Watching Their Steps

by Alana Terry

  “As if that’d be possible,” she muttered, filling a glass of water.”

  No one would mistake the dread in his tone as he asked, “What?”

  “Come on, do you honestly think I could forget being kidnapped and held hostage—even if I came to accept that it was for my own good. And,” she added before he could protest, “I can see that the burned cabin probably means it really was for my own good. I’m stubborn and too independent for my own good sometimes, but I’m not stupid.”

  After stirring the oats once more, Keith jerked his thumb at the bedroom. “I’ve got to go lengthen your chain. Corey won’t understand you being unshackled. I’m sorry.”

  “Whatever.”

  It took a couple of minutes to unwind the chain from the bed, and just as he reached the bedroom door, he heard, “Put it down and step away from the stove.” Keith rushed out of the room, chain in hand, and bellowed, “Put the gun down, Corey.”

  “She was going to fling the contents of that pan at you.”

  “How—” The stunned expression on Erika’s face confirmed Corey’s accusation.

  “I’m trained—”

  “You guys are worse than people with PhDs. It’s ridiculous. Every single time anything happens, you remind me, ‘I’m trained to be smarter than you, so deal with it.’” Her high, mocking falsetto would have been amusing had Corey not still had her gun aimed at Erika’s head.

  “Put the gun down, Corey!”

  “Not until she steps away from the stove and you put her restraints on. It’s a wonder she’s still here.”

  “Hey!” Erika and Keith grinned at each other as they spoke in unison. Wanting to defuse the situation before it got worse, he tossed the cuffs to Erika. “Put ‘em on.”

  “She needs to get away from the pan.”

  “Fine!” Furious, Erika stormed past Corey, sending her looks that could torture, and sank onto the couch to hook up her makeshift restraints.

  Keith felt a strange sense of satisfaction to note that no dust puffed into the air as it had the previous day. “Gun, Corey?”

  “I didn’t hear it snap.”

  “Sheesh! I got away from the stove.”

  The second the cuff clicked around Erika’s ankle, Corey holstered her gun, reached outside the door, grabbed her backpack, and dropped it next to the couch. “I have some things you need to see, Keith, but privately. Now, I gotta pee.”

  The second the bathroom door closed, Keith turned his gaze to Erika. “Oatmeal?”

  “I am going stir-crazy. I want out of here,” the woman hissed. “I thought if I got away, I could stay somewhere that no one would expect me to go.”

  “Such as?” He couldn’t help but be amused as she struggled with whether she should tell him or not. “You’re not getting out of here, so you might as well tell me.”

  “Fine. I was going to try Stafford House in Brunswick. I thought no one would expect me to go to some place so public, and I have no connection there.”

  “Those are excellent points.” At the sight of her happy smile, he almost didn’t continue. “There is only one problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  “If they managed to track you, then not just your life, but the lives of everyone in that establishment would be in jeopardy. Instead of one life, it could be half a dozen gone. Stop being so selfish and just try to be patient while we do our jobs.”

  She seemed to accept that, but a second later, Erika jerked her head toward the bathroom. “Is she always so delightful?” Her tone told him that she suspected the correct answer.

  “Corey is very good because she sticks to the book. She’s one of our best. You’re lucky to have her.”

  “Yeah. I feel lucky.”

  A voice interrupted them. “Good, because I brought M&Ms and I’m ready to whoop your sorry tushes at seven card stud.”

  Shaking his head, Keith poured bowls of oatmeal and said, “Bring it on.”

  Chapter 10

  THE PILE OF M&MS NEXT to Corey was only slightly larger than Keith’s. Erika, a novice who couldn’t seem to remember a flush from a full house, made crazy bets that made no sense and munched happily—in a manner of speaking—on her “chips.” Aside from occasional questions or reminders, the game was silent. Keith knew it was a matter of time before the women pulled out their claws and things got interesting, but in the interim, he waited.

  As he replenished Erika’s “bank,” his phone buzzed with a text message. He passed it across the table for Corey to see, pretending to hide it from Erika. She’d misunderstand what it meant, but it would reassure her. Sometimes that was more important than anything else. Target located.

  “Good. Now we wait.”

  He saw Erika shift, and reached under the table with his foot and touched her leg. “Raise or fold.”

  “I—” she frowned. Shaking her head, she folded with a King and Queen on her face up cards. “Fold.”

  “I don’t think you understand the game, Erika. This is only the second street. You should—”

  “She’s probably tired. Let’s finish this round and play tomorrow.”

  Disgust and irritation etched into her features, Erika glared at both of her “protectors.” “Erika thinks it is just so fun when Keith and Corey decide to talk over her as if she wasn’t even present. She wonders why they don’t just tell all secrets since they seem to think it’s cool to talk around her.”

  “Third person,” Corey snickered, “how quaint.”

  “Cut it, Corey.”

  Being the equivalent of a female linebacker, Keith’s size didn’t intimidate Corey, but he could see that his anger hit home. “Fine. Whatever. You need to sleep.”

  Unwilling to let the battle happen, Keith went to brush his teeth and take a quick bath. When he returned, Corey pointed to the bedroom. “You need real sleep, Keith. There’s no way you’ll be able to sleep well with us making noise out here.”

  He started to protest, but the expression on Corey’s face was a familiar one. She’d fight him until he did what she wanted, and he didn’t have the stamina left for it. Grabbing the air mattress from against the wall, he dragged it to the door of the bedroom. As Corey started to protest, Keith lost his patience. “Enough. Don’t even go there.”

  “What?” Erika stared at both them, frustrated.”

  “She was trying to be helpful, but she’s going to mind her own business now,” Keith growled as he returned for his sleeping bag. “Wake me up when she’s ready to go to bed.”

  He hadn’t been out for an hour when a screaming match jerked him from sleep. Listening to the insults and accusations hurled in the other room, Keith tried not to smile. Erika managed to shred Corey in both insults and logic. The combination was brilliant.

  “—stop and think for a moment, you’d realize that talking to me instead of over me might get you just a little cooperation.”

  “I don’t have to cooperate with you. I have to protect you until we know you are no longer in danger. That’s it.”

  “What ever happened to freedom? I mean, even the Witness Protection program is voluntary! I swear I’m ready to sue the US Government for everything that I can!”

  “Go ahead. I’d like to see you try.”

  He stood and moved toward the door, ready to jump in and put a stop to it, but Erika’s next sentence stopped him. “You really think I’m weak, don’t you? At least Keith shows me courtesy and respect. You’re just a bully, and I won’t stand for it. I’m going to go public with this thing when this is over and make sure that the government answers for violations of my constitutional rights.”

  “It won’t work, Erika.”

  Corey’s voice was so revoltingly patronizing that Keith wanted to slap her upside the head himself. He took another step toward the door and waited. Would Erika back down, or go for the jugular? Or worse, would Corey lose what professionalism she had left?

  “Yeah, it will. I plan to make sure that this doesn’t happen to another person again.”r />
  “The government will look, but they will not find us. Your accusations will be silenced. Seriously, are you really that naïve? You forget that you’re not the first. Do you watch the news?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And how many public accusations of kidnapping by the government or any other agency do you hear about?” Even from the other side of the wall, Keith knew what Corey’s face looked like as she added, “You’ll keep your mouth shut and be thankful for your life like the hundreds of other people that we’ve helped. You’ll quit whining about how horrible we are, and if you’re not a completely self-centered jerk, you might have the decency to thank us.”

  “Thank you! Thank you for this? You’ve got some nerve!”

  Realizing that they would never agree to disagree, Keith stormed out of the room, grabbing Corey’s arm as he did. He ignored the light outdoors as he pulled her outside and unleashed his pent-up fury. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “She’s completely unreasonable. Talk about a diva!”

  “Even if that were true, who cares! Since when do we take rejection of our protection personally?”

  Corey glared at him. “What protection? We’re standing out here exposed, you idiot! You’ve gone soft with this one! What, she’s too cute to ignore? After all the millionaires’ daughters, with their perfect complexions, bodies, and model looks, you go goofy over some snotty barista? You’ve lost your perspective.”

  “You’ve lost your mind and your professionalism. I expect you to go in there and treat her with the same care and courtesy that you showed that actor’s agent.” He frowned, a discouraged look on his face. “I’m going to have to report this.”

  “And I’m going to have to report your loss of perspective. You can’t fall for your assignment.”

  “I’ve fallen for no one,” he said quietly, realizing that Erika probably heard every word. “I have no objections answering for every decision and action I’ve made since Mark assigned me to this case.”

  “You are so delusional.”

  The venom in her tone stunned him; Keith didn’t know how to respond. “I can handle the accusation. Can you handle the inquiry?” Without waiting for her reply, he turned and returned to the cabin.

  Erika looked distressed. “I’m sorry—”

  “You have no reason to be. You’ve done nothing wrong—nothing that every client we’ve ever helped hasn’t done. I’m going to bed. If there’s a problem, of any kind, come get me.”

  Just as he closed his eyes and pulled the bag over his shoulder, the door opened again. Erika’s face peeked through the door. “Keith?”

  “Yeah?”

  “If you get in trouble, just tell whoever is in charge to talk to me. I’ll back you up.”

  THE ARGUMENT REPLAYED itself in Erika’s mind until she thought she’d go crazy. The dagger looks that Corey sent her made no sense. She paced the floor until her irritable captor demanded she stop “making all that racket,” and then looked for something to read.

  Corey’s snort of disgust when she picked up Keith’s Bible made her want to throw it at the woman, but instead, she forced herself to be as pleasant as she could muster. “Do you have a problem with me reading this?”

  “He’ll see through it. Keith isn’t stupid.”

  “You sure treated him like he is. What kind of garbage was that?”

  “He’s going to make stupid mistakes thanks to you. Just leave him alone!”

  Corey stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. As quietly as she could, Erika picked up her chain and held it as taut as possible as she crept into the bedroom. “Keith?”

  “Yeah?”

  His being awake surprised her until she remembered the slammed door. That’d wake anyone. “I think I know what’s eating Corey,” she whispered.

  “Good. Just avoid it at all costs.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why?” He raised himself on one elbow to look at her.

  “It’s me. She’s jealous. She has it in her head that you’re interested in me.”

  “Yeah, I got that much, but why the—” Understanding wrinkled his face in confusion until he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so, Erika.”

  “Look, it’s that or she’s got some kind of ‘Post Abduction Stress Syndrome’ or something.”

  “PASS. Cute. I’ll call Mark. Thanks.” He jerked his head toward the bathroom. “Better get back in there before she returns. If you can’t take it, just come play cards on your bed or something. You won’t bother me.”

  “Like she’d let me do that.”

  “Just do it. I’ll back you up.”

  As she shut the door behind her, Erika saw him pull out his phone. This was interesting. First, the target was located. That was fascinating enough. Did it mean that they’d be able to take him down soon? Isn’t that what happened when you located a target?

  More than that, though, the idea of not being associated with the government intrigued her. What did Corey mean? Was it true, or was it some cover story used to prevent people from exposing the American government’s illegal activity?

  Additionally, was he calling to report her, Corey, or himself? Erika had no doubt in her mind that Corey saw her as a threat to whatever she hoped to cultivate with Keith. Actually, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that Corey wouldn’t have anything to do with him now. In the agent’s odd way of seeing things, he had been compromised. He’d lost his value in her opinion, and in doing so, Erika’s opinion of him grew more favorable—slightly.

  The moment Corey returned from the bathroom, Erika knew something dreadful had occurred. Corey looked exultant. Murmurs on the other side of the wall grew slightly louder and forceful, but something else filled Keith’s voice—desperation. She tried not to look at the woman across the room, but Erika couldn’t seem to control her eyes. Corey sat, fingers interlocked with an assumed air of calmness. Silence grew so intense that it nearly deafened her, and still the agent spoke nothing and communicated everything.

  At last, the bedroom door opened, and Keith appeared, jacket in hand. “That was low, Corey. You’re just delaying the inevitable.”

  “You could have red-lined me if you considered me a danger to the assignment.”

  “After you red-lined me, that’d leave her unprotected while they flew someone in, and you know it. Despite what I think of your behavior, I think more of our responsibility to protect her. Once this case is over, you will be called to answer for your misuse of your position and your treatment of our client.”

  He turned to Erika, who sat stunned as she realized what his words meant, and said, “If there’s any problem at all, I’ll want to hear about it during debriefing. Do you understand? No matter what she says about anything, if there is anything that makes you feel mistreated or unsafe, make sure we know.”

  Keith passed her a pad of paper and a pen. “Before I go, I thought you’d want to write a note home. I’ll have it mailed from somewhere down by Nashville.”

  “What do I say?” The question asked itself before she realized she didn’t want to be told how to write to her own family.

  “Tell them you’re fine, that you saw two squirrels fighting over a nut, and that you’re amazed at how well your car is holding up—only two flats and a dead starter so far.” He grinned at her snicker. “Oh, and make sure you let them know you love them.”

  Those words sent a chill through her heart. Why had he emphasized that? It sounded as if— “Okay.”

  She wrote each line carefully, making sure every word was exactly what she wanted it to be, and then, at Keith’s insistence, rewrote it quickly, copying it from the original in order to make it look quick and carefree. He folded it, slipped it inside an envelope, and had her write her parents’ address it before slipping it inside a pocket inside his jacket.

  “Take care of yourself, Erika. Just don’t do anything stupid. Corey knows her job. She can and will protect you, even if it seems like she w
on’t. It’s her job, and she’ll do it right. You don’t have to like her, but don’t be afraid to trust her.”

  At the door, he turned back to both of them. “I’ll get these guys as soon as I can. Try not to kill each other while I do it.”

  Chapter 11

  WITH EACH STEP AWAY from the cabin, Keith grew more nervous. Everything he knew of Corey told him to trust her, but his suspicions about a mole made him question everything he’d assumed to be true. As he reached the point where he knew he’d be unable to hear her if she called out for him, Keith’s stomach churned. What was more important? Obeying orders and finding Alek Anastas and his crew, or risking everything—including his job—to protect Erika from what might be a new threat?

  He paused, one hand leaning on a tree as he prayed for wisdom and guidance. Despite his deep desire to return, he felt unsettled at the thought of disobeying orders. A verse from Romans, “obey those who have rule over you” mocked him. Sure, the Scripture spoke of government authorities, and technically speaking, his entire job was a violation of that verse.

  The official stance of the government was that his agency was subject to prosecution; they were, by legal definition, criminals. However, the government also looked the other way at their activities. As long as people did not raise a public stink and complain, his employer made the jobs of the FBI, CIA, NSA, and Homeland Security much easier—and at no charge. With each change of presidential administration, the tension within the agency became nearly palpable, but in three decades, not one president had made the choice to take the information public and shut them down.

  “Lord, which authority do I obey? My boss? The Constitution? The President of the USA? I’m lost here.”

  As if a Divine finger illuminated the memory with a switch, Keith remembered how the Magi refused to return to Herod and tell him where to find Jesus. They’d ignored the commands of a powerful ruler like Herod, and in doing so, saved the life of the Savior of mankind. Mark said to come in. He’d go.