The Trouble With Love (23 page)

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked and sat back up and flipped open a notepad.

"First, I have a deal for the FBI...and it's a take it or leave it.  They can have the bad guys, or they can have Cole...their choice."

H
is
eyes darkened with interest and something else she couldn't identify
.  He
cleared
his throat then
asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well,
I witness
ed
a weapons sale that
went down
at that compound
where I was being held
.  I saw the people involved
and can identify the
m
. 
I saw
the whole thing
...even the transfer of the money. 
My testimony could seal the deal on their case.
..b
ut if they want it
, they'll
have to
cut a deal
with me
and leave Cole alone.
  L
eave all of the guys who came in to rescue me today alone
,
including Junebug, the pilot.
"

The agent's eyes had darkened, and a muscle ticked at his jaw, but he
snickered and repeated, "Junebug?"

She shrugged, "It fits...he's one hell of a pilot too."

He gave her a tight smile, then it almost looked like he was clenching his jaw
when
unfolded his arms and leaned toward her.  "Tell me about the weapons
sale
you saw
...
exact details
...
and I'll pass it on."

This guy really was green if he thought Sabrina was dumb enough to do that. 
S
he
shook her head, and told him, "Nope, not until the guys are released and cleared."

"Okay, I'll tell them.
  N
ow tell me what happened today.
..y
ou said Cole..
.
um, Sheriff Jackson
didn't kill anyone today?  There were a hell of a lot of bodies out there.  If he didn't kill them, who did?"

"Me," she told him evenly then grinned.

His eyes widened and he asked her warily, "Come on..."

"Yep--I killed them
and
I blew up the weapons stash.  All of that happened when I escaped.  Cole and the guys didn't do any of it."

Agent Sanders scooted his chair back and grinned at her, his eyes moving over her body, evidently trying to figure out how a five-foot nothing woman could have caused all the damage she had. 
"This is a story I have to hear...I'm sure it'll become urban legend
at the agency
once I retell it."

She took a deep breath and told him the entire story...even the part about signaling Cole with her red bra. 
She had his
rapt attention, while she related the tale, his jaw
was
open wid
e enough for a bird to fly in.

When she was done, he sat back up and said, "Holy, shit!" then started laughing until he almost slid out of his chair.  She just sat back and grinned at him shaking her head.
  He finally composed himself and drew in a deep shuddering breath.  "That's some story Ms. Roberts...Jesus, those guys didn't have a chance!  I bet they were damned sorry they kidnapped
you
."

"I sure hope so," she told him then sobered.  "Now,
do
you
believe
Cole, Luke, Gabe and Junebug didn't do a damned thing, but rescue me?"

"Believe it?" he laughed again, "No ma'am, your story is actually very
unbelievable
, but you know what? I
believe
you because it
is
so unbelievable.  Nobody could have made that up.
"

One side of her lips ticked up, and she said ironically, "It is isn't it?  But I assure you every word is the truth."

He nodded and started writing furiously in his notebook.  Sabrina asked him, "So, since we're the FNGs here...who do we tell up line to make sure the charges against the guys are dropped?"

"My supervisor won't like me going over his head, but what the hell, I'm the FNG right?" he said and laughed, then told her, "I'll talk to the department head, she's a barracuda and would absolutely believe your story."

"Thank you...what's your first name?"

"Damon..."

"Thank you Damon, and please feel free to call me Sabrina now," she told him with a smile, then asked, "Do you have a card?"
  He handed her one and Sabrina flipped it over and reached for his pen and wrote down her cell number. "Give me a call after you talk to her, and let me know what happened?"

"Sure will, and here's another one.
..call me if you need anything," he told her and shook his head.  "I feel like I'm the one that's just been interviewed.  You must be damned good at your job."

"I am," she told him and winked.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Three days later, they were ready to release Cole from the hospital, and she was damned
and
determined that he was going home to
Bowie
, not into custody of the FBI. 
She watched from the door, as a
gents stood on either side of him
and
he g
o
t up on crutches
then sat in a wheelchair.  He had on the new clothes, that Luke had bought for him before
he
was arrested too.
  All of them were in jail...even Junebug according to Cassie who she'd called when Luke had been arrested.

The agents posted outside his door wouldn't even let her in to see Cole, since she'd left his room three days ago.  Damon hadn't come through...no call, or anything.  She'd had so much hope that he was going to help her, she hadn't even made calls of her own.  Talk about putting all her eggs in one basket.  That
had been
a big mistake.
..one that meant that Cole was probably going to jail...where he might re-injure himself or get an infection in his wound.  Anything could happen.

She pulled her cell phone out and dialed the number on the card that Damon had given her, and got his voice mail again.  She left a nasty message then hung up and called the FBI and asked who the department head was.  They gave her Susan Whitmore's name and connected her to the extension.
  It rang three times then a very edgy sounding woman answered the phone.

Sabrina swallowed down her fear and shored up her voice, then said, "Ms. Whitmore?"

"Yes?" the woman answered shortly.

"This is Sabrina Roberts...I don't know if Agent Sanders mentioned me?"

Sabrina heard her bark of laughter then she said, "Oh, you're
that
woman..."

"That would be me," Sabrina told her and let go of a little of the tension pinching at the back of her neck.  At least it looked like Damon had talked to her.

"Well, young lady, I have to say that is some story he came in here and told me.  You should be a writer...very creative," she said then laughed again.

"It's not fiction, Ms. Whitmore...it's fact.  I'm a detective with the Phoenix PD, and I've probably fought harder to get where I am with them
,
than you have to get your position with the FBI,"
she informed the haughty woman, then added.  "I can take care of myself, although most people don't think so because of my size."

"I see.  So that fabulous tale is true?" Sabrina heard her chair squeak and figured she must be leaning back in it.

"Every. Single. Word."

"Well...
I guess I owe Damon an apology
then
.  And back pay evidently."

"
You suspended him?!?
" Sabrina howled into the phone.

"Yes, because he usurped the chain of command. He's a newbie and needed a lesson."

"Well this isn't the time for it, ma'am.  My
fiancé
is under arrest for obstruction and he didn't do a damned thing except come to pick me up after I escaped from my captors.  I killed all those guys and blew up those weapons. It was already a done deal by the time they came to pick me up!
  All of the friends who helped him are in custody too!  It's a travesty!
"

"A travesty, huh?"

"Definitely.  Th
ose men
deserve your thanks for getting me out of there, and I deserve your thanks for killing some of the men who killed your agents at Cole's house in
Bowie
.  If you guys had been on the ball and got me out first, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now.  I'd be dead if they hadn't come to pick me up.
"

"Well you certainly are opinionated, aren't you?" she asked then hesitated and said, "I like it."

"I also mentioned a deal to Damon--did he relate that to you?"

After a pause, the woman asked, "No, he didn't mention it. What deal?"

Damn, Damon and his
newbie
self...
she should have known better than to give him the deal.  That information would have assured their release.
"I told
Agent Sanders t
hat while I was being held, I witnessed a weapons sale, saw all the parties involved, and the cash change hands," Sabrina paused and gnawed her lip, then told Susan Whitmore, "I'd be willing to testify to that fact, but I want you guys to agree to
release and clear
Cole, Luke, Gabe and Junebug
...oh and Elmer
.
"

"Elmer?  Who's Elmer?" the woman asked.

"Nevermind...he's nobody
.
"
H
e was there, but he had been out cold for most of it.  If
Susan Whitmore
didn't know about him, Sabrina wasn't going to tell her.

"That's an interesting proposition, Miss Roberts..."  Sabrina heard the chair squeak again and held her breath waiting for her to finish. "
But
I don't like ultimatums, as a general rule."

"This isn't an ultimatum, it's an offer...to help you with your case against th
e
cartel.  They are bad news in
Phoenix
, and evidently
Texas
too.  I'm sure you'd like to get kudos for taking them down?"

Susan let out a genuinely amused laugh then told Sabrina, "Young lady, I think once this is over, I'd like to talk to you about joining the agency."

"I think I'd like
to talk about
working for you
as well,
when this is over
...
of course I'd have to talk to my
fiancé
, Sheriff Jackson
,
and see what
he
thinks."

Susan chuckled, "You have made me laugh more today than I have in years..."

T
he squeak of a wheelchair behind her
and footsteps
let her know they were wheeling Cole out of the room, and Sabrina turned toward them.  Cole's
head was bent and his hands were cuffed and she felt tears sting her eyes. 

Swallowing down her emotion, because she knew this woman wouldn't appreciate weakness in her, Sabrina said, "Would you speak to your agents here, and tell them to release Sheriff Jackson, please?"

The agents stopped when they heard her comment
then
turned Cole's wheelchair around to face her, their eyebrows raised.  She handed the phone to the short agent who had arrested Cole to begin with and gave him a smug smile. "Ms. Whitmore would like to speak with you," she said and handed him her cell phone.
  Cole's head snapped up and his eyes pinned her.

A tick appeared near the corner of the agent's left eye and she could see his jaw was clenched as he looked at the phone in her hand as if it was a two headed snake.  Sabrina shoved it at him again and almost laughed when he jumped back.  "I don't think she'd appreciate you keeping her waiting," she told him and smiled.

He finally took a step toward her and jerked the phone out of her hand
, then he swallowed before he said,
"Yes ma'am?"  He nodded and said that several more times, his face getting redder and redder, before he finally pushed the button to end the call and handed her phone back to her.

Without a word to her or Cole, the man reached inside his suit coat and pulled out a handcuff key then released the cuffs on Cole's wrists.  Cole rubbed them then grabbed the wheels of his chair, and pushed it forward 'accidentally' running over the guy
'
s toe.
  He yelped, then cursed and grabbed his partner
to stomp off
down the hall. 

The laughter that had been building in Sabrina,
since
she'd handed the arrogant agent the phone, escaped and she bent over with it. 
It was obvious
the man
was afraid...very afraid...of the barracuda that was his boss.
  Cole rolled up behind her and pulled her into his lap, then grinned at her, "You're something, you know that?"

"What, trouble
?" She asked then put her good arm around his neck and grinned at him. "Seems like that's all you've gotten since you've known me."

"No, baby...you are the most amazing woman I've ever met," he said sincerely, then captured her mouth in a heated kiss that curled her toes in her boots
.  He lifted his head and
asked, "You sprin
g
the rest of the chain gang too?"

"Yeah, I think so...let's call them."
 
She called L
uke and found
they had been held nearby at a command center the feds had set up, and he told her he'd just been
released
.  Right after she hung up with him
, Gabe called
her
and told her he was out too.  Both of them were going to make the feds give them a ride back to the hospital. 

After a few calls,
she
found out Junebug was still in custody, but Susan Whitmore was calling the FAA to get several other charges
they'd filed
against him dropped, because he'd been the pilot.
  Elmer hadn't been charged, and according to Cassie
,
who she'd just
called to tell Luke had been released. Cassie also told her that
Elmer
was
telling everyone he was
'acting' Sheriff, since Cole was incapacitated.
  Cole had growled over that news, and said he needed to get home fast before Elmer got excited and shot someone.
..or passed out and someone else got shot.

Sabrina hopped off of Cole's lap
then
went behind the chair
and pushed
him to the front entrance
so they could
wait for Luke and Gabe
.
 
Instead of taking one of the chairs by the windows, s
he sat back on
Cole's
lap to wait
.  They waited there for a few minutes, then the double doors opened at the front and she looked over there, expecting Luke and Gabe.  Her eyebrows shot up when she recognized the short agent who'd given Cole such hell.  He was back and from the smug smile on his round face, she figured the news wasn't going to be good.

"Hello again, Miss Roberts...
" he said in a false chirpy tone, then
continued
, "
Ms. Whitmore
, my boss
--
I
think you know her
?
"
Sabrina swallowed then nodded,
and he finished,
"She's instructed me
to come and take you into protective custody, pending your
testimony
.
  You made a deal with her, I think?
"

Sabrina launched up from Cole's lap and got into
the agent's face then
put
her finger into his chest,
and said,
"You tell Ms. Whitmore that our deal did not include protective custody."

"What deal?" Cole asked in a concerned voice behind her.
 
Her eyes glittered when s
he glanced back over her shoulder at him, but
she
didn't answer.

"You'll have to tell her yourself,
ma'am
...you can do that when we get to the safe house. She's meeting us there.
  She wants to meet you...you're pretty
famous
around the office
,
"
he said and it was obvious he was trying hard not to laugh at her.