“No,” Charley answered. “Is that the report, David?”
Agent Radcowski nodded and handed it to her. Charley grabbed the report and quickly opened the file.
“Nice of you to show your face, Santos,” Radcowski said. “What the hell took you so long?”
With so many people in Russo’s office, Radcowski took it upon himself to sit on the edge of the captain’s desk.
The glare Russo pierced Radcowski with was foreboding. His eyes crawled from the agent's face, to the toppled over pictures now face down on the desk, back to Radcowski's face. Never once did the intensity of his glare wane.
Radcowski merely smiled.
A few seconds passed and Russo finally said, “Would you mind getting your big carcass off my son's picture?”
Radcowski glanced down at the desk, seemingly aware for the first time of what he'd disrupted, but not of how strongly it affected Captain Russo. He moved slowly and they all waited for him to arrange the pictures back into place.
“Agent Tate tells us you were in charge of the investigation at the safe house. Your boys are talking gas leak. Is that right?” Russo said, cutting to the chase.
Radcowski glanced at Charley.
“One of my men almost died in that explosion,” Russo said sharply. “Don’t give me the run around.”
Charley nodded her head and Radcowski shrugged.
“See for yourself. They found some fragments that might indicate the system had been tampered with. But until they can do further forensics, they can’t rule on whether the damage was done before or caused by the explosion.”
“They were only in the house a short while. It wasn’t long enough to build up enough fumes to cause the kind of explosion that took place. ” Charley said.
“The fire investigator thinks the source of the spark was in the system itself.”
“In other words, instead of a little explosion, they wanted the big bang,” Kevin called out from the corner of the room.
“I’ll say,” Jake said. “The house went up like a bomb. Someone definitely wanted us very much dead,” he added sarcastically. Yet even as he said the words, the totality of what did happen made him shudder.
Radcowski shrugged again. “It would appear that way. I’ve asked that once the two doors are identified in the rubble, if they didn’t burn to ash, they be checked thoroughly.”
“And there were no signs of this when your men cleaned house before the guests arrived? Seems to me someone flunked the white glove test,” Kevin added.
Radcowski scowled at Kevin before turning his attention to Jake. “That safe house has been quiet for months. It was thoroughly checked, and there wasn't any reason to suspect security had been compromised. Bellows was with Cassie and Jake. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t have opportunity to tamper with something.”
Charley pulled her attention from the report she’d been reading. “Our experts are still sifting through fragments of the rubble. Some traces of suspect chemicals were found. Whatever it was, it'll eventually show itself when the full investigation has been completed.” She snapped the folder closed. “Until then, we have other pressing matters to deal with.”
“Such as?” the captain asked.
“The security of our witness.”
Russo sighed. “She's in protective custody until the grand jury trial. There isn't much more that can be done until then.”
“We need to put things in place for after the grand jury trial. This case has become too high profile and unfortunately, so has our witness.”
Jake knew where this was going. “We’ve already had a taste of what protective custody is to the Bureau. Cassie wants her life back.”
Charley shook her head. “Yeah, well, I'd love to see the Beatles do a reunion concert but that's not going to happen in this lifetime.”
“She wants her life back, Charley,” he repeated.
After a short pause Charley said, “I know that. But it's not going to happen and deep down, if you listen to your gut instinct, you know it, too. Don't you, Jake?”
She was right. It had nagged at him ever since the phone call with Tyler. Initial relief quickly changed to dread. He knew Cassie had sensed it, even though he'd tried his damnedest to keep his feelings to himself.
“She's not getting lost, Charley.”
“You can't watch her 24/7.”
“You said Bellows was working with Fagnelio.”
“Unfortunately, he was.”
“And Fagnelio's not talking.”
“There's no guarantee it will stay that way.”
Jake's voice rose above Charley's. “Just tell me what you're afraid of.”
Her voice matched his. “You know damn well what I'm afraid of. Someone from Ritchie Trumbella's family might have something to prove. It's a very volatile time with Ritchie out of the picture. It's a bad break, but I don't think Cassie can go back to the life she had. Ever.”
“Cassie’s no threat to Ritchie Trumbella’s organization. Only Fagnelio is, and you have him in custody.”
Kevin’s voice broke into the tension between Jake and Charley. “You’re going to lose Cassie in the system?” Kevin blurted out.
Charley rolled her eyes. “I'm not the heartless bitch you both think I am. I'm sorry for what Cassie has to go through. But this situation is out of control.”
“I'll protect her,” Jake said resolutely.
“Listen to yourself, Jake.” Russo abruptly stood and leaned his weight on his fists, now firmly planted on the coffee stains and doodles of his desk blotter. His face wore a haggard expression filled with understanding. “No one man can do it all. God knows we try, but as soon as we turn our back for one second, you have dirtbags like Fagnelio invading your home with drugs and God knows what else.”
Charley let out a slow breath and unfolded her arms in front of her. “Tell me, Jake, just how far are you willing to go for this woman?”
It grated on Jake more than he could think how Charley could refer to a woman as
special as Cassie as “this woman.”
When he didn't answer right away, Charley continued. “Say you give up your job here and guard her at a safe house for six months, a year. Then what?”
Jake cast her a hard look. “I gave her my word. To some people that still means something.”
Charley ignored his jibe. “I understand you have a big family. Very close-knit. Are you willing to give them up to be with Cassie no matter how this turns out?”
“What they hell does that have to do with anything?” he charged.
At the same time, Charley's voice rose above his. “Because that is what this is going to take.”
“Bellows didn’t leak Cassie’s name to the papers, Jake,” Kevin said, cutting into his awareness.
Jake swung around to look at his partner, looked directly into his eyes and knew Kevin believed what he'd said was true. His gut bunched until he thought he'd keel over.
“What are you talking about? Of course it was Bellows.” It had to be Bellows.
Kevin shook his head.
Jake’s mind raced to thoughts of Cassie, trapped in that hotel room swarming with federal agents and prosecutors drilling her endlessly. He knew her well enough to know she was looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, the light where she'd be free to come and go as she chose, without worry that someone was waiting behind every doorway. That would get her through the next few days. Without that light, she'd crumbled and fade to dust.
“She can't live in a hole forever. It'll kill her.”
“No, she can't,” Charley said in a tone that Jake thought held genuine sympathy. It was more than he'd ever expected from Charlotte Tate. “There are other ways.”
He gave a hard laugh that held no humor. “Not witness protection.”
“Unfortunately, I think it may need to be a bit more than just witness protection. Whether Cassie wants it or not, this case is about to make her a household name. And it has nothing to do with her writing career. The publicity her publishing company could cash in on with the press will send her sales skyrocketing. I'm not sure there's any place she could hide that people won't recognize Cassie Lang's face or know her name. She may have to leave the country. And even then she’ll be recognized. But it’s the only way to ensure she won’t be reached.”
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