by Jane Charles
I wrap a towel around my head and after drying off, pull a thick, fluffy robe on.
Brett’s sitting with his back against the headboard watching television. At the knock in the door, I jump back in the bathroom and close the door, but not before I see Brett grab his gun and slip it in the back of his jeans. Setting the lock on the door, I hold my breath and wait. Why would anybody be at our door? My family knew we were coming to Albany, but not where we were staying. It isn’t like there’s only one hotel here.
“You can come out,” Brett calls and I blow out the breath I’ve been holding.
“Who was that?”
“Room service.” He grins at me. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” He lifts the lids on the trays. “Burgers, fries and beers okay?”
My stomach grumbles. I hadn’t even realized I was hungry but I haven’t had anything since breakfast and it’s already past my normal supper time. “Thanks.”
I climb up on the bed next to him instead of sitting at the table and we eat burgers, fries, drink our beers and watch TV just like normal.
But, this isn’t normal. I’m in a hotel room that’s little over an hour from my home, hiding, with Brett, and no idea which guy on the list has been texting me. This is not normal.
When we’re finished eating, Brett takes the tray and sets it outside of our door, and returns to the bed. I curl up against him, sipping the rest of my beer, staring at the TV. I have no clue what I’m even watching or the story to go with it.
I can’t concentrate on shit right now. Instead of trying to figure out the show, I go back into the bathroom and change into my pajamas and run a comb through my hair before blowing it dry. It’ll still be damp in the morning if I go to sleep with it wet and I’m sure Brett probably doesn’t want to sleep with someone who has wet hair.
When I come back out he’s still in the same place except he’s no longer wearing jeans but comfortable looking pajama bottoms. Thank goodness he’s not just in boxers. I like Brett and everything, the last thing I want to do tonight is have sex and I think he gets that.
“Want to try and get some sleep?”
I nod and crawl under the covers. He flips off the TV and light, then curls around me.
Now I feel safe.
My supervisor already had a heads up that I was bringing Jackie in with me today. He got that I couldn’t leave her alone. They’ve also started the background checks on the names. I emailed them last night while Jackie was in the shower. She doesn’t know that I’ve already told my boss everything and I hope she doesn’t mind, but she’s got to get that we’d be working on this. I may be new at my job, but too many times early signs, like texts, were ignored and by the time everything was figured out, it was too late. I’m not about to let anything happy to Jackie. My supervisor is also concerned that whoever it is may try to get me out of the way to get to Jackie, so he wants that person sending the texts found and dealt with sooner than later
It could easily be nothing and the perp won’t do anything but send texts, but nobody wants to take the risk or wait and see. What I hadn’t expected was five agents waiting in the conference room with my boss. I quickly introduce Jackie and then get her a cup of coffee.
“We’ve started the background checks,” my boss starts.
Jackie blinks. “You already know?”
“I called them last night while you were in the shower and then emailed.”
She nods but doesn’t seem upset.
“We’d like to ask you some questions, if you don’t mind, and see if there isn’t more that we can figure out.”
“Sure.” Jackie relaxes back in her chair.
“When did the texts first start?”
“June 12th. That evening while I was sitting at a restaurant waiting for Brett.”
“Anything different about that night?”
I can feel my face heat. Nobody knows how my relationship with Jackie started.
“It was a blind date.” She glances over at me and her lips quirk.
“Who set you up?”
“Ashley, my best friend since I was ten.”
“She an instructor at the place I was working out,” I fill in. There’s no way Ashley has anything to do with this. But then again, we’ve been surprised before.
“So, what were you and Agent Robak doing when the first text came in?”
“He wasn’t there. He called the bar to tell the owner that he had a flat tire. Then Ashely called me to tell me Brett had a flat tire.”
“How did Ashley know?”
“I called her because I didn’t have Jackie’s phone number yet.”
“What’s Ashley’s last name?”
“Jones,” Jackie answers with a frown. “She doesn’t have anything to do with this.”
“I’m sure she doesn’t, but she set the two of you up. That’s when this started.”
“We’ll probably just want to ask her some questions,” another agent said.
“Like what?” I can tell Jackie is getting irritated.
“Maybe someone was asking about you?” the only female agent in the room answered. “It may have meant nothing to her at the time. If the guy is from the community, he’d probably know the two of you are friends. She might know something without even realizing she does.”
With this Jackie relaxes back into her chair and I take a note from the only female agent in the room. There is a way to talk to a witness or victim and a way not to. The guys were throwing questions at her, putting Jackie on edge. The woman was calmer and explains. I know why all of these questions are being asked, but forget that sometimes the person being interviewed doesn’t and it’s not good to put them on the defense, especially when they are the victim.
“What happened next?”
“Instead of waiting on him, I got two iced teas to go and went looking.”
My boss raises his eyebrows.
“Hey, I hadn’t met him. I didn’t know if he was just blowing off the date, or it wasn’t important enough to be on time to and was making excuses.” She shrugs. “I wanted to know if he was worth my time.”
The female agent smiles and ducks her head.
“When did you get the text?” my boss asks.
“As I was leaving.”
“And that was Dream Girl Unimpressed?”
“It’s from Assassins. The song is Everybody’s Got the Right,” Jackie answers.
The female agent picks up the list. “And the next one. Such a Pretty face, such a pretty dress, such a pretty smile, from I Feel Pretty of West Side Story?”
“The next night,” I answer. “Jackie and I had gone out to dinner. We were on the town square. A band was playing and a bunch of people were sitting on blankets or in lawn chairs watching.”
The agents nod.
“Tell me about the next one,” my boss says.
They go through each text, asking Jackie where she was, who she was with, where I was, when they were received.
“And the only time Agent Robak was not with you, or had been with immediately before, was when you were with Miss Jones at the diner?” the female agent clarified. She’d taken over the questioning when it became clear to everyone in the room that Jackie was more comfortable talking to her than any of the others.
“Yeah. But, we were talking about Brett because she wanted to know how the date went since she’s the one who set us up.”
“Is it unusual for you to meet Miss Jones that early in the morning?”
“We’ve been having Friday morning breakfast since we went away to college. It’s what we’d do on break and during the summer to catch up because we were at different schools.”
“I’m assuming it wasn’t a secret, this was a usual thing for you two.”
“It’s not like we announced it, but anyone who knew us would know.”
“And you’ve been back home over a month but didn’t receive any texts until your first date with Agent Robak.”
“Correct.”
“What about other guys you’ve dated? Has this thing happened before?”
“No. In fact, I haven really dated anyone for a couple of years.”
“And the past two years you were involved in the community theatre.”
“Yes.” Jackie’s irritation is growing. She’s answered a lot of these questions already. I get it, but I know that agents are thinking this through to make sure it isn’t something besides the obvious.
“So, you come back from school, don’t take part in theatre and then Agent Robak enters.” The agents share a look. I know what they are thinking.
“Is this because I went out with Brett?” Jackie asks.
“Yes and no,” the female agent answers.
“I believe this guy started watching you when you didn’t audition. He’s probably been waiting all year for you to come back to the theatre, but when you didn’t, he started watching you.”
“That’s a little creepy.” Jackie shivers at my side. “I wonder how long?”
“Probably since the cast list went up and you weren’t on it,” I tell her.
“That’s a month before I met Brett.”
The female agent nods and gives Jackie a sympathetic smile. “As you’ve not dated anyone there was no threat and he could watch from afar. And since he couldn’t do that at the theatre he followed. Agent Robak shows up and it changes everything.”
Jackie looks over at me. “You are in danger too.”
I don’t like to think about it like that but I have to be honest. “I’m now in the way of what he wants. We just don’t know how far he will go to get that.”
“Then we just won’t see each other.”
“It’s not as simple as that,” the female agent says. “He’s started to act on his fixation with you. If Agent Robak never came near you again, this guy would not stop now.”
“Yes, but if I’m not around Brett, he will be safe.”
I get that she’s worried about me and it’s kind of nice. But, it ain’t happening. “I’m not going to hide and leave you vulnerable.”
“And he shouldn’t,” my boss says.
“The more you are with Agent Robak, the more he’s going to feel the need to separate the two of you, and act.”
“Which puts him in danger,” Jackie reminds them.
“You are in more danger without him, Miss Baxter.” One of the agents delivers the cold reality.
“Who knew about your date?” The female agent directed her question to Jackie.
“My grandmother, my brother and Ashley.”
Then she looked at me. “My aunt and uncle, and Ashley.”
Ashley did seem to be the common denominator but I know it’s not her. She’s the one who set us up.
“And, you know Ashely from where you work out?”
I nod.
“Did anyone ever overhear you talking to Ashley about the date?”
“Hell, anyone. She was trying to fix Jackie and me up for two weeks before I finally agreed to the blind date.”
My boss turns to one of the agents. “Cross reference that list with who would also have a gym membership.”
Shit! I should have thought about that myself. But, I didn’t even know the text meant anything or that they could be related to me somehow until yesterday afternoon. Less than twenty-four hours ago.
Jackie’s phone dings.
“I almost don’t even want to look at it.” She pushes it over to me.
I did it so she’d pay attention
All of the agents look at her.
“It’s from Another National Anthem from Assassins.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
I don’t really want to go back in the house, but I don’t really have a choice. I used to love that it was a big old plantation house, but not anymore. It’s too big. So many places to hide and only Brett and I will be living there.
His uncle and Russ Harper, along with my Uncle Gary went through the house, room by room, from the attic to the basement, making sure nobody was hiding inside while Brett, Theo and I stood in the foyer. If anyone was going to try and sneak away while they were searching, we’d see them.
I’m not sure if Brett did it more for me, or because they wanted to make certain too. All the windows have been latched and the doors locked. Nobody was getting inside without breaking something.
Grandma is still in the hospital but she’ll get out in a few days and I hope this is over by then or she’ll have to go live with my Aunt Cheryl. As it is, we haven’t even told her what is going on. Not with her heart condition. She doesn’t need the worry.
Theo wanted to come back home too, but Brett finally convinced him that it’s best if he doesn’t.
So, it will be just the two of us. Waiting.
Brett’s on duty, but he’s not. More like paid leave since he’s being watched too, but also acting as an investigator, and guard, and keeping alert.
“Let’s take my stuff to your room.” Brett grins at me as if this is a fun adventure. I get that he’s trying to cheer me up, but its creepy being in this big old house, just the two of us.
“Did they talk to Ashley yet?” I ask as I start to change the bed with clean linens. If Brett is going to sleep with me, I want clean sheets on the bed. I don’t think I’ve changed them in a couple of weeks.
“No, they are waiting until she is off work and going to talk to her at the house.”
“Why?” I thought they were in a hurry to figure this out.
“We still think he’s a member of the fitness club and they don’t want to tip their hand that we may be onto him.”
She is so going to wig out when the FBI shows up on her doorstep.
“There’s something else I need to tell you,” Brett says and my heart skips a beat.
“Greg and Ingrid took an apartment in town.”
“Greg and Ingrid?”
He chuckles. “Agent Greg Smith and Agent Ingrid Bruce.”
Oh, they were two of the agents who interviewed me yesterday. “Why? It’s not like this is a major crime, serial killer or terrorist plot stuff.”
“True.” Brett tosses the pillows on the bed. “They are the only two that the agency can afford to spare, but we rarely get a chance to catch someone escalating before the worst of the worst happens.”
A chill runs down my spine. Brett doesn’t have to say torture and death. I’ve watched enough crime shows to know what follows.
“And me, another agent, could possibly be the first target, to get me out of the way to get to you. The government just spent a lot of money seeing me educated and they don’t want that wasted.” He laughs.
I love that he’s trying to make light of this, but it really isn’t helping.
“They are going to join the club and keep an ear out.”
“Won’t that seem odd if they are there all the time?”
“Not much else they can do. One of the things they still wanted to check out was the owner and maybe get temporary jobs.”
“Something they should have checked out sooner or at least mentioned to me,” I say as I grab my phone and punch in Uncle Bob’s number.
“Why?”
“My uncle owns it the place.”
Brett shakes his head. “We probably should have caught that before now.”
At least Jackie’s relaxed some. We walked down and joined the campers for s’mores then came back to the house and watched some television. While Jackie soaks in the tub, I check the security on the house one more time and then call the agents assigned to the case and tell them they have jobs and to report when they get a chance. They’d already talked to Ashley, who promised not to let on she knows anything or to change how she does anything either.
They’ve been able to narrow the list down to five guys because they were part of both productions and belong to the fitness club. Ashley assured the agents that they worked out regularly, knew Ashley and Jackie were best friends, and all had asked about her why Jackie hadn’t auditioned. It’s not much, and not
enough to haul any of them in for questioning, but enough to keep a closer eye on them.
I’m also going to start working out regularly again, leaving Jackie with her uncle when I do. I’ve seen the pictures and know what these guys look like so I’m ready to go. Jackie will keep her Friday morning meeting at the diner with Ashley, but I won’t be there, which I do not like. But, Greg and Ingrid will and I’ll just have to trust them to keep her safe.
I just turned off the lights downstairs and return to her bedroom. She’s just stepping out of the bathroom and has a big, fluffy towel wrapped around her body. The dick goes on alert. Now is not the time, boy.
Jackie’s been through too much. Last night was so not the time to have sex with her, and I doubt tonight is any better.
She gives me a shy smile and I shut the door.
I take a step toward her and pull my shirt over my head, then reach for snap on my jeans. She just stands there, watching. Her breaths are just a little shallower, not that most people would notice, but one of the things I’ve been trained in is to watch for changes in the eyes and changes to breathing patterns.
Jackie skims me from head to foot and back again, eyes dilating and it’s impossible not to get hard under her perusal. And, since I’m wearing boxers I can’t exactly hide my reaction to her.
“Ready for bed?” she asks.
“If you are.”
The side of her mouth tips up as she reaches for the top of her towel, untucks the end and lets it fall to the floor.
My mouth goes dry as my cock jumps to attention. She is so fucking perfect from her rounded boobs with hard, coral nipples, flat belly, long, gorgeous legs and neatly trimmed dark nether curls.
I cross the room and pull her against me, devouring her mouth like I’ve been starved as I grab the globes of her ass and lift her against me. Jackie moans and rubs her pussy against me and it’s all I can do not to shove down my boxers and thrust into her.
I pull back and take a breath. I am not going to take her against a wall again. This time we have a bed. A very comfortable one and I’m going to use it. In two strides I cross to it, and gently toss her in to the center though her legs are hanging over the side. Perfect!