by Jade Powers
She asked, “How will you know who to trust?”
McFarland ran a hand through his hair. It might be Carson’s imagination, but he thought maybe there were more strands of white then there had been a few short weeks ago. Truth to tell, he’d probably aged significantly in the past few weeks as well.
“The three men who came here would have been on my list of people to trust,” McFarland admitted. He said, “I pay well. I expect people to be loyal.”
Carson had been a loyal employee to Drake for years, but it wasn’t all for money. Granted, his pay was nice. But there had been respect and friendship. McFarland wasn’t a chummy person. He could actually be quite cold and calculating, which was why Carson didn’t trust him with even the most basic of information. Trust went both ways.
McFarland actually looked the part of a devastated man. Carson had to give him credit. He either cared more than Carson ever thought possible, or he was an exquisite actor. Wendy was looking at Carson with such a hopeful expression that he knew she was expecting him to fix this and nab Bertrand.
He blinked and then stared at the ceiling for a moment. He couldn’t give McFarland the information outright, but he said, “I may have an answer.”
Before Wendy or McFarland could make him spill, Carson grabbed the phone and dialed a number he knew by heart.
His friend, Drake, answered on the third ring. Carson said, “Hey, Buddy, I have McFarland here. Looks like he has a nest of baddies in Wyoming to clear out and he was wondering if there were any teams he could trust. Would you be willing to talk to him?”
A bit of conversation and questioning ensued. A broad smile spread over Carson’s face, “Yeah, that was us.”
More conversation and then Carson held out the phone to McFarland. He purposefully didn’t say Drake’s name, only “He wants to talk to you.”
McFarland looked at the phone like Carson was holding a snake. He removed it from Carson’s fingers delicately with a frown, and then spoke a careful, “Hello?”
The minute Drake spoke, McFarland relaxed. Carson whispered to Wendy, “We made national news.”
“The fire or the car?” Wendy asked.
“Fire.”
Wendy and Carson fell silent, mostly because they were trying to hear what McFarland and Drake were saying. McFarland straightened and started to look less like a whipped horse and more like a general. He said, “I thought you said you were in retirement.”
More talking in the background.
“Well, I guess that’s all right, then. Yes, by all means get a team in there. I’ll send the details. I’m paying double on this one,” McFarland hung up the phone with a smile. “That turned out better than expected. I didn’t know you worked for Drake.”
“Who did you think I worked for?” Carson asked. He’d been one of Drake’s quiet troops, keeping in the background on all of the missions, ready to do his job, but not a front man or press hound.
McFarland said, “I feared you were one of Jonas Bertrand’s men spying on Wendy. You had already inserted yourself in her life, and she seemed to trust you, so I decided to watch and wait in case I was wrong.”
Wendy took a sip of tea. Although there was a smile on her face, it was forced. She was tired and as much as she wanted Bertrand caught, the conversation was wearing on her.
Carson said, “I suppose that makes sense, given what you knew. When Wendy discovered the files implicating an outsider in John’s death, she called Drake who then called me. You might dig a little deeper into those files we gave you. I suspect you’ll find a trail of bodies attached to Bertrand.”
“I’ve already turned it over to the FBI. I don’t dare have those files in my office since it’s been compromised. I may have to take a page from Drake’s book and retire.”
“Drake is happier than he’s ever been,” Carson said. The whole conversation was getting a little too personal, but he didn’t think Drake would mind if Carson drilled into McFarland’s mind that Drake wasn’t coming back no matter how good the money.
McFarland stood up, ramrod straight as only a military man can do. “That’s good to hear. You both look beat. I just wanted to thank you for your help.”
They shook hands and McFarland left. Both Wendy and Carson were relieved to see the back of him. After he left, Wendy said, “He’s very intense.”
“That’s what it takes to be a leader in this world,” Carson said. He held out his hand to Wendy, “Would you like to accompany me to my bed?”
Wendy giggled, “I thought you’d never ask.”
They snuggled together, even though it was late afternoon. Sex was tabled for a while. They were both too injured to want to do much more than snuggle. It gave her time to ease into her relationship with Carson. No pressure, just togetherness. Not that she would have minded a little fun. Carson was handsome, top to bottom. Actually, Wendy decided that she would really rather make love to him right away.
But he was being polite, so she went along. They had to be past ten dates already...
Chapter 17
CARSON AND WENDY SAW it on the news long before Drake called. Jonas Bertrand was arrested in Wyoming on charges of murder, attempted murder, arson, conspiracy, and fraud. Those were the heavy charges. A dozen men were charged right along with Jonas. It gave Carson a fright. Many a time he had followed Drake’s orders knowing full well they weren’t acting within the confines of the law. He hadn’t cared, because he was loyal to Drake.
Jonas had inspired his own loyalty. As events unfolded, it turned out that he had flipped many of McFarland’s men. General McFarland was forced to step down. Wendy cheered when they led Jonas Bertrand away in hand cuffs and then high-fived Carson’s good hand.
“We did it.” Her battle cry was fierce when she whooped.
Carson’s heart hurt a bit now that it was over. Because he still didn’t know what Wendy would do when he packed up tomorrow. Temper had just swooped in and made arrangements for Wendy to stay with her, but Carson wanted more time with Wendy. They seemed compatible, and the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted.
“We have to move out of the rental house in a few days,” he said.
Wendy’s smile faded. She whispered, “The time went so fast. What will you do now?”
“I’d like to try a place in Tennessee for a while. A headhunter set me up with a job to oversee security for a manufacturing plant. I have a couple of interviews, but I’ve met the CEO, so I’m pretty sure of getting it.” Carson felt like his heart would break with all this talk about leaving.
“That sounds like a great job.” Wendy said. She swallowed, her gaze meeting his.
“Would you come with me?” It was the hardest question Carson had ever asked, because so much depended on the answer.
“I’d move to Tennessee with you...or wherever,” Wendy added. With her head on Carson’s shoulder, she couldn’t imagine being anywhere without him. He was her soul, her strength.
The End
DEAR READER
I’ve fictionalized many of the places and cities in this story. If there is a Wilkerson, AZ, I don’t actually know it. The same with the hospital and river in New York.
Tina Wainscott is a real author, and On the Way to Heaven is a real book. I’m a total fan girl of hers. I bought copies of that book for all of my close female relatives many years ago before I had written much of anything. If you don’t mind a hint of supernatural in your romance, I’d strongly recommend trying one of her soul-swap books. It’s my absolute favorite romance, one I re-read again and again.
Like many of you, I have a full time job. This writing gig is my dream, my life-long ambition, and a hope for the future. I’m happy at my full-time job, happier than I’ve ever been working for a corporation, but when I wrote the words, “Life is more than waking up for work, it has to be,” tears started flowing, much to my surprise. I realized that I had touched a deep epiphany in my own life. It had been a rough work week with ten hours of overtime at the day job when
I would rather be home writing and a cold that had knocked me back. It’s nothing new to two-hundred million other people.
As I’m writing, I haven’t yet released Book 1 and I’m simultaneously hopeful and terrified about its reception. How I long to write for you full time, and each new book gets me closer to the dream. I’d like to encourage you with whatever dream you have, to grasp it with both hands, grapple with it if it’s slippery, and hold it down until you’ve conquered that dream. The journey can be long and uncertain, but it’s well worth taking. Whether you’re at the first step or the first thousandth, take that next step. I’m cheering you on.
Excerpt from All My Passion: Book 5 of the Mile High Club Series
Chapter 1
~~ DECEMBER 15th, 2001 – Montana ~~
Kendra pulled into Drake’s driveway with a feeling akin to terror but closer to dread. It was the week before Christmas and Drake had invited close friends and family for a couple weeks of relaxation to his new ranch house. She’d worked with Drake for years before he sold the company and retired to his ranch in the shadow of the Rockies. Not that visiting Drake bothered her. It wasn’t that. She and Drake went back.
No, it was Drake’s wife, Hannah. Kendra hadn’t started out on the right foot with Hannah. Hell, most of her introductions to people started that way. Kendra had the unfortunate combination of a beautiful face and terrible personality. She could admit it to herself. She was a bitch. Not to everyone and not all the time, but Kendra would much prefer not to deal with people any day of any week of any year.
And yet she was standing here in the middle of nowhere with her rental car parked and she had to get out of the damn car now before anyone noticed that she was there. Kendra was scared. She didn’t want to admit that to herself. Her dread came from personal interaction. She could make appointments and negotiate terms all day long, but to spend an afternoon in the company of coworkers was daunting. She had held herself close for all those years. She’d been invited plenty of times before, but this was her first acceptance. Now, with suitcase in hand, she thought of turning right around, jumping back in her car, and driving off somewhere where no one had ever heard of her.
Hannah opened the door before Kendra’s foot reached the first stair. In Hannah’s arms, a baby girl with a fuzzy head and bright smile gurgled. Hannah’s smile was welcoming when she said, “Come in. Did you have a good trip?”
Hannah was kinder than Kendra deserved. They had only met briefly a couple of years back, and Kendra had been incredibly rude. Kendra forced a smile, “It was great. I can’t believe how quiet the freeways are.”
“We’re keeping a low profile,” Hannah joked. She led the way inside. Baby Noel found something particularly funny and gave a high pitched squeal and laugh. Drake, on the other side of the door, kissed Noel’s forehead.
Drake’s house was spacious. Several of the guests had already arrived. Rick and Sven stood in front of the picture window talking. The curtains and blinds were open and the view of the mountains picturesque. Minka, Jenny, and Ezzie sipped tea and coffee from their couches.
Kendra didn’t have any female friends here. She barely had any friends at all, come to think of it, since she never really counted her male coworkers as friends. So she took a seat on the arm chair across from the chattering magpies and fervently wished that she had planned a different winter vacation.
It was Minka who drew Kendra into the conversation. With a warm smile at Kendra, Minka said, “I hear you’re working in real estate?”
After leaving Advanced Innovative Technologies, Kendra sought for a job completely unique from her former position. She had the right combination of looks and determination needed to be a real estate agent. Somehow she missed the part about being a people person, but so far, she had managed to fake it. It helped that Kendra wasn’t flirtatious with the husbands.
“I’ve gotten a start anyway. I’ve sold three houses,” Kendra said. Three houses didn’t sound like a lot, but considering that Kendra had only been in business two months and the commission was significant on those sales, she was satisfied that she’d chosen a good direction for her new life.
“I bet that’s an improvement over AIT. To be honest, it’s nice not having to be on the road half the year, even if the pay is less,” Ezzie said. Ezzie had been in the security department and Drake’s people had a tendency to end up deployed around the country for weeks on end.
Kendra wasn’t about to bad-mouth AIT, not in Drake’s house. Not to mention, her ulterior motive for showing up at this party was to keep her name in front of everybody, in case they needed a real estate agent. She wouldn’t even admit to herself how lonely it was working in a new office and making new friends, or not making them...as it turned out.
“I enjoyed traveling. Hopefully I can handle working in the same place for more than a month,” Kendra joked.
The women spent an hour chatting over tea and cookies. Kendra started to relax, feeling better about her decision to show up.
All of that ended when the door bell rang.
The last person Kendra expected to see at Drake’s Christmas party was Scott Belfore. He and Kendra got along like a dog and a porcupine. The only real question was which one of them would be stuck with quills by the end of the week. Kendra groaned inwardly when Scott stepped into the room. He was handsome with vivid grey eyes and caramel skin, but his cocky posturing and attitude irritated Kendra like nothing else.
His eyes swept the room. He hesitated a split-second when he saw Kendra, his eyebrow quirking up, and then he turned to Hannah with a slightly wider-than-normal smile as she welcomed him.
Dismissed again. Kendra ground her teeth, but turned her head back to the women on the couch and forced a smile. That man. He annoyed her no end.
