Blackmail

by Robin Caroll

  “Please, just take my car. Let me go.”

  “Oh, no, Ms. High and Mighty. You and me, we’re going fer a ride. Maybe have a little fun. Ya’ve sure caused me enough sufferin’.”

  Jon’s muscles tensed. Sadie sobbed.

  “Shut up. Start the car.”

  Where were the agents? Were they about to make their move? Jon would hate to pop up and accidentally get shot.

  “Let my sister go.”

  What was Caleb doing? Jon sent him silent messages to be quiet, not to try and be a hero—ignoring his own conscience that reminded him he was doing that exact thing.

  “Start the car.”

  Sadie whimpered, but the car’s engine hummed to life.

  “Good, now put it in gear and let’s get outta here.”

  The car jerked.

  “No.”

  The brake engaged, nearly rolling Jon into the backs of the front seats.

  “Don’t back up. Just drive around these morons.”

  The gearshift popped.

  Now or never.

  Jon jumped, bringing his right arm to tighten around Kinnard’s neck. His left hand grabbed the gun, but Kinnard didn’t let it go.

  “Get out,” Jon growled at Sadie.

  She killed the ignition and, taking the keys with her, opened the door. “Help Jon. He’s got Kinnard,” she yelled as she slipped out, leaving the door wide. Light flooded the car.

  Jon struggled to get control of the gun. Kinnard was strong, very strong. All four doors opened, and agents swarmed. Yeah, twice the feds had showed up just in the nick of time. Jon let go of his hold on Kinnard.

  A gunshot erupted.

  Kinnard was thrown out of the car, covered by agents yelling.

  Jon’s left shoulder burned. Must’ve jammed it during his wrestling match with the bigger man. He reached to rub it. His hand came away wet. And red.

  Sadie rushed to the backseat. “Oh, somebody help. Jon’s been shot.”

  TWENTY-THREE

  Surprisingly, being shot didn’t hurt nearly as bad as everyone made it out.

  Jon shifted against the vinyl backseat of Ward and Lockwood’s car. It would’ve taken a good twenty minutes for another ambulance to arrive, so the agents had graciously volunteered to rush him to the hospital in their car. He just might have to change his opinion of the federal boys yet.

  The siren and lights were activated, but Jon kept telling them there was no need. He wasn’t in a lot of pain and he kept the folded undershirt—donated by none other than Ward—tight against the wound. He did like sitting between Caleb and Sadie and having her fuss over him. It was nice, for a change, to be the center of attention. In a good sort of way.

  “Are you okay?” she whispered.

  “Fine.” He patted her hand. So sweet that worry lined her beautiful wide eyes as she stared at him.

  Kinnard had been apprehended, of course, and was en route to the sheriff’s office now for booking. Didn’t look good for him—charges would include murder, sabotage, aiding and abetting in kidnapping, kidnapping and attempted murder of an officer of the court. No way would he be offered a plea agreement.

  “Does it hurt much?” Caleb asked.

  “Not really. Stings. Like I got stung by a really mad bee.”

  Caleb chuckled. The boy would be okay. Jon had been wrong about him. So wrong. And he’d been wrong about Sadie. He also hadn’t seen Lance’s involvement with everything until it was too late. Somewhere down the line, his judgment had become skewed. It was time to get out of his line of work.

  A month ago, had he come to this realization, he’d be packing it up, heading back to Nebraska. Now…well, he and Sadie had a lot to talk about. But he couldn’t imagine going on without her in his life. As much as he detested the bayou, if this was where Sadie wanted to stay, then stay here he would. If she wanted him to stay.

  Sadie tightened her grip on his right hand. Could she know what he was thinking? She smiled and snuggled closer to him. With everything that had happened, maybe she’d want to get out of Lagniappe. Out of Louisiana, period.

  “Here we are.” Agent Lockwood brought the car to a halt right outside the emergency room.

  Agent Ward jumped out of the car and opened the back door. Sadie eased out, then helped Jon. Caleb walked around from the other side of the car.

  “I’ll park and be right in,” Lockwood said as he slipped the car in gear.

  Ward entered through the automatic doors first, barking orders at the nurses to get a doctor ready pronto. Jon smiled. Yeah, he might even grow to like these feds.

  He made it to the counter before dizziness washed over him. He swayed, but Sadie shoved a wheelchair under him in time to catch him. He smiled his gratitude. He felt a little woozy, a little lightheaded all of a sudden.

  The nurse wheeled him down the hall, admonishing Sadie and Caleb to go to the waiting room. He held up his right fingers, waggling them.

  And then the room spun until all he could sense was warm darkness.

  “He’s doing great. Doctors said he should be fine, with no permanent damage.” Georgia handed Sadie a cup of coffee.

  “What?”

  “Deacon. He’s gonna be just fine. Isn’t that why you’re here? To check up on him?” Her assistant smiled. “I saw your brother at the soda machine when I was getting your coffee. Guess that all worked out okay, too, huh?”

  “Actually I’m here because Jon was shot.”

  “Jon?” Georgia scrunched her brows.

  “Jon Garrison. Caleb’s parole officer.”

  “Oh. Right. The guy at the office.”

  Sadie smiled despite herself. “Yes. That’s him.”

  “Shot?” Georgia dropped to the seat beside Sadie. “You gotta fill me in, girl.”

  “It’s a long story.” She took a sip of the coffee, then shivered. Hospital coffee had to be the worst. But bad coffee was better than no coffee. Especially if she was to stay awake this time of the night.

  “I’ve got the time. I want to hear it.”

  Sadie filled her assistant in on what all had transpired. And it was amusing—she’d never noticed how animated Georgia’s face was. When she was done, Georgia put her arm around Sadie’s shoulders. “Girl, you’ve had a day to end all days.”

  Wasn’t that the truth? “It’s been one of the worst, but one of the best, too.”

  Georgia wrinkled her nose. “I get the worst, but how do you figure the best?”

  Sadie laughed. “Because I realized just how good God is, how much I really love my brother and how much Jon Garrison means to me.”

  “Ah. I see.” Georgia gave her a sideways hug, then dropped her hand. She cleared her throat. “Looks like your brother’s heading this way. Why don’t I go track down a nurse and see how Deacon’s doing? Give y’all a little time alone.”

  “Merci.”

  Georgia patted Caleb’s shoulder as she passed him in the hall. He gave her a funny look, then plopped down in the chair beside Sadie. “Wonder how long it’ll be before they come out and tell us anything.”

  She glanced to the other side of the waiting room, where Ward and Lockwood sat thumbing through some outdated magazines. “I’m sure they know the FBI is out here waiting, so maybe it won’t take too long.”

  “Hope so.” He took a long draw off his canned soda.

  She pinched the bridge of her nose. “You know, Caleb, it sounds like you’re worried about him.”

  Her brother jerked his head up, staring at the ceiling. “I care about the dude.” He made eye contact with her and smiled. “Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want to even like him. But he’s cool. A good guy.”

  “I think so, too.”

  “You know, I was sitting there when he called you. When Lance made him call.”

  And he’d heard what Jon had said. Heat fanned against her face.

  “It’s okay, you know. You two hooking up. I’m cool with that.”

  Relief chased the happiness in her heart. “I’m g
lad. Caleb, I know you’ve been here only for a short time, but I have to tell you, I can’t imagine my life without you in it.” Her voice cracked.

  His face turned as red as the soda can in his hand. He let out a throat-clearing sound. “Me, too.”

  That was about as close as she’d get to a declaration of love from him and it was enough for her. She smiled and hugged her brother. “I do love you, Caleb, and I’m so glad you’re here with me.”

  “Yeah, me, too.”

  A nurse interrupted the moment. “Who’s with Jon Garrison?”

  Sadie and Caleb shoved to their feet, as did the two FBI agents. The four of them crowded around the nurse. She flustered for a moment before composing herself. “The bullet went straight through, so no surgery is required.”

  “How’s he doing?” Ward demanded.

  “We’re closing the wound now. He lost a good bit of blood, so we’re giving him a transfusion. As soon as that’s complete, we’ll make sure he has pain medication.”

  “When can I see him?” Sadie wanted nothing more than to just look at him, see for herself that he really was okay.

  “The transfusion will be complete in about an hour. His wound should be dressed within that time, as well.”

  “So, in about an hour we can see him?”

  “It depends on how well he does with the transfusion. Right now, he’s in and out of consciousness.”

  “Is that common?” Lockwood asked.

  “Very common with blood loss such as Mr. Garrison sustained. Not to worry, we’re monitoring his blood pressure and vitals.”

  “But he’ll be okay, yes?” Sadie held her breath for the answer.

  “The doctor doesn’t anticipate any complications at this point.”

  Sadie let out her breath. Thank You, Jesus.

  If this was heaven, he wanted to stay.

  Bright lights shone down on him, but Jon didn’t feel the need to squint. Everything was hazy anyway. He was warm and felt like he was floating. Cocooned, that’s what he felt like.

  “Jon. Jon.”

  He turned his head to the right. Wow, Sadie was in heaven, too? Nah, must mean he was dreaming. Oh, what a dream. He smiled, feeling little bubbles of happiness dancing in his stomach. “Hey, Sadie.”

  Her laughter echoed in his mind. Dreams were so nice. “I love you, Sadie. You’re so beautiful.”

  More of her laughter tinkled inside his head. “You’re out of it because of the pain medication.”

  “Nope. Not so. You are beautiful and I do love you.”

  “We’ll talk about that when you’re fully conscious of what you’re saying.”

  “Let’s run away together.”

  Her laughter filled him with such happiness. “To where?”

  “Nebraska. I didn’t sell my place there. We could take Caleb and move there.”

  “What about your job?”

  “I’m gonna quit anyway. I’ve lost per-cep-tion.” His tongue had grown to double its regular size, and his mouth was stuffed with cotton.

  She laughed again. He felt her hand on his forearm. “You just rest now, we’ll talk about this later.”

  He could feel her touch. What a detailed dream.

  Jon turned his attention back to the bright lights. Warm and comforting.

  He loved dreamland.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Had Jon’s subconscious been speaking while his pain medications held his conscious in check?

  Sadie watched Jon move in and out of sleep all night. His words had warmed her heart. But when he woke up, would he still say the same thing? He’d been talking some nonsense—quitting his job and running away back to Nebraska. Maybe it’d all been just that, nonsense talk.

  But, oh, she wished he really did feel that way.

  She’d gone up and seen Deacon earlier when they’d moved Jon into a room for overnight observation. Deacon had been devastated to learn about Lance’s death and his involvement in the sabotages and blackmail against Sadie. He was just as crushed to learn of Candy-Jo’s intent to kill him for his money. She didn’t blame him one bit when he told her he was going to sell Vermilion Oil as soon as he could. New management might mean she’d be out of a job, but she understood how he felt.

  Seemed like everyone had been touched by the evil spent over the bayou by greed and deception.

  Agents Ward and Lockwood had been kind enough to escort Caleb home. She hadn’t wanted him to be alone, so Pastor had agreed to crash on the couch for what was left of the night.

  Now, as the sun crested over Lagniappe, its rays tossing out promise and hope, Sadie returned her attention to Jon.

  Father, thank You so much for keeping him and Caleb safe. And for touching our hearts for one another. I really have fallen for him, God.

  “Sadie?”

  She opened her eyes and lifted her head to find Jon staring at her. “Hi, there.” She moved to the chair beside his bed, stretching a bit as she crossed the short space. “How’re you feeling?”

  “Okay, I think.” He shifted the pillows behind him. “You’re really here now, right?”

  She smiled. “Yep.”

  “I had some amazing dreams. You were in them.”

  “Was I now?”

  “Yes.” He grinned, warming her all over.

  “Uh, Jon, you were on pain medication, in and out of consciousness.”

  His smile slipped off his face. “And you were here?”

  “Yes.”

  Pink teased his cheeks. “It wasn’t a dream, was it?”

  “Afraid not.” Did he want to pretend it was just a dream, that he hadn’t said all these wonderful things? She pinched the bridge of her nose.

  He sat, tugging the sheet up under his arms. “And you heard everything I said?”

  She pressed her lips together and nodded. Please don’t say you didn’t mean any of it. She couldn’t take that.

  “Huh.” He licked his lips and stared her dead in the eye. “Well, guess you should know that I meant every crazy word of it.”

  Her heart would explode at any given moment. “Jon, you were on heavy pain medication.”

  “You think that made me lie?”

  “No. I just—”

  “Give me your hand.”

  She put her trembling one in his. She could feel his strength from just that touch.

  “I told you I loved you on the phone, too.”

  Oh, no. She could feel the tears creeping up her throat to clog her eyes. “I didn’t think you meant it.”

  “I meant it more than you could know. If that was the last time I talked to you, I wanted you to know how I felt.”

  Boogers! The tears made it up into her eyes. “I—I—”

  “I love you, Sadie Thompson.”

  “And I love you.”

  He smiled wider than she’d ever seen. “Then lean down here and give me a kiss before I go crazy.”

  What a beautiful day in the bayou!

  Everything looked greener, fresher to Jon. Or maybe it was the security of being in love with someone that made such an impression. Either way, happiness rode on his back as he sat on his porch, waiting for Sadie to arrive.

  She’d been adamant about bringing over lunch for them to share. He could really get used to such a situation.

  Nerves attacked him as her car pulled into the driveway. He had so much to tell her, so much to ask…he’d been praying all morning that she’d be receptive to him and his ideas. The moment of truth had arrived.

  He moved down the stairs and met her at the car. He planted a quick peck on her lips as she smiled up at him. Together, they carried paper sacks into his kitchen as she prattled about Caleb and wondering what she was going to do now that Mr. Wynn had sold the oil company to a bigger one, which already had a public relations team in place.

  Thank You, God, for putting things in place for her to be receptive to my suggestions. Help me word my ideas in a non-offensive way.

  They sat at the table, plates in front of them, and
prayed together. Jon’s heart lurched. Who would’ve ever thought he’d be sitting with a woman he loved, holding her hand and praying with her? He’d never felt so blessed.

  He felt the nudge to broach the subject with her as he took a bite of the delicious yet spicy crawfish pie. He swallowed. “So, have you thought about what you’re going to do now that you’re out of a job?”

  “Gee, thanks for rubbing it in.” But she smiled. “I really don’t know yet. I hadn’t thought about it.”

  “You know, Nebraska has some really large companies that are always looking to hire good PR folks.”

  “Nebraska?”

  “Yeah. I still have my place there. I’m thinking about maybe moving back there.” He took a sip of water, studying her over the rim.

  Her face went pale. “But your job is here.”

  “I was serious about quitting. I’ve already typed my letter of resignation. In two weeks, I’m officially unemployed.”

  “Oh.” Her lips stayed in an O shape.

  This wasn’t going the way he’d planned. He set down his fork and reached for her hand. “I’m doing this all wrong. I’ve quit my job because I don’t enjoy it anymore. It’s time for me to move on to something different. I was thinking of working with teens in a halfway house or something.”

  “That’s a great idea, Jon.” Her eyes lit up, but her face was still pale.

  “And I have connections in Nebraska. I could get something started up there and I already have a place.”

  Her eyes filled with moisture. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

  “So, what do you say?”

  “I don’t know what you mean. I think it sounds lovely and if that’s what you want to do, you should pursue it.”

  He squeezed her hand. “You still don’t get it. I’m asking you to go with me. Caleb, too.”

  “What? But my home is here.”

  “But you no longer have a job and you’ve said before that Lagniappe hasn’t been the nicest to you.”

  “But what about Caleb?”

  “Why don’t you ask him? He’s not from Lagniappe. Maybe he’d like a fresh start, too. Away from everything.”