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The agent purses his mouth in irritation. “Everyone calm down. I’m not familiar with all the details. The agents working on this case are from the Washington, DC office. I’m from the Portland office, so we were the closest for the retrieval. The DC agents assured me no additional security would be necessary. You can have your little entourage of security tag along if it makes you feel better. Ms. Scott and I must be back to the office by three o’clock this afternoon, so we need to get moving.”
Morgan listened to Sam Barrett try to convince the agents of why things weren’t as simple as they appeared, but to no avail. All Agent Perez was concerned about was getting to his next meeting.
As soon as the caravan of cars left, she and Bash stood alone in the foyer. She had kept her mouth shut all morning, only speaking when asked. Their plans were made. Now, she would implement hers.
“What’s wrong, Morgan?”
“Everything’s peachy. I’m going back upstairs to lie down,” she said, turning toward the stairs.
He caught her hand, pulling her toward him. “That was a blatant lie, Morgan. Not once have I seen you take a nap, and you certainly wouldn’t under these circumstances. What’s up? You have barely spoken to me or anyone else since we got here.”
Morgan bit her bottom lip, trying to hold her temper. “I could say the same thing about you.”
“What is that supposed to mean? I just had a whole new family dropped in my lap. I’m entitled to be a little distracted,” he said defensively.
She softened her face. “You are right. This is all new to you, and you should spend time getting to know your family. I don’t want to interfere. You seem to fit right in. If you don’t mind, I’m going to lie down.” Pulling away, she ran up the stairs.
“I’ll be in the den if you need me,” he called after her.
She ran to her bedroom and pulled her .9mm out of her backpack, and stuffed it in her coat pocket for easy access. With a bulky coat, scarf, and knit cap, she would be less recognizable. The FBI agents might not believe there was a threat, but she did, and there was no way she was going to sit by and watch anyone else get hurt.
Listening for sounds, she crept down the stairs. The faint hum of the television confirmed Bash was preoccupied. The kitchen was attached to a portico leading to the garage. Fortunately, she had overheard Sam giving Agent Perez the code to the gate, so getting out wouldn’t be a problem. Her only worry was the two guards watching the perimeter, but it wasn’t like they would shoot her.
As she was about to open the back door, she saw a post-it note attached to a windowpane near the handle. It had four numbers and said, Enter code off and Enter code on. She stared at the post-it, wondering what the heck it meant. As her eyes roamed the door, she noticed the alarm panel, and it clicked.
“Oh, hockey sticks! I almost set off the alarm!” That got her blood pumping. Gia left it for her. She hurriedly entered the code to turn the alarm off, then immediately reentered the numbers to turn it back on. Scurrying to the garage, she fumbled for the light.
“Aren’t you a cutie patootie,” she mumbled when her eyes landed on the only car in a four-space garage—an electric mini car. On the passenger seat lay a remote control with a sticky note saying, Front gate #8646.
“Thank you, Gia,” she whispered.
When she passed the circular drive, a man in a green coat and baseball cap ran out from behind an oak tree, frantically waving his arms. Looking straight ahead, she buzzed past him. As she approached the gate, she entered the code into the remote. Chancing a look in the rearview mirror, she realized the man in the baseball cap was Bash.
“Morgan, stop! You can’t go without me!” he screamed.
Before she could decide whether to let him in the car, he had already yanked the door open and plunked down in the passenger seat. All she could do was stare in amazement.
“What? You think I didn’t know what you were planning? I’ve been waiting outside for five minutes.”
“You knew Gia loaned me her car?” she asked dumbfounded.
“Of course not. I expected you to hot-wire it. Honestly, I’m a little disappointed, but at least we won’t have to deal with a grand theft auto charge.” He looked out the back window. “Damn! You better get moving. We’ve got company.”
Morgan didn’t look back; she knew it was the guards. With the petal to the metal, she pulled out onto the road.
“I’d bet my next royalty check those guards are on the phone to Sam.”
Chapter Forty-Three
The post office was in the center of the quaint tourist town of Cliff View Harbor, twenty minutes south of Gia’s home. The FBI’s black SUV led the caravan, with Sam, his mother, and Max behind them in Sam’s silver SUV. Sam’s four security guards rode in two additional vehicles. Currently, everyone was stuck at a railroad crossing with a stalled train blocking the only road into town. It had been an excruciating fifteen minutes for Max.
The plan was simple. Agent Perez would meet them in front of the post office and escort him and his mother inside. The agent hadn’t been keen on Max being part of the equation, but he refused to allow his mother to go inside without him. Once Gia picked up the package and handed it to Agent Perez, Sam would escort Gia to the bodyguards who were driving her to the airport. Max hoped that would be the end of the matter, but he was not that naive. He was still stewing about the lack of FBI presence. Sam assured him that his men, who would be parked on the street to surveil the area, had them covered if there was trouble. Sam had just opened his internet browser to check for another route when the train began to move.
“About time,” Gia mumbled.
Ten minutes later, they pulled into the post office, finding two parking spaces not far from the front door.
While Max waited for Agent Perez, his phone rang. “Max.”
