“All right, but no matter what happens you have to stay out of the limelight.”
He nodded. “I’ll unhitch the trailer if you unload the other horse.”
They made quick work of it. Sabrina wiped her hands on the leg of her pants as she closed up the barn and turned to him. “What about Chad and the cops? You don’t think he’ll blow my cover, do you?”
“Chad is a knot head, but he’s not stupid. You’re safe when it comes to my family and them keeping their mouths shut.” He lifted the keys. “You want to drive?” he teased.
“If we want to get there in one piece, I better.”
He threw the keys to her with a chuckle.
It wasn’t too long a drive to Missoula. With each passing mile, more nerves started to fill him. It felt almost as if he was back in Adana, and the gun trade was just about to go down with Trish. This same sense of foreboding had filled him then. If something happened to Sabrina, like it had to Trish, he wasn’t sure he could keep on living. The crushing blow of losing his sister had been all the tragedy he could bear. He couldn’t lose someone else he loved.
“When I get out, I want you to take the wheel and drive over to the Staggering Ox. Order a sandwich, and I’ll get an Uber and catch up.”
He didn’t like the plan, but he was in no position to argue. If something happened inside the federal building, he’d never get access in time to save her. But Mike didn’t sound like a guy who would get caught making a visible threat against another agent.
Regardless of how uncomfortable it made him, he had to trust her judgment. She was going to do what she had to do for them and for their investigation. Though he had never intended on them working together, in this moment, he realized that was exactly what they were doing—inadvertently, their relationship had morphed into something new...something that fit.
No. He was just seeing things that weren’t really possible. Sure, they could work this thing together, but that didn’t mean anything for the future. This was nothing more than an isolated incident including some extenuating circumstances—circumstances that, for this moment in time, had them working toward the same goal. Once they got to the bottom of this and found their murderer they would be forced to go their separate ways.
She pulled the truck to a stop about a block away from the Fed office and got out.
“Be careful,” he said, ignoring the apprehension that was gnawing away in his gut. “If you need me, I can be back within a couple of minutes.”
She nodded. Her features were tight, as though she were feeling some of the same nervous energy that he was—it did nothing to make him feel better. He wanted to tell her to stop, that they could do something else, something less risky, something that wouldn’t put her square at the center of Mike’s radar. And yet, the leads—which all pointed at corruption—had brought them here.
This was the only way...anything else would take them far longer than the time they had been allowed.
In the meantime, he had some work of his own to do.
He watched for a moment as she walked down the sidewalk. She was still wearing her dirty clothes from the trail ride, and there was mud on her boots. She looked like anything but a special agent.
He put the truck in gear and looked up the sandwich shop on his phone, then made his way across town. The hole-in-the-wall restaurant comprised about a dozen tables, all of which were covered in inlaid comic book pages. It carried a certain charm. And as he walked toward the register, the scent of warm bread and fresh lettuce filled the air. It made his mouth water as he realized that the last time he had eaten was when they were up on the mountain. His stomach grumbled and twisted in his belly.
He ordered a couple of sandwiches and went outside to make a phone call while he waited for them to be ready.
He pulled out his phone and dialed his point person within the CIA.
She answered on the first ring. “Trevor, what’s going on, man?” She sounded excited in her normal, brusque way.
“Hey. I’m working a case and I need your help.”
“I thought you had taken a leave of absence,” she said with a chuckle.
“You know full well that even when we’re not working, we’re working.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’m never blessed with free time, you lucky bastard,” she teased.
He’d always appreciated Tina’s ability to not delve down the dark and disturbing rabbit hole that was the past—she knew exactly why he had taken time away from the CIA, and why he was likely going to choose to retire, and yet she avoided bringing up his sister.
“I’m what we’re calling lucky now?” He laughed. “I’d hate to see what it means to be one of the unlucky ones.”
Tina laughed. “What do you want? I know you didn’t call me just to be an ornery ass.”
“I’ve been dealing with some DOAs.”
“Because of course you have,” Tina said, interrupting.
“Ha ha, you know if your job ever craps out at the agency, you can always become a comedian.”
“I’m not half as funny as your face is looking.”
“Anyone ever tell you you’re a real pain in the butt?”
“Every day.”
“Actually, I was calling about a friend of mine in the Bureau. We have reason to believe that there’s some interoffice corruption going on.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
“Dude, Trevor, if you’re right, you don’t want to get within a thousand miles of that kind of thing. Politics has a way of ruining even the best reputations.”
Tina was right, but in this instance, he didn’t have a whole lot of choice in the matter—he was already deeply involved. “I hear you. I do. However, that ship has sailed. What I need from you is for you to help me run some ballistic tests. I have reason to believe that the rounds may belong to a federally issued weapon. I just need to know for sure. That something you can help me with?”
“Are you serious? Are you really asking me to stick my neck out and take part in defaming an FBI agent? You’d be putting my job at risk, you realize that, right?” Tina asked, but from her tone he couldn’t decide whether or not she was being serious or kidding around. Either way he wouldn’t have been surprised.
“Is that a no?”
Tina chuckled. “Pfft, come on now, you know we’re supposed to be all buddy-buddy with our FBI brethren, but nothing would make me happier than knocking the hierarchy down a peg or two. Get them to the Montana State Crime Lab. I have some friends there who owe me a favor.”
“I knew I could count on you,” Trevor said. “I’ll get the samples there as soon as I can. They should be to you within the hour. And hey, thanks.”
“I’ve always got your back. And next time we work together, I’ll make sure you get the first crappy detail that comes along.”
“I’d expect nothing less.”
She hung up. He sent a quick text to Chad, asking him to run out to the barn and pull the round that was embedded in the wood of the stall.
The waiter walked out of the sandwich shop, carrying a paper bag of sandwiches. “Thanks,” Trevor said, handing him a ten-dollar tip.
He walked back to the truck and sat down with his sandwich. He’d forgotten to order drinks, son of a gun. He slipped his sandwich back into the bag and was just about to get out as his phone rang. It was Sabrina. Just the sight of her name made the bite of sandwich he’d eaten sit poorly in his stomach. Hopefully she was okay.
“Do you need help?” he asked, bypassing any pleasantries.
“Mike isn’t here. No one has seen him in the office in a couple of days. But they were acting strange, like they were hiding something.” She sounded worried.
“And no one knows where he’s at?” Trevor put his phone on speaker, sat back in his seat and slammed the truck door closed. He revved the engine a
nd screamed out of the parking lot, hurrying back to get to her.
At least he didn’t have to worry about Mike taking potshots at her, and she wasn’t in immediate danger, but that didn’t mean they were out of the woods yet.
“It doesn’t sound like he’s been seen or heard from in days. People are concerned and looking into his disappearance. This kind of behavior is very unlike him.”
Something was going on in her office. Something that surely wouldn’t play out in her favor.
“You didn’t talk to anyone about our investigation into your team at the FBI, did you?”
“No, never. I couldn’t.”
Trevor ran through a yellow light as it turned red. Right now, he didn’t care about following rules. He just had to get to Sabrina and make sure she was safe.
“You’re not driving like a bat out of hell, are you?” Sabrina asked, but there was a hard edge to her voice as she teased him.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He glanced at the road signs. “I’ll be out front to pick you up in a minute. Be outside.”
She laughed, but he could hear the echo of a stairwell and her footfalls as she must have been running down stairs. “It’s okay, Trevor. I’m fine. You know you don’t need to worry about me.”
“I’m not,” he lied. “I’m approaching one block due east of the front entrance.”
The front door of the building opened and Sabrina walked outside. There was a muffled cry as she dropped her phone and it clattered onto the sidewalk. The line went dead. A group of agents surrounded her. She put her hands up and said something. She glanced in his direction, terror in her eyes. Her mouth opened, and from the distance it looked as though she was telling him to stay back.
He pulled the truck over just as the agent closest to Trevor took Sabrina down to the ground.
What in the hell is going on?
He couldn’t just rush in there and fix things. If he did, it would likely only end up with him getting arrested and Sabrina getting fired for misconduct. But that didn’t stop him.
He got out of the truck, only half-aware of the traffic that was passing around him. He ran down the street. “I demand you tell me what’s going on here.”
An older man, probably in his midfifties, sent him a dangerous smile. “I know exactly who you are, Trevor, and if you think your connections give you any right to know what is going on here, you are sorely mistaken.” The man had to be Mike, Sabrina’s ex. He seemed like exactly the jerk that she had described—with his salt-and-pepper hair, his silver fox looks and his arrogant swagger.
“What do you know, jackass?” Trevor sneered.
“Oh, I heard all about how you got fired from Spookville for your role in getting your sister killed.” Mike stepped away and waved back the agents around him. “Sounds like you have your hands in all kinds of pots. I just wish it could have been us that found the information that proved it. As it was, Agent Parker here... Well, she lost her edge.”
He didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. Just like everything else about this investigation, it appeared as though he only had half the information—the half that made him want to punch Mike in the face.
“Sabrina,” he said, pushing the arresting officer back and helping her up. “Are you okay?”
“Trevor, it is far from your best interest to get involved. I have it on good authority that you’re just a few days away from this happening to you as well.” Mike put his hand on the gun at his side, threatening him. “Actually, I bet I’d get a slap on the back for bringing you in for your role in the murders of Earl and Owen Cussler. Former CIA or not, murder is murder.”
There were a lot of things that Trevor was guilty of, but not that. “And what genius came up with this theory?” He looked directly at Mike. “I’m sure this is your handiwork.”
“Sounds like the words of a guilty man.” Mike looked around the group of agents like he was looking for some sort of validation.
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, Mike.” He glanced to the agents standing around them. “What kind of motivation do we have to kill those guys?”
“It’s no secret that you’re trying to evict the family from your land.” Mike sneered. “Sounds like one hell of a motivation to me. Not to mention Sabrina’s hatred for me...she’s been trying to make me look incompetent from the very beginning. She’s been setting me up. I just couldn’t believe it when I learned of her role in the shoot-out that took place with her fellow agents. I assume she must have thought she was shooting at me.” He glared at her. “In case you were wondering, Agent Heath is still recovering at St. Pat’s hospital.”
He had been right. The people they’d been fighting on the mountain had been none other than the men from her own agency. But it didn’t make sense. She should’ve known they were up there. Mike should have informed her that they might run into friendlies.
“Thanks to your mistakes, we have more than enough evidence to take you and your whole family into custody.” Mike gave him a weighted look, like he was sure he had the upper hand.
It took all of Trevor’s strength not to get up in the man’s face and tell him exactly where he could stuff his theories. In fact... He pushed his way toward the man and started screaming obscenities like some outraged hillbilly. While his mouth ran wild, he lifted Mike’s gun from his holster and slipped it under his jacket.
“Trevor, stop!” Sabrina said. “Just go. Before you get into trouble. I’ll get this figured out. I’m innocent. We both know that. We’ll get this sorted.”
He stepped beside her and gave her a long, passionate kiss. Their public display of affection caused some of the agents to look away. As they did, Sabrina slipped a gun into his waistband. She leaned in close like she was whispering something sweet into his ear, and said, “This is mine. Send it to ballistics along with the one from the cabin...and Mike’s.”
She must have seen him take the man’s gun.
She moved back from their kiss. “Now get out of here before Mike does something stupid.”
As far as Trevor was concerned, Mike had already done something extraordinarily idiotic when he decided to screw over Sabrina. And now his stupidity was going to come back to bite him. Trevor would not rest until he cleared the name of the woman he loved.
Chapter Fourteen
She was innocent, and he was the only person who could prove it.
From the truck, he watched as the agents paraded Sabrina into the building—like she was some kind of prized cattle that they just couldn’t wait to take to slaughter. He would’ve thought that there would be more comradery within the FBI, but then it shouldn’t come as such a surprise. It was a dog-eat-dog world.
Loyalty was a commodity in short supply.
Which made him think about Seattle. He couldn’t be completely sure, but he had a feeling that the Bureau had taken the bait—if it hadn’t, Mike would have certainly arrested him when they’d arrested Sabrina. As it was, they were probably still hoping to bring him down for gunrunning. He was probably still being watched.
If he caught a plane now, he could get to Seattle with a half a day to spare—hours in which he could put his plan into action.
His first stop was to the crime lab. When he arrived at the bland brick building he was reminded of a generic apartment building in New York—maybe in the low-rent district.
Chad was just parking when he arrived, and he parked beside him. As he got out Chad flashed him a little Ziploc bag; inside was a piece of shrapnel.
“What kind of mess have you gotten us into?” Chad asked.
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. But on a positive note, it looks like you and I will be flying to Seattle. We need to be there before the morning. In the mood for some spoon-melting coffee?” he asked with a chuckle.
Chad sighed and handed him the bag. “And here I thought
moving to Montana would give us a chance to live a slower paced life. You just love proving me wrong, don’t you?”
Trevor slapped his brother’s arm. “It’s not about proving you wrong, it’s just about keeping the standard of living to which we’ve grown accustomed. I’d hate for you to get bored.”
“I can’t say life with you has ever been boring,” Chad said with his trademark half grin.
“Good, then I’m not about to let you down.” Trevor flashed his brother the two guns tucked into his waistband.
“Where did you get those?” Chad asked, giving him a look of concern.
“You’re not gonna believe this, but I just lifted one off of one of our local FBI agents.” Trevor smirked. “Best part, I doubt he even noticed it’s missing.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Chad said, each word like it was in independent sentence. “No wonder you have us running. We’re going to be jumping borders in no time, aren’t we?”
“It all depends on what happens in that building,” he said, pointing toward the crime lab.
“Please tell me that there’s a Get Out of Jail Free card somewhere in there.” Chad frowned. “If I end up going to jail for you, I’m going to be irate.”
He would have liked to tell his brother he had nothing to worry about, but the truth was that their butts were hanging way too far out in the open for him to feel comfortable. Mike, and the agents working with him, were going to be out for blood once they figured out what he had done.
“I’m going to run in. You need to call Zoey and have her arrange for a private jet to take us to Seattle. Got it?”
Chad nodded, already reaching for his phone.
As Trevor made his way into the crime lab, he looked back. Trish would’ve loved this kind of thing. She’d hated FBI agents even more than he did. Though now it seemed like he may well have fallen in love with one.
Trish would have given him such crap for Sabrina. But when push came to shove, his sister would have loved Sabrina just as much as he did. In fact, Trish would’ve probably helped him figure out a way to make everything work, not only with Sabrina but with this cluster he found them in.
Hidden Truth Page 15
