“No,” Roland said with finality. “Our destination is the Rockies. We’ll stay put there until the FBI cleans up their mess and it’s safe to return home. No matter how long it takes.”
Lennox nodded. Now they were off the lake and back on land. “This Jeep is something else,” she said.
“No, you’re something else,” Roland said, bringing the vehicle to a stop. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. “I thought I had lost you, Lennox.”
She heard the anguish in his voice but didn’t want to read more into it. She loved him. He still didn’t love her, but she wouldn’t give up hope on all those possibilities she believed in.
“And I thought I had lost you,” she said, recalling the intense pain she’d felt.
She didn’t want to think about how she would feel when she eventually did lose him, when this was all over and his protection was no longer needed. When he walked out of her life.
“I should not have left you there alone.”
“It’s my fault. You told me to stay put, but the smoke from the explosion was burning my eyes, so I moved. That’s when that man name Clearwater grabbed me.”
He brushed a lock of her hair back from her face then slanted his mouth over hers. His tongue began stroking hers and she heard herself moan. When he finally broke off the kiss, he reached up and caressed the side of her face with his fingertip. “I don’t intend to leave you alone again.”
• • •
“This was just delivered to me by a courier,” Agent Thornton said, handing Special Agent Cobb Warner a huge packet. “It’s from Holley.”
Cobb lifted a brow, then glanced across the room at Agent DuBose. After working with local law enforcement, it had been determined that things had occurred just the way they’d thought. Someone had put a hit on Holley. Hopefully, this packet might explain why…although the FBI had pretty much formed their own opinion.
“Damn,” DuBose said, after Cobb emptied the contents of the packet into the middle of his desk. There were photos, several lists with names and four thumb-drives.
“It seems that the attempt on Holley’s life pissed him off,” Cobb said. When they saw a sealed envelope addressedto Agent Thornton, he handed it to him. “Holley obviously wanted you to have this.”
Although all of them were disappointed by Holley’s betrayal, they knew Thornton was affected the most because of their close relationship. He hadn’t suspected a thing.
Agent Thornton tore into the envelope and read it, the emotions on his face, apparent. It was hard when someone you thought you could trust let you down. He glanced over to Special Agents Warner and DuBose. “It says that he’s sorry for betraying our trust and hopes the stuff he’s providing will help bring the crime ring down.”
Cobb nodded, knowing it would. “I bet it doesn’t say where he’s gone.”
“No, it doesn’t. But it states why he did what he did.” Agent Thornton then told them what the letter said.
“I didn’t agree with the way they retired him either, but still…” Agent DuBose said. “It was no reason for him to sell his soul to the devil.”
Cobb agreed. He hated that one of their own would now be added to their most wanted list. Even with Holley’s bitterness at being forced to retire, justified or otherwise, Cobb couldn’t understand what would make a good agent--one who had been considered one of the Bureau’s best--turn to a life of crime and betray his fellow agents the way Holley had.
After Thornton left, Warner and DuBose went through everything. What Holley had given them was a virtual goldmine. They’d already arrested a few of the men whose names were on that list. One was the leader of the local group, Gregg Clearwater. From the information Holley had shared, the man who’d broke into Dr. Roswell’s home that night looking for the box was Clearwater’s brother.
Thanks to a tip from Roland Summers, the FBI and local law enforcement had shown up at that cabin in the woods where Dr. Roswell had been held, within minutes of Summers rescuing her. The Jeep that Summers and Roswell were in had gone into the lake and had transformed into a boat that had taken them to the other side.
It was hard to believe but there had been witnesses. Cobb couldn’t help wondering just who was providing Summers with all the state-of-the-art, high technology gadgets he had, not to mention the James Bond type vehicles. Sure, the man owned one of the top security companies in the country, but that didn’t explain how he had access to such equipment.
Also listed on information that Holley had left were the names of other FBI agents who’d gone rogue and Holley had provided the proof. Two of them were still on payroll. DuBose had left to pick them up for questioning.
The name Samuel Meadows was flagged as the leader of the domestic crime ring. Cobb recalled that name being linked to the human trafficking ring they’d recently broken up, thanks to Roland Summers and Dr. Roswell. He wondered if Meadows knew of the connection.
Working quickly, they obtained search and arrest warrants within hours. Unfortunately, Meadows was nowhere to be found.
His phone rang and he immediately recognized the ring tone. “Summers.”
“Just letting you know we are fine and on our way to our final destination.”
Cobb knew better than to ask where that was. “One of our former good agents who turned bad left a packet,exposing everyone involved. With luck, it will bring the entire crime cartel down.”
“I hope it will. Don’t contact us until you know it’s safe for us to return home.” Then Summers ended the call.