Off the Grid for Love

by Rena Koontz

  Jake appeared surprised at her reaction, his eyes expanding. “Hold on a minute, honey. You have it all wrong. My assignment had nothing to do with you.”

  “I don’t believe you.” She eased off the bed, using the wheelchair to steady herself. “And to think I thought I loved you. How could I be so stupid?”

  Agent Crews’ harsh words silenced her. “Where are you going, Miss McElroy. You’re still in my custody. I suggest you hear the man out.”

  She regarded the stern faces on all four men and looked at Jake, whose mouth edged up in a smile. “Come sit here again, sugar, and let me explain. And then if you want to walk away from me, no one in this room will stop you.”

  Really? They would let a suspected bank robber saunter out the door just because Jake suggested it. She didn’t believe it. Nevertheless, she perched on the edge of the bed again.

  “I came here six months ago to work the public corruption case at City Hall. I worked undercover as a bagman, which is why you saw me being arrested that day when we finally made our sweep. When I arrived here, I had no idea Mackenna McElroy existed and if it wasn’t for a twist of fate that planted me in your bank the day you were robbed, we might have never met.” Tentatively he extended his hand and she slid hers into it.

  “I wasn’t there as an agent, Kenna, only as a customer. I was an extra set of eyes once my colleagues arrived. But when an agent is undercover, it’s imperative that his cover be maintained no matter what. So they treated me like everyone else.

  “It was a coincidence that I ran into you at the coffee shop later that day. You looked so helpless and, I admit, I struck up a conversation with you to feel you out about the robbery.” He shrugged. “Once an agent, always an agent, I guess. But I did feel sorry for you, which is why I showed up at your bank the next day to check on you. Well, sorry might not be the right word. You’re damn attractive and I couldn’t stop thinking about you. That was the man, not the agent.”

  Her heart fluttered. She’d fallen in love with the man, not the FBI agent.

  “I was riding my bike one day when a car drove off the road in front of me and I helped rescue the driver, who turned out to be Vincent Cabacolli, from the mob family.” Mackenna gasped. Now she recalled the rumors associated with the name. The Cabacolli family was one of the biggest, most dangerous crime syndicates in the state.

  “I see you know the name. I literally fell into the opportunity to make some inroads into the Cabacolli organization and it was a chance the Bureau couldn’t pass up. Running into you at the supermarket when Vinny saw us was an unfortunate accident, and one that ended up endangering you. For that I’m sorry.

  “It was Vinny’s interest in you that kept you on my radar.” His cheeks reddened. “Well, that’s not exactly true. I was interested too. But I was worried about you, especially after I learned about Arthur and your boss. And you kept ending up the target teller in a string of bank robberies.”

  “Jake, I swear to you. I had nothing to do with those robberies. I know it looks bad but you have to believe me.”

  Again, a voice from behind spoke. “We know that now, Miss McElroy,” Agent Crews said.

  She twisted to see his face and the wide smile etched on it.

  “But I admit,” Agent Crews said, “I didn’t at first. Jake was the one who kept pleading your case.”

  She clutched his hand with her other hand. “You believed me all the time?”

  Jake nodded. “I did, sugar, but I’m a federal agent. I had to prove it. That’s why I kept questioning you, forcing you to relive the robberies. I hoped you’d remember something that would give me a lead.”

  She contemplated his words. “So, all along, you were just trying to solve another case?”

  Jake laughed. “No, ma’am. Somewhere in there I fell in love with you, which only made matters more difficult. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if it turned out you were a robber. I want you in my bed for the rest of your life, not some prison cell.”

  Burning fire crept up her cheeks. Such an admission in front of four colleagues embarrassed her.

  Jake laughed again. “Don’t blush, sugar. We Southern men aren’t afraid to love our women and don’t care who knows it.”

  “So, I’m no longer a suspect?”

  Agent Crews stepped forward. “No, ma’am. We traced the deposits in your account back to the bank manager, Ted Gleaner, and established an association between him and the Cabacolli family. He laundered the money they made illegally through various bank accounts, usually belonging to seniors who aren’t too diligent about checking their activity. It was you who led us to him. If you hadn’t mentioned his attempts to sexually exploit you, I might never have made the connection. He was careless with you. You must have pissed him off.”

  She shook her head. “No, Agent Crews. That was all Jake’s doing.”

  The men laughed and nodded and the weight of the world lifted off of her shoulders. They believed her. She was free. Tears filled her eyes when she looked at Jake.

  “Is Mr. Gleaner under arrest?”

  Jake nodded. “For complicity in the bank robberies and sexual harassment. What he did to you won’t be ignored.”

  Another burden lifted. No more Mr. Gleaner.

  “Is that why Vincent abducted me? Because of his alliance with Mr. Gleaner?”

  Jake sighed again. “No, that was my fault too and again, I’m sorry for that.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “We always suspected that the Cabacolli family had a mole somewhere. It turned out to be a federal judge who tipped him off about my true identity after the City Hall arrests. Vincent used you to get to me. He knew I’d come if you were in danger. Only he underestimated me and what I’d do to save you. For that matter, he underestimated you and what you’d do to help me. You knew you were wanted by the FBI and yet you turned yourself in. That took guts.”

  Agent Crews mumbled, “So did ramming my car into the side of his.”

  The comment eased the serious tone in the room and everyone laughed.

  For the first time in as long as she could remember, Mackenna looked forward to tomorrow.

  “So what happens now?”

  Jake grinned. “Well, my assignments here are done until I have to testify in court months from now. I’ll need that time to recover and my mama has already ordered me to come back home so she can pamper me. I admit I’m ready.”

  Mackenna’s stomach twisted. Jake planned to leave town.

  “I’d like you to come home with me. She’s going to love you. You can get a bank job in Alabama if you want but I have other plans for you.”

  Her heart soared. “What kind of plans?”

  Now, Jake reached for her head and drew her close so he could whisper in her ear. “First, I’d like you to go off those birth control pills. And then, I’d like to make an honest woman of you, maybe even turn you into a Southern belle.” His lips grazed hers in a tender kiss that promised so much more.

  Feet shuffled behind them and Agent Crews cleared his throat. “I have some paperwork to catch up on, and a person of interest’s name to clear.” He winked at Mackenna as the other agents left the room.

  “We’ll keep a guard on both of you until all of the Cabacolli soldiers are in custody. Just to be safe. Miss McElroy, you’ll have to let us know where you’re staying.”

  She grinned. “I’m staying right here with Jake. Just to make things easier for you.”

  Agent Crews laughed. “Jake, after all you’ve put this poor woman through, at least tell this girl you love her for all the world to hear.”

  Jake sat up straight, winced at the pain and wrapped his arm around Mackenna’s shoulder. “I love you, sugar, with all my heart. I’ll spend the rest of my life making all this up to you if you let me.”

 
; Agent Crews nodded at Mackenna, urging her to respond.

  “I love you too, Jake. And I think I’ll let you do that.”

  Also from Soul Mate Publishing and Rena Koontz:

  CRYSTAL CLEAR LOVE

  Crystal Kenethey's safe, plain yogurt life turns upside down when she runs into her old love, Mike Perzelle. She's struggled for ten long years to forget him and his betrayal, only to come face to face with him, and all the old questions and doubts, again. Mike destroyed Crystal's trust in him and she walked away without a backward glance. But she always wondered if she'd done the right thing. She's been playing the "What If" game for years, since no man has sparked the heat and passion Mikey could.

  Seeing Mike again stirs those feelings she has long buried. She learns the truth about the incident that led to their demise and realizes she has never stopped loving him. She never gave him a chance to explain himself when the incident occurred, and now she's too late. He's carved out his own life in a new city and there isn't room for her in it, not the way she wants. Mike is a man of honor and has promised another woman he will not abandon her, despite his own renewed feelings for her and the love he admits never died. Can there be a happy ending to a pivotal reunion ten years too late?

  Available now on Amazon: CRYSTAL CLEAR LOVE

  BROKEN JUSTICE, BLIND LOVE

  He is a suspect. An accused killer. And Trish Kleerey is the law. Patrolman Kleerey stands tall, speaks assertively, and sees right and wrong as clearly as her black and white cruiser. Commit a wrong and face the consequences. But her strict moral code is challenged when her investigation into a series of murders incriminates the man she loves. Her training tells her to arrest him. Her heart screams otherwise.

  Bryan DeJewel feels the line between love and the law blur when Trish questions him about the serial killings. The Trish Kleerey he knows is soft, warm, and capable of bringing him to his knees with desire, but that passion isn’t enough to build a lasting relationship. If she loves him, she must trust him.

  Her suspicious nature already cost her a lifelong friendship. She couldn’t turn her back on the physical abuse she suspected her friend suffered but, once again, her questions alienated a person she loves. Believing Bryan means turning her back on hard evidence, breaking the rules, and risking her career to prove his innocence.

  Meanwhile, the real killer watches and waits, hoping she’ll fall into his deadly trap. Trish’s dilemma: listen to her heart and choose love, or strap on her gun and enforce the law?

  Available now on Amazon: BROKEN JUSTICE, BLIND LOVE