“Alright. What time should we have her at the airport?” Anna asked, looking at Claire who was sitting directly across from her at the kitchen table, while Neil sat beside her.
“Nine a.m.”
“Okay, will do.”
Sarah continued, “I’m going to let you go, so you can get some rest. Don’t forget to call the police. Just tell them you saw a prowler, and maybe stop by tomorrow and talk to Sam Danielson, the police chief, and tell him everything that’s going on with Claire. He’s a friend, so be sure to say that Brand and I sent you.”
“Alright. Sam Danielson,” Anna answered, writing down the name on the notepad in front of her. “Goodnight, Sarah.”
“Stay safe,” Sarah answered, disconnecting her phone.
“The airport?” Neil asked.
“The one that’s right here in town. Sarah’s made arrangements for Luke to fly her directly to Virginia tomorrow.” Anna looked at Claire. “Our friend Luke Bryant will be flying you there.”
“Virginia, huh?” Claire said, looking thoughtful. “I doubt if he’d look for me there.”
“Are you doing alright?” Anna asked, not for the first time.
And strangely, Claire grinned. “You guys are something else. I was watching you two from the attic window. I loved it when you punched Will in the face. No one’s ever stood up for me like that before.”
Neil grinned at Claire, winking at Anna. ‘
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss that rush of adrenaline I used to get when we were in danger.” Anna rolled her eyes. “Hand me that phone book Neil. Will you?”
Reaching to the counter, Neil grabbed the phone book from underneath the pile of local takeout menus and handed it over to Anna.
A few minutes later, Anna was on the phone with the Crystal Rock Police Department, explaining the situation to the officer on duty, who promised someone would be making extra rounds at the wounded warrior property through the night, while keeping an eye out for trouble.
Claire stood up. “I guess I’m going to try and get back to sleep.”
“Goodnight,” Anna and Neil said simultaneously.
“Well,” Neil said, standing up from the table. “I guess we’d better try for a little more sleep.”
Anna had been greatly distracted with Neil running around without his shirt for the past hour, and now that the waiting was over and they seemed to have averted trouble, Anna took a moment to admire Neil’s wide shoulders and muscular chest. The man was built like a tank.
Neil began laughing. “Anna? What’s going on?”
She smirked. “You don’t want to know.”
“Right. I have a feeling that I do,” he answered, reaching for her hand and pulling her from the chair and into his arms.
Staring intensely into her eyes for a long lingering moment, he finally kissed her, and all the tension of the day seemed to blow up in this one explosive kiss. His mouth was teasing, but the meeting of their lips was deadly serious, and she felt a physical shock as his mouth moved against hers.
Finally, they broke apart, and Anna was breathing deeply when she laid her face against the warmth of Neil’s chest. Along with the rapid beating of his heart, she heard the rumbling of soft laughter.
Neil said, “You just wait until tomorrow night.”
“I don’t know if I can,” she answered, wearing a soft smile on her face. “How about we pick up some steaks and grill outside for dinner? And then we can spend the rest of the night in.”
“We’ll go into the store together at the end of the day, and there’s somewhere else I’d like to take you before we come back here,” Neil said. “I’m going to have to let you go now before I can’t.”
Looking determined, Neil walked into the living room, dropping his sweats before sitting on the couch and removing his prosthetic.
When he laid on the couch, covering himself with a blanket, he grinned at Anna when she blew him a kiss.
And Anna laughed softly, heading toward the bedroom.
* * *
The next morning, everyone was wide awake by seven, and as Claire began gathering together her things after taking a quick shower, Anna walked into her room with a few more clothes for her to bring along.
“Just in case there’s something we missed, Neil and I thought we should play it safe and keep your clothes here in the closet along with your luggage with the tracking devices still intact. The longer your ex thinks you’re here, the more time we’ll have to get you safely out of range.”
Claire grimaced. “I can’t even take along my favorite pair of jeans?”
Anna grinned. “I promise I won’t get rid of anything, and you can have everything back eventually. But we’ll go over all your things and search for additional sensors first.”
“I’m sorry to be pouting. It’s Will that’s responsible for all of this, and I keep wondering what I ever saw in him in the first place.”
Anna laid a pink bag of luggage on top of the bed, opening it up. “Since we’re close to the same size, maybe what I have for you in here will make you feel better. Apparently, you should be able to move around town freely once you arrive at Quantico. You’ll be staying at Brand’s apartment, which is close to where you’ll be landing.”
Anna had packed a couple pairs of jeans and dressy t-shirts, some comfortable sleep shirts, a robe and slippers along with some new underthings that were still in their packages. And since they wore the same size shoe, she’d dug a pair of running shoes out from the closet that she’d recently purchased but never worn.
There were tears in Claire’s eyes, and reaching out, Anna gave her a quick hug. “And then you’ve got your new purse and wallet. I’m thinking we should hang onto your ID and give it to Sarah. She’s arranged for you to have cash and an alternate ID. You can’t use any credit cards either, so we’ll keep those too. That’s another easy way to find you, you know.
“Yep, Sarah mentioned that too. I guess I should wear my new teenager look today?” Claire asked.
“Yes. Just in case there’s someone keeping an eye on us, which I doubt they could do from a vehicle, but maybe they’re watching from the water. Neil’s already been outside for a quick jog around the property and he ran into Josh, who said there’s been a cop car parked near the wounded warrior home practically all night. We’ll take Neil’s truck and leave my jeep parked here. Later, I’ll drive my jeep to work and we’ll leave it up to your ex to hopefully make another mistake.”
“Alright. You guys know what’s best,” Claire answered.
“I’ll whip up breakfast for all of us, and then we can head out, even if we’re there a little early.”
About forty-five minutes later when they were finished eating, Neil walked over to his cabin to pick up his truck. After loading up Claire’s new bags, they were on their way to the airport, which was only ten miles away.
Luke was already there talking to a couple of mechanics on the runway near the plane when they pulled into the parking lot.
Walking toward them, he held out his hand to Claire. “I’m Luke. You must be Claire.”
Claire reached out and shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you Luke.”
“Come on into the hangar for a few minutes and have some coffee,” he said. “The mechanics are gassing up the plane and checking everything out. We should be ready for take-off in about half an hour.”
They went inside and helped themselves to coffee, and Neil was looking toward the airfield with definite curiosity. “I’m dying to see how they’ve got that rigged up for you Luke, since we have similar injuries.”
Luke looked at Anna. “Neither one of you are flying? Oh, wait. You can’t with the arm, huh?”
“Nope. But there’s progress being made there,” Anna answered.
“Hey, look at me?” Neil said. “I’m living proof that things are changing. I’m actually in pararescue.”
“Man, that’s gotta be tough on your knees though.”
Neil grimaced. �
�You’re not kidding.”
“Maybe next week you can give me a call and I can give you guys a real tour of the plane. Kelly’s got everything pretty much in place for the wedding. Of course, it helps that her older sister, Lucy, is a wedding planner.”
A few minutes later, the plane was ready for take-off and Luke began radioing in the coordinates.
“We’ve kept a skeleton crew here, for Claire’s sake,” Luke said. “That’s the good thing about piloting a plane for someone who’s a special FBI Agent.”
“That’s Jake Loughlin. Right?” Neil asked. “The owner of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn?”
“You got it,” Luke answered, pointing at the descending staircase. “Alright Claire, you can get on board.”
Claire strapped her purse over her shoulder and began gathering the luggage.
Looking at Neil and Anna, Luke grinned. “You ought to see the look on your faces. Do you two want to help Claire with the luggage?”
Anna grinned. “Sure. Once a pilot…”
“Always a pilot.”
Everyone laughed when Neil finished the sentence.
After they were all on board the plane, Neil and Anna took a few minutes to look around while Claire got settled.
“This is probably the most luxurious plane I’ve ever seen,” Claire said, when Anna and Neil were ready to depart.
“I agree,” Neil answered.
Luke came back to the cabin for a moment, looking at Claire. “There’s food available in back if you’d like any snacks. Just make sure you wait for the seatbelt light to switch off.”
He glanced at Anna and Neil. “Alright, guys. Time to disembark. Give me a call next week—both of you,” he added, grinning at Anna.
Reaching down, Anna grabbed Claire’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “My number’s plugged into your phone. Don’t hesitate to call if any trouble comes up.”
“You stay safe,” Neil said sternly.
“I’ll do my best. Thank you, Anna. Thank you, Neil. I can’t tell you how much better the two of you have made me feel about moving forward.”
“We’ll be here when it’s over,” Anna answered, waving as she and Neil moved toward the exit, descending the staircase.
She and Neil watched the plane take off from the runway ten minutes later.
But Anna blew out a long breath, deeply concerned. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Claire’s troubles were only just beginning.
Chapter Fourteen
Neil drove Anna immediately back to the cabin, where they began setting a scene for another potential trap.
The first thing they did was remove their weapons from inside and loaded them into their vehicles. Neil carried Claire’s discarded luggage back into the bedroom where she’d been sleeping while Anna rearranged the room to make it seem as if Claire would be returning soon.
It was lucky that she and Claire had even worn the same size shoe, because Claire’s were rather distinctive, purple in color with bright yellow laces.
After leaving the tennis shoes in sight near the closet on the floor, Anna laid the t-shirt and jeans Claire had been wearing when she’d arrived on a chair in the bedroom, laying her purse on top. Grabbing Claire’s threadbare robe and sleep shirt from the drawer, Anna went into the bathroom and hung them on a hook behind the door.
Anna turned to Neil. “I left her wallet in the purse but with nothing inside. I’d hate for her ID to be taken.”
“Want me to hang onto it?” Neil asked.
“Yes. Why don’t you for now?” Anna handed over the license and credit cards. “But maybe we’d better just put everything in my office when we’re there? I’m going to take my laptop along too,” Anna said, frowning.
“Good idea,” Neil said. “Even though there’s nothing there that would relate to Claire, he might think there is.”
“I was thinking he might be able to connect the phone we purchased for her. Even if I erased my history.”
Neil frowned. “Good call. I hadn’t thought about that.”
She pursed her lips, walking into the kitchen. “Have we left any notes laying around with information?”
“That’s another good question. We probably have.” Neil began sorting through the notepads they’d left on the table. “Yep, here’s something about the police chief. Why don’t you tuck all these notes into your computer bag?”
“That’ll work,” Anna answered, opening her bag for Neil to slip them into.
They each looked around one final time.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Yep,” Neil answered.
* * *
It was nearly noon by the time Neil stepped into his truck after Anna drove off in her jeep, so they’d decided it was more convenient to eat lunch in the cafeteria because of their plans for later in the day.
Neil was looking forward to taking a breather from all the drama and just spending some time alone with Anna.
Although Neil could tell that both Phil and Nate were curious when he and Anna walked into the conference room after finishing their lunch and locking Claire’s ID and credit cards in Anna’s office desk, neither one of them was asking any questions.
Josh came walking into the room, announcing that everyone was on their own for the rest of the afternoon to begin working on their proposals, but tomorrow there would be a tour of the lake.
Phil walked up to Neil. “You know, we couldn’t help noticing that there’s been some trouble at Anna’s cabin.”
Nate made a hooting noise from where he was seated nearby. “You think?” He snorted, looking at Neil. “When you hear a rifle being shot, men with our backgrounds can’t help being a little curious and investigating on their own.”
Neil smiled nervously, looking at Anna.
“No worries,” Phil said. “I understand what happened might be under wraps, but if you need any help? We’re here for you Man, no questions asked.”
“We appreciate that,” Anna’s answer was definitely sincere.
Neil’s smile was wry. “Yeah, we do. Thanks.”
“Alright,” Phil answered and grinned, winking at Anna.
Neil went back to staring at something on his computer screen while Anna began typing on her laptop. Sitting across from him at the conference table, she’d told Neil earlier, she was creating an extensive list, determining what she wanted the recruits to gain from retraining during her phase of the program.
Although Neil was having a difficult time concentrating, he was attempting to do something similar with creating the most beneficial program for redeveloping physical strength and conditioning. Eventually, piloting would come into play, but that would require special equipment as well as access to planes adapted for pilots with specific disabilities.
The more successful they were in the earlier stages of development, the better chance of acquiring additional funding and expanding the program categories. The goal at this point was to do as much as they could to prepare wounded warriors for passing the same requirement tests as active duty participants without disabilities.
Neil was surprised to realize four hours later that the afternoon had gone by quickly. Basically, everyone was focusing on their work while drinking an awful lot of coffee.
Anna stretched in her chair, smiling at Neil as she closed her laptop and stood. “I’ll probably begin using my office next week. I’m going to need to spread out now that I’ve got a tentative plan put together.”
“Already?” Neil asked, shutting down his own computer and standing up.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about what I wanted to do since I accepted the job,” she answered, wrinkling her nose. “I know it’s kind of nerdy, but I’ve been pretty excited.”
Neil grinned. “Not at all. I’d be going crazy working at a desk like you’ve been doing these past few years.”
“Yep, that’s it exactly. I missed the action.”
“Later.” Neil lifted his hand in farewell at Phil and Nate who were talking at the other side of
the room.
Distractedly, they both answered goodbye, returning to their conversation as Neil held open the door for Anna and they both began making their way through the hallway.
Once they were outside in the parking lot, Neil said, “We can just take my truck. It’s a little larger than your jeep.”
Anna definitely looked curious. “Why does that matter?”
Neil grinned. “Just in case we need the space.”
Anna looked even more puzzled, and Neil laughed. He couldn’t believe she’d already forgotten something she’d mentioned to him the other day.
First, they went back to the grocery store. Taking their time and stocking up on a bunch of extras, Neil grabbed charcoal and lighter fluid as well for the outside grill while Anna chose some steaks and other items to last them through the weekend.
Once they were back in the truck, Neil began driving through town toward the wounded warrior home, but when he came to the turnoff leading toward the cabins, he continued along the two-lane highway instead.
When he drove past the property near the river where the new wounded warrior training facility was being built, Anna kept watching where he was going with definite curiosity on her face. He was sure she’d already guessed he was heading to the animal shelter, so they could check out the dogs available for adoption.
Anna had a huge smile on her face when Neil turned into the long graveled driveway leading toward the parking lot for the shelter.
“Are you sure they’re still open?” she asked, looking excited.
“I called a little earlier to check their hours. Except for weekends, they stick to afternoons and early evenings to encourage more people to stop by.”
Anna nodded. “That makes sense.”
Neil parked the truck and turned to study Anna, her face lit up with anticipation. “You ought to see the look on your face.”
She laughed. “Have you ever had a dog?”
“We did,” Neil answered, stepping out from the truck and walking around to open Anna’s door. “Her name was Roxy, and she used to sleep in my room when I was growing up.”
Two Hearts In Accord (Two Hearts Wounded Warrior Book 7) Page 11