Witness Protection: Hide and Seek

by Dukes, Ursula

  Castillo got close to Manny and grabbed his chin. "Let me finish culo!"

  "Now, after all that is said and done, I want you to go back into town and find the local dealer. In a small town like this, there should be only one. When you find him, I want you to get a hold of some 'H'."

  "How much you want boss?"

  "Enough so the bitch will be knocked out for over 12 hours. I want to take her with us and bring her to one of my brothels in Mississippi. I want to watch while she gets fucked by everything and anything that moves.

  I've got big plans for Madison West. I want her so fucking high and lucid that she'll open her legs for anybody who even mentions the word 'H'.

  I want that good Samaritan blood that's coursing through her veins to be replaced with 'smack' filled venom. She'll be one of my best whores. Now get to work. The sooner you do this, the sooner we can get out of this god forsaken town."

  ****

  As they walked into Annie's Diner, Cole thought he was already a regular. "Good morning Sergeant Harding!" Patrons nodded their heads and welcomed him.

  Cole gave Madison a puzzled look before replying to the salutations. He smiled and nodded, saying hello to the locals who he assumed frequented the place.

  There was Ed Baker, a local dairy farmer who made his way to the diner each and every morning; if Ed wasn’t there, something had to be seriously wrong. Then there was Mr. and Mrs. Conway; they owned the local antique shop and spent most of their days in and out of the diner, talking of found treasures and trying to drum up business with the occasional tourists and anyone else who would listen to their tales of exotic lands and far off places.

  Most of those places were fabricated, as the older couple rarely left their home and collected most of their so-called treasures from other hunters; via E-Bay.

  Ed Stanford was a trucker who spent most of his time between hauls, at the diner. It was his only means of communication with the townspeople; he’d told Annie one night when it was just the two of them. They all acknowledged the new sergeant as he and Madison walked towards a booth.

  After the dust settled, a waitress appeared to take their order. It took two seconds for Madison to see that the young waitress was trying her best to flirt with Cole.

  "What can I get you sergeant? You can have anything you like and it's on the house. Absolutely anything you like," she repeated in her most seductive voice. The young woman eyed him up and down and licked her lips. She paid no attention to Madison.

  Cole kept his eyes on the menu and ordered two of the breakfast specials.

  "And I don’t officially start the job for a couple of days, so I insist on paying…" he glanced up to get a look at her name badge.

  "Robin, the name's Robin." She maneuvered the right side of her body so that he could get a good look at her chest and the name badge.

  Madison let out a low snicker. The name Robin was a name that they both associated with bad, ugly, hurtful things.

  "Will that be all?"

  "Yes, that's it. Thanks."

  When they were finally left alone, Cole leaned in and focused his attention on Madison.

  "You want to tell me about your Skyping session with Zoe?"

  Madison shook her head. "No. I don’t want to talk about that right now. I want to hear all about your new job, every detail. So how many officers will you be in charge of?"

  "Two. And since the department is small, I'll also take on the job of watch commander."

  There was excitement in his voice when he talked about his new job and Madison enjoyed listening to it.

  She looked out the window and smiled. "I think you're going to fall in love with this place."

  "Yes, but this town is just one of the things that I could see myself falling in love with."

  His gaze shifted to the sexy pout forming on her lips. He wanted to kiss her again, but a sudden tension filled the space between them as they stared at each other.

  She had no words to say to him, he'd caught her completely off guard. But still, her body hummed with lust.

  The sound of glass breaking turned their attention towards the kitchen.

  "Robin, you drop one more dish and it's coming out of your paycheck!" A voice rang out.

  "Sorry Annie. I had a long night with Jay!" Robin rubbed her temples with her hands.

  "I don’t care what you and your boyfriend do on your time off. But I expect that when you come here to work, that is exactly what you do, work. Not get the hang over shakes and drop my dishes all over the goddamn floor!"

  Annie mumbled something under her breath before coming from behind the counter smiling her warmest smile.

  "Well hello there, you must be Sergeant Harding. I'm Annie, Annie Tanner. It's so nice to meet you." She wiped her hands on her apron before extending her hand to him.

  "It's nice to meet you Annie. And please, call me Cole." He shook her hand.

  "And I take it this is Mrs. Harding?" Annie turned towards Madison.

  Cole chuckled softly. "No. This is my friend Gabriella."

  "Well it's nice to meet you Gabriella." Annie gave her a hearty handshake.

  "You wouldn’t happen to know a William Tanner now would you?" Cole asked.

  "Guilty as charged. He's my husband. I take it that you've already met him?"

  "Yes, he was out walking the dog this morning."

  "And I bet he failed to mention that he had a wife, am I right?" Annie smoothed out her grease-covered apron before putting her hands on her hips.

  "He does it all the time," she said and shrugged her shoulders.

  "The man may be retired from the FBI, but he still lives and breathes like a working agent. He likes to think of himself as being covert and mysterious when he meets anybody new in town." She joked.

  "Well that explains it all, now doesn’t it?" Cole leaned back and relaxed his stance.

  "Listen, I'll let you two get back to your breakfast. Nice meeting the both of you," she said and returned to her duties.

  ****

  "Busy little place," Madison said and finished up the last of her eggs.

  Cole agreed. "I think Annie's diner might be the go to place for all the residents of Summerbridge. Now let's head home. I've got some things that I need to do around the house. Where is the waitress?" He scanned the diner. There was no sign of her.

  While Annie was busy talking to the new sergeant, Robin snuck outside. She needed a cigarette and Jay had texted her telling her to take a break. He had a little pick me up for her, something to make her hangover go away.

  Robin smiled when she saw Jay come from around the corner. He was her man. Dating the small town's only dealer had its perks. She never had to pay for a thing and she liked it that way. Jay made sure that she only got the best stuff, whether it was a little weed to take the edge off, or something stronger like molly, or H. Jay always knew what she needed and today, she needed weed, and lots of it.

  Jay hugged her and kissed her hard on the lips. The pupils in his brown eyes were dilated and she knew that he'd continued where they'd left off last night.

  "You still high from last night?" She chuckled.

  "You know it baby. Been popping pills all night. So what's good?"

  Robin loved the way he talked to her. He told her that she was the only person in the world that mattered to him.

  "Guess who came into the diner today?" She giggled and ran a finger up and down his arm.

  "The new police sergeant? What's he like? He look like an old hard ass?"

  "There's nothing old about him, but yes, he looks like a hard ass. So you better keep on your toes Jay. Plus, he hardly paid me any mind when I took his order."

  "Why do you give a shit if he pays you any mind? You looking to cheat on me or something?"

  Jay's demeanor suddenly changed and Robin knew that she'd stepped over the line. Teasing him was one thing, but trying to make him jealous was another.

  Robin's eyebrows arched at Jay's outward hostility.

  "I
just thought I should warn you."

  "I don’t need you to warn me," Jay said.

  "I know how to handle some piece of shit cop." He lifted up his shirt, exposing the gun he kept in his waistband.

  "I can handle me and mine, you got that?"

  Robin nodded and took a step back. Now was not the time to try and resume her flirtations.

  "Put that away." She tugged at his shirt. "Will I see you tonight?"

  "Not sure baby. I got a meeting with some people tonight. There's a heavy hitter in town who needs some product and I gotta do some negotiating. I'll try and stop by later though ok?"

  "Fine, do what you gotta do. I guess," she whined.

  "I won't be long baby."

  The door to the diner opened and Madison was the first to walk out.

  "Who is that?" Jay's eyebrow's raised and a devilish smirk began to form on his lips.

  "Keep it in your pants! She's with the sergeant." Robin blurted out, but it was too late. Jay was already making a beeline towards the woman.

  By the time he reached her, Cole was right beside her.

  Jay thought about turning around, but didn’t want the new sergeant thinking that he was some kind of pussy.

  "You must be new."

  Madison froze. Was this boy talking to her?

  A sarcastic snicker escaped Cole's mouth. His expression was blank, but his gaze said it all.

  "I think you better be on your way."

  Cole stepped protectively in front of Madison. Jay looked around before cowering back a little. He was coming down from his high and as the drugs began to wear off, so did the false bravado. Now, the man standing in front of him seemed incredibly imposing.

  Jay tried to recapture his lost bravado and stood up straight as he backed away.

  "No problem, no problem sergeant." He held up his hands in surrender. "I just wanted to meet the new pretty lady, that's all. Y'all have a nice day and hey, enjoy your time here in Summerbridge." He spit on the ground before walking away.

  "Okay… so every town's got one of those." Madison tried lightening the moment.

  "Yeah, you're right about that. But that type of guy can also turn into another Castillo. I am definitely going to keep an eye on him."

  Madison reached for the hand that he offered and they strolled down the sidewalk towards the local hardware store. Neither one noticed the large SUV parking on a side street. And as Manny and Reggie made their way into the diner, Madison and Cole headed into the hardware store.

  Chapter Twenty

  This town is just full of new comers today, badass looking newcomers. I hope they tip as good as they look. Robin grinned as she made her way over towards the table.

  Manny's gaze ran up and down the length of Robin's long legs and when his eyes met her's, she couldn’t stop her cheeks from turning crimson.

  He introduced himself and was gentle when he took hold of her hand. Robin had never met anyone so suave, not even her drug-dealing boyfriend Jay was this smooth.

  "Now Robin, something about you tells me that you are the go-to girl. Am I right?"

  Manny caressed the side of her arm.

  Robin was so dumbfounded, all she could do was giggle and nod her head in agreement.

  Immediately, Manny went to work. He told her that if she could produce as much information about the new sergeant and his female companion that she could, not only would he give her a large tip, but he'd keep her number handy. Just in case he needed a special accomplice.

  Robin was more than willing to assist the strangers. And after making a few trips back and forth between some of the patron's tables, she was able to give Manny the low-down about the new sergeant, and his so-called friend, Gabriella.

  The new name stumped Manny, but only for a moment. He assumed that Madison had taken on a new name, just as Juan Hernandez had.

  He typed everything that Robin had told him and sent the text to Castillo. All they had to do now was pass the time until their meeting with Jay. So far, so good. What do you want us to do now boss? Manny texted Castillo.

  'I want you to drive by and check out the surroundings. But that's all I want you to do. Check everything out. Oh, and try not to stand out. The less attention you draw to yourselves, the better.' Castillo texted back.

  After he and Reggie finished eating, Manny gave Robin his cell phone number and a fifty-dollar bill.

  "Pleasure doing business with you," he said.

  "I'm sure we'll be seeing you again sweet stuff. And remember, you find out any new information, you text me right away." He grinned, showing his gold teeth and patted her on the behind.

  ****

  "You've turned your nice, cozy home into a fortress. Cole, are you sure about all of this? I mean, I still don’t know how long I'll be staying."

  She motioned towards the keypad he'd just finished installing.

  "Of course I'm sure. Besides, I need for you to feel safe when I'm not around. And as far as the amount of time that you'll be staying here goes… let me put it to you this way." He moved closer to her. His lips brushing against hers.

  "You'll stay with me until I know for sure that you're safe. End of discussion. Now let me show you the code."

  He spoke to her in the same, no-nonsense tone that he used when she'd first been introduced to him, three years ago. He was all business now and led her into the house.

  "You know how to use a weapon, but any weapon that you use can also be taken away and turned against you. I've put out several items that can be used as weapons."

  There was a metal baseball bat leaning against the hall closest to the front door.

  He'd hung a fire extinguisher up on a wall in the kitchen.

  In the living room, a nine millimeter was taped underneath one of the sofa cushions.

  "No matter where you are in this house," he said, "I want there to be a weapon close at hand."

  "I appreciate all of this Cole, I do. But we don’t know that whoever is doing this is anywhere nearby."

  Cole sat her down on the sofa. He rubbed two fingers against each temple and his expression turned somber.

  "They were near enough to know that you were staying with Hank and Donna's weren't they? They were near enough to get close to the people you hold closest to your heart, Madison. I think it's safe to assume that Ricardo Castillo knows that you are in West Virginia."

  "I'll run. I've got no ties to anyone or anything, anymore."

  "No you won't Madison, you can't. You can't run forever."

  "I won't have to run forever. It'll just be until whoever is doing this is caught."

  "And you would risk your friends and family getting hurt? Is that something you're willing to risk? Because that is exactly what is going to happen if you run."

  She knew that he was right. There was no way she'd risk Zoe's life or anyone else's for that matter.

  "I told you that I'd keep you safe and that is exactly what I intend to do. I know this can't be easy. Always watching, always wondering. But I want you to trust me and know that everything will be alright."

  She stared at him for a long moment. "I trust you with my life," she said, dark storms swirling in her passionate gaze.

  His eyes narrowed, a predatory gleam pouring into them. "I know you're confused Madison, but when you talk about running, I know that you're not just talking about running away from Castillo or the thugs that he's hired. You're talking about running away from me."

  An intense heat crackled in the air between them. Her eyes lowered towards the floor and Cole braced himself for rejection.

  "I'm not running away from you."

  Her heart was pounding and she lifted a hand to caress his cheek. When she leaned in to kiss him, his hands instinctively went around her waist and he drew her in closer as he fought to breathe.

  He held her that way for a moment, their heated flesh melded together, his hands slipping underneath her top and caressing her back.

  When she guided his hands to her breasts, Cole fo
ught hard for control as she tugged at his tee shirt, kissing his mouth and neck while she pulled it over his head.

  Soon, she felt his fingers tangling themselves in her hair. And when both had done away with the top half of their clothing, she wrapped herself around him, her naked breasts pressing against his bare chest.

  Cole drew her head back so that they were looking at each other, and then his mouth covered hers and he kissed her so intensely that she felt as if she would lose part of herself to him.

  ****

  William Tanner was out walking his dog, again. When the dog began scratching at the front door, William put down the book that he was reading and let out a heavy sigh.

  The book was just getting good.

  "Again?" He looked at the dog and snatched up the leash.

  Anubis lowered his head towards the floor and a deep growl came from his throat. William knew then that the dog was on to something. He'd gotten a whiff of something that he didn’t like and from the growl that had escaped the dog's mouth, it wasn’t an animal.

  William attached the leash to the dog's collar and led Anubis back inside to the gun safe. After pressing a few buttons, the safe made a whooshing sound as it opened up. William quickly selected his Colt Government model MK IV- Series, ACP Pistol.