Page 32 of Rescued By the Operative

He smirks. “What’s her name?”

“Blondie,” I say.

“Good grief. We’re screwed.”

I go to my brother and put my hands on his shoulders. “Ennis. Listen. You’re spiraling. It’s going to be fine.”

“How do you know that?” Ennis asks. “Come on, Jake!”

“Because she’s…special.”

Ennis scrubs both hands over his face.

He pulls away from me and stalks down toward the entrance of the mine shaft.

“Ennis, wait.”

“Why would you do this?”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ve got work to do,” he mutters, setting aside the boards that cover the entrance to the mine shaft. “I’ve got to come up with an alternate plan.”

“You’re overreacting, Ennis. Just wait.”

I go down after him and force him to stop and listen. “Ennis, you know I don’t go into these things lightly. When was the last time I fell in love?”

Ennis blinks at me. “Never. I’ve never heard you use that word before.”

“Exactly.”

“How do you know you can trust her? How do you know she and whatever agency she’s with won’t make us fill in the tunnel, or come and inspect it, or…”

“You gotta stop worrying. It’s all going to be fine in the end,” I say. “And if not, I’ve got your back. I’m not going to let anyone undo the work we’ve done. I’m not letting anyone, not even someone I love, pull me off this mission. I got your back.”

Ennis waits a beat, and finally, his breathing calms down. “And I have yours,” he says.

“I know.”

“But,” he says, “we have to tell Wylie and everyone else. Okay?”

“It’s a deal.”

“And I’m gonna try one more time to call Curly. We need him.”

Chapter Thirteen

Nelly

Floydene Blatch has come to see me at the hospital.

But she didn’t bring flowers or sneak me any decent food.

I can hear her in the hallway, arguing with a nurse.

She’s here to check on my status, and to grill me.

Fortunately, the hospital staff knows how to do their job and enforces my request to not have any visitors.