by Spear, Terry
Samuel, Cameron, and Dale stepped outside to give Allan and Jenny a moment alone while Beasley and Lantham busied themselves in the kitchen.
“You don’t believe he’s dead, do you?” Jenny asked as Allan intertwined his fingers with hers.
“I’d have liked to have had the guy in my sights.” He took a ragged breath. “The boss said we could get an annulment now.”
Jenny’s eyes widened. “What do you want to do?” Her voice had raised some, and he took a steadying breath.
“Jenny, you’ve gotten more of your memories back. How do you feel about us?”
“I want to make it work.” She walked outside with him.
“Then who were the agents who brought you and Roxie here?”
“I can’t tell you, Allan. Not now.” Her voice was on edge, and he wondered if she remembered that she’d still been having a fling with the agent until she’d been injured.
“Why the hell are you protecting them? We have to have honesty in our marriage, trust for one another, or this won’t work.” He couldn’t help the irritation coating his words.
“I told you, Allan. I can’t say right now.”
He tried another tack. “My boss wants to use you as bait. Isn’t that right? And you’ve gone and agreed to it. Only he doesn’t want you to tell me because he knows I’ll stick by your side and ensure that Wilson doesn’t get near you.”
“But he says Wilson’s dead.”
Allan grunted. “He’s no more dead than I am. You can’t be used as bait, Jenny. I won’t be able to protect you sufficiently, and Wilson will kill you.”
When she avoided his gaze, he tried another approach. “Why did you quit your tax job? Do you remember that now?”
“I didn’t quit my job. Wilson must have sent my resignation in to the tax office. He probably planned on taking me away and wanted to tidy up my disappearance a bit.”
That he could believe. “Don’t block me out of your life. Tell me what’s going on.”
Couldn’t she see how dangerous this would be for her? He couldn’t agree to it and chance losing her like he nearly lost her in the beginning. He took hold of her hand and rubbed her fingers with his thumb.
“Jenny?”
She swallowed hard, her eyes narrowed, and her full lips thinned as they drew into a line. “All right, Allan. I can’t do this anymore.”
Chapter 20
“I’m an agent, just like all of you,” Jenny said to Allan as they stood on the cottage’s deck. “And Roxy, my best friend is, too. We were deep cover operatives. So now you know. We weren’t invited here by male agents. We had every right to be at the safe house, just like you.” She folded her arms. “I’ve been working deep cover for two years on other projects. But when I came into all that money, Garcia asked me to lure Wilson into wanting me. I was to put Wilson off from marrying me while trying to discover who he worked for.”
Allan stared at Jenny as her words hit him hard. Everything she’d done—the way she’d lost them at South Padre Island, killed Randy Stevens at the condo, disarmed a robber at the store, even the way she’d knocked him on his butt—all fit in with what she said. She knew the cabin here as if she lived here for years. She knew the area surrounding the lake just as well. He tried to slow his rapid breathing. She hadn’t been Wilson’s mistress. She’d been there to take him down.
Though he should have been relieved, he wasn’t.
He took her hand and tried to walk with her, but she seemed reluctant. “You don’t want to walk now?”
She began to stroll down the driveway. Cameron and Samuel strode past them to take the lead. Both looked back at Jenny with slight smiles.
Dale cleared his throat and followed from a distance behind, but all stayed within hearing distance. Allan knew each of them wanted to know the whole story.
“And you found out what concerning Wilson’s boss?” he asked Jenny.
“Blue was the only clue I ever had. Wilson was apparently spooked when you guys arrived.” She didn’t sound bitter or anything, just kind of sad, like she’d wished she’d accomplished the job right, the first time around.
Allan ran his hand through his wind-swept hair. He and his men could have gotten her killed. Damn it. He was supposed to catch the bad guys. There wasn’t any way he wanted Jenny to risk her life any further. “I want you to quit the Agency.”
She looked at him. Tears shimmered in her eyes, and he knew then he had a real fight on his hands. How could he convince her to give up her job and let him do all of the dirty work? How could he concentrate on the missions if she was sleeping with the enemy?
“Jenny?”
She didn’t say a word, just looked away.
“I mean it. I want you to stay home.”
“And if I don’t quit? What then?”
“I can’t have my wife running around chasing after the scum of the earth.”
“I’m to sit back at home with Roxie drinking margaritas.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt, Jenny.”
She turned and headed back to the cabin. “Let’s go. I want to see my home, sleep in my own bed, and visit the pet shelter I used to volunteer at.”
“Jenny…”
“We have two days to talk about this, Allan.
“Jenny…”
She wiped a tear from her cheek as the guys hurried to regroup with Dale guarding in front this time and Cameron and Samuel watching their backs. Allan didn’t say another word, not wanting to force her to dissolve into a waterfall of tears. He couldn’t help the way he felt about her working for the Agency. How could she not understand how he felt?
When they entered the cabin, she strode straight to the dining area where Beasley and Lantham were eating sandwiches. “Can I have your phone?” She stretched her hand out to Lantham, then turned and glared at Allan.
“What are you doing?” Allan asked.
“I need a phone so I can call Garcia. He’ll get me home and take care of it from there. You and your partners can see your families in the meantime. You know where I live. Send the annulment papers whenever you get around to it, and I’ll sign off on them.”
“You can’t leave.”
She frowned at him. “Like hell I can’t.”
Dale asked, “What are we going to do now, Allan?”
“She’s not to use anyone’s phone. Keep her here,” Allan said to his men. He grabbed Dale’s arm. “You and I have to talk.”
They left the cottage and walked down the road. “Did you hear everything?”
“Yeah, the two of you were slightly vocal.” Dale tugged at his red beard. “I can’t believe she’s a deep cover agent.”
“I could wring Garcia’s neck for putting her in this situation.”
“Are you going to annul the marriage?”
“I don’t want her working for the Agency, not doing this kind of work against terrorists any longer.”
“Couples are needed. The two of you could make a great team.”
“You must not have heard me the first time. I don’t want her in the thick of danger.”
“If she loves her work and doesn’t want to quit? Are you going to give her up?”
Allan didn’t respond, just stared ahead at the road, his inner thoughts in turmoil. All he could see were Jenny’s green eyes daring him to see it her way. “I want her, but I don’t want her working as an agent.”
“No compromise?”
“I’m going to strangle Garcia. He hooks me up with a woman who steals my heart, then I find she’s one of us. He knew I wouldn’t have wanted her to have a dangerous job like this.”
“I think it could be a win-win situation, if you ask me. You could be on assignment together, doing the job, but you wouldn’t be separated from one another either.”
“And when we have kids? Do we put them in the crossfire, too?” He couldn’t help the venom in his voice. He just couldn’t see having Jenny’s life on the line during difficult missions.
“Who knows what
will happen down the road? What if you and Jenny can’t have any children? What if she doesn’t even want any?”
Allan glanced back at the cottage. “She wants children. I know she does.”
“When she has children, she’ll probably quit work. Or Garcia will give her a desk job.”
“What if she sticks them with a sitter and continues to work out in the field? What if…” Allan rubbed his chin. What if he had to raise the children on his own, if his wife was killed in the line of duty? He didn’t want her hurt. Couldn’t anyone see that?
“You’ll have to talk to her. Marriage is made of compromise. For now, though, we have to make some plans about returning Jenny home and watching her back until Wilson shows up.”
“But you’re to see your families and—”
“We haven’t finished this mission yet. Why don’t we return to the house, and you can have a nice long talk alone with your wife? You don’t really want to give her up.”
Allan’s jaw clenched. No matter how he tried to view the situation differently, he couldn’t see being married to Jenny while she served as an A.T.A. agent. It wasn’t that he was a chauvinist or anything. He didn’t want her getting injured, or worse, killed.
“Okay, Allan, maybe you’re too close to the situation to think clearly. The bottom line is we need to get Wilson. The guys all agree they want to be there when it happens.”
Yet Allan didn’t want to use Jenny as bait. The situation could go amuck too easily.
Dale shook his head. “I know what you’re thinking. You don’t want her hurt. But he’s going to keep coming after her, and we need to make a stand.”
Allan whipped around and headed back to the cottage.
“Allan? What are you planning to do?” Dale asked, jogging to catch up.
“We’re returning to Waco. No word to the boss. He’d expect I’d go home with Jenny anyway. Then I’d have to leave her in two days’ time. Only I’ll have my partners there, too, and we’re not leaving until Wilson shows up. If Jenny’s agreeable, as I assume she is, she’ll be the lure again. Then we’ll take Wilson out. He’ll undoubtedly be watching the house. We’ll have to arrive separately. Jenny and me first. Once we’re settled, the rest of you scour the area, looking for those who’ll most likely be there waiting for us. We’ll have to wait though, until he’s arrived before any of us make a move.”
“But if he thinks we’re lying in wait?” Dale asked.
“We’ll let him believe I’m leaving her alone. I don’t like the idea, but I’ll make a big issue of leaving the house, then return when I can.”
“But we’ll be lying in wait still.”
“Yeah, Dale. As soon as he makes his appearance, we’ll take him out.”
“And if he doesn’t? If he has his henchmen take Jenny somewhere else?”
Allan paused at the bottom of the steps to the deck of the cottage. “We’ll follow them. But we can’t lose them.”
Dale nodded. “Sounds like a plan. When do we leave?”
“Tonight.”
Allan shoved the door open to the cottage. The men all looked at him as he saw Jenny wasn’t with them.
He glanced at the bedroom door. Shut.
“She’s taking a shower,” Cameron said.
“Shit! And no one’s watching her?” Allan stormed across the living area as his heart nearly gave out.
He grabbed the doorknob, but when he found it locked, he kicked the hollow door in. After reaching the bathroom door, he found it was locked and the shower wasn’t running.
Dale said behind him, “What do you want me to…”
Allan raised his foot to kick in the door, then the knob twisted and the lock clicked open.
Wrapped in only a towel, Jenny frowned at him. Her wet curls dripped down her bare shoulders, and she glanced at Dale, who smiled and made a hasty retreat.
“Everything’s all right,” Dale said to the other agents, “except we’ll need a new door for the bedroom.”
Chuckles ensued.
“Let’s get packed,” Dale said to the men. “We’re returning to Waco.”
Cameron said, “Yep, full circle.”
Allan took a deep breath as Jenny didn’t say a word to him. “We’re doing this my way, not Garcia’s.”
Jenny’s eyes filled with tears. She nodded.
He took her hand and pulled her against his chest. “I can’t lose you ever, Jenny. Don’t you understand?”
“I understand. But I’m an agent. I enjoy the work. I don’t want to quit. Not right now.”
“We’ll discuss it later, honey. For now, we need to get rid of Wilson. You and I will stay at your house for the two days before I was to report to my next assignment. When I pretend to leave, you’ll go with me, hidden in the vehicle. I have no intention of leaving you for Wilson. When he arrives to get you, we’ll have him then.”
“And if he sends someone else?” She touched Allan’s cheek. “I’ll need to be at the house. You’ll have to just follow me. But I’ll be armed this time.”
“They’ll make sure you don’t have a weapon. Even though they won’t know you’re an agent, they’ll assume you’ll get another weapon to protect yourself, like you had before. Especially with all that’s happened.”
“Yeah, and a wire won’t help either. They’ll know to look for that, too.”
He wrapped his arms around her, and when she turned her face up to him, he kissed her mouth with feeling. “I don’t want to lose you.”
She kissed him back with as much feeling, warmth and desire. “Together, we’ll get him. But afterward?”
“We’ll discuss it later.”
She sighed. “All right. But you knowI can be pretty stubborn.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I know. But so can I.”
She pointed at the bedroom’s bashed door. “Want to get my clothes so I can get dressed?”
He shook his head. “Guess I should have knocked on the door first.”
“You think?” She shook her head at him.
***
The sun disappeared beneath the earth as the taxi dropped Jenny and Allan at her home. She shivered as she entered the house with him. She hadn’t realized she would feel so unnerved when she reached home. She and Allan both readied guns as they hurried to turn on the lights, and check for anyone who might have been hiding in the house.
Allan’s partners had left New Hampshire on different schedules, all geared to arrive in Waco at separate intervals to ensure if the airport was being watched, Wilson wouldn’t be alerted. The agents were to arrive at Jenny’s home shortly after Jenny and Allan. Still, it would be another twenty minutes or so before the men were in place on the outside of her house.
Jenny couldn’t quash the feeling that Wilson’s dastardly men waited in the dark, watching the place and had already reported back to Wilson when Allan and she had arrived.
Allan rubbed her arms as goose bumps trailed them. “More than likely, they won’t try anything until I leave you alone.” He’d barely spoken a word before the back door swung open.
Allan and Jenny both pointed their guns at the man who shook his head. Agent Friston, black haired, black eyed, and wearing the A.T.A. black field uniform, Roxie’s pretend bodyguard, stood before them.
He said, “The boss didn’t say anything about the two of you coming here tonight. I was supposed to watch the place, and I thought I was catching two of Wilson’s cohorts.”
“Since when does Jenny look like one of Wilson’s thugs?” Allan holstered his gun.
“Got all your memories back, miss?” Friston asked.
“Missus,” Allan corrected him. “Anything going on outside?”
“Not a sign of anyone. Guess I’ll just park myself back out there and keep a look out. Buzz me if you have any trouble.”
“You’ll be having some company shortly.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, my partners. So don’t shoot them.”
“The boss know about this?”
“No, and we’re going to leave it that way. Okay?”
Friston glanced at Jenny. “The boss won’t like it.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t like it that he was using Jenny as bait either. So we’re even.”
Friston didn’t say a word and slipped outside into the dark.
Jenny took a deep, calming breath. “Will he call Garcia, do you think?”
“By the book, honey.”
“Great.” Jenny shoved her hair behind her ears. “Now what do we do?”
“We’re going to have to take turns sleeping.”
“No fun.”
He sighed. “When this is all over with…”
“We’ll have to do some talking.”
“Hmm, well I had something else in mind.”
A flicker of light caught her eye in the dark near where Friston had disappeared and another shudder ran through her system. “Does Friston smoke?”
“Better not. Easy way to have someone notice you on a stakeout.”
Her skin chilled. “I saw a flicker of light in the direction he strolled.”
“Close the door.” Allan’s voice was harsh, on alert.
Jenny shut and locked it as her stomach tumbled like the spin cycle in the dryer.
Allan tried to reach Friston on his cell phone. “No answer. It’s beginning now.”
“Your men aren’t here yet.”
“No, and Friston’s either injured or dead.”
She wasn’t sure if it was because she’d come so close to death before or what, but her raw nerves stood on edge. Suddenly, she wasn’t certain she could deal with Wilson or the deadly business of being an agent, despite all of her training. Had she totally lost her nerve? Like a soldier with shell shock on the battlefield?
The glass to her bedroom window suddenly shattered. Tear gas poured into the room, then another window exploded, this one in the kitchen. Again, the smoke from gas issued forth.
Allan grabbed Jenny’s hand and ran with her to the garage. Both coughed as the fumes burned their eyes, nostrils, and throats. He slammed the door shut leading from the kitchen, then hurried her into her Ford Taurus.
“I don’t have the key!” she yelled.
