FOURTEEN
Anton
Later that evening, after Savannah is sated, I finish shaving my hair and clean up the mess in the bathroom. We get dressed, although she's not interested in wearing anything more than the t-shirt I had on earlier. It looks good on her, although I don't have nearly enough clothes.
There's a firm knock at the door.
I glance through the peephole before unlocking the front entrance.
"It's Declan," I say to Savannah.
She hurries into the bedroom. I presume to put on pants since she's still waltzing around in only my t-shirt. I don't mind, but Declan doesn't need to see her half-naked.
Declan brings us several bags of groceries, takeout, and Chinese food for dinner. My stomach is rumbling.
Savannah returns to the kitchen, wearing a new pair of pajama shorts with hearts all over them. They look adorable, and at the same time, I want to rip them right off her. But we have company.
"There's dinner on the table," Declan says, gesturing for the takeout bag.
I shuffle as much of the groceries into the fridge as I can as he grabs plates and silverware for us, along with two glasses.
"Are you joining us?" He's only pulled out enough dishware for two.
"Not to eat," Declan says. "But I was hoping the three of us could discuss the situation in a little more detail."
"Sure," Savannah says as she pulls the food cartons from the brown paper bag. "What do you want to know?"
"I can get you both new identities. That's the easy part. Is there something else my team or I can do to help you?"
"Your team?" I ask.
Declan clears his throat. "I work for Eagle Tactical. Nikita didn't mention it?" Silence ensues. "Okay, I'm not surprised. We're an organization that helps when it comes to hostage negotiations, private security, rescue missions, that sort of thing. We work closely with the local police department."
He had mentioned that earlier. "Is your relationship with local law enforcement a problem?"
Savannah shoots me a look.
Does she think I'm going to kill the guy? He's helping us. I have no reason to harm him as long as he can keep our identity and location a secret.
"That depends. I need the truth from both of you. What the hell happened back in New York?"
We recant the story in vivid detail to Declan. He sits across from us at the kitchen table while we devour dinner. Neither of us has eaten much all day. Between traveling and our arrival, there weren't a lot of opportunities.
"I'll need to consult the team," Declan says.
"Consult? Why?" Savannah asks. Her brow is knitted, and she looks as confused and concerned as I feel.
"Is that necessary?" I ask. "The fewer people involved, the better."
"I can handle most of the documents, getting you new identities, passports, that sort of thing. But if you want the crooked FBI agent brought to justice, that can't be done in secret."
"Doesn't it have to be, or else we're risking others knowing our location?" Savannah says.
"I meant just me knowing. I trust my team with my life, and you should also."
"I don't know them," I say. Not that I know Declan, but he comes highly recommended to me. The others weren't mentioned.
"Well, I can assure you they have no relationship with your friends at the bratva."
"Former friends," I say. "They want to kill both of us."
"Right," Declan says and nods. "They have resources, but they're tied to big cities. From what we know, places like Chicago and New York. It's unlikely they'll find you in Breckenridge, so long as you follow my instruction and don't use your old cell phone or contact anyone back home."
"And what about that weasel Agent Danvers?" Savannah asks. "He could have ties to your friends or local law enforcement. And while we know he's crooked, we don't know who else might be dirty in the FBI."
"Is there anyone whom you can trust at the FBI?" Declan asks.
I shake my head. "Absolutely not."
Savannah opens her mouth and sighs. "My supervisory agent, he's never shown any sign of being dirty."
"But you don't know that we can trust him. He'll have to report to his superiors if he learns of our location. If he's as honorable a man as you say, he won't let us remain in hiding."
She sighs and purses her lips together. She knows that I'm right. Savannah may come away unscathed, but I'll be a dead man.
"I can leave," I say. "You keep Savannah here, protect her, and I'll flee. Deal with the Agent Danvers situation, and then we can meet again in the future." Assuming she still wants to be with me after she has the opportunity to snag her job and maybe even further her career.
"No." Her voice cuts all thoughts of fleeing from my mind. "We're doing this together. If I go into the bureau in New York or any other field office, the bratva can just as easily find me. Hell, they might even be expecting me to go and give a statement about Nikita shooting Dmitri."
"Except, the bratva think that I shot Dmitri."
"Even so, the way they've twisted the narrative like we're Bonnie and Clyde, I'm not leaving you behind. And we're not contacting the FBI."
Declan runs a hand through his hair. "Okay. I still have to inform the team I work with about your situation."
"Why?" I put my fork down, no longer hungry. "We trust you because you come highly regarded by Nikita. I don't know your men, and I can't blindly trust them."
"Well, you're going to have to," Declan says. He stands from the kitchen table, clearly frustrated that we didn't just agree to his plans. I'm not sure what he intends to do regarding the situation, but it's clear he's not keeping it between the three of us.
Savannah rests a hand on my arm, trying to reassure me, or maybe she's worried that I'll stop Declan and kill him before he can speak about us to his team. For all I know, he's already mentioned us to them.
"What's the plan?" Savannah asks. "After you tell your team about us?"
"We would work to uncover what we can about this dirty FBI agent. Comb through his finances along with his previous and current cases. There's almost always a paper trail; if given enough resources and time, we can find it. Unfortunately, that isn't something I can do alone."
"Even after we nail Danvers, there's no guarantee it'll clear both of our names," I say.