Rules of Protection (Tangled in Texas) (Volume 1) (7 page)

“Maybe I should ransom you off to Frankie Felts. You might stand a better chance of escaping injury with him than you have so far with me.”

He was kidding, but his words made my heart stop and my stomach churn with queasiness. The psychological implication of being abandoned weighed on me, making me wonder what would happen if Felts found me. Then I made the mistake of wondering how I’d die. Maybe I should’ve listened to Jake when he said I didn’t want to know how the other witnesses had died. I had pressed him to tell me, but now I regretted it.

My mind tapped into the residual memories of the past twenty-four hours, and the sharp crack of reality split me in two as vivid pictures flashed through my head. Sergio’s death replayed automatically, the images standing tall and casting a shadow over the more pleasant thoughts I conjured. Like him, I’d be dead. No gray area, just the black and white of it all. I’d been marked. Frankie Felts would do everything in his power to make sure I didn’t live much longer.

Then I made the mistake of imagining my cold, lifeless body lying in a cornfield. The image overwhelmed me, making me numb, as my eye twitched uncontrollably. I couldn’t take it anymore. My pulse raced, and my breathing deepened until my lungs stopped functioning properly. I hyperventilated in rapid succession until everything around me distorted.

I don’t remember Jake pulling the car over, but he must’ve. I stood on the side of the road, doubled over, as my chest convulsed with spasms. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t in between all of the sobs bubbling in my throat. Wracked with fear, I became practically inconsolable.

“Don’t panic,” Jake whispered, trying to soothe me as he rubbed his hand on my back. “Take deep breaths.”

It felt dreamlike, as if all of this had happened to someone else. I’d watched Oprah enough times to know the ugly cry wasn’t attractive on anybody. Yet, I was on the side of the road doing just that.

Jake stood close with his arm around my shoulders, wrapping me in comfort and security, as well as compensating for my unbalanced posture. I was a crumbling mess under his hands. He tried to smooth over my rough edges, a further distance than the wheels of responsibility should’ve taken him. It was bad enough he saddled himself with the impossible, foolhardy task of keeping me alive—something he’d barely been able to do.

“I…I’m fine,” I choked out, not wanting him to see me this way. “Leave me alone.”

Jake grimaced. “Bullshit. Emily, I can plainly see you’re not fine. Tell me what I can do.”

He may be responsible for my physical well-being, but my mental state wasn’t something he should have to deal with. It angered me that he looked at me with his eyes full of pity. “For one thing, stop calling me Emily.”

“It’s your name.”

“No, it’s not!” I shrieked. “My name is—”

“Not anymore, it isn’t. Your name is Emily, even if I have to beat it into your head before I’m through with you. Now get in the car.”

Never one for following orders, I resented Jake for issuing one. Annoyed by his demand and in the middle of a nervous breakdown, I underwent a mental time-out and said the first stupid thing that came to mind. “I hope the FBI has an extra-large dildo because all of you can go fuck yourselves.”

I angled past him, walking away from the car, but Jake snatched me up before I could get far. “Don’t be stupid. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

I didn’t answer him. In fact, I was careful not to look at his face until he stuffed me in the passenger seat of the Explorer. He stood there glaring, still waiting for an answer.

“Who cares, Jake? I’m dead, no matter what.”

His hard expression softened around the edges. “So that’s what this is about? You think you’re going to die?”

“Looks that way, doesn’t it?”

“Emily, I know your world just became more stressful with having to be relocated for a second time, but I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You have my word.”

“I don’t want to die.” I straightened my face and tried to get ahold of my emotions, but a few stray tears rolled down my cheek. “I didn’t even get my birthday sex.”

Jake looked at me strangely, swiped the drops away with his thumbs, and then snagged a strand of my hair, pushing it behind my ear. His hands rested on both sides of my neck as he leaned toward me. “I don’t know what the hell that means, but I can assure you that you’ll have plenty more birthdays ahead of you. Trust me, okay?”

I nodded quietly.

Jake flashed a grin. “I love the sound you make when you’re silent.”

He was only trying to make me feel better, but I couldn’t force myself to smile back. A flicker of light in his dark eyes called to me. How he had responded to my emotional needs stimulated me, and I desperately needed more. I inhaled his scent—a mix of soap and something unmistakably male—with every breath as I leaned slowly toward him. But before my lips touched his, he shifted away.

“Emily, it can’t happen again.” Jake wore a self-deprecating look. “It shouldn’t have happened the first time. It was an unguarded moment, one where I should’ve considered the consequences first. I could’ve gotten you killed.”

“But you didn’t.”

“Not this time, but I need to keep a clear head. And having sex with you is the exact opposite of that. We can’t become intimately involved.”

“You’ve already seen my vagina,” I reminded him, sarcastically. “You can’t get much more intimate than that.”

His gray eyes liquefied to molten steel. “Wanna bet?”

My inner muscles contracted enthusiastically, and a hot wave of lust ran up to my breasts. I bit my lip to keep from asking him to do a show-rather-than-tell format of his theory. “I don’t understand.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Not
that
. I mean, I don’t understand why we can’t—”

“Because there are rules about these things. I’d lose my job.”

“But as long as it’s off the record, then…”

“No.”

“Jake, I’m a big girl, and we’re both consenting adults. It’s not like you’re corrupting my soul or something.” God, I sounded desperate.

“No, but fraternizing with a material witness could get the entire case thrown out of court. My choices are a reflection on the bureau, as well as on me. I have to do this right. It’s important.”

“I get it. More important than some piece of ass you’re stuck babysitting, right? I’m glad you’ve made that clear.” Nope, I was wrong—way past desperate at this point.

“Damn it. Why do women always have to analyze or overthink everything?” He shook his head at me. “I didn’t say you were some piece of ass.” He blew out a breath. “I’m attracted, okay. I’ll admit it. Attracted enough that I can’t deny it, but some things are better left unspoken. I’m not saying it won’t happen…but later, after the trial. Until then, let’s keep things platonic.”

“I guess that’s your ‘let’s be friends’ speech? And I’m supposed to wait for you to lift this sexual embargo?”

“That’s all you can do. I won’t change my mind. I need to put Felts behind bars.”

“Wow! You’re a fucking marvel. The backbone of our
relationship
,”—I used my fingers to signal air quotes—“is dependent on whether I live or die?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“It’s ridiculous. You’re prolonging this because you’re afraid of being
that
guy.”

“Which guy?”

“You know, the one who falls for the witness who gets killed.”

“Damn it, Emily. I’m responsible for your safety.”

“Then wear a condom!”

“Jesus,” he said, breathing out hard. “I was right before. You definitely have multiple personalities.”

My eyes narrowed. “Yeah, well maybe I do, and none of them like you!” I folded my arms across my chest and resisted the urge to gaze back at him.

Jake slammed the car door and stomped around the front of the vehicle, stopping long enough to bang his fist on the hood before getting in. His hand tightened into a death grip on the steering wheel, but he didn’t try to strike up another conversation. I quietly stared out the passenger window as we got back on the road. I didn’t have to look at him. I could feel him next to me. His anger vibrated the air and danced on my skin.

An hour later, we still hadn’t spoken. Isolation fueled the depression I desperately tried to push away. The blahs tend to multiply when you are silent for long durations. I counted the bug splatters on the windshield to pass the time until we crossed into Oklahoma on I-35, and then, before I knew it, my eyelids drifted closed.

When I woke up, we were in a rest area parking lot. Jake leaned against a payphone outside my door with his back to me. Guess he didn’t want to risk being tracked by using his cell phone. So much for his supposedly
secure
line.

He had left the car running and the air conditioning on high, which explained my icy-cold skin, goose bumps, and hard nipples. I turned the air conditioner down a few notches to keep from getting hypothermia and cracked open the window. That’s when I heard Jake talking.

“It’s a solo mission, but she doesn’t have a bullet hole in her head. At least not yet.”

What did he mean
yet
?

“We aren’t exactly on speaking terms at the moment,” Jake commented. “She trusts me, though. I’m good at this. Her decision to cooperate sealed her fate. Now it’s up to me to make sure things go as planned.” He paused for a second, listening to the person on the other end. “No, nobody knows her whereabouts or where she’s going, including her.”

Who the hell was he talking to?

“Yeah, I’m bringing her in. In fact, it won’t take us much longer to get there. Probably another couple of hours. Get your guns ready,” Jake said. “She’s a live one. We may have to draw straws to see who gets to shoot her first.” Then he chuckled.

The deep timbre of his laughter jolted through me like a high-voltage shock wave. Jesus Christ. I thought I was safe with an FBI agent and, all along, he planned to kill me. I thought Jake kidded when he said he should turn me over to Frankie Felts, but I was wrong. He was going to let me die. That shrewd, double-crossing bastard! I knew he was a weasel. No wonder he didn’t want to have sex with me. I was practically dead already.

And he knew it the whole time.

Chapter Five

My brain felt clogged.

I had to get away from Jake, but I didn’t know how. He manhandled me every time I didn’t do something he asked, which, now that I thought about it, should’ve been a red flag. FBI agents went through psychological testing, right? If so, I don’t know how Jake passed. He had anger issues.

Jake hung up the phone and slid into the driver’s seat. “I’m glad you’re awake. Do you need to use the restroom while we’re here? We have a few hours to go before we get there.”

This was my last chance to escape. “Yes, I need to go,” I told him, trying to keep my voice even.

“Come on,” he said, turning off the car and taking the keys out of the ignition. “I’ll walk you over there.”

Shit. I hoped he’d leave the keys behind. “No, that’s okay. I can walk myself.”

“You’re not going alone. I can’t protect you if I’m out here.”

“Protect me from whom…the elderly couple, the parents with their children, or the two teenagers skateboarding on the sidewalk? I don’t think any of them are going to take me out.”

“With you, you never know.” He stepped out of the car and waited at the front for me to join him.

Pressing the issue would only make him suspicious. I couldn’t risk him wondering what I was up to. If I managed to get away from Jake, it would be a small miracle. He had the keys and, chances were, he’d come after me in the car once he figured out I was gone. I wouldn’t have much of a head start unless I could slow him down. Hmmm. Jake was too busy scoping out the area to see what I was doing inside the car.

As soon as I opened the car door, the heat slapped me in the face. It was like stepping into a hot oven, and sweat instantly formed on my lip. “Where are we…Hell?”

“Close. Texas.”

The midday sun, bright and hot, seared into my skin. I shaded my eyes and surveyed my surroundings, mindfully planning my escape route. The busy four-lane highway wasn’t a good option, but the mounds of dirt surrounding the rest area kept me from seeing what was on the other side and didn’t look like easy climbing. “I thought Texas was supposed to be flat.”

“We’re in the hill country. Only things here that are flat are the armadillos in the road.”

We walked inside the brick community building together and stopped outside the entrance to the ladies’ room. “The men’s room is on the opposite side,” Jake said, grimacing. “Men piss faster than women do. I’ll be back before you come out.”

“It’ll take me a few extra minutes. I want to splash my face with some water while I’m in there.”

“Two minutes. Don’t make me come in there to get you.”

His threat irritated me, but I smiled agreeably. “Okay, Jake.”

I walked into the bathroom, but stood by the door listening to Jake’s shoes clomp away. When I could no longer hear him, I peeked out to be sure he left. Since Jake was nowhere in sight, I scuttled out the door.

The moment I got outside, I sprinted for the highway. Traffic zoomed steadily by, and I had to wait for an opening to cross. I looked back and saw Jake come out of the building. He looked my direction, spotting me.

Gulp.
It was now or never.

I had an overwhelming sense of imminent danger. I wasn’t sure if it was the cars roaring past me at seventy miles per hour or the sinister face on the man running to catch up. I took my chances with the cars.

I shot across the highway and climbed over the concrete divider, but had to stop and wait for more vehicles to pass. Jake made it out to the highway quicker than I did, but still had to wait for his chance to pass. Once he had an opening coming, I couldn’t wait any longer for the traffic on my side to clear.

I darted across too soon as Jake yelled out. A tan car headed straight for me. Standing frozen on the hot asphalt, I braced myself for impact. The car barely slowed, zigzagged around me, and sounded its horn relentlessly. I rushed to the shoulder of the road and observed Jake jumping the concrete divider.

Without wasting any more time, I ran away from the highway and into an open field. Long blades of grass went up to my knees, but didn’t hinder my movement. Or Jake’s.

He caught up quickly, tackled me to the ground, and straddled my waist. I immediately became combative, swinging my arms and trying to scratch out his eyeballs, but he captured and pinned my wrists above my head. His red face lit with fury, his eyes filled with hostility. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

I pulled my head up and tried to bite his arm.

Jake flicked me on the nose. Hard. “Damn you, Emily, if you don’t stop trying to bite me, I’m going to cut off your head and send it to a lab for a rabies check.”

Now, this is how hearing and listening are two very different things. I listened to what he said, but all I heard was he wanted to cut off my head.

“Help! He’s going to kill me! Help me! Help—”

Jake muzzled me with his hand over my mouth, but he seemed confused. “Simmer down. What the hell’s your problem?”

I started to cry, which shocked him into removing his hand from my mouth. “Please…don’t kill me!” I begged.

“What?”

“I thought you wanted to help me,” I sobbed. “You said…”

“Emily, I don’t understand why you think I’d want to kill you. Well, besides the obvious reasons.”

I sniffled. “You said you were going to shoot me.”

“What? When?”

Jake relaxed his grip on my wrists and allowed me to pull them free as he eased off me. We both dripped with sweat.

“On the phone.”

“Oh hell, I was kidding around,” he said with a laugh. “That’s why you ran? Why didn’t you just say something?”

“Oh, yeah right. I’m supposed to ask a murderer if he’s going to kill me
before
I run. Give me a break. How was I supposed to know you were joking? And what the hell is funny about that, anyway?”

“I was talking to my uncle. We’re staying at his house until I can figure out what’s going on. Frankie Felts went underground after shooting Sergio. Someone on the inside must’ve leaked information to him about our location. I’m not taking any chances by putting you in another safe house. Apparently, they aren’t very safe.”

“So you aren’t going to kill me?”

“No, but I might line you with bumper pads to keep you from killing yourself,” he said, his voice as coarse as steel wool. He rubbed at his temples, then ran his hand through his unruly hair. “Come on. We need to get on the road.”

“Uh…Jake?” I waited for him to turn around. “One problem. I still have to pee.”

He half-smiled. “Yeah, me, too.”

“I thought you went already.”

He shook his head. “Never made it. I knew you were up to something.”

“How?”

“When I said I was giving you two minutes, you were too agreeable. You didn’t argue. And you
always
argue.”

Jake led me across the highway and toward the building that housed the restrooms. He kept a firm hold on my upper arm as we passed a small crowd that had formed. Two teenagers stood there, skateboards in hand, eyeing Jake with uncertainty.

“Man, he caught her quick. That dickhead can run!” one teenage boy said as we passed them.

Jake’s fingers tightened around my arm. All I could do was grin.

“How am I the dickhead?” he asked, tossing me a sideways glance. “You ran from a federal agent.”

“Well, to start with, you tackled a woman. Or maybe it’s
because
you’re an agent. Take your pick.”

When we stopped at the women’s restroom, Jake glared at me. “All right, I want to hear you say it. No more surprises, right?”

“No more, I promise.”

Jake was already outside the bathroom when I came out. Guess men do piss faster than women. Once we were in the vehicle, Jake turned the ignition and nearly jumped out of his skin. Music from the radio blared from the speakers, the windshield wipers screeched across the window at full speed, and the flashers blinked wildly.

He turned everything off and tossed a look my way as a vein on his temple bulged. “If you so much as crack a smile, I’m going to put you over my knee and spank you.”

My brain told me to keep a straight face, but deep inside, I grinned my ass off.

…

“Would you stop?” Jake yelled, scowling at me.

“What?”

“You’re tapping your fingers on the armrest.”

“And…?”

“And you’re driving me insane,” Jake said. “First you were whistling, then humming, now tapping. Can’t you sit still?”

“You aren’t talking, and I’m bored.”

“Well, at least if I bore you to death, you won’t have to worry about Felts anymore. Find something else to occupy your time.”

“I’m hungry,” I told Jake. “Can we stop and get something to eat?”

“We’ll eat when we get there. It’s an hour away.”

“Look, superhero, maybe you can do without food for an extended period of time, but I can’t. I haven’t eaten since yesterday. I could use some caffeine in my system.”

“As fidgety as you are? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Can I drive, then?”

“No.”

“Jeez, you have control issues.”

“So do you.” Jake glanced over at me. “You don’t have
any
.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I want to eat.”

His eyes never left the road as my demand went unanswered.

“I don’t appreciate being ignored, Jake.”

“Yeah, right. Like anyone could ignore
you
.”

“If I had something to eat, I’d be quiet.”

He paused a moment, scrubbed at his face. “Fine. We can stop at a place in the next county. But you better be quiet afterward or I’m going to duct tape your mouth and handcuff you to the luggage rack.”

I smiled. Jake could be a decent guy when he wasn’t being such an asswipe.

He whipped into the parking lot of Junior’s Diner, which sat next to a Dairy Queen. I practically jumped out of the Explorer, excited by the notion of food. The diner resembled a big red barn, decorated on the inside with a western theme. Spurs and saddle blankets decorated the walls, along with some black and white pictures of John Wayne.

The waitress rushed past us carrying a pot of hot coffee and a tray of food. “Hi, y’all. Have a seat, and I’ll be with you in a jiffy.”

Jake chose a small booth in the corner away from the dozen other customers in the restaurant. The waitress came back with two menus in her hand.

“We don’t need those, “Jake told her. “Two cheeseburgers, two fries, and two large sweet teas, extra lemon.”

The waitress hurried off to turn in our order before I had a chance to stop her.

“What the hell was that?”

“What?”

“Maybe I didn’t want a cheeseburger,” I said, raising my voice slightly.

“It’s easy, and we’re in a hurry. I don’t want you parading around in public any more than you have to. You draw attention.”

“No I don’t!”

“Shhh!” Jake whispered. “See what I mean? You don’t know how to blend in. You’re a magnet.”

“That’s not true. Every time we have attention turned on us, it’s because of something you’ve done, not me. I swear you do things to purposefully force me into having a reaction.”

“Face it, honey. You’re a drama queen.”

The waitress came back with our iced teas and a small bowl of lemon wedges. I immediately picked up a slice, dumped salt all over it, and took a bite. Bitter juice splattered into my mouth as I sucked the lemon wedge clean. Instantly, my jaw clenched and my face puckered.

Jake watched me go for another before turning his attention back to the waitress. “Is Junior here? I need to talk to him.”

“He’s in the office going over numbers,” she said. “I’ll send him out.”

Jake nodded a silent thank you to her and glanced back at me as she hurried away. “You have a lemon fetish or something?” he asked.

“Depends. How much do you have to like something before it’s considered a fetish?”

A slight smile curved his mouth. “Are you going to let me have any lemon for my tea?”

“Probably not.”

“Then it’s a fetish.” Jake peered over my left shoulder at something behind me. “How’s it going, Junior?”

I turned to look and did a double take. In my mind’s eye, I’d pictured Junior as a pipsqueak accountant, wearing dress pants and a tie. What I saw was completely different.

Junior was a tall, burly Native American with a thick braid of dark hair he swung over his shoulder. He wore western garb from head to toe, including a black Stetson hat, and a large buck knife hung from his side in a leather sheath. He had a bottom lip full of chewing tobacco and smelled sweetly of wintergreen.

The scent triggered a childhood memory of my father. He used to keep a candy dish of his favorite mints on the nightstand next to his bed. Whenever I’d have a bad dream, Dad would give me one, calling it a magic bean, saying it helped chase away fears. It always worked before. Knowing what a nightmare the last two days had been, I couldn’t help but smile at Junior. His scent relaxed and comforted me as if my dad had handed me a mint.

“Heard you were coming home for a visit, Jake. About time.”

“It’s been a while,” Jake said, shaking hands with Junior. He motioned to me as I took a sip of my tea. “Junior, this is my girlfriend, Emily Foster.”

I choked.
Girlfriend?
When the hell did that happen?

Even in elementary school, the boys knew they had to ask if they wanted a girl to “go” with them. Of course, none of us ever knew where we were supposed to go. But at least they asked. Funny thing was, I didn’t know where Jake and I’d go, either. Guess it goes to show that all I ever needed to know about boys I learned in elementary. They’re stupid.

For a moment, Junior’s eyes pierced mine. They were hard, golden brown, like a hawk’s. Then he tipped his hat. “It’s a pleasure, Miss Foster.”

I let out a little cough to stifle the choking fit I kept at bay. “Please, call me…um, Emily.”
God, I have to get used to this name.

He nodded and turned back to Jake. “You want to try some of the new items on my menu? Fried alligator and rattlesnake jerky.”

Jake looked at me with a sadistic grin, and I narrowed my eyes. “Nah, we’ll pass,” Jake said, chuckling. “Some other time.”