Hidden Truth

by Danica Winters

  The thought of being under surveillance made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. And yet it made her feel like a hypocrite as she had been doing almost exactly the same thing to Trevor and the Martins for the last little while.

  Wyatt gave her an acknowledging nod goodbye as he made his way out the door and toward his patrol unit. “If you guys need anything, or want to meet up for supper sometime, give us a call. Gwen’s looking forward to getting together.” Wyatt opened the door to his car and the small Chihuahua from Dunrovin jumped out and scurried off in the direction of the barn.

  “Francesca,” he called after the dog, and as he called the animal’s name a look of embarrassment crossed over his face. “I swear I didn’t name the dog,” he called as he chased after the little thing.

  Sabrina ran after them in hopes of catching the dog before she could make her way too far into the barn. The opportunity to tell Wyatt about the body had already come and gone, and if he found the man’s body they’d all be arrested for obstruction of justice and possibly tampering with evidence.

  She’d have to expose who she was and why she was here to Chad and Wyatt, and what little chance remained of her finishing this investigation and clearing the family’s name would go up in dust.

  “Here, pup!” Trevor called, his voice frantic.

  Wyatt rushed ahead of them into the barn and disappeared.

  She hurried to the door, but it was too late. The deputy stood beside the small dog, who was sniffing manically at the base of the last stall. Francesca barked, panting as she looked up to her master. The little dog looked proud of her investigative skills. It almost would have been cute if it hadn’t have just blown her cover.

  Trevor slipped his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze. For a second, she considered running and getting out of there, but she wasn’t the kind who was going to run from her problems. She had to face whatever was coming thanks to that little dog.

  She never really considered herself a full-blown cat person until now.

  Wyatt stood there in silence, simply staring into the stall for a long moment before turning to them, a dark expression on his features. “How long did you guys say you been back from your ride?”

  Trevor took the lead. He shrugged. “Not long. Like we said, we just unloaded Zane. Why, what’s up?”

  Smart. Feigning ignorance was the only plausible excuse for what the deputy had just found.

  Wyatt turned back toward the stall. “I hate to tell you guys this but it looks like I’m gonna need to call out a few more friends of mine.”

  “Why?” Sabrina asked, she and Trevor took a few steps toward him.

  Wyatt held up his hand. “Stop right there. I can’t have you coming any closer. Not until I can get my team out here to investigate.”

  Trevor was already close enough to see the body from the open gate. He motioned for Sabrina to back up. “You don’t need to see this.” She wasn’t sure whether Wyatt wanted to keep them away from the body to see exactly how much they knew, or if he just wanted to protect them from seeing something traumatic.

  “Trevor, run inside and get Chad. He needs to know what’s going on out here,” she said, and leaning in close she whispered, “Don’t forget to change your pants. Put them somewhere safe.” She gave him a peck on the cheek in hopes it wouldn’t look like she had been whispering directions.

  Trevor looked unflappable, and his stoicism made her chest tighten with something much too close to love. She had to respect a man who held a great poker face even under the most strenuous of circumstances.

  “I’ll be right back,” Trevor said, but Wyatt was focused on the body.

  As Trevor rushed from the barn, she walked toward Wyatt, ignoring his request for her to stay back. She had to pretend to look at the body for the first time.

  She stopped beside Wyatt as the man’s body came into view. She clapped her hands over her mouth in an attempt to look as surprised as she had been a little while ago. “Do you know who this man is?”

  Wyatt turned to her. “I told you not to come back here. You need to leave the barn, right now. Don’t touch anything.”

  Reality came rushing in and Sabrina realized what she had to do. “Wyatt, we knew about the body. We had just found him before you arrived.” Before Wyatt ran away with this, she had to tell him the truth...no matter how badly she didn’t want to. “I’m a special agent with the FBI, currently I’m investigating a series of crimes. I’m close to cracking the case, but if you pull your men out here, I’m afraid that my cover and my investigation will be blown.”

  “That can’t be true,” Wyatt said, staring at her in disbelief.

  “Call your sheriff. My people have been in contact with him throughout the investigation. He’s the one we briefed when we came in, so he knew what was going on. I wasn’t planning on being here too much longer. The Bureau is breathing down my neck. They want results.”

  “And are you going to get them?” Wyatt asked. “Did you get everything you needed?”

  “I’m starting to figure things out. But with this guy’s death, I’m afraid there’s more going on here than I had anticipated. I need to talk to my handler about what’s happened. However, I doubt I will get an extension on my assignment.”

  “How much longer do you have?”

  “Less than a week,” Sabrina said. She scuffed her boot around in the spent hay on the barn’s floor, kicking up the scent of dirt and horse manure. “It’s my hope that I can clear the Martins’ name and head off to my next assignment.”

  Wyatt nodded, but he didn’t say anything. The barn door squeaked as Trevor and Chad pushed it open a bit wider and walked in. Chad had the look of a deer in the headlights as he stared at Wyatt.

  Wyatt cleared his throat and turned toward the brothers. “Did your brother tell you what we found?”

  Chad nodded.

  “I’m going to have my crew come in and investigate this man’s death. It would make it a whole lot easier if you tell me what actually happened here before my team lays this on you.” Wyatt stepped over to the pile of hay bales and leaned against them, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re my family by marriage and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you guys stay out of harm’s way, but you have to tell me the truth.” He looked directly at Sabrina and gave her an almost-imperceptible wink.

  It did little to quell the nerves that were building within her. From what she’d heard about the Mystery, Montana, sheriff’s department, their forensics team left much to be desired. Hopefully, that would work to her advantage.

  But she still couldn’t have anyone blowing her cover.

  “Let’s try this again,” Wyatt said to Chad. “Was this man the coyote you were shooting at today?”

  Chad rubbed his hands over his face. “I only found out about this dead guy about four seconds before I walked out here. If I had shot him, I would tell you it was in self-defense or something. But I haven’t even seen the guy yet.” He waved toward the end of the barn.

  “The man’s name is Earl Cussler. He’s the second oldest of the Cussler boys. They are all as mean as rattlesnakes, so if you had admitted to shooting him in self-defense, I would’ve believed it. However, as it stands, this isn’t going to work for me or my department.” Wyatt took out his cell phone and glanced down at the buzzing device. “I want you to all go inside before I call in my team.”

  She turned to leave the barn, but Wyatt motioned her back. “Trevor, I’ll be along in a second.”

  Trevor frowned at her as he made his way out of the barn. “Are you sure?” he whispered, glancing at his cousin’s husband.

  She nodded. “It’s going to be fine.”

  She watched as Trevor and Chad went back to the main house. They were chatting as they walked, but she couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying. No doubt it was something about how much trou
ble they were going to be in once everything broke. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to help them.

  “Who’s your handler?” he asked, pulling her attention back to him.

  “His name’s Mike Couer,” she said, a bitter taste filling her mouth. “If you talk to him, take what he says about me with a grain of salt. He and I used to be a thing.”

  Wyatt chuckled, the sound out of place and haunting in the impromptu crypt. “I thought the Bureau looked down on that.”

  “They do, but it didn’t last long—only long enough to make us realize it was a mistake.”

  “And to dislike each other?” Wyatt asked.

  She couldn’t deny it. “Let’s just say, if you call him about me, I can’t guarantee exactly what he’s going to say. I was hoping to use this case to get out of the trenches and into another field office.”

  Hopefully Wyatt wouldn’t judge her unfairly for the mistakes she had made. He was the only shot they had at keeping things under wraps for a bit.

  “If that’s all true,” Wyatt said, leaning back on the hay, “then I understand why you’re in a rush to end this investigation. There’s nothing more fun than having to deal with your ex’s crazy behavior all the time. My family knows exactly how far an ex will go to wreak havoc on a person’s life.”

  “Yeah, Gwen told me what you guys had gone through.” She hoped this commonality would act as a bridge between them, a bridge that would lead to her getting her way. “I’m sorry to hear about the mayhem. Sounds like a lot of people died.” She hadn’t meant to sound so crass and un-empathetic, but her tone came out all wrong.

  Wyatt looked at her with surprise, as though he had heard the hardness in her words as well. “You weren’t investigating my family, were you?”

  She didn’t want to lie to him. “Your family drew a bit of scrutiny thanks to your recent run-in with the law, but you were all cleared. However, your name was scattered throughout my files. Just like the Martins, upon coming here and digging a bit, it was easy to see that you weren’t criminals—just at the wrong end of someone’s sights.”

  “That’s an understatement. It was one hell of a Christmas.”

  “I can only imagine how you guys must’ve been feeling.”

  “Yeah, but even with all the upheaval, a lot of good came from my family’s legal troubles.”

  It was no secret that everything had worked in his family’s favor financially, and they had added several family members to their tree. Again, she was witness to a family that seemed to figure out how to stay together, no matter what. She’d never know what that would be like.

  “Then I’m sure you can understand—maybe better than anyone—what I want to happen for the Martins.” She brushed her hair out of her face. “I know what I’m about to ask isn’t aboveboard, but I want you to consider it just for a couple seconds before you give me your answer. Deal?”

  The darkness returned to his features, but he nodded.

  “All I’m asking,” she continued, “is that you give me twenty-four hours. Tomorrow at this time, regardless of if I have this figured out or not, I will call you and report this guy’s death and your crew can come and get the body. You and your team will have access to everything I can give you, and I’ll talk to Chad and make sure he had nothing to do with this. However, for the time being, I need you to turn a blind eye. Call this a favor for the FBI, a favor I will happily return if the need arises.”

  “I knew that’s where you were going.” Wyatt stood up and readjusted his Kevlar vest. “If I don’t hear from you in exactly twenty-four hours, I will be standing on that doorstep. I will come after you, and your ex won’t be your only enemy in law enforcement. Got it?”

  “You can trust me, Wyatt. Thank you for this. I know it’s hard to do something like this, but know you’re doing the right thing.”

  “I hope so. I hope you realize you’re not just putting your own ass on the line, but mine as well. I don’t need this kind of trouble, but I’ve learned having friends in high places can make all the difference. Don’t you be forgetting you owe me.”

  She had expected some of the weight to be lifted off her shoulders, but as Wyatt walked out of the barn, it was like the entire world was upon her. They’d have to get to the bottom of this fast, or her entire world—and everyone else’s around her—would come crashing down.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Trevor hated that he’d had to leave Sabrina in the barn alone with Wyatt. He could only guess what they’d talked about, but no doubt she’d had to let him in on her secret.

  Wyatt walked out of the barn and got into the squad car. Starting it up, he drove away. Holy crap, what had she said to him? The deputy hadn’t seemed like the type who would walk away from a case like this. Family or not, he hadn’t expected any sort of favors from the man.

  “Dude, did you see that?” Chad asked, pointing out the window.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said, already half out the door.

  Sabrina met him halfway; her hands were up like she was surrendering to him. “It’s going to be okay, Trevor. I made a deal with him.”

  “Is he dropping his investigation?” he asked, taking hold of her shoulders and looking her in the eye.

  Her whole body tensed underneath his touch. “Far from it. We have twenty-four hours. That’s it. Then all hell’s going to break loose. And I would guess that at least Chad will be arrested. And you wouldn’t be far behind...nor would I.”

  “Are you kidding me? We barely have a clue about what’s going on out here. And yet you think we can solve this in a day?” She must’ve lost her mind. He was going to jail. They had to run. And yet if they did, it would make them look incredibly guilty. And she would have to answer for their leaving.

  “Trevor, there’s something I didn’t tell you before. I didn’t think it was important, but now with this...” She nibbled at her lip. “My handler at the Missoula resident agency, his name is Mike. He’s my ex.”

  As she said the man’s name, it looked as though she was in pain. She must hate the man. He could only imagine the kind of drama that would unfold inside the close quarters that was the FBI. It was known for being fraught with varying levels of corruption and mistrust—none more so than the last few years. Lately, it was as if everything had gone crazy in the Bureau. It was a wonder that she even had a job if she’d made the mistake of falling for her boss. In fact, this Mike guy was lucky that she hadn’t gone after him for any sort of predatory behavior. The man had to be one hell of a winner if he was preying on women within his agency in order to get some.

  On the other hand, perhaps she really had loved the guy and it was a relationship built upon real feelings. It was easy enough to see how something like that could come about, with forced proximity and all, but he would have thought a man in an authority position would have made the choice to not put them both in jeopardy. Then again, Sabrina was of her own mind. She had made choices—this wasn’t sitting on just the shoulders of her boss. She had to have understood what kind of position she was putting herself in.

  He needed to distance himself from her. Not that he didn’t already know that. He just couldn’t get over how sweet her lips had tasted, and how it felt when her body was pressed against him. In a weird way, his heart had felt as shriveled and emaciated as a starving man, but when she’d entered his life it was like it had started to beat again and grow stronger thanks to the nourishment that came with her presence.

  Ugh, he was being so ridiculous.

  “Do you still love him?” he asked without thinking.

  From the look on her face, the question had clearly come out of left field. “No.”

  Her curtness didn’t help him feel any better.

  He counted his breaths until he reached ten and his heart rate lowered. He had to keep his wits about him. “Okay, so do you think this guy is gunning for you...for us?”


  She chewed on her lip until a tiny bit of blood dotted its pink curve. “I want to say no, but the truth is I’m not sure. He’s been pushing me hard throughout this investigation. He rushed it through the bureaucracy. What normally takes six months to get approvals for, he did in a matter of weeks. I don’t know how he did it, but it may be part of the reason he needs us to get to the bottom of this so quickly.”

  “This—as in my family?” Even he could hear the hurt in his voice.

  “I meant my investigation.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “Mike is probably on the warpath. He likely overextended himself and promised results that, frankly, I’m not sure I’m going to be able deliver on.”

  “Do you think if you went to the offices that you could get a better feel for what’s going on with Mike?” Part of him wanted to go with her, to ensure she was safe. Yet the last place he needed to be seen was sitting outside a federal building. Even with his connections with the CIA, those watching wouldn’t appreciate his suspicious behavior.

  “Mike is not the kind of guy you can get an easy read on. The FBI has trained that out of him. He’s like talking to a wall.”

  With that kind of description, he wasn’t sure how she had ever found herself falling for such a guy. Though if he looked at himself closely, he was probably cut from the same cloth as Mike. Again, he found himself lacking. He had to hope he was nothing like a possibly crooked agent. Though Sabrina hadn’t always thought him capable, he was a man guided by morals. Which only made all of this more difficult.

  “I think we should go, but I’ll need stay out of sight. The last thing we need is you showing up to the regional headquarters with the man you are in charge of investigating.” Trevor pulled the keys from his pocket.

  Sabrina sniggered. “I can’t even imagine how badly that would play out.”

  “Well, you don’t have to as long as things go smoothly. In and out, okay?” he said with a raise of the brow.