Take the Money and Run

by Samantha Cole

  In a matter of seconds, the threat was over. But was it really? Would the drug lord send someone else after he found out these men had failed? KC hit the speed-dial on his cell for his uncle, and the man immediately picked up. "How did it go?"

  KC let out a relieved breath. "Three under arrest, no bloodshed."

  "Good to hear. Here's Moriah—she's been pacing the floor half the night, driving Jinx crazy."

  There was a pause and then, "KC?"

  The last of the tension left his body when he finally heard her sweet but worried voice. "Hi, honey. Everything’s okay."

  "Oh, thank God. I was so afraid—" She stopped on a sob.

  "It's all right. Everyone is fine. Stay at Uncle Dan’s until it’s all clear to come back, okay?”

  "Okay. I love you."

  KC ignored his brothers and teammates' knowing smiles as he responded, "I love you, too."

  * * *

  From his position up the street, Dennis Kellerman watched all the action. He had known those assholes were going to fuck up somehow, so he had grabbed one of his men and followed Leo and the other two, without them knowing. He was certain the state investigator had spotted them tailing him, and they were being lured into a trap. Although he knew he was right, Kellerman was still royally pissed. Now, he had to wait until everything calmed down again, then plan his attack and get this shit done right.

  C

  HAPTER 22

  D riving well over the speed limit, KC rushed to his uncle's apartment. He shouldn’t have left in the middle of the police investigation, but he had to see for himself that Moriah was safe. If he hadn’t been fixated on reaching the woman he loved, he would have spotted the dark sedan following him through town. After pulling his Charger into a parking space in front of the hardware store, he jumped out of the car and unlocked the sidewalk door which led to the stairs up to Dan's second floor home. Taking the steps two at a time, he reached the door to the apartment, knocked, and called out, “It’s me, open up.”

  The door flew open, and he caught Moriah as she leaped into his arms. Holding her as close as he possibly could, he kissed her forehead and tried to calm her down. “Shhh. It’s okay, baby. Everything is okay. I can't stay long, but I had to make sure you were safe."

  "I'm fine now that I know you’re okay," she murmured against his collarbone. Turning her face upward, she kissed him with all the relief she was feeling. A noise behind her reminded her they weren’t alone, and she reluctantly ended the kiss then took a small step backward while still remaining in his arms. "Can I go back with you?"

  KC shook his head. "I'll come back for you later after the police take those scumbags away. I don't want you anywhere near them."

  She nodded in understanding. His gaze flickered across the room to where his uncle was sitting in his favorite chair with a smug grin on his face. "Thanks, Uncle Dan. I'll be back in a little while."

  Dan let out a small laugh. "You better hurry, though. This lady of yours is kicking my butt at backgammon."

  Staring back down at the woman in his arms, KC chuckled. "I'm impressed. Not many people can hold their own against Dan at backgammon."

  She shrugged. "I've always liked the game. A friend's father taught us how to play when I was growing up. I became quite good at it."

  "Obviously."

  He gave her one more squeeze and a feather-light kiss on the lips before heading back out the door. The sooner they wrapped up the scene back at the beach house, the sooner he could bring her there . . . and into his bed where he wanted to stay for the rest of his time off.

  * * *

  A block away from the hardware store, Kellerman watched as the burly man exited the building, returned to his vehicle, and did a U-turn. Now, what was he doing above the local hardware store? When Kellerman had watched all the activity back at the beach house, he’d never spotted his female target. Maybe it was because she wasn’t there. Why else would this guy race over here as soon as he got the chance? Kellerman was almost positive what he wanted was on the second floor of the building. Pulling his vehicle into an alley three doors down from the apartment door, he turned off the engine. Before getting out, he addressed the man in the passenger seat. "Let's go do this and then get the hell out of here."

  The two climbed out of the car and exited the alley on foot. When they reached the sidewalk, their heads swiveled in every direction as they made sure there were no potential witnesses in the seemingly deserted town as they made their way to the door they wanted. Kellerman expertly picked the lock in under a minute, and they climbed the staircase in stealth.

  * * *

  Inside the apartment, Moriah and Dan were in the middle of another competitive game, when Jinx jumped off the new couch and stared at the front door. They were both startled as a deep, menacing growl emanated from the usually docile animal. Dan flew from his chair, yanked open the drawer to a side table, and withdrew his favorite Colt revolver. Shoving the weapon into Moriah's hands, he pushed her toward the bedroom. "Go in there, lock the door, and call 9-1-1."

  “But . . . but . . . " she stammered, bewildered."

  “Don't argue, just go," he whispered forcefully.

  Terrified, Moriah ran to the entrance of the small bedroom. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Dan retrieve a baseball bat from a closet off the kitchenette. She shut the door behind her as quietly as possible and then turned the lock. She went to grab her phone from her pocket but realized she’d left it out in the living room. Scanning the room, she spotted a land-line phone on a nightstand next to the far side of the bed. She lunged across the mattress and grabbed the receiver. Her hands were shaking so badly, she had to put the gun down on the bed and hold the phone with both hands, dialing the three-digit emergency number twice before she got it right.

  Moriah started crying as soon as an operator answered with a crisp, "9-1-1, what is your emergency?" Through her tears, she was able to give the information to the man on the other end of the line. When he instructed her to keep the phone line open, she told him she was putting the phone down so she could hold the gun. She didn't wait for his reply as she dropped the receiver and picked up the weapon in its place. Kneeling with her back against the headboard, she pointed the revolver at the bedroom door, using both hands the way KC had trained her, and strained to hear what was happening in the outer room.

  * * *

  Dan stood flush against the wall next to the front door, baseball bat raised and ready to strike. Jinx hadn’t moved from the middle of the room but continued his warning growl. The dog began barking furiously as the door was suddenly kicked open. Dan swung the bat with all his might at the man who entered the apartment with a gun in his hand and struck him twice in rapid succession. The first blow was to the raised forearm, forcing the gun from the man’s grip. The second strike hit the stunned man in the face, knocking him unconscious as he landed on the floor in the middle of the doorway.

  Dan waited a few seconds for another attack, and when none came, he leaned over the body to search for other weapons. That's when he was struck in the temple by a second man, who apparently had remained hidden at the top of the stairs. Dan unceremoniously fell on top of the other body, as Jinx yelped for his fallen master.

  Ignoring the unconscious men and the whimpering dog licking its owner’s face, Kellerman stepped over the two bodies and scanned the small apartment. Briskly he strode over to a closed door he assumed led to the bedroom. Trying the knob, he found it locked. He raised his leg and kicked the door open before stepping quickly to the side, in case whoever was in there had a weapon. Peering around the door jamb, he laughed out loud when he saw his target sitting on the bed, crying, with a revolver clenched between her two hands. She was shaking so hard, it would be impossible for her to shoot straight.

  "Come on out, Ms. Jensen. I just want to talk to you." He waited impatiently, and when she didn't answer him, he sighed dramatically. "You're just making this harder on yourself. All I want is the money and the gun. I get wh
at I want, you get to live."

  "You'll never let me live!”

  Annoyed, Kellerman raised his gun with its attached silencer. He couldn’t afford to kill the bitch, yet—that would have wait until she told him where the bag was. For now, he would only aim to wound her. Pivoting on his feet, he prepared to enter the room, aiming to hit her in the legs. The man never saw the black Labrador stalking him in silence from across the room. As Kellerman lifted his right foot to take a sidestep, the dog lunged and sank his teeth into the man's right thigh.

  From her position on the bed, Moriah was shocked when the man stumbled into the open doorway, screaming in pain, with a pissed-off Jinx attached to his leg. The man’s arms flew wildly as he tried to remain standing against the dog’s body weight and thrashing movements. His gun hand clenched and the weapon fired, the bullet lodging itself harmlessly in the bedroom ceiling.

  Moriah knew she only had seconds before the man recovered and possibly freed himself from Jinx’s jaws. Taking aim, she drew in a deep breath, slowly let it out and pulled the trigger of the gun. She saw the man's head snap back, and a splash of red sprayed the door jamb. The dog let go as the man fell to the ground, never to move again. Stunned, she leaped off the bed and stepped over the dead man, trying to avoid the growing pool of blood on the floor.

  Jinx had already gone back to his master and began licking his face again. Moriah was relieved to hear the older man moan. She sank to her knees, weeping, as she heard the sirens of the approaching sheriff's cars.

  C

  HAPTER 23

  I t was after five thirty in the morning by the time all the suspects had been hauled off to jail, the medical examiner had removed Dennis Kellerman's body, and the local detectives were finally finished interviewing everyone. They would have to go to the station later in the morning to make formal statements. Dan had recovered quickly, refusing to be transported to the hospital and was now sitting in the recliner at the beach cottage with an ice pack on his bruised temple.

  Sean was on the phone with Agent Samson as the rest of the group sat around the living room eating the sandwiches they’d thrown together. Despite the carnage and excitement, everyone was starving and wide awake, except Jinx, who snored loudly from his spot in front of the fireplace. KC stared at the big, black dog affectionately and vowed, "I'll never again call him a worthless mutt. He finally proved himself to me, and the first chance I get, I’m going to the butcher and picking out the biggest, fucking bone they’ve got for him.”

  The others in the room laughed. He glanced at Moriah, who was unabashedly sitting on his lap at one end of the couch as his arms encircled her waist. She was wrapped in one of his aunt's old quilts and had finally stopped shivering. He was so proud of her but knew tonight would create some new nightmares for her, and he planned to hold her through every single one of them.

  Ending his phone call, Sean took a seat next to Trouble on the loveseat. "Well, I've got great news. The drug bust went down without a hitch. They caught Hernandez and thirteen other men, six of them high up in the organization, with a tractor-trailer full of drugs. Street value of about ten million." He paused as several of the other men whistled at the staggering amount. "They also found two CPD patrol officers and Detective Frank Parisi in on the deal and collared them, too. The DEA thinks there are a few more connections in the department, and Chicago's Internal Affairs is investigating with them. The DEA was able to pick up Hernandez's bookkeeper at his house and confiscated a ton of evidence. Samson said the guy is already begging for a deal. Another peon in the bunch is also singing and told them the gun in Moriah's duffel bag is linked to two other drug-related murders in Chicago. That's why Leo and friends were so desperate to recover it, in addition to the money. The DEA will be sending someone down to get them from you, Brian. Oh, and the owner of the truck they were in just returned from vacation to find it missing from his driveway, so that’s another loose end taken care of."

  Wide-eyed at the information, Moriah addressed Sean from her perch on KC's lap. "So, it's over? Really over?"

  The FBI agent gave her a broad smile and nodded. "It looks that way. Samson also said your family's homicide will be added to the list of charges at the indictment."

  Her eyes filled up with tears which didn't fall this time. "Can you thank him for me, please?"

  "No problem—I already did."

  Moriah stood and scanned the faces of every man in the room. "And thank you . . . all of you. For some reason, you took a chance believing me and risked your lives for me. In the end, you've given me my life back. And because of you, my family can rest in peace. I will always be grateful to every one of you."

  The men just nodded with embarrassed expressions on their faces. Most of them weren’t used to being thanked for doing their jobs and didn’t know what to say when their efforts were acknowledged.

  Yawning, Moriah turned back toward KC. "I think I should go to bed. Otherwise, I’ll fall asleep on your lap."

  He stood and put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It’s an adrenaline crash. Go ahead; I'll be there in a minute."

  Speaking to the group again, she bid them a good night and trudged down the hallway after receiving a chorus of replies.

  KC waited until Moriah entered the bedroom and partially closed the door, before turning back to his family and teammates. "Thanks from me, too."

  They nodded their heads but didn’t give any verbal responses, and he didn’t expect any from them. He knew they always had his six, just like he had theirs. He started down the hallway but stopped short when he heard Peanut say, "You're a lucky man, KC. Just don't forget to invite us to the wedding."

  Looking back over his shoulder at the others, he grinned. "As soon as she says yes."

  Moriah was coming out of the bathroom when he stepped into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He was delighted to see she had put on one of his T-shirts to sleep in. Without saying a word, he pulled her to him then crushed her mouth with his own, kissing her until they were both breathless and weak-kneed. Leading her to the bed, he gestured for her to sit on the edge of the mattress before he knelt on the floor in front of her and took her hands in his. He didn’t waste any breath with a preamble and blurted, "Marry me?"

  There was so much hope in his question, and Moriah couldn’t have been more surprised. When she simply gaped at him, speechless, he continued, "I have never loved anyone more than I love you. I can't live without you in my life. I want to wake up to you every morning and fall asleep making love to you every night. I want to have a houseful of babies with you and grow old with you. Please say yes."

  As tears were flowing down her cheeks in steady streams, she dove into his arms, and they both fell to the floor in a pile of entwined limbs. Somewhere, between laughing and crying, she finally managed to say “yes.”

  E

  PILOGUE

  Four Months Later

  K C and Moriah sat on the patio of the beach house, joined by his brothers, Dan, Bonnie Whitman, and, of course, Jinx. Two weeks after the drug gang had been taken down, Moriah and KC had traveled to Chicago where she gave her testimony to the grand jury. Leo and the three other men had been extradited to Chicago to face federal murder and drug charges. They would eventually face attempted murder charges in North Carolina, but the other case took precedent. The federal prosecutor had informed KC and Moriah they had so much evidence and people making deals that they probably wouldn’t need her to return to testify at the trials. Hernandez and his cohorts would be going away for a very long time.

  Before they left Illinois, KC arranged for cremations and a small funeral for Moriah’s family, so their remains could be brought back to North Carolina for interment at the local cemetery. During the funeral service, he’d held her tightly as she was finally able to pour out her grief.

  They’d sorted through the contents of her apartment, which her landlord had packed and stored in the basement of the building, hoping someone would eventually claim
it. Moriah kept everything of sentimental value and her own things, then donated the rest to a local women's shelter.

  Six weeks after they’d returned from Chicago, Moriah and KC were married on the beach at sunset in front of a group of forty friends, family, and SEAL teammates. She’d looked stunningly beautiful in a white strapless sheath dress, which Bonnie had helped her find in one of the many catalogs the store used and then happily ordered for her. Foregoing his Navy dress uniform due to the end of June high temperatures and the event being a casual affair, KC had worn tan chinos and a white dress shirt. Moriah had thought he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. Sean and Brian had dressed similarly, and many good-natured arguments had ensued between them as to which one was the best man since the other was serving as the man of honor.

  The couple was in the process of purchasing a small house just outside of Little Creek where KC had taken the SEAL Advanced Training Instructor position. Moriah was on her way to finishing her degree and had been hired as a substitute teacher at the Little Creek Elementary School, starting in the fall. She hoped to be hired as a full-time teacher after she received her state certification.

  Now, as they enjoyed the warm evening, Dan was telling them he wanted to plan a family fishing trip. It had been an annual event until the boys' adult lives had taken over and he wanted to start the tradition again.

  Moriah eyed the older man with curiosity. "Does that include me, even though I’ve never gone fishing before?"

  “Well, you're family now, so yes, it does."

  With that, her grin spread like the Cheshire cat. "Well, this family is going to get bigger pretty soon."

  All four Malone men stared at her in confusion. Bonnie smiled, having already guessed the good news.

  Moriah’s face lit up further when she announced to the clueless dolts, "I'm pregnant!"

  The men erupted in a chorus of whoops and hollers while Bonnie yelled congratulations and Jinx joined in, barking up a storm. KC picked Moriah up in his arms and swung her around until they were both dizzy. When he stopped, they gazed at each other and said, "I love you" at the same time. They were too busy kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each other to notice when the others quietly went upstairs, leaving them alone in their joy.