by Wendy Davy
“Not exactly,” James said calmly. “What I want is for you two to cut off the flow of supplies to the actual moonshiners and make them believe you are starting your own business.”
“Won’t that make them really, really angry?”
“That’s what we’re counting on,” Tyler spoke up.
“That’s absurd. It’s crazy to make some unstable, moon-shining stalkers angry isn’t it? Really, come on…”
“Victoria, ‘darlin, hear them out,” Gramps interjected. “I want to hear what they have up their sleeve.”
“Fine. James?” Victoria threw up her hands. “Please, do tell.”
“Calm down Victoria.” James’ words were like ice cutting through her heated tirade. “You and Connor will make a batch of moonshine and sell it to the undercover drug task force agents. We’ll make the arrangements ahead of time so they will be expecting it. The idea is to make it look like they prefer your moonshine over the others. That will most likely make the real bootleggers mad as hornets and come after you.”
“And that’s what we want?”
“Yes, it will draw them out of hiding and when they come after you, we’ll be here to apprehend them.”
“You mean here?” Victoria pointed to the floor. “You are bringing them to my doorstep?”
“Yes. We’ll be here too. I wouldn’t leave you alone now anyway, after seeing those shots of you.” James indicated the photographs in the file folder.
“Why hasn’t the drug task force team tracked down where the sellers are getting it from?”
“They have been working on it. They’ve put together some names of people involved, but haven’t found the actual still yet. It’s almost as if it doesn’t even exist. Every lead they follow ends up in a dead end.”
“Well, why can’t we just stop providing the supplies? Why do we have to take it a step further and become their competition?”
“It will draw them out faster if you cut directly into their profits. Also, the angrier they are, the more likely they are to make mistakes. Then, it’s easier for us to catch them.”
“So, we’ll be sitting ducks.”
“You won’t be left defenseless. We’ll take every precaution to keep you both safe.”
Victoria looked to Gramps for some help. “What do you think?”
“It could work, ‘darlin,” Gramps said, nodding his head. “It’s a good plan.”
“It’s dangerous,” Victoria said.
“I need to get out of this whole mess. This is my chance.”
Victoria nodded her head. “Okay. Then we’ll do it.” She turned to face James. “How long will this take? Will it be over before school starts? I won’t let any of this affect my students.” She felt a protective instinct arise at the thought of her little ones being in danger.
“It’ll be over well before school starts. Once we set the plan in motion, it’ll be quick. And from here on out, no one comes to visit. I don’t want Ashley coming back until this is over. Understood?”
“I wouldn’t want her to get hurt either, James. But what do I tell her if she wants to come?”
“It’s best you keep the situation quiet. Tell her you are too busy. Put her off until this is over.”
“Okay. I can manage that. So, what do we do first?”
Gramps spoke up, “I don’t know about you, but I’d like to get some coffee.”
“Me too,” Tyler agreed. He stood tall and offered a hand to Victoria. She automatically took it and stood up. James grabbed the folder with the photographs and said, “We’ll go to the farmhouse and make some coffee, then we’ll go over the plans.”
Victoria stretched out her stiff muscles as Tyler and Gramps headed up the hill. She and James lingered in the cottage for a few minutes. Victoria was still trying to adjust to all of this new information. She rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand. A dull throbbing headache had her reaching for some pills.
“I know this is overwhelming for you,” James said as he followed her into the kitchen. He set the file folder down on the counter.
“Yes, it is.” Victoria swallowed her pills with water and spun around. She leaned on the kitchen counter as she watched James approach her.
“I don’t like putting you in danger.” He placed his arms on either side of her, leaning in close.
“No? But, you’ll do it anyway because it’s your job, right?” She placed her hands on his chest to shove him away, but couldn’t bring herself to push him. Her hands lingered on his chest.
“Yes, Vic. It is my job. You probably don’t see it this way, but the quicker this is finished, the less exposure you’ll have to the danger.” He ran his knuckles down the side of her face as his eyes trailed down to her lips. “I will keep you safe,” he vowed.
“How can you know that for sure?”
“I’m very good at what I do.”
Victoria nodded in agreement.
“I’m also very persistent. When I want something, I go after it,” James warned.
“What is it that you want?”
“Besides the moonshiners behind bars? You,” he rasped.
“You lied to me! You blindsided me. There’s nothing more that I hate than being blindsided! You took my heart and crushed it, James. You asked me to trust you once. Are you standing here, asking me to do it again?”
“Yes.”
“Even if I wanted to, how could I?”
“By doing something you’ve been trying to get me to do for a long time, Vic.”
“What is that?”
“By forgiving me.”
The words reverberated around in her head throughout the rest of the morning as the four of them made detailed plans to trap the real moonshiners. They had reconvened their meeting in the farmhouse, with the freshly made coffee. Victoria tried to focus on what the men said and tried to put her ideas into the mix as much as possible, but James’ words had more than distracted her. They had made it nearly impossible to focus on the meeting.
James had made her realize that what she asked him to do, forgive the driver that killed Danny and forgive himself, was easier said than done. She didn’t have trouble forgiving Eric. As she analyzed why, she came to the conclusion that James meant so much more to her. The betrayal he had thrown at her had been so devastating and recent she knew she would need time to sort things out before she could truly forgive him.
After discussing the situation thoroughly, they decided to put together a working moonshine still within the next few days and produce enough illicit liquor to fool the real moonshiners. Tyler had agreed to contact the undercover drug task force agents and alert them of their plans.
“I’ve already ordered the moonshine still online,” James stated.
“You can order a still online?” Victoria asked.
“Yes, you can order about anything from the internet. It usually makes our job much more difficult. But in this case, it will help us. It’ll be here in the next few days.”
“When did you order it?”
“About a week ago.”
Victoria sucked in a breath. “So, you assumed we would go along with your plans.”
“I arranged it so you couldn’t say no.”
Victoria didn’t like being used and her irritation grew to a dangerous level. Instead of starting a useless fight with James she stood up and said, “I’m hungry. I’m going to go out and eat. Call me when you want me to do something.” She quickly dismissed the men at the table and stalked out of the house.
She headed straight for the cottage and grabbed her purse and keys, spun on her heels and headed out to her car. Victoria revved the engine and started out of the driveway. James ran over and stood in front of the car.
She slammed on the brakes and rolled down her window. “Are you crazy? What are you doing?”
He stalked around to her door and jerked it open. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Out to lunch.”
“Not alone, your not. Scoot over. I’m dri
ving.”
“I didn’t invite you.”
“I didn’t ask for an invitation.” James didn’t budge from the doorway until she moved over to the passenger seat.
He climbed in and slammed the door. “You’re not going to be alone again until this is over, got it?” He put the car in drive and started down the long driveway.
“How do you figure?”
“You try it and I’ll put you in jail until this is finished.”
Victoria didn’t doubt for a second he would. She shook her head and fumed in silence as James continued down the long gravel drive.
After a moment he said in a lower voice, “I don’t want you to get hurt, Vic. I’m just trying to keep you safe. I won’t be able to do that if you don’t follow my orders.”
“I understand. I really do. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“I didn’t ask you to like it. Where are we going for lunch?” he ground out the question.
“There’s a diner a few miles from here called Harold’s place. It has good food and reasonable prices. I suppose you’ll be tagging along everywhere I go then?”
When James didn’t answer, she looked over at him. She saw him looking toward the end of the driveway. He suddenly pressed the accelerator to the floor.
“Hang on!” he shouted as the car lurched forward. He slammed on the brakes as reached the edge of the road. “Stay in the car and lock the doors!” he yelled as he opened the door and hit the ground running.
Victoria unfastened her seatbelt and leaned over to peek out of the window. She saw a figure dressed in black dart behind trees on the other side of the road. She saw James closing in on him. A steep embankment impeded the man’s getaway. James scrambled up the rocky slope with ease. Suddenly the figure turned and Victoria saw a sharp glint of steel before she heard a shot. James hit the dirt. Then the figure took off again. Victoria’s heart jerked in fear as she looked at James on the ground. Within seconds, James was up and on his feet again. This time he took to the cover of trees more, slowing his progress. They crested the hill and disappeared.
She sat in the driveway stunned. She prayed that he hadn’t been shot. She stepped out of the vehicle, straining to hear where the men had gone off to. A nearby stream blocked out any noises they may have made.
Two more shots echoed around her. Fear for James overrode fear for her safety. All thoughts of caution flew out of her head as she took off at a run across the street and up the embankment. She scrambled over strewn rocks and boulders, grabbing hold of branches and trees to help boost herself up the hill as she went. Adrenaline became her ally propelling her forward as her muscles screamed for oxygen and her sides began to ache. Her sandals didn’t provide much protection and she felt the sides of her feet being cut and sliced by sharp rocks and sticks. Victoria ignored the pain and pushed her way through knotted vines and low lying bushes. As she came to the top of the hill she stopped and sucked in ragged gasps of air.
She looked around, searching for any sign of the men. She saw no one. She listened intently and only heard the usual sounds of nature. They must have made it over the next hill already. It looked taller than the last one and even more rugged. Without hesitating, she made her way down to the valley. She splashed through a flowing creek and headed up the other side.
Her thoughts turned to James. If something happened to him…no, she couldn’t think like that. She refused to think like that.
A steel arm shot out and caught her across her mid section and a rough palm covered her mouth from behind in one fluid movement. She went wild with panic. She clawed and scratched at hands that wouldn’t budge. Victoria thrashed and kicked, but was outmatched by sheer size and strength. The man hauled her against his hard body and she heard the words, “What if I were him? What would you do?”
She ceased her struggles immediately as she recognized James’ voice.
“James! You scared me,” she complained as he removed his hand far enough for her to rasp the words out.
He continued to hold her against him forcefully as he replied, “I told you to stay in the car.”
“I know, but when I heard the shots I came to…”
“To what, Victoria? To rescue me?”
“Something like that, yeah.”
He turned her around to face him. Anger lined his face. Beads of sweat covered his forehead and ran down his neck. Victoria had never seen him so angry. Without another word he roughly tossed her over his shoulder and began the trek back to the car.
Bouncing around on his shoulder caused pain in her ribcage and stomach, but she didn’t complain after seeing the look of outrage on his face. He tromped through the woods back to the car and deposited her on the hood of the vehicle.
“Don’t move,” he ordered as he pointed a finger in her face. This time she stayed put.
He went to the mailbox and looked under it. He walked back with a small envelop and read its contents. He must not have felt like sharing the information with her because he stuffed it into his back pocket and crossed the remaining distance like a predator closing in on its prey.
“I told you to stay in the car,” he repeated.
“I’m sorry. I was just so scared for you. What if he hurt you? What if you got shot?”
“I’m trained to handle these types of scenarios. You are not.” He poked a finger at her chest. “You not only put yourself in danger, you put me in danger because I was distracted by you crashing through the woods. Don’t do anything like that again. Ever.”
Victoria nodded her head. She didn’t realize she could have been putting him at further risk. “I won’t.”
“I should haul you down to the station right now,” he threatened.
“No James,” Victoria cried. “Please don’t.”
“Give me one good reason not too.”
“Because I promise I’ll do what you say from here on out.”
She watched him study her for a moment. He glanced down at her feet and let out a curse. “You’re bleeding.”
Victoria looked down at her ruined sandals and bloody feet. She had been blessedly numb, until now. As James lifted her feet to inspect them, the pain hit her. She sucked in a breath from the sting as his fingers grazed across her wounds.
“You little fool,” he said as he scooped her into his arms. “Let’s get you home and cleaned up.”
Victoria hugged his neck like a lifeline as he carried her to the passenger side of the car. He set her down in the seat with surprising gentleness. After shutting her door he slid over the hood like he was a Duke boy. When he came to rest in the driver’s seat, he leaned over and gave her a passionate kiss. She felt the intensity of his kiss down to her toes.
James whispered, “He had a gun, Vic. I could have lost you.”
The softness in his words calmed her racing heart. “I could have lost you,” she returned the shaken sentiment. They looked at each other for a moment, searching each others eyes.
They sat close together, but remained worlds apart. He claimed to have fallen in love with her. He claimed he wanted her. But the fact remained that he had completely betrayed her fragile trust. Could she ever get past the pain it had caused? The reality that he would be moving back to Washington D.C. when the assignment ended also shifted the chasm wider.
Why did I have to fall for someone I can’t have, Lord? The cruel twist of fate held an irony to it that she could not accept. Even if she forgave James, he would be moving away. Throw a dangerous profession into the mix and that added to the length of the divide. Any misguided notion she may have had about his job being not so dangerous flew right out the window when she saw him being shot at. She hid her questions and thoughts from him as he started the car and turned it back around.
They met Tyler coming down the driveway as they headed back. He had heard the gunshots and was coming to investigate. James briefly explained what had happened and tapped the note on the steering wheel. “They’ve given another threat.”
Ty
ler nodded. “I’ll follow you back.”
Victoria spoke up confused, “What do you mean?”
“Connor has been communicating with these people from his mailbox. There is a sleeve adhered to underside of it. When the moonshiners make their demands, they leave an instructional note in the sleeve,” James explained without directly answering her question.
“That’s how Gramps has been talking to these guys?”
“Yes. Simple and effective.”
“Why haven’t you set up a camera out there to see who is leaving the notes?”
“We have. There have been three notes since we arrived here for our investigation. Each time, the person was dressed in black and came on foot. There is no way we can tell who it is from the video.”
Victoria shook her head. “So, what else has been going on that I don’t know about?”
“You mean besides our undercover investigation of you and Connor, the video taping of your mailbox and secret communication through a dark and mysterious figure?”
“Yeah. Besides that.”
James shrugged his shoulders. “Not much.” He grinned at her as he stepped out of the car and came around to carry her into the cottage.
James told Tyler he would meet with him outside after he tended to Victoria’s blood soaked feet. Tyler agreed and headed to the farmhouse.
James lifted her with ease out of the car and carried her straight to the bathroom. “Do you have a first aid kit?” he asked while ruffling through her cabinets.
“In the kitchen. Next to the microwave.”
He went to the kitchen and returned a moment later with her small first aid kit. As he removed her sandals he remarked, “Tyler will move in with Gramps and I will be moving in with you.”
Victoria looked up sharply. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” James focused on cleaning the abrasions on her skin.
What could she say? If she got used to seeing him at all hours, it would be infinitely more difficult to watch him walk out of her life later. Even though he betrayed her, she couldn’t turn her heart off, she still loved him. Victoria jumped when James poured peroxide on a deep cut.
“Sorry, baby.”
