Chapter 29

Rain pounded against the windows as Jenna tossed more logs on the fire. They’d arrived home to a damp freezing house. Rain had blown through the gaping front door, bringing a scatter of fall leaves across the highly polished floors. Jenna had closed as many doors as possible before she’d left with Styles, but she’d stared in dismay at the damage to the front door. Needing the security and the warmth, Kane had gone to the best source he knew, and within the hour, Wolfe had arrived with a new door. It seemed that Wolfe had the ability to obtain just about anything, no matter what the day of the week or the time of day. They’d had time to tend the horses, shower, and eat and then she’d tucked Tauri into bed and they’d sat with him until he’d fallen asleep. The little boy was so exhausted he’d struggled to stay awake at the kitchen table.

Unable to do anything to help with the repairs, Jenna made a fresh pot of coffee and then wrapped herself in a blanket on the sofa. Pumpkin, her black cat, curled up beside her, her silken black paws kneaded the blanket, purring in contentment. Jenna tried to relax but couldn’t push the day’s events from her mind. The fear of losing Kane and Tauri had been too much to bear. Flashes of the explosion and the dropping of her stomach came in waves. Right now, she didn’t need to be alone. Her mind would settle soon, but the reason Kane had allowed this to happen baffled her. He and Wolfe were usually so security conscious, so it was obvious Wolfe hadn’t been involved from the get-go. No doubt, because if he’d notified his chain of command, they’d have gone ballistic. They didn’t take chances with an asset like Kane.

The voices from the front door stopped, but it wasn’t Kane’s footsteps in the hallway. The distinctive sound of Duke’s claws clicking on the polished floor announced his arrival. The dog walked onto the rug before the fire, turned in three circles, and dropped with a sigh. He eyed Jenna with his huge brown eyes for a few seconds before he fell asleep.

A few minutes later, Jenna turned as Kane came into the room, exhaustion etched in his face. She’d seen the scrapes on his knees from the tumble from the motorcycle. Wolfe had checked him out before they’d left the crime scene and hadn’t seemed worried, but she’d noticed him moving stiffly when he’d headed for the bathroom in the spare room for a shower. He’d not wanted her to see his injuries, not yet anyway. He didn’t appreciate sympathy and somehow just seemed to keep going no matter how he felt. He hadn’t had time to sit for longer than it took to eat the scrambled eggs and toast Jenna had hastily made on their return before Wolfe had arrived in the chopper with a new front door. He’d insisted she go and sit down and then spent a long time fitting it. Without stopping to say goodbye, Wolfe left, and Kane washed up.

Appalled, she stared at his wrists as he pulled down the arms of his sweater and grimaced. “You’re bruised to the bone from those manacles. Do you want me to bandage them?”

“Nah, nothing’s strained. It’s bruised, is all. I’ll be fine.” He dropped onto the sofa and held out his arms for her. “Come here. Right now all I need is you.”

Moving into his arms, she didn’t snuggle against him but touched his chest gently. “Why are you hiding your injuries from me? I could see the grazes on your knees and the tear in your jeans. It wasn’t difficult to see the gravel rash on your hip. They must be so sore. Can’t I do anything to help?”

“I’ve taken care of them.” Kane shrugged as if his injuries meant nothing. “Our first aid kit holds everything we need, from grazes to gunshot wounds. That’s why I went into the spare room. I didn’t want Tauri walking in on me tending my wounds. He’s been through enough.” He cupped her chin, rubbing his thumb tenderly over her cheek. “You have too. I’m sorry I put you through all this stress. It’s unforgiveable. I shouldn’t have believed the FBI intel and should have used my own brain. They intimated that they had eyes on the entire cartel and the lesser members were being arrested at the same time as we made the bust.” He pushed one hand through his hair and his eyes flashed with anger. “Mateo was the main player in the arms deal, not the boss. They already had him under surveillance and once the deal was made moved in to arrest him. Yet somehow Mateo and some of his men escaped arrest. I wasn’t there. Carter handcuffed me and bundled me into an FBI SUV and drove me straight to the airport.” He frowned. “Then they identified me, which would be near impossible unless someone told them. They have a mole in the FBI, someone who works for the cartel.” He sucked in a long breath. “Now Carter is MIA. Where the heck is he?”

Shrugging, Jenna traced the frown lines on Kane’s forehead and sighed. “I wish I knew. What’s happened to you is bad enough, but we have two homicides, identical MOs and the description that the witnesses gave us of the man seen hanging around both victims fits Carter.” Reluctantly, she stood, shedding the blanket. “Unless he’s suddenly turned his coat, I’m at a loss what to believe.” She indicated to the kitchen. “I made a pot of coffee. Wait here, I’ll grab us a cup.”

“I don’t want to be away from you for a second.” Kane pushed to his feet. “We’ll look in on Tauri again too. Wolfe mentioned he might have nightmares and we’ll need to be there for him.”

They checked on Tauri, but the little boy was curled up around the purple spotted dinosaur they’d given him for his birthday sleeping peacefully. Jenna poured the coffee and they took their cups back to the family room. The house was warming up. With the heating turned up and the wood fire, it was starting to appear normal again. Even the broken door and wood had been removed and carried out back of the barn. Seeing it only brought back memories Tauri didn’t need. It had been fortunate the trip back in Styles’ chopper hadn’t caused him any problems either. Tauri loved to fly.

Jenna sat on the sofa and sipped her coffee. “So this sting operation was compromised by persons unknown and I gather you can’t ask for intervention by Wolfe’s usual sources because you’d rather keep the fact someone abducted you a secret?”

“Not a secret.” Kane frowned. “Wolfe won’t mention it unless asked specifically. He doesn’t have anything to do with the FBI. It’s not in his chain of command, so he doesn’t need to report it specifically. As far as Carter is concerned, Wolfe was out of the loop. It was a need-to-know operation. He has no idea that Wolfe is my handler or the need to know that either.” He shrugged. “In my capacity as a deputy, I answered a request by our local FBI field office for assistance. That’s all anyone needs to know. It went sideways after the fact and that’s something Carter and Styles will focus on going forward.” He reached for his cup. “It’s not our problem. The mole didn’t know about me, as in who I am. He didn’t know all the members of the cartel involved would be killed either. They expected me to fold under pressure.” He gave her a long look. “The mole is still out there, Jenna, and I’m still going to testify. I need to do this to ensure those remaining members of the cartel will never be set free.” He shook his head slowly. “This time, when I’m away, I’ll arrange the security for you and Tauri.”

Jenna looked at him. “How so?”

“You’ll both be with me.” Kane smiled at her. “I had plenty of time to think when they chained me to the wall. Wolfe will arrange federal marshals to escort us. We’ll travel on a commercial flight. Federal marshals, Wolfe, and Carter, or Styles if he’s still missing, will be with you when I testify. Once it’s done, we all come home together.”

Jenna turned to look at him. “In the meantime, we have targets on our backs and a murderer who resembles Carter electrocuting women. When I took the job as sheriff, I never realized life in a backwoods town would turn out so complicated.”