Sacrifice Love: Saints Protection & Investigations

by Maryann Jordan

  As the lights came back up after Cybil’s presentation, Dani startled and looked down at her notes. Thank God, I paid attention to most of the speech. She turned to Jahfar, blushing, and admitted, “My mind wandered at the end, but I can email the notes that I have to you later today.”

  He smiled, saying, “That’s perfect, Danielle.” His dark eyes cut over toward Ethan’s and he said, “I’ve…um, I need to be going. Talk to you later.” He stood up with the others and hustled out of the room.

  Staring at his back, she jumped when a hand touched her shoulder.

  “You okay?” Ethan asked, concern in his eyes.

  “I’m fine,” she smiled up at him, as she pushed her chair back to stand. He was handsome, in a stylish way, and she could see why he had caught Cybil’s eye.

  “I wanted to tell you that you’re doing a really good job here. We were glad to get you.”

  “Thank you,” she replied, her gaze moving to Cybil and Todd as they made their way over as well.

  The group of four chatted for a few minutes before Cybil and Ethan headed down the hall. Turning to Todd, she smiled, saying, “I want to thank you for allowing me the chance to be a part of Marsden Energy Systems.”

  Taking her hand, Todd replied, “Danielle, I will echo what Ethan said—MES was lucky to employ you. How are you settling in?”

  “Two months in and I’ve learned a lot,” she answered. “Just when I think I know what I’m doing something new crops up.”

  Laughing, Todd admitted, “I’m the one who took this ammunition business over from my father and grew up in the trenches…and I still learn things.”

  “Then that definitely makes me feel better,” she said, smiling as they walked out of the room. Saying goodbye, she walked down the hall to her office. Her heels clicked on the tile floors and she smoothed the pencil skirt over her legs. She enjoyed dressing up for work, something she never did with the ATF. But for how long? she wondered.

  Entering, she sat down in her chair, leaning over with her keys in hand to unlock the bottom drawer where she left her purse. The drawer was partially open. Pulling it all the way open quickly, she breathed a sigh of relief seeing it still there. Lifting her large purse into her lap, she dropped her wallet into it then noticed her cosmetic bag was opened and the contents spilled out.

  Her years as an investigator with the ATF had her on alert. Carefully going through her purse, she did not find anything missing, but the idea that someone had gone through it took root. She hesitated but hated calling security, since nothing was missing and her desk lock did not appear tampered with. Maybe I really am losing my mind!

  Chapter 5

  Chad’s feet pounded the ground in a familiar rhythm as he ran along the perimeter of Jack’s property. A great place to keep in shape, it also doubled as a way to keep a check on the expensive security equipment in place. Having trained for the ATF bomb squad, he had run in full gear, weighing over seventy-five pounds, so running with no extra weight felt light as air.

  Winding through a dense copse of trees, he glanced down, easily maneuvering the protruding roots. The back of the acreage sat at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains and he began to climb slightly. The oak and maple trees created a complete canopy overhead. Moss and fern grew beside a small stream and he heard steps directly behind him. Jude came alongside and, without speaking, the two ran companionably together for several more minutes.

  Jack kept his property in top shape, so the weekly runs were good for maintenance of both body and mind, as well as scoping out the perimeter. The two came upon Bart and Cam as they rounded the bend heading back to the house.

  “Weather’s great for this,” Cam remarked, enjoying the spring sunshine. “Although the humidity sucks.”

  “You wimp,” Bart joked. “Hell, me and Jude would have considered this to be a walk in the park when we were SEALs.”

  Jude laughed his agreement, his blond curls plastered to his head with sweat.

  “Well, fucking sorry I wasn’t in your Navy,” Cam said jokingly. “But growing up in El Paso, hell, the heat there makes this seem like heaven.”

  The banter continued as they made their way around the house and toward the deck, seeing the others already there. Water bottles sitting in an ice chest pulled their attention. Guzzling the refreshing liquid, the group cooled off in the shade as they reported their perimeter checks to Jack. Chad leaned over the railing and poured some of the water over his head to cool off, before giving his head a shake. A few of the others followed suit, dousing themselves to combat the heat of the day.

  “You’ve got a tree down on the east perimeter, about five klicks due east,” Blaise reported.

  “Camera in the west corner needs to be checked. Some kind of ivy shit is growing on the tree. Not interfering yet, but by summer, it’ll be a problem,” Marc added.

  Jack made notes on his tablet. “Got it. I’ll grab the chainsaw and we’ll work on it after the briefing.” He looked around the group. “When I first bought this place, I wanted to set up a state-of-the-art security system around it. Figured to some it was overkill, but I knew that, one day, it would be needed. Up till now, the biggest threat was some hiker getting lost and strolling around where I didn’t want them.”

  “Like Bethany?” Blaise asked, his eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face.

  The others laughed, having been witness to Jack’s first meeting with his now wife. “Yeah, no more wanderers.” Jack looked into the distance, taking in the various greens covering the mountains. The flashes of color from redbud and dogwood trees broke through the almost solid greens. Sucking in a deep breath of fresh air, he said, “Change is coming, men. I understood it then. I feel it now.”

  The others, quietly listening to their laconic leader, knew what he was saying. They felt it too.

  “The world has changed. Gone are the days when we knew our enemies. Gone are the days when those of us in the military fought overseas against the ones who would threaten our country. Now the enemy has slipped into our borders and creeps toward our very foundations.”

  “Something new come in?” Monty asked.

  “We’ve got the official go-ahead to pursue whatever threats we uncover. I anticipate within a week or so, some of you will be flying to different cities to bring back the proof of what some of the new recruits are working on. Not going over that today, but just know it’s coming.” Slapping his hands on his knees, he stood and said, “Tomorrow night, we’ll be at Stella’s, celebrating Bart’s upcoming wedding. Now…we cut up a fallen tree.”

  With hell yeahs ringing through the air, the men headed off to work on the grounds. Soon the sight of shirtless, muscular, sweating men filled the view. Bethany looked out the window, nearest to her computer, where she continued to work on the marketing of her wedding venue next door. Smiling at the sight of her husband, Jack, and the other Saints had her thinking she must have the best job in the world.

  *

  Dani used her security code to drive into the All-Safe Storage facility. As she walked past the office to make her way to her unit, the manager called out.

  “Miss? Miss?”

  Turning around, she saw the young, scraggly young man hustle over to her. “We’ve got a memo that I’ve been working on but don’t have it out yet.”

  She waited patiently while he jogged over to the desk. Picking up a piece of paper, he walked back to hand it to her. Her eyes scanned the letter first, then lifted them to him for further explanation. He simply stood, smiling at her.

  “Um, do you want to explain further?” she queried.

  His brow furrowed in confusion. “Don’t that letter tell what happened?”

  “It says that there was an attempted break-in to the facility and the cameras showed the person making it to Section 2B before the alarms sounded and they left.”

  “Yep, that’s what happened,” the young man said proudly.

  Lifting her eyebrow, she counted, not so patiently, to ten. “My unit is in Sec
tion 2B. Why was I not notified about this?”

  “But you are being told. That’s what I’m doing now,” he said, confusion mixed now with irritation on his face.

  “Yes, but this letter doesn’t say when it occurred. I should have been told immediately.”

  “But it just happened last night,” he protested. “I can’t do nothin’ without the big guys at corporation telling me what to do.”

  “Last night? Did you turn the security tapes over to the police?”

  “Huh? Well, yeah, I guess,” he answered. “Some man came this afternoon and got ’em. But they were messed up, so I don’t think the tapes’ll do ’em much good.”

  “Some man? Did he show identification?”

  “Huh?” he asked again.

  Oh, fuck. Save me from incompetence. Sucking in a deep breath, she asked, “How do you know who you turned them over to if the person did not show you a badge?”

  “Well, why would someone come in and ask for the tapes if they weren’t no police? Anyway, I ain’t seen no regulation that says I can’t give it out.”

  I’m pretty sure there’s a regulation, buddy, but realizing she was getting nowhere with her investigative, suspicious mind, she smiled and thanked him for the letter. I’m checking my unit and then I’ll call the police myself. Or maybe one of my FBI buddies.

  Her heels clicking along was the only sound heard as she made her way down the long, empty hall of the indoor, climate-controlled storage facility. Turning onto Section 2B, she looked up at the security cameras in the corners. Unless they are state-of-the-art cameras, my unit in the center of the hall would not be very protected. Arriving at the door, she realized she had nothing of real value in the unit. So, why the fuck am I concerned? A thief could walk away with everything and I wouldn’t care! Convinced it was just the investigator in her, she unlocked the unit and raised the garage-like metal door.

  The scent immediately hit her. The smell of musty cardboard…and Adam’s aftershave. She had her possessions and the few bits of furniture moved to her new home last month after two months of living with her parents. The only things left were the few boxes, labeled Adam or Work; she had not been emotionally ready to deal with them then. But now? I need to go through them, but not here. I need to do this in private.

  She pulled her phone out and called the front desk. “I need you to bring a cart to unit 236 in Section 2B, please. I want to take my last boxes and close out my account.” She paused, listening. “Yes, I’m the lady you just spoke to. Please bring the cart now.” Disconnecting, she pinched the top of her nose in frustration.

  In a few minutes, she heard the loud sound of squeaky wheels on tile and was grateful to see the young man rolling a long, flatbed cart toward her. As he arrived, he said, “I’m real sorry, but I ain’t supposed to help with any of your stuff. It’s against corporate policy.”

  “No worries,” she assured him. “I’ve lifted much heavier boxes than these. Thank you, though, for bringing the cart.”

  She walked in and lifted the first box to place it on the cart, then suddenly it was taken from her hands.

  “Oh, hell, miss. My momma didn’t raise me to let a lady lift boxes while I stood around with my thumb up my ass.” He set the box on the cart and went back to get the next one.

  She smiled and, between the two of them, they made short work of the six boxes. Thanking him, they pushed the cart together and she stopped at the front desk to complete the paperwork to cancel her rental agreement. Tipping him handsomely, she took the boxes to her car. Using the trunk, back seat, and passenger seat, she managed to pack them in.

  She pushed the cart back into the office and the young manager looked up sheepishly. “Sorry, you worked faster than I thought. I was gonna come out and take the cart.”

  “It’s all good,” she replied. Thanking him once more, she got into her car and headed home. Appreciating the warm, late spring day, she pulled into her new rental home driveway. Glancing at the box sitting next to her, she thought, Okay, Adam. Time to go through things. For better or for worse…

  *

  The next morning, glad for the weekend, Dani sat down in the living room filled with Adam’s boxes and opened the first one, marked Clothes. Assaulted by his scent when she began to pull out the articles of clothing, her throat grew tight as she held back the tears. Sucking in a deep breath, she proceeded to pull them out and place them into piles. One for giveaway; one for throwaway; and one for keeping.

  His clean pants, jeans, shirts, and suits went into the giveaway pile. Belts, ties, and shoes went there as well. Underwear, socks, and worn-out clothes went into a garbage bag to throw away. She buried her nose in his soft, ATF t-shirts, remembering times she slipped them on to sleep in. Keeping a couple of them, she put the others in the giveaway pile.

  Hauling the garbage bag to the trash can outside, she dumped it in without a second glance, before returning to the living room. She sat on the floor for a few minutes, amidst the clothing. Leaning her back against the sofa, she opened her mind, allowing the memories to flood. The ones she normally kept dammed, knowing if she did not the emotions would overtake her.

  “We’ll be fine, you and me. I’ll take care of you and it’ll all work out,” Adam promised, taking her hand.

  I rolled my eyes at him, wondering how he thought getting married would make things better. After all, he was hardly the marrying kind. “Adam, this is nuts. You can’t be faithful and I can’t accept anything less.”

  He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Dani, for you, I promise to stop chasing skirts.”

  I peered into his face and, to my surprise, saw sincerity. “Adam, this isn’t how we planned anything to go. I feel like one day you’ll wake up and hate me for tying you down.”

  “Nope, not going to happen. Hey,” he joked, “I wanted to bang you the first time I saw you. Now, I get to do it anytime I want.”

  “God, you’re incorrigible,” I groused.

  “Come on, Dani girl,” his voice softened. “Let’s do it. Let’s make it all legitimate and get married.”

  I thought about my options. I had some, but what he was offering made sense. At least at the time. If only I’d waited for a while to see how things would work out. “Okay,” I agreed. “We’ll get married. But,” poking my finger into his chest, “no more girls for you.”

  “Promise,” he whispered just before kissing me.

  “Oh, Adam,” Dani said in the stillness of my house. “You just couldn’t keep that promise, could you?” In the three months since he died, she had come to the conclusion that she was not as pissed at him as she was pissed at the situation. We fucked up, Adam, you and me. We tried to make something work when there was nothing to build upon.

  Standing up, she rubbed her aching back. Taking the bags of giveaway clothes, she put them inside her car to be dropped off later at the Re-Sale Store. Walking back inside, she grabbed the saved t-shirts off the sofa and carried them to her bedroom. Placing them in the bottom drawer, she did not plan on sleeping in them. No, they’re for memory-keeping. And one day to give to—

  Her phone sounded, alerting her to a text from Melissa, Aaron’s wife. Don’t forget tonight. Meet at 7pm at Stella’s.

  Going out tonight is the last thing I want to do, she thought, but then realized that after a day of memories she needed to get out of the house. Texting back, see you then, she sighed heavily and began to get ready. Time to learn how to move ahead.

  Chapter 6

  Stella’s Restaurant and Bar was in the newly renovated downtown area of Charlestown. When Dani moved from her parents, she thought about moving into Charlestown, but with her new job northwest of Richland, she wanted to split the difference. Finding a small home in a modest neighborhood near work, she was about twenty minutes from work and about twenty minutes from Charlestown.

  Catching a ride with another co-worker, they arrived on time, finding parking easily. Entering the restaurant, Dani immediately appreciated the warm interior
. The wall sconces illuminated the reddish tones of the cedar plank paneling. The long bar to the right was of a deeper wood and polished to a high gloss. The crackle glass mirror behind the bar caught the light and refracted it creating a soft glow. She recognized Aaron and Melissa at the far end of the bar, standing with another man. Not bad looking…if I was in the market for another man.

  Plastering a smile on her face, she walked over. Greeting Aaron and Melissa, the introductions followed. “Danielle, this is Simon, my cousin.”

  They shook hands and she noticed his eyes lit up at their introduction. Moving to a table already filled with a few of Aaron and Melissa’s other friends she sat down, hoping the evening would go quickly. Ordering a sparkling water, she caught the strange expressions from her tablemates. “Sorry, I’ve had a…stressful day, and feel like the water will be easier on my stomach.” As the conversation flowed, she relaxed. A rather loud group was occupying the back area making hearing difficult. Leaning forward to catch what Melissa was saying, her gaze roved behind her. And caught sight of Chad…staring straight at her. Shifting back rapidly, she tried to still her racing heartbeat, irritated that even after so long the sight of him affected her.

  Reminding herself why she was so angry with him, the reason now seemed ridiculous. If I can separate myself from Adam’s betrayals, how can I not do the same with Chad? Sliding her gaze back to him, she was assaulted with the realization of how handsome he still was. Broad and muscular, compared to the men at her table, she noted he appeared to fit right in with the others at his table.

  Suddenly realizing Simon had been speaking to her, she blushed. “I’m sorry. I seem to be such poor company this evening.”

  “No worries,” Simon said smoothly. “We’ll just have to make sure to go out again sometime when you are less stressed.”

  Offering him a wan smile, she forced herself back into the conversation with her tablemates.

  Chad had seen her walk into Stella’s. He would recognize those titian colored waves anywhere. Her dress was modest although did nothing to hide her figure. A figure he had dreamed about for almost two years. He watched her move to the bar, where it appeared she was meeting her date for the first time. Good, he’s not a boyfriend. He had kept up with her secretly. He knew when she landed the job with Marsden Energy Systems and Munitions. He knew it was a good job and she would do well there with her ATF background. He knew when she moved out of her parents’ house and into the rental outside of Charlestown. A drive-by assured him, while the neighborhood was modest, it was safe. Maybe I can’t have her, but I can sure as hell try to take care of her from a distance. He watched as she laughed with her friends and grimaced at the emotional kick in the gut. Fuck, who am I kidding? I want to be the one to make her laugh.