by Tee O'Fallon
Dayne strode into the room. “Feeling better?” he said to Jesse.
“Yeah, thanks.” Jesse glanced briefly at the FBI agent, but his attention was entirely on Tiger.
“Got a minute?” Dayne asked Eric, canting his head to the hallway.
“Yeah.” Eric glanced at his watch, then to Tess. “We’ve got plenty of time, nearly four hours before the meet.” He winked at Jesse. “Keep an eye on Tiger for me, will you?”
“Sure thing.” Jesse grinned.
The men headed out of the room, leaving her and Jesse alone with Tiger, who seemed content to remain on his hind legs, snuggling his head tenderly against her brother’s side.
“So?” Jesse’s hand stilled on the dog’s head. “What happened?”
“What do you mean, what happened?” Unable to sit still beneath his accusing stare, she stood and began to pace the room, although she knew darned well what he meant. She just didn’t want to give voice to it.
“Tessie.” He gave her a duh look. “Did you and Eric do it?”
She spun on him, somewhat shocked by his blunt accusation. Then again, he was a teenage boy. They didn’t know any other way when it came to talking about sex.
“No, we didn’t do it.” She flopped back on the chair and crossed her arms.
“Oh.” The abject look of disappointment on her brother’s face almost made her laugh. “You know, it’d be okay with me if you guys did.”
She huffed at the ridiculousness of their conversation. “Thank you for your permission, but I can assure you, it won’t happen. Ever.” Because it can’t.
“Why not?” He glanced at the open door, lowering his voice. “The guy’s got a major boner for you, and you’re hot for him. Look, all I’m sayin’ is that I approve.”
“Approve of what?” Eric asked as he and Dayne came back inside.
Tiger lowered from the bed to sit beside Eric, while Dayne remained standing by the door.
“Nothing.” Tess pressed her hands to her warm cheeks then caught her brother’s knowing grin.
Shoot. Am I that transparent?
The thought had her face heating more.
“Did you tell him about the change of plan?” Eric asked.
“Yeah, and I don’t like it.” Jesse’s lips twisted in disapproval.
“I don’t blame you,” Eric said. “I don’t like it, either, but it’s the best shot we have of getting you out of this mess and obtaining the information we need.”
A phone rang, and Eric reached into his thigh pocket.
Jesse’s phone.
He’d taken custody of it last night at the hospital. “It’s them.” He looked at Dayne, who quickly closed the hospital room door. “Hold this.” He handed her brother the phone. “Don’t answer it yet.” He yanked another phone from the clip on his belt.
From her position, Tess saw that Eric had set his phone to record mode.
The phone kept ringing.
“Act like everything’s fine.” Eric spoke quickly. “As soon as you answer, put the call on speaker. Tell them the pickup is fixed and you’ll meet them at the truck stop at one o’clock. Don’t say anything about being in the hospital.”
“Okay.” Jesse gave a tense nod then answered the call, immediately putting it on speaker. “Hello?”
Tess gripped the armrests. Maybe they were only checking up on the condition of Jesse’s pickup. Or maybe something was wrong. Either way, this couldn’t be over too soon.
“Where are you?” a male voice asked, one that sounded identical to the man who’d answered the phone on Friday at the Marshal’s office.
She loosened her grip on the armrests. She’d half expected the voice to be that of Mark Pritchard—the man she thought she’d seen in the parking lot the other day.
“Hunterdon County.” Jesse watched Eric for cues. “I’ll be at the truck stop at one o’clock.”
“We’re moving up the timetable,” the voice continued. “Meet me at ten o’clock. Sawmill Road in Lebanon, mile marker seven. There’s an old red barn on the right side of the road. Park in front of the barn doors and wait there.”
Eric nodded, but his face was tight, his brows bunched.
“Okay.” No sooner than her brother said the word, the call ended.
Eric turned off the recorder on the phone. “Damn, that’s less than an hour from now.”
“Do you know where that barn is?” Dayne asked.
He nodded. “I think so. There are a lot of old abandoned barns on that road. Once we know exactly which property we’re dealing with, we can run it for ownership. The problem is that’s a rural, two-lane road. No shoulders and no good place for surveillance teams to stage nearby during the meet. Anyone pulling over would stand out like a sore thumb. The nearest place to park is an elementary school lot about three-quarters of a mile to the south.”
“Which means,” Dayne added, “we won’t be close enough to pick up audio or visual transmissions in real time. The best we can get are the recordings we pull off the truck after the meet.” He unclipped his phone from his belt. “I’ll tell the teams to haul ass to the new staging location.”
“I’ll call in for air support.” Eric stood and punched in a number on his cell phone. “With direct line of sight, a repeater in the chopper should be strong enough to bounce the transmissions to our location in the parking lot.”
“Good idea.” Dayne opened the door, turning at the last second. “Meet you both outside.”
Tess couldn’t calm the gnawing fear in her belly. She didn’t know what a repeater was, but she understood that the change of meet location was throwing a major chink in Eric’s plan, one that would give her considerably less protection. “How far is the drive from here?”
“About thirty minutes,” he answered. “But we need to go the lab first and get the pickup. We have barely enough time to make it there and get to the meet.”
“Eric.” Jesse managed to push himself up on one elbow. “Will she really be safe?”
“I swear I won’t let anything happen to her.” Blue eyes lasered into hers. “I’ll protect her with my life.”
…
The door of the pickup squeaked as Eric opened it. He hadn’t meant to say something right out of a bad Hollywood movie, but the words had flown from his mouth, and he’d meant every one of them.
He would protect Tess. If necessary, with his life.
It didn’t matter to him that their time together was short or that she would never be his. Tess McTavish was special. He’d always known that. She was not only the loveliest woman he’d ever met, but a beautiful soul to be protected at all costs.
Sap. There he’d gone again with the Hollywood script. Again, he’d meant it.
“We reloaded the drums on the pickup and replaced the bed cap.” He pointed to the tiny pinhole camera the techies had installed at the base of the windshield, just above the dashboard. “That’s where the camera is. The microphone is right behind the front bumper grill, so make sure you turn off the engine as soon as possible, or we won’t be able to pick up any sound.”
Standing beside him, Tess was tiny. Fragile, even. The black sleeveless blouse and just-above-the-knee length skirt wasn’t her typical over-the-top colorful style, and it made her skin seem paler, like pure alabaster.
“Got it?” he asked when she didn’t respond. He touched his fingers to her arm, and she nearly jumped.
“Yes.” She nodded. “Turn off the engine. Got it.”
Did she?
The tense set of her mouth and the slight furrow between her brows didn’t come from fear alone. It came from something else. She’s distracted. Tess might be standing inches from him, but her mind was a thousand miles away and the clock was ticking.
“Hey.” He cupped her chin. “I need you with me on this. It’s important that you remember to turn the engine off so I can hear what’s going on. Otherwise, you’re as good as alone out there.”
“I got it,” she repeated, but her eyes were still dist
ant.
He wished they had more time for him to get to the bottom of what was distracting her, but the hourglass was about to run out.
“I plugged the meet location into your cell phone.” He nodded to the phone he’d already set in the cup holder. “I also wrote down directions in case your phone loses signal.” He didn’t like the last-minute change of venue for this op, but they’d have to roll with it.
Dark clouds rose in the distance, accompanied by an occasional flash of lightning. Rain began to fall, pinging on the hood of the truck. Not good. If the storm headed their way, the chopper would be grounded, and they wouldn’t be able to see or hear a thing.
“I can do this.” She nodded, as if trying to convince herself more than him.
“I know you can,” he replied softly. What he didn’t say was that with every passing second, he was so regretting going along with this plan. Stupidly, he’d thought that when this moment came, he could handle it, but man was he wrong.
The irrational urge to sweep her in his arms, carry her away, and tuck her safely in his house where nothing bad could happen to her was as clear in his mind as a billboard sign.
You’re crazy. Insane.
No, he was scared out of his head.
For her.
Suck it up and get it done.
“Dayne and I will head out first,” he said. “Wait five minutes, then start driving. Don’t make any quick turns or the drums will shift. We’ll all be in the school parking lot you’ll pass on your left, less than a mile from the barn. Assuming you can convince them you’re Jesse’s sister, make the delivery, then get the hell out of there. We’ll do the rest. Drive directly to the Flemington post office in town. An agent will follow you there and drive you home.”
Home. The idea that she would be there when he returned was about the only thing keeping him from acting on his urges.
She nodded, outwardly calm and collected, but the pulse at her throat beat rapidly. Normally, he’d be having this talk with an informant he’d wired up or an undercover agent. Not a woman he…
Cared about. A lot.
The steady whop-whop got louder. An unmarked chopper flew low, staying well beneath the cloud cover, which, he noted, was lowering by the second. Damn. He recognized the chopper’s tail numbers and prayed the storm held off long enough.
Rain pounded harder. He stepped aside for Tess to get in the truck.
“I’ll either be on the first surveillance shift or doing recon, so I won’t be home until after midnight.”
Without looking at him, she nodded then adjusted the seat and rearview mirror. The only outward sign of tension was the whitening of her knuckles on the wheel.
And of his own where he gripped the edge of the driver’s door.
Knowing she was about to drive into a dangerous situation was messing with his perspective and his objectivity, because he wanted to do something he shouldn’t. Something he’d sworn to himself that he wouldn’t do again.
Leaning into the cab, he slipped his hand to her nape, drew her to him, kissed her quickly, then drew back. Startled green eyes locked with his. For one long moment, they remained that way, their faces only inches apart. Then her hand shot out, cupping the back of his head, tugging his mouth to hers.
The kiss was frenzied and hot. Deep and wet. He was drowning and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Her taste, the very essence of her breath was warm and honey sweet. He knew damn well that Dayne was waiting for him, watching him kiss her, and he didn’t care.
He pulled away, his chest heaving as he sucked in air. Her lips were parted as she did the same.
To keep from reaching for her again, he fisted his hands at his sides. Don’t go, he wanted to say but didn’t. Couldn’t.
Only after he shut the driver-side door and turned away did he fully understand what had just happened.
Something inside him had snapped, and he’d had the unsettling feeling he would never see her again.
Chapter Sixteen
Rain fell steadily as Tess drove north on Sawmill Road. Lightning lit the sky, but all she heard was the steady thumping of the windshield wipers.
Gripping the wheel tighter, she sucked in long, even breaths.
I can do this. I can do this.
Lightning flashed again, closer this time, followed by a rumble of thunder that was loud enough to hear above the engine and the wiper blades flicking back and forth.
No matter what happened, the dozen or so federal agents, including Eric, Dayne, and their K-9s, were looking out for her. If everything went down the toilet, they’d be there for her.
Unless the chopper is grounded.
With every passing minute, that eventuality seemed more and more likely. The ATF wouldn’t send their pilot into a storm if it was too dangerous. Then, she’d be alone. Help might be parked less than a mile away, but if they couldn’t see or hear her, how would they know if she was in trouble?
She touched her fingers to her lips, which were still sensitive from the desperate kiss she and Eric had shared. The man could be so icy and distant one second, briefing her with the exacting precision of a drill sergeant, then turn all passionate and fiery hot the next. She’d sensed his need for distance after their kiss that morning, and she’d needed it, too. But the moment his lips contacted hers again, she hadn’t thought twice about throwing caution to the wind and had welcomed it with wild abandon.
A large sign came into view on the left side of the road. The elementary school. School wasn’t in session yet, but there were enough cars in the lot to mask the presence of all the federal vehicles she knew were parked there.
She swallowed the rising lump in her throat. Less than a mile ahead were sovereign citizens who wanted to construct a deadly device that would kill hundreds. The idea of anyone getting hurt because of—
No. Don’t go there. Don’t even think it.
It wasn’t Jesse’s fault, and it wasn’t hers. Neither of them knew these people could be so violent. Ten years ago, she’d run from that malevolence, and she thanked God her brother had finally decided it was time to escape. Only it wasn’t her past anymore. It was her present, front and center because she’d never faced it head-on. Maybe if she had, maybe if she’d spoken up then, her brother could have been living a normal life all this time. Her cowardice had placed Jesse’s future in grave jeopardy.
The odometer indicated she’d gone three-quarters of a mile past the school. The rain had let up enough that she turned down the wiper speed. An old red barn on the right side of the road rose up to greet her, and she slowed before turning into the dirt driveway.
Her heart thumped wildly, her palms damp where she gripped the wheel. Two other vehicles were parked near the barn, one a white sedan, and the other a dark blue SUV—like the one the man had gotten into at the department store parking lot.
She swallowed. There had to be thousands of dark blue SUVs in New Jersey. Just because one was parked here didn’t mean a thing. I hope.
Knocking sounded on the driver-side window, and she flinched, uttering a tiny cry. A man stood beside the truck, peering through the glass, and she hadn’t even seen where he’d come from. Through the rain-spattered window, she searched his features.
I don’t know him.
She nearly sagged with relief. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped out.
“Who the hell are you?” the man barked, and she instantly recognized the same voice over the phone. He was tall, at least six feet, and with a receding hairline. Dark brown eyes bored into her. Another man stood by the barn door. She didn’t recognize him, either. Just because it wasn’t Mark Pritchard didn’t mean the man wasn’t equally as dangerous, or more so, but it was a good sign.
“I’m Jesse McTavish’s sister. He couldn’t make it, so I came in his place.”
The man slowly shook his head. “That’s not part of the deal.”
“He’s in the hospital,” she said, stepping closer, wanting to make sure the microphone hidde
n behind the front grill would pick up their conversation. “Appendicitis.”
His eyes narrowed. “I spoke to him less than an hour ago. Why didn’t he tell me he was sending his sister?”
She willed her lower lip to stop trembling. “He needs the money he was promised.”
“How do I know you’re really his sister?”
“Check your phone,” she said. “They sent you a photo of Jesse, so you’d know what he looks like, right? Look at it. You’ll see the family resemblance.”
He continued staring at her, and for a moment, she thought he would send her packing. Or worse, strangle her and bury her in the woods behind the barn. In the last couple of days, she’d learned there were parts of New Jersey that were sparsely populated and with plenty of forested areas. Like this one.
Where no one would find her body.
Suspicion sparked in the man’s eyes. He pulled a phone from his back pocket, tapped it a few times, then waved his hand for the other man to join them.
“She says she’s the McTavish kid’s sister. The kid’s in the hospital so she came in his place.” He held out his phone to his companion. “What do you think?”
The other man’s gaze flicked to her face. “Could be.”
“Yeah, but what if she’s not?” He looked around her shoulder to the street, shielding his eyes from the rain.
“Don’t worry, boys.” A third man strode from the barn. “I’ll vouch for the lady.”
Tess’s heart began racing wildly. Drawing air into her lungs became impossible, painful, even.
She knew that voice. Knew it. Hated it.
The slow, drawn-out consonants and sharply spoken vowels of an Alabama drawl.
As the man drew nearer, every muscle in her body tightened.
It’s really him. Mark Pritchard.
Oh no. Oh hell, no.
Her mouth went bone dry. Reality was a bitch. It had been him in the parking lot the other day. She hadn’t imagined it. Now, he was here. Her past roared up like a lion, chasing her down, about to swallow her whole and eat her alive.