Kidnapped Hearts (9 page)
Authors: Cait Jarrod
“Working on it.”
“Jake Gibson.”
Jake and Hal crossed through the hordes
of people waiting to be seen to the nurse standing at the doorway. “Agent, I’ve
been told that you need to be in the room with Ms. Young.”
“I do.”
“Follow me,” the nurse said, pushing a
button on the wall. The doors allowing access to the examination rooms opened.
He followed the nurse through the doors to an isolated room at the back of the
ER. Two agents flanked the door as he entered the room.
Paul straightened. “Jake.”
Jake nodded, but his eyes stayed on
Pamela lying motionless in the bed. A blood pressure cuff strapped to her upper
arm, a heart monitor attached to her chest, and an IV plunged into a vein in
her arm. “Why isn’t she moving?” Jake hated hospitals. He’d spent too much time
in one as an adolescent when his mother was dying of cancer.
“They gave her something to calm her. She
was pretty worked up when they brought her in here. Her vitals are fine. They
just did a CAT scan to check for head injury. We should get the results
shortly.”
Paul returned to the chair beside
Pamela’s bed and picked up her hand. “I assume you used your FBI clout to get
back here, since you couldn’t even say you’re a close friend.”
Jake’s forehead wrinkled. Paul must not
have forgiven him as he thought. “Listen.”
“Don’t, Jake.” Paul met his eyes. “The
past is in the past. I don’t like what happened or how I had to bury someone I
didn’t even know. Worse, my best friend disappeared on me, but I want to let it
all go. You’re here now, and I’m assuming you’re planning to stay.”
This sounded more like the Paul he knew.
“I am.”
“Good. Now that I’ve forgiven you, you
might want to think about forgiving yourself.”
Jake crossed his arms over his chest.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Jennifer for one thing.”
Jake drew in a deep breath and let it out
slowly. “I should have protected her.”
“You can’t protect someone who rubs
elbows with a terrorist.”
Jake flinched. He hadn’t thought about it
that way. “I don’t know.”
“What? Have you gone soft? She duped you,
a trained agent, into believing she was the perfect woman for you. I know you
say she wanted out of the organization, but…” Paul shook his head. “I don’t
believe it. A person doesn’t break bread with a man like Sanjar and expect to
leave. Hell, Jake, she fucked him and you. Literally!”
Jake stiffened. “This isn’t a good
location for this conversation.”
“I’m done with my lecture.” Paul released
Pamela’s hand and crossed the room. He stopped a foot in front of Jake. “Don’t
let what the woman did to you fuck you up,” he said, poking Jake in the chest
to emphasize his point, “I’m gonna get some coffee. Want one?”
“Coffee will do,” he sighed, wishing for
something else.
Paul opened the door and paused. “They
frown on alcohol here. Otherwise, I’d get us a fifth of bourbon.”
Jake watched the door slowly close behind
his brother. He might not like what Paul had to say, but he knew Paul only had
his best interest in mind. He turned around and looked at Pamela. She hadn’t
moved. Settling into the seat Paul had vacated, he slid her hand into his.
He shouldn’t be in the room with her, but
outside in the hallway with the other agents. A suspect in a case, combined
with being one of his brother’s best friends, was not the ideal woman for him.
In spite of that, when she had kissed him in the alley with so much passion, he
had been thrown off balance.
All hospitals were the same no matter
their location, and no matter when they were built. Every room had a feeling of
dread. This room, like so many others, had the essentials, but this room was
smaller than most. And to top it off, there were no windows. They couldn’t
chance another attempt on Pamela.
Jake’s eyes flicked to her lips, which
now appeared dry. He removed the sponge from the cup of water nearby and dabbed
her lips, mirroring the movements he had done for his mother.
The door opened, and warily Celine forged
inside. A look in Pamela’s direction, and Celine’s face pinched, the effects of
the day taking a toll on her. Dark circles outlined her eyes, and the whites of
them were tinted pink. Her blonde hair that had been pulled up neatly in a
ponytail fell around her neck. Her eyes flicked to Jake.
He put the sponge back in the cup and
moved aside. “Here, have a seat.”
Celine remained standing. Her lower lip
trembled as she held back tears.
Paul returned, carrying a tray of coffee.
“I thought you might be here.” He passed Celine a cup, then Jake. “How’s
Marge?”
“She’s still in surgery. Hal arrived, so
I left,” Celine replied.
“Is Donald holding up okay?”
Celine’s manner equaled her melancholy
countenance as she tugged on a strand of hair. “It’s as if you’ve always been
here, but yet haven’t actually been here.”
The woman didn’t make sense, another
result of what happened this evening. “I’ve only been gone a few years.”
“Celine,” Paul pinched the bridge of his
nose. “What’s up?”
Relieved to be free of Celine’s scrutiny,
Jake bowed his head. He wasn’t sure why the expression on the woman’s face
unnerved him.
“I’m trying to make sense of everything
tonight,” Celine responded to Paul.
“That won’t happen.” Paul let his hand
fall to his side.
Celine glanced at Jake. “Can you
explain?”
“No.”
She plopped into the chair Jake offered
her a second ago and tucked her chin. “I wish Steve was here. If he were, this
wouldn’t have happened.”
The jab Celine sent his way landed right
in the stomach. She held him responsible for Pamela and Marge’s injuries.
“Celine!” Plainly, Paul didn’t share her
opinion. “That’s not fair. The FBI had the café surrounded.”
Jake slid a finger across his jaw. Celine
did have a point. How could anyone infiltrate the FBI line? “I’ve got to go.”
Paul blocked his path. “Where are you
headed?”
“To the Bureau to get answers.”
Paul followed Jake’s gaze. Celine stared
at her fingers in her lap. “Don’t worry about her. She just misses Steve,
especially now.”
“Are those two an item?”
“Not that they’ll admit to.”
“Call if something changes. I’ll be back
later.”
Paul nodded and Jake noted Pamela hadn’t
moved. Calming medicine or not, it was unsettling.
****
The scene that had unfolded a short time
ago at The Memory Café grated on his nerves. Where in the hell were the agents
watching the business? Jake charged inside the building that housed the
Fredericksburg FBI office. He wanted answers now.
Once he received word through his
earpiece that Black Scorpions were on the street, he knew the outcome wouldn’t
be good. The agents outside the café should have stopped the shooters.
He didn’t believe Sanjar would have the
Black Scorpions performing such a menial job. A businesswoman suspected of
having bearer bonds in her possession would bring Sanjar into the limelight.
The terrorist hated attention. There had to be something else, someone who
wanted the police to think Sanjar stood behind this scheme.
Jake scratched his head. He needed to
contact his informant and find out where he received his information. In the
past, Jake could trust what he had to say. This time, he believed the twenty
year old misled him.
For once, it appeared that Sanjar was the
one being set up. This idea brought on another set of problems. Whoever had
sent the Black Scorpions to shoot up the café had to have a time and location,
which meant a man was working on the inside of the Bureau. Someone, probably
Larry, would have to call Internal Affairs. Jake detested IA bureaucracy. The
men in that department were good guys, but when an IA case developed, it would
put the agents on edge. They wouldn’t trust each other, which was not an ideal
situation in this line of work. Trust was everything.
Once inside the department, Jake knocked
on Larry’s office door once, then advanced inside without a welcome.
Surprised, Larry looked up from his desk
and pushed the paperwork aside. “Jake.”
Jake got straight to the point. “The
Black Scorpions have set up camp in
Not one, but several members of the gang are in town. They’ve set their sights
on Pamela Young.”
Larry leaned back in his chair.
He wanted to punch someone. Larry must
have realized this, since he remained quiet, not giving Jake any reason for him
to be the recipient. Jake continued his rant. “After what happened this
evening, it can’t be a coincidence. They’re here for a reason. You should have
told me this bit of information.” Disdain laced his voice.
Larry straightened, crossed to the front
of his desk, then leaned against it. “Jake, you know the drill. I can only say
what I know.”
“Bullshit, Larry. Bullets peppered the
front of that café. People could have died. One still might. Marge is
fighting…” His mouth went firm as he regained his composure. “She’s fighting
for her life.”
Larry folded his arms across his chest.
“I heard. The Director’s there now. He’ll call when he receives word. Is Ms.
Young doing okay? When I called
Jake’s fingers slid through his hair.
“Her vitals are stable.” Jake wanted to avoid talking about Pamela stretched
out in a hospital bed, motionless, helpless. He despised the image that formed
in his mind at the mention of her name. He needed to keep himself occupied and
concentrate on something else. “Larry, there’s more you’re not telling me.”
“Nope.”
“How are the agents?”
“One was fatally wounded at the scene.
The others are in the hospital. There’s no reason to believe they won’t make a
full recovery.”
Jake slumped into a chair.
“Concerning the Scorpions, you spotted
one of their motorcycles in town in the past twenty-four hours and didn’t
suspect a branch of the gang had arrived.” Larry’s face turned red, matching
his hair.
Jake shuffled his feet.
“In addition, there has been no
information on the Black Scorpion gang being in this part of the region. I know
that Sanjar is still in another country. He’s under surveillance.”
“What if the Black Scorpions are working
for someone else?”
Larry scrubbed his jaw. “Good question.
Ever since I received word as to what transpired at The Memory Café, I’ve been
wondering the same thing. Shooting inside a business isn’t Sanjar’s usual MO.”
“No, however, he did kill a woman in
broad daylight.”
Larry cocked his head and twisted his
mouth. “I think we both agree that Jennifer Glass is nothing like Pamela Young.
The fact that she’s friends with one of our agents proves this.” Larry waved a
dismissing hand. “We don’t need to go there.”
“No, we don’t.”
Larry continued, “Concerning Ms. Young, I
can think of two possibilities that we might be up against. One, Pamela does
have the bearer bonds unbeknownst to her. We need to get the searches done
ASAP. I’ll send some men to see what they can find. When she’s better, she’ll
need to take a lie detector test.” Larry raised his hand, stopping Jake from
commenting. “It’s a formality. We don’t want anyone saying we treated her
differently because she’s the daughter of the Director’s best friend.”
“I agree.”
“And the second possibility, someone is
using Sanjar for their purposes, getting the monkey off their back, so to
speak.”
With a crisp nod, Jake added, “There
could be a third. We have a leak in-house.”
Larry returned to his chair. “I thought
of that too. I already called IA. There’s a man on his way over. He’ll be
working on the case with you.”
“Did the Director approve it? He wanted
this to be a low-profile case.”
“His low-profile idea went away when the
café became a battleground.”
“Agreed.” Jake tilted his head to the
side. “How much do you know about Steve Anderson?”
“Are you wondering if he’s dirty?”
Jake shrugged. “He could be.”
“Not a chance. When Steve receives word
about what has happened, he will be worse than a tornado touching down. From
what the Director has told me, Pamela and Steve have been tight since high
school.”
“Is he being informed?”
“Not yet, the Director wants him to stay
removed from the case. Furthermore, Steve’s overseas on assignment.”
“Why keep him away? He could provide
extra protection.” A stupid question, he knew, but he had to ask it anyway.
“You know as well as anyone, you’re at
your worst when emotions are involved.” Larry leaned his elbows on his desk and
clasped his hands together. “Although it seems that the Director picked the
wrong man to watch over Ms. Young. You seem to be getting too close yourself.”