by Regan Black
How could she expect Rob to do the same?
And what he’d said about Ivanov chilled her. Would ROC really come after her and her family because of her involvement in the case, brief though it had been?
Trina threw off her sheets and got up to knit. It was the one sure thing she’d found comforted her in the darkness of early mornings like these. The puppy whimpered to remind her he was in the crate just outside her door. “Come on, Renegade. I’ll take you out.”
After they came back inside and the puppy was safely back in his crate, she couldn’t sleep. A cup of chamomile lavender tea steamed on the end table as she sat on the worn sofa and worked on a light, lacy shawl she’d started in the spring. She remembered when she and Jake had come out and explored this house and surrounding few acres to see if it could work for them. She’d never forget how his laughter had tinkled across the farm fields, how the dirt and grass were cold underfoot but there was the promise of warmer weather on the soft breeze.
As she wound her needles with alpaca yarn, her phone lit up, indicating a text.
You up?
Rob. Chills ran down her spine, and she didn’t want to analyze if they were from receiving a text at such an ungodly hour or if they were a repeat of the physical reaction that had led to her total surrender in the Poconos campground.
I’m up.
Almost as soon as she sent her reply, Rob called. “Let me guess. You’re up this early every day. Or is it the SEAL training—you only need two hours of sleep per night?”
His short laugh sounded ragged. Like she felt. “I wish. No, I’m calling because we have a problem.”
The way he said “problem” made her stomach drop, and she swore she felt her adrenals kick out adrenaline in response.
“Is it Ivanov?”
“No. Yes. No—he’s not an issue right now. Trust me, if he was I’d already be over there and you and Jake would be on a trip far away.”
“I can handle Jake’s safety.”
“God, Trina, I’m not saying you can’t. Of course you can. And that’s not why I called.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“I can’t explain it, and I’m sure you know more about this than I do as you’ve been a parent, known you’re a parent, longer. But there’s no way I’m leaving Jake, Trina. I get that you and I had something before, and whether we ever have something between us again has nothing to do with this. I want to be in Jake’s life. For good. I have to be.”
She placed earbuds in and picked her needles back up as she spoke. “That’s a good thing, Rob.” She wasn’t really sure that it was for her, but for Jake, yes. “I’d never keep you from him, not for any petty reasons.”
“Thank you. What are you doing up?”
“Couldn’t get back to sleep. My body’s aching, and I know I’ll want to crawl back under the covers the minute Jake wakes up, but my mind is racing. I haven’t felt like this since the war.”
“I hear you. It usually takes me two days to come down from a mission.”
“Are sleepless nights part of your regular life, then?”
“Only when the op goes longer than expected or gets more complicated, like what we were dealing with. You handled everything fantastically, by the way.”
“Ah, thank you? You know I’m a trained law enforcement agent, right?”
“Yeah, you mentioned that a time or two. Let’s face it, though, Trina. You usually go in, get your suspect or fugitive, and bring them in. Am I right or off base here?”
“You’re right.” She started a new row of the shawl, the rhythmic motion of the stitches and Rob’s voice easing the tension out of her muscles.
“Then take the damn compliment, Lopez.”
“Thank you.” This time she said it with sincerity. “You weren’t so bad yourself, Agent Bristol.”
“Do you mean during or after?” His baritone scraped across the connection and her skin flamed.
“No comment.”
His silence was companionable. What could he say to that, really?
“Rob?”
“Hmm.” He was still thinking about it, she knew it in her center. Images of them together, skin on skin, moving to their unique beat, made her wish he were in the same room with her.
“I’ve gotta go.”
“What, something cooking on the stove?”
“No. Actually, I’m knitting.”
“As in the thing my grandmother did?”
“It’s quite the relaxing exercise. I’m not a yoga person. I needed something to help me chill out after I put Jake to bed, and this has done the trick.”
“Does Jake sleep over at your mom’s or brother’s when you have to travel for work?” Rob’s interest turned back in Jake as if by a switch.
“Sometimes, but now that he’ll be in school full time, taking the bus, I think Mom will stay here if needed. Like I told you, I’ve been thinking about transitioning to a desk job.”
“I can’t see you in a cubicle.”
“Neither can I, not totally. But the constant worry about what could happen to me isn’t worth it anymore.”
“You’re incredibly competent at what you do.”
“Thanks, but you only saw me in the most unusual circumstance. My job is routine to a point, until it isn’t, if that makes sense.”
“I hear you.” She loved his voice.
“You’d never consider changing the kind of work you do, would you?”
A long pause. “I wouldn’t, no, but my body’s talking a different story. My joints are pretty much shot to hell, with the maximum amount of surgery having been done on my shoulders and knees. My hips have steel in them since my active duty time.” He referred to his POW time without mentioning it. Was he still in denial about it, or was this how he managed the atrocity of it?
“What is your body telling you?”
“That I need to talk to my boss and see what other kinds of work I can do for my agency. For instance, taking down Vasin could have been straightforward—apprehend him or take him out if he proved unwilling or dangerous. But as you experienced firsthand, it didn’t go as expected or planned. A younger, stronger man without my prior injuries might have been able to get himself out of that building sooner than I did. Or not caught in the first place.”
“Maybe, if he had magic powers and could disable half a dozen men with semiautomatic rifles in hand.” She dropped the sarcasm. “Your experience played out flawlessly in how you got out of the building without being killed.”
“But if you hadn’t been there, hoping to catch Vasin for yourself, I could have been killed while I was still trying to get away on the ATV. Remember, while I could have hot-wired them if I had to, I would have been hard-pressed to drive one with my rib and arm injuries.”
“We always did work well together.” Did he remember the way they’d briefed the admiral and generals in their chain of command during the war, and then executed each mission? She’d never felt more in sync with her fellow sailors and Marines than when she’d worked on the missions that had involved Rob’s SEAL team.
“And apparently we still do.” Gruff but not grudgingly. He remembered.
“I’m going to have to do a debrief Monday morning. Besides what I’ll tell Corey, my boss, in the next few hours.”
“He won’t have you come in on a Saturday?”
“Normally, yes, but since I had to be out overnight he’ll let me stay home until Monday.” It was what she liked about the smaller units. All US Marshals worked as a team, but the more closely knit offices provided more of a familial support system that she needed as a single parent.
“I’ll call you soon.” He disconnected, and she kept knitting, not wanting to stop and think about how she felt too deeply. It was better this way. If she could somehow manage a little emotional distance from Rob, it would be bett
er for Jake. She’d be able to tell how stressed he was or wasn’t around Rob. Especially after they told him Rob was his father.
She put down her needles and laughed softly to herself. The time for emotional detachment would have been about ten miles before the turnoff into the Poconos campground.
CHAPTER 10
“I appreciate you coming in to talk with us, Marshal Lopez.” Colt Todd, chief of the Silver Valley Police Department, spoke from across the conference table at SVPD headquarters.
“Thanks for having me.”
Trina sat next to Detective Rio Ortego, with whom she’d worked in the past. Rio was the official Silver Valley PD contact between the US Marshals office and Todd. Trina hadn’t had much prior interface with Chief Todd, but it was clear from how Rio spoke about him and how the department hummed with positive activity that he ran a solid outfit and was respected by his officers.
“I understand that you had a routine apprehension that went sour up in the Poconos.” Colt eased back in the leather chair. “We’ve been tracking more Russian organized crime activity here over the last six months. Just when we thought we’d rooted out the remaining perpetrators in a human trafficking scheme, one of my detectives was called out to the home of a Silver Valley resident. His neighbors reported unusual activity. Turns out he had all the makings of a weapons storage facility in his garage. But by the time we got there, along with the ATF, his building and basement were empty, and he’d disappeared.”
“‘Disappeared’ as in, took off and you haven’t been able to locate him, or as in you think someone kidnapped or killed him?”
Colt shook his head once. “We don’t know. It makes sense to me that he’s still around, just off the grid, so to speak. ROC has unlimited funds at its disposal. If an active member wants to disappear for their own protection, it can easily be done. And since the neighbor didn’t have any family members living with him, he’d be the perfect candidate to have taken off. Odds are he’s set up shop in a new city, biding his time until he can move whatever his limits are on weaponry.”
“I’ve read a lot of reports on ROC lately, but what kinds of weapons are we talking about?” Trina couldn’t keep up with all the law enforcement developments in the area any longer. She focused on her assignments and what she needed to know for each one. Most officers and agents did the same.
“Handhelds. Pistols, rifles, a few specialty knives thrown in. The ammunition is very dirty, as well. Always the hollow point bullets. Not armor piercing, but they explode upon impact, doing way more bodily damage than a normal bullet. They make head or limb wounds more likely to be lethal.” Rio spoke in his usual professional manner.
“You had help from ATF and the county, from what you said.”
“Yes, but we can always use more.” Colt leaned forward. “I’ve asked your boss if I could speak to you about a couple of things. First, we’ve had a rash of heroin overdoses.”
“Who hasn’t?” Trina didn’t want to sound unsympathetic, but the opioid epidemic showed no signs of slowing down and had reached all corners of American life.
“True. We think the most recent shipments have come from ROC. The last one was tainted, killing eight in our county in one weekend. Silver Valley had two deaths.”
The math gave Trina pause. Silver Valley was a medium-size town that was classified as a suburb of Harrisburg. Two deaths in Silver Valley and three times as many in the surrounding county was significant.
“What do you want the Marshals to do for you, Chief?”
“Pick up the phone when we call. One of my officers was in the middle of a routine traffic stop when he realized he had pulled over a suspected ROC member. We couldn’t get through to anyone in your office quickly enough to verify for your apprehension.” Colt looked annoyed, and Trina didn’t blame him.
“That doesn’t sound right, Chief. There’s always someone available 24/7.”
“Right. So what I want to know is if ROC is also hacking our systems. Is it possible they already had the coding in place to reroute our calls, or any calls, for that matter, that came into your office?”
“I’ll find out. But it wouldn’t be surprising, would it?” She’d ask Corey, who would talk to IT, but whatever the outcome it would most likely be something she’d never be able to reveal to a local law enforcement entity. But the thought of ROC even trying to meddle in official communications made her see red.
“No, it wouldn’t be a surprise, unfortunately. Thanks for checking, though. I appreciate it.” Colt looked at his phone. “We’ve got something else to talk about. It appears our other meeting attendees are here. Rio, will you bring them in?”
“Sure thing, Chief.” Rio was out the door and back in under ten seconds. Trina didn’t recognize the woman who followed him. She was tall and trim, with a chic silver bob. Her smooth skin and the light in her eyes belied the age her hair indicated. She was immediately followed by a very familiar figure. Rob.
“Marshal Lopez, this is Claudia Michele, the social media director for SVPD. And I believe you know Rob Bristol.”
Trina shook Claudia’s hand and nodded at Rob, who sat next to Rio, directly across from her. She noticed that Colt and Claudia exchanged warm smiles, more than what she’d expect from usual LEA colleagues. Rob’s gaze was on her, his mouth neutral but his eyes warm and intent.
“Hello, everyone.” Claudia looked at Trina. “Marshal Lopez, I’ve spoken to your supervisor, Corey, and he’s aware of what we’re about to brief you on.”
This was all news to Trina. Rob’s presence indicated that maybe Claudia had something to do with what or whom Rob really worked for, but Trina wasn’t going to ask. The obvious elephant in the room was something all LEAs knew to stay silent about, in case there was a chance of breaking another officer’s cover.
If Rob had one cover, he probably had dozens. This should frighten her, or at the very least make her concerned. A man who could change identities like she changed her clothes wasn’t necessarily the best father material. But this was Rob, and she had no doubt about his sincerity. He wanted to be the best father for Jake.
“Go ahead.” Trina worked hard to stay composed. Had Rob sold her out somehow? Was this all a ruse to tell her she was completely off the case since Vasin was behind bars and Ivanov had escaped?
“Trina, Rob and I work for a clandestine agency whose headquarters happens to be here in Silver Valley. Rio and Colt have been read into our program, as has your boss, Corey. He knows the rudimentary functions of our agency, but not any details. What I’m asking from you is if you’re willing to come in to our offices and allow us to read you in, and give you full access to our ROC files.”
Trina knew what “read in” meant. She’d sign an agreement and take an oath to never divulge what she learned or saw while in contact with whatever this super secret agency was.
“I have no problem participating in whatever programs you need me to, Claudia, but the obvious question is, why? And why me? I did my job in the Poconos. I’m not used to remaining on a case for any extended length of time. You know our job description, I’d imagine. We apprehend and then leave the rest to other experts.” Trina referred to intelligence, stakeouts and other regular enforcement activity. “I’m trained to do just about anything, but it’s not a US Marshal’s style to infringe on another office’s territory.”
“Copy that.” Claudia’s crisp reply was very familiar.
“Have you served, Claudia?”
“Claudia’s a decorated combat Marine, retired major general.” Colt spoke up as though he took personal pride in Claudia’s past achievements.
“Thank you for your service, ma’am. I’m a former Navy pilot myself.”
“Yes, Rob told me. And I’m aware of the work you two did together overseas. That’s why I’d like you to consider working with Rob more permanently on the ROC issue. I’ve spoken to Corey and he’s in agr
eement with me that between the two of you we’d stand a better chance of getting ROC out of Silver Valley. I know your history, all of it, and I trust that you’ll both keep business, business. Whatever is going on between you two personally is exactly that. If you find it’s interfering in your ability to do your job, I expect you to let me know ASAP.”
Trina appreciated Claudia’s candor but it was still a bit of a shock to realize there were truly no secrets that Trail Hikers didn’t uncover.
“It’ll take a lot longer than a short-term op, Claudia. I know you understand this. And this isn’t what I do—I’m a marshal. Why me?” Concern over Jake’s safety made her pulse pound in her head.
“As I said, it’s your proven ability to work well with Rob that we want. Rob’s asked repeatedly to take a broader role in our anti-gang and organized crime mission, and he needs a partner.”
“I guess it would help to know who exactly you and Rob work for before I make any commitments.”
Claudia smiled. “That’s fair.” She turned to Rob. “Would you mind bringing Trina in to our office?”
“Not at all.” Rob stood. “Trina?”
* * *
Rob’s Jeep felt too familiar, and Trina couldn’t help thinking about the last time she’d been in it with him, and what they’d done when he’d driven them into the campground. What had she been thinking? In the harsh glare of daylight and in the middle of her normal workday, she questioned her judgment. Until she remembered how exquisite their lovemaking had been.
You acted with your heart.
“Thanks for agreeing to this.” Rob started the engine.
“I don’t feel I’ve agreed to anything, Rob.” In fact she felt she’d been bamboozled into something bigger than herself. “I should have said no to Corey when he told me to go to SVPD instead of the office this morning.”
“He let you think it was your decision, but if you ask me, Claudia had already requested your presence. Did you ever get any rest this weekend?” Rob eased around a huge semitruck, a common sight in Silver Valley as the town sat in the crossroads of logistical operations for all of the eastern seaboard of the United States. Three major highways converged from points north and west, and fed into southern routes that went all the way to Key West, Florida. Silver Valley was set in a beautiful rolling countryside, bordered by mountains that the Appalachian Trail cut through. Since Silver Valley was also bordered by the Susquehanna River, it was an ideal location for distribution centers, countless numbers popping up over the region as more and more manufacturers and online businesses discovered the need to be close to the country’s main highways.
