by Cyndi Raye
“More like ready to take on the world!” Josh Eden said as he strolled in the room. Josh and Jon shook hands.
Jake tried to lift his head. He supposed Jon put something in his IV to calm him down. Jon kept messing with the tubing while they talked. “What are you talking about Eden?” Jake stuttered, his mouth not quite moving in the direction he liked.
“Listen.” Josh bent over him with a small device he held in his hand. It looked like a watch. As he pushed a button, Jake heard Jesse Storm’s voice first. “Did you say that was Jake Hatfield we left in the dust back on the ramp at Parsons crossing?”
Then a crackle and his love’s voice was crystal clear. “Yes I did. The Jake Hatfield, the man will leave no stones unturned to find me. You’ll be sorry you messed with my love.”
“Baby,” Jake mumbled right before he closed his eyes again, back to oblivion.
<><>
The headache disappeared. Jake felt like a new man. The nurse came in and began to take out the IV. “You look good as new,” she said, a smile pasted to her face. She batted her eyes and leaned in a bit too close. Not that Jake didn’t mind checking out a beautiful woman, but his mind was on Maggie and where she was at right now. He worried she was scared and alone even if she sounded pretty confident on the recorded message.
He sat up, ready to leave the hospital. He hated hospitals and the only way they got him here was because they had to knock him out first. “How long have I been out?”
“A few hours. We need this bed, so if you’re ready to go, I think as long as you take it easy, the doc will release you.”
“I’ll release myself, I’m out of here.” He let her finish and got dressed. Jake wobbled a bit from all the medication they gave him as he walked out into the waiting room of the ER. Jon was still here, talking with a few of the other staff members. He looked up when Jake walked out.
Jon excused himself and helped Jake outside. “I’ve got the car over here,” Jon told him. “I want you to take it easy the rest of the day and I’ll fill you in on what’s going on.”
“Take it easy? You’re kidding me, right? I’ve been in that hospital taking it easy for the last few hours. It’s time to find Maggie.”
Jon got in and started up the engine. “Jake, you’re a stubborn man. Listen to me because I know where they are, but I can’t let you ride in there like John Wayne and rescue the damsel in distress. Everything is in place to capture these guys and we can’t ruin things for them. You know how it works?”
Jake remembered how Jon and Abby had to go undercover at the camp ground the other month. It was quite an event, one he found exhillerating at the time. Except when he assumed Maggie was at home writing her book and in reality was watching from the parking lot in the camp ground. He had been in a trailer watching the chaos going on all around and she stood there, in the open, in danger, fascinated. When he realized she wasn’t going to get out of the way, he charged through the chaos to keep her safe. All she wanted was more research for her writing.
Thinking of her put a grin on his face. She was brave and curious and didn’t back away from anything, not even danger. That’s what scared him the most.
“Jake, you listening?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Jon grinned. “In a few hours, Jesse Storm and this other guy are meeting with one of the biggest drug smugglers in the Keys. The reason they kidnapped Maggie is for the man on the yacht. The guy likes pretty woman and Jerry promised him a woman in exchange for a meeting. It’s the only way Carlton Messerman would meet them.”
Jake narrowed his eyes. “What! Promised a drug dealer Maggie! There’s no way, I thought Jesse was on our side! Jon, get me there, right now!”
“Calm down Jake. It’s not going to go down like that at all. Josh and Jesse have been in contact. The orders are for Maggie to stay in the car while Jerry goes on the yacht to make the deal. When it’s Jesse’s turn to bring her to the Yacht, he’s going to start a commotion so Maggie can get away. He says he has it under control. Jesse knows what he’s doing.”
Jake slammed his fist on the dashboard. “That’s a stupid plan! How can he put her in danger like that?”
“Not sure. But he promised us it would work. Said she’ll have time to run. He said Messerman is the man they want, along with Jerry. If they can get them both in the same place, with the drugs on the yacht, we’d be doing a service to mankind or something to that effect.”
“Service to mankind, bullshit! Not with Maggie!”
“I know Jake. I wouldn’t let Abby risk it either. I don’t think we have a choice here. It’s no one’s fault you and Maggie stumbled on this guy who owed money to drug dealers. It’s not even your fault that there was a sting operation going on. But we need to keep Maggie safe. You need to control your temper and keep calm. She’s going to need you when this is all over.”
Jake nodded. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “You’re right. We didn’t ask for this, did we?”
“No one did, but it is what it is and we are family, bro. We’ll get through this like we do everything else. I’ve brought our own back up in case the agency doesn’t have enough.”
Jake laughed out loud, pretty sure he knew his twin brother. “What backup, Jon?”
Jon nodded towards the rear of the car. “Lift up that blanket off the back seat, bro.”
Jake stretched his arm and pulled the plush blanket off to find a few hunting rifles on the seat. “We may need them if all else fails.” He grinned at his brother. They would let the agency do their job but the two brothers weren’t about to be helpless if all hell broke loose.
Now all they had to do was wait in the shadows until Maggie showed up with Jesse Storm.
Chapter 10
Maggie knew they were getting close. Jerk woke up out of his slumber and began to talk normal at last. Jesse and him exchanged words and from what she understood, they were meeting a very important person, the dealer, on his fancy yacht.
“When we get there, Jesse, you wait in the car with her. I’ll signal for you to bring her up. We’re not going to give her to him until he agrees to the deal.”
Maggie’s eyes widened. Jesse spoke with her earlier about this and never said a word about giving her to this guy on a yacht. What was going on here! “Give me to who?”
“Shut up. You sit there and stay out of our talks.” Jerry’s voice was pure evil, his nasty breath on the back of her neck. Her heart raced, she sensed danger. He was a mean and nasty individual when he wasn’t all messed up on pills. She preferred the other Jerry, the one who was in a daze and seemed helpless. The Jerk.
Now she realized why Jesse had sweat pouring down his cheek earlier. Jerk wasn’t a man to cross. All she wanted to do was get back to Jake. Her Jake, the man she loved and didn’t care if he never proposed. All she wanted was to feel his strong arms and to hold her and never let her go. She sighed with sadness. Maggie had to find a way to get free. She didn’t care about busting these guys, it wasn’t her problem. All she cared about was finding a way to be free. She couldn’t depend on anyone to get her out of this mess.
She would wait for the break to get away and then no one could harm her ever again. “I need to make a stop at the rest area ahead.”
“Yeah, right. You can wait until we get there.” Jerk was back to his usual nasty self.
“I need to stop, too.” Jesse spoke up. Maggie was glad, this was going to be her escape. She noticed the trees and brush surrounding the rest area. A quick sweep of the restrooms told her the ladies room was on the opposite side of where the car pulled in. All she had to do was slip away from them when they weren’t paying attention and run for the foliage, where she could get lost. They wouldn’t stick around long, they had to meet the drug dealer. They wouldn’t want to waste a bunch of time to search for her through all the foliage because they were on a mission.
She jumped out of the car and ran up the concrete walk towards the bathrooms. Jerk yelle
d for her to stop. She turned around and kept walking backwards very fast. “I’m going to pee my pants if I don’t go now!” she cried out and ran with all her might to the concrete building. Her chest rose and fell as she skidded around the corner and into the small building.
Maggie leaned against the cold wall until she could catch her breath. She peeked out the door to make sure no one followed her. The trees were a few feet away. All she had to do was make it to the tree line and she could dart in and get lost in the foliage. Sweat began to trickle down her face as her heart thumped. The vein in her neck pulsed. She had to go now while she had the chance.
Maggie took a step out of the concrete building. She was so close to freedom. Jesse told her one time when Jerk was inside a convenience store they needed her to make the drug deal. Said she would be saving a lot of kids who got messed up on the drugs these guys sold. He promised to keep her out of the line of fire, said there were men everywhere. She wouldn’t be in danger.
She took another step. What did she care? Her life was at stake here. Let them find someone else to do their dirty work. Why couldn’t they get an undercover woman to do this? Why Maggie? The tree was within her reach. All she had to do was take one more step and disappear.
Disappear to freedom while hundreds of kids would have access to these drugs that were coming in on this boat. Plus they may kidnap another woman to make the exchange. Maggie already knew what was going to happen today. Jesse reassured her she would not be in any danger.
They needed her to finish this mess. To keep kids from killing themselves with drugs. Maggie took a deep breath. Her shoulders slumped. She knew the answer.
“Hey, get back here!” Jerk came around the corner like a bat out of hell and grabbed a hold of Maggie’s arm so hard it knocked her off balance. He flung her against the tree she was trying to escape behind. She felt the bark against her back. He grabbed a chunk of her hair and slung her head back against the surface. “Trying to escape?” he leered, his face close enough to hers she could smell his hot breath, which was nasty and sour, as if he hadn’t brushed in weeks.
Maggie almost gagged. “Let me go,” she pleaded.
He jerked her again, this time he grabbed her around the neck and squeezed her, hard. Her eyes popped open. Where was Jesse? Was he going to let this messed up crazy man hurt her? He said she would be safe? His face began to fade. The air was leaving her lungs. Fear stabbed at her heart, unsure if she could keep from passing out.
She couldn’t go out like this. As she struggled to lift her foot so she could kick him where it counts, all of a sudden the air shot back in her lungs as the pressure left her neck. Maggie sucked in quick breaths of precious air. She leaned over, head down, gasping, when she realized Jesse had Jerk’s face down on the ground. “What did I tell you about laying a hand on Maggie? We don’t need this, Jerry! We have about an hour until our meeting. Why screw eveything up now! If you do, your Dad will be right! You’ll be the failure he said you were.”
When Jesse said those words, Maggie watched the life go out of Jerk. He lay on the ground and his chest heaved. Jesse let him go, then spit alongside of him. “I don’t hit women. You won’t either as long as you’re with me.”
As Jesse turned his back on the man on the ground, Maggie watched in horror as Jerk shot straight up and attacked Jesse. The two began to struggle and fists flew. They weren’t paying attention, she could escape, but all she did was plant her feet on the ground and watch the two fight it out. Jesse took a few blows to his face and then he got mad.
It was all over for Jerk. Jesse slammed him around like a rag doll. Blood spurted out of his nose and he rolled on the ground like a baby. “You broke my nose,” he cried, furious. “I’m sorry!”
Jesse helped him up and shoved him towards the men’s room. He looked back at Maggie, his brow raised. She knew she could run if she wanted to. The opportunity was there. It was so obvious Jesse was giving her the chance to be free.
But she couldn’t do it, not with a ship load of drugs that would be given to kids. She had to do what was right. Maggie turned and walked towards the car.
Minutes later the two came out of the men’s room, Jerk looking a bit better than when he went in. Dried blood stained the front of his shirt where he made futile attempts to clean it from the material.
Maggie shielded her eyes when Jerk began to walk towards her side of the car. She slid down in the seat, worried he would start all over again. Instead, he hung his head. “I’d like to apologize to you,” he offered. “I’m sorry I tried to choke you.”
Maggie raised her brow. Jerk seemed genuine but when he began to raise his head she could see in his eyes the daggers there. He was saying it because of Jesse. He had a long way to go before she forgave him for that act. She turned her head and nodded. There was no way she’d speak to him ever again, not in this lifetime and not if he wasn’t genuine.
Which he wasn’t.
The Impala left the rest area in a hurry since the fight caused them to waste so much time. Jesse kept looking at his watch, pressed a button here and there and kept silent. Jerk sat in the back, tapping his fingers on the back of Maggie’s seat. She scooted front a bit, not wanting him to know the tap tap tap annoyed her to no end.
She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he could make her angry, upset or anything. He didn’t deserve the attention. She rubbed the skin around her neck. Her flesh felt as if it were on fire. She didn’t get a chance to look at the damage he caused. Maggie gritted her teeth. All she wanted was to be rid of this nightmare and find her love. She prayed he waited for her at their final destination, the drug dealer’s yacht.
<><>
Jake paced back and forth along the edge of the room. The large vessel next door was a sleek and expensive yacht but it held the drug dealer and the drugs the agency wanted. He couldn’t believe once again he was in the middle of dirty dealings. But his Maggie, his love, she was all he cared about. None of this mattered to him. What mattered was he would be here when she rolled up in her Nan’s bright pink Impala.
As he thought about their road trip, up until they got mixed up with the teen, a smile crossed his face. Maggie was all he ever needed. He knew that now. She brought life into him. Before Maggie, he thought all he needed was work, his business and to grow it so big, not even Foster, Inc. could touch him. But none of it mattered if Maggie wasn’t in his life.
His blood boiled at the thought of Maggie in the middle of this mess. He had a special place for the guy who knocked him out with the butt of a pistol. When this was over, he didn’t care if the guy was an agent or not, that blow rendered him useless and kept Jake from going after Maggie.
“It’s time to sit back and let us do the work, Jake. Promise me you won’t go off?”
Jake stared at Josh. “I’m not making any promises I can’t keep.”
Josh shook his head. “If you can’t stay in the background during this, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
“Leave! No!” Jake stared at his friend. He knew Josh was doing his job, but there was no way he’d leave Maggie again. When she showed up, he would get her out of this mess.
“I can’t imagine how you must be feeling, but I’m pretty sure I know how you are thinking right now,” Josh told him. “Don’t even think of jeopardizing the bust. Let us take care of Maggie. She’ll be in good hands.”
Jake laughed, a rugged, hoarse laugh with no humor attached. “Good hands! That agent almost killed me! I can’t imagine what he’d do to her.”
“Jesse had no choice but to take you out of the picture. Once everything began to unfold, he did his job. You need to keep an open mind.”
“Not when it comes to Maggie, I won’t. I want her safe!”
“We won’t let a civilian get hurt. You have my word,” Josh said in a soft voice.
Jake heard the soft click of a door open up. Jon came down the few steps inside the boat and closed the door. “Jake, you need to lower your voice. I can
hear you on deck.”
“What are you doing, Jon? Don’t you have patients to take care of?”
Jon laughed. “You’re the only one.”
Jake grinned and gave his brother a bear hug. “Thanks for being here, bro.”
“I wouldn’t let you do this on your own. Besides, it gets a bit boring working from an urgent care center day and night.”
Josh slipped out to make sure everyone was in place. There were two boats filled with agents and more on the dock. The place swarmed with undercover bodies everywhere Jake looked. Dressed as ship owners, dock workers and tourists, Josh pointed out everyone involved in a sting like this. He tried to reassure Jake there was no need to worry about Maggie.
Jake worried anyway, because if something happened to her, he would never forgive himself. He looked at his bro. “Jon, if anything happens to the woman I love, I’m not sure-”
