by Vella Day
“I’m coming with you.” She decided it might not be safe being in the waiting room herself.
He nodded. “You’re right. Guess my brains got scrambled.”
The nurse escorted Trent inside, and Jamie followed. She took the seat in the corner of the exam room. Now that Max was in good hands, and Trent was being taken care of, exhaustion finally claimed her. Her nerves had been taut the entire drive up.
Jamie closed her eyes and couldn’t help but relive the shots over and over again. Each time a gun had fired, her pulse skyrocketed. Poor Max. She still couldn’t believe he’d put himself in that kind of danger. What had he been thinking running after two armed men? It didn’t matter that he had a weapon, too. What if he’d been killed?
She opened her eyes to stop the nightmare. Max had been a real hero. In truth, if he hadn’t stopped those men, the FBI might not have learned some of the names of the terrorists until it was too late.
On the drive up here, Trent had relayed what he remembered. Max was about to go into the store when a man came out of nowhere, drew a knife blade across Trent’s throat, and then smashed his elbow into his face. Trent said it had happened so fast, he didn’t have time to react. He was lucky he hadn’t been hurt worse.
Jaime checked the time. “When did you call Agent Forbes?”
“Over an hour and a half ago.”
He’d be here shortly. “Maybe I should wait for him in the other room.”
Trent’s jaw hardened. “No.” He turned to the nurse. “You almost done?”
The nurse had placed a few stitches above his brow and was now tending to his lip.
“Just about,” the nurse said.
Max still had the paper copy of what was on the file. Until the agent could find a computer, he’d have to be satisfied with her memory, which at the moment was having a hard time staying focused.
“All finished.” The nurse stepped back.
Trent got up from the exam table. “Thanks.”
After he filled out some paperwork, they returned to the waiting room. Even though Trent was a cop, Jamie scanned the waiting room. There were only three other people waiting. One was a mother and her young son, and the other was an older man who appeared asleep. None were males in their twenties or thirties, but she wouldn’t discount these three as being associated with terrorists. At this point, she might question her own mother.
Trent stretched out his legs and winced, as if more than just his head had received a pummeling. “So you and Max are tight?” he asked.
Jamie hadn’t expected that question. She wasn’t even sure what she should say. Trent might be a good friend, but she wasn’t about to tell him that she was falling in love with Max. She hadn’t even told Max! “I like him.”
He cocked a brow. “Just like? I know my buddy must be crazy about you.”
That caught her interest. Or was he trying to distract her? “Why do you say that? Did he tell you something?” A vein throbbed next to her eye. The stress was getting to her.
“Didn’t have to. Every year, since the beginning of time, Max and I always go to the Monster Truck Rally at the County Fairgrounds. This year, he asked you instead.”
Her heart raced. She had no idea that the event was so special to him. “You could come with us.”
Trent laughed, then immediately sobered. He placed a hand over his lip. “Shouldn’t do that.”
“Sorry.” Something Trent said rang a bell. “Is the rally always at the County Fairgrounds?”
“Yes.”
She’d never been. “Is it stadium seating there?” When she’d gone to one of the Monster Truck events in California, it had been held at a large football stadium.
He twisted toward her. “Yes. What are you getting at?”
“CF could stand for County Fairgrounds.”
His eyes widened. “Oh, fuck. Max showed me the initials, but I thought it was a signature. There was a date at the bottom of the paper. The rally is May 3rd. That must be it.”
Excitement coursed through her. “We need to tell Forbes.”
He slightly shook his head. “Max never told me you had the ability to use mental telepathy. After the stunt they pulled bugging my car, I’m not trusting my phone. They probably listened in when Max told me he had the drive.”
“Right. I wasn’t thinking. So what happens now?” She’d left her burn phone in Hank’s van. Damn.
“That’s up to Forbes.” Trent sat up, and looked toward the door then back again, acting as if it wasn’t safe to be talking about this. “So tell me about yourself,” he said.
While they waited for Forbes, Jamie gave Trent a sanitized version of her life. Before she finished, Forbes arrived. But he wasn’t alone. With him were three men dressed in suits. She would have thought they’d have tried to blend in. Both she and Trent jumped up.
Forbes approached. “How’s Max?” He sounded concerned.
“In surgery.”
The agent raised his brows. “Perhaps you both would like to get some fresh air.”
Trent nodded. Jamie pulled on her coat and followed the agent outside. She understood it wouldn’t be wise to hand off the flash drive in plain sight.
Once they were away from the entrance, she handed him the information.
“Do you know what’s on it?” Agent Forbes asked. “Max didn’t say.”
Jamie detailed the list, the items, the seat numbers, and her guess what it all meant.
Forbes whistled. “This is huge. I’ll get on this right away. Knowing some of the identities should make it easier to find them and take them down.”
Max would be so disappointed not to have a hand in the final showdown. “I’ll let Max know.”
Forbes nodded. “I’m going to station one of my men outside his room.”
He didn’t have to tell her why. There were more terrorists than the two Max had stopped. “Thank you. What about the man Max injured?” She assumed Trent had told him about him.
“My men are checking on him now. Once he’s stable, we’ll be speaking with him.”
There wasn’t much else to say. “Thank you.”
Trent turned to her. “Will you be okay by yourself?”
She assumed that meant he would be leaving. “I’m good. The FBI has my back.”
“I know Max well. Whatever you do, don’t let him out of here until the doctor releases him.”
She didn’t like how serious he’d become. “You think Max would try to leave?” As soon as she said the words, she realized her mistake. “Never mind. He’s more stubborn than you are.”
He chuckled. “Take good care of him. He needs you.” Trent hugged her goodbye. He turned to Agent Forbes. “Can I trouble you for a ride back to Marie?”
“Sure. I’ll have one of my agents stay with Ms. Henderson.”
“I appreciate it.”
Jamie rushed back inside to warmth. The agent was standing close to the entrance, his back against the wall.
Close to an hour later, a doctor came through the door. “Ms. Henderson?”
She jumped up. “Yes?”
His face remained inscrutable, but she didn’t expect anything different. “Your friend, Max, is in recovery now. We had to repair an artery, but everything looks good. Nothing vital was hit.”
“Thank God. When can I see him?”
“He’ll be moved to the surgical wing in about an hour. The nurse will let you know when you can see him.”
Two hours later, Jamie was told she could visit Max. The agent with her nodded, but he didn’t move. Apparently, he’d be keeping watch at this end. When she reached Max’s room, another agent who’d come with Forbes was standing guard. He pushed open the door and she entered.
Jamie pulled up a chair and picked up Max’s hand. It was cold.
He opened his eyes. “Hey.”
His face was pale, but otherwise, he looked good. Right now, she’d take anything other than dead. “How are you feeling?”
“Groggy.” He glanced d
own at his wound. “Am I going to live?” He smiled.
“Yes, but you’ll have to rest for a couple of days.” She wanted to kiss every inch of his body, but she didn’t want him to get excited and move about.
“Not going to happen. I need to speak with Forbes.”
The anesthesia must be messing with his head. “I already gave him the drive.”
“He showed up already?”
Jamie squeezed his hand. “You were in surgery for hours. Trent went back with Forbes.” She still didn’t think Trent should be driving, though his eye looked less swollen when he left.
“What did Forbes say? Did he know what CF meant?”
“We didn’t ask him. Trent and I think we figured it out. Mr. FBI Man was very impressed with all that you’d done.”
“You figured it out?”
He didn’t seem to care about the accolade. She reminded him that the Monster Truck Rally was being held at the Country Fairgrounds on May 3rd. “CF could stand for County Fairgrounds. The date matches, too.”
“I’ll be damned. The stadium will be packed. If they’d succeeded, close to a thousand people could have died.”
It would have been a huge tragedy. “Forbes said that with the list of names, he and his men should be able to locate the terrorist cell quickly.”
“I need to go.” Max unhooked the IV from the port in his arm and sat up. He looked around. “Where are my clothes?”
The man must be delusional. “You aren’t going anywhere, buster.”
“Yes, I am. Honey. Listen. I don’t care if the FBI said they were taking over my case. It’s still my case. I want to see this through to the end.”
She could let him get out of bed and attempt to find his clothes that weren’t there, but all the movement might reopen his wound. “Not only won’t I give you the keys to the car, or drive you anywhere, there’s an FBI agent guarding the door that won’t let you out of here. As much as I like it when you go all heroic on me, I need you to get better.” Jamie hooked up the IV again.
“Well, damn.”
* * *
Max was about to climb the walls. Three days was too long to lie in a hospital bed. As far as he was concerned, his injury looked pretty much healed. He might limp a bit, but now he had matching wounds. Once from the bullet eleven years ago, now this one on the other leg.
Stupid doctor acted like he needed Max able to run a marathon before signing the release papers. If Max had been able to explain the real reason for wanting to get out of there, he bet the doctor would have sent him on his way. Too bad Max couldn’t blurt out that he had to help the FBI take down a bunch of terrorists.
It wasn’t all bad, though. He got be with Jamie. Wonderful Jaime. She’d been incredibly patient and caring, if not rather stubborn. He’d been quite capable of getting out of bed by himself to go to the bathroom, but she’d insisted on wrapping an arm around his waist to make sure he didn’t fall.
As much as he liked having her around, he could see it was taking a toll on her, too. Agent Forbes had requested a female agent from a local field office to stay with Jamie at a nearby hotel each night. One afternoon, when Jamie was with him, the agent had purchased clothes for her. Max liked how her eyes had lit up when she saw them.
After a bit of arguing, he convinced Jamie to ask to borrow the agent’s phone. It would be secure. Max didn’t want to be kept in the dark any longer. Actually, he wanted to know if when he got out, whether he could help with taking down the cell.
Max called Dan, but when he asked him about the progress, his former boss acted rather strange. “I haven’t heard. You know the FBI. They keep a tight lid on things.”
“I thought Forbes was going to keep you in the loop. Let you help.”
“He did.”
Max knew Dan well. “What aren’t you telling me?” Max had enough of this shit. He was ready to knock the agent outside over the head and leave.
“Forbes is on the other line. I gotta take this. Talk to you soon.” He then had the balls to hang up.
Jamie looked at him with eagerness. “So? What did Dan say?”
Poor Jamie. All Max wanted to do was wash away her pain. She was forced into seclusion until these men were brought to justice. “He didn’t know anything, but I don’t believe him.”
She slumped back in her seat. A knock sounded on the door and they both turned. The agent never knocked, nor did the nurses. Trent walked in, looking almost as good as new. A nice change to the last time Max had seen his friend on the ground.
“What’s up, dude?” Trent said with a smile.
“Nice of you to stop by. You look like shit, by the way.” Max had to say something.
Trent’s smile didn’t diminish. He pulled up a second chair. “I have some good news.”
Max waited for him to spill it, but he kept looking between the two of them. “What is it? Tell us.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“For starters, you both are being heralded as heroes.” Trent brushed his knuckles across his chest. “I, also, was given kudos for my role in taking down the terrorist cell.”
Jamie sat there stunned for a minute. “Taking them down? They’ve been arrested?”
“They have. After an intricately planned operation, the FBI, in conjunction with the fabulous RHPD, captured all those responsible for the attempt to bomb the Monster Truck Rally.”
“Oh, thank God.” She sagged in relief. The rally was scheduled for this weekend, and she feared the FBI wouldn’t be able to stop them in time.
Trent nodded. “It will continue as scheduled.”
Jamie glanced over at Max. She expected to see frustration written all over his face. Instead, he was smiling. She didn’t get it. “I thought you’d be upset that you didn’t get to charge in on your white stead and shoot everyone one of the bastards.”
He and Trent burst out laughing. “That would have been nice, but I’m good, knowing you’ll be safe.”
“Safe. I’d forgotten what that word meant.”
“Max,” Trent said, “guess who the kingpin was.”
Max wasn’t always the most patient man when it came to guessing games. His furrowed brows implied that now wasn’t the time either. “Who?”
“Ed Hanson.”
The name didn’t sound familiar. “Who’s that?” she asked.
Max answered. “The man who owned the burned warehouse. That’s quite interesting.”
Her wheels spun. “Do you think Vic suspected him and that was why he planted himself in front of the abandoned building each day?”
“That makes sense,” Trent said.
The room door opened, and Max’s doctor strode in, clipboard in hand. Half a dozen nurses had already been in to day to check on Max. The fact that several repeated the same tests, Jamie suspected they just wanted to take another look at their hot charge.
The doctor set down his clipboard, and checked Max’s wound. “Excellent. You’re healing nicely. You ready to go home, Mr. Gruden?”
“Hell, ya.”
“Take it easy for a few days. I’ll send up a wheelchair then you can be on your way.”
“Thank you.”
Because Max’s damaged jeans were been beyond repair, Jamie had asked the female FBI agent to purchase him a new pair.
Trent slapped his thighs. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds. I need to get back to Rock Hard. Wanted to be the one to share the good news.”
Max swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Appreciate it.”
Max got dressed, looking almost like his old self.
As soon as the nurse arrived to take Max down, Jamie hustled out to get the car. She wanted to be waiting by the entrance when he came out. Being outside without worry was exhilarating, but she couldn’t help but glance around a few times to check for more black vans.
When she drove up to the entrance, Max was already waiting. He pulled open the driver’s side door. “I’ll drive.”
The man was crazy. “I’m good.”
They only needed to go back to Marie. He’d be good for that long. She slid across the bench seat.
He closed the door and put the car in gear. “I know you’ll probably ask that we head back to Rock Hard so you can go to work tomorrow, but how about we take a few days at the cabin and just enjoy each other. Would you like that?”
Would she ever. “Now that is the best idea you’ve ever had.”
* * *
Jamie wouldn’t let him do anything the first two days, and it drove him crazy. Even when Max had to go outside to get more wood for the stove, she’d fussed. Max had enough.
“Jamie. Please come here.” She was in the kitchen making dinner.
She rushed up to him. “Is something wrong?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.” Her gaze shot straight to his leg. He exaggerated his limp and sat on the couch. “Can you look at my leg?”
“Of course.” She dropped down next to him.
At least she didn’t insist on helping him off with his boots. Once he divested himself of those, he slid off his jeans. He had a raging hard-on, and if he didn’t get some relief soon, he was going to burst. He couldn’t take being around her any longer. He had to make love with her.
“I have a serious problem.”
She burst out laughing. “So I can see.”
“How about you coming into the bedroom and help me relieve this ache?”
“Only if you let me ride you.”
They discussed that if he was on top, it might put too much pressure on his leg. He disagreed, but she was the medical professional. “Deal.”
They both stood. To prove he was good as new, he faced her, and lifted her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold.
“Max! Put me down. You’ll hurt yourself.”
She didn’t weigh enough to do any damage. “Won’t happen. You’re mine, and I’m going to prove it to you.”
She giggled. He entered his bedroom and set her down. Just looking at her made his blood run hot. “I want you naked.”
“Yes, sir.” Her fingers shot to the buttons on her blouse.
He swatted them away. “I meant, I’m going to get you naked. Just stand there.” Max was ready. He wanted to tear her clothes from her body, but then he’d miss savoring every inch of her. After opening the front, he slipped the material off her shoulders. Jamie was delicate, sweet, and divine. “What a shame that bra has to come off, but if I don’t feast on your tits, I might die.”
