Page 22 of Sam to the Rescue

Seconds later, I snatch his cell phone off the counter and run down the stairs but he’s already gone. Huh. He remembers extra guns but forgets his phone? Not very likely.

Shit. This has the stank of Fed all over it. The last time they came for us, it was Halloween and it was me undercover, not him. Why the hell can’t they leave us the fuck alone?

I call Slate, ready to chew his head off. “Where is he?”

“Don’t know.”

“But you can guess.”

“I can.”

Damn Slate and his mono-syllabic communication skills. “Don’t make me drive into the city.”

He chuckles but without mirth. “I really can’t say, Sam, but I’m sure you can guess.”

“Shit. The cleaning crystals… Someone is using them and they want Suds to help find them.” My heart jumps into my stomach. “Oh my God.”

“Sam? Stay out of it. This is FBI business and you don’t want to muck it up. If you do, Suds could die.”

“I understand.”

But I make no promises.

Chapter 13

Suds

I hate lying to my wife. When she worked for the FBI, she had a high level of clearance. When it suits them, they reinstate it, like last Halloween. Surely, they could make a similar exception now.

Doyle, dark eyes in the rearview mirror, drives through the heavy traffic on the BQE while I sit in the back seat arguing with O’Brien. “I wouldn’t want to be you once Sam speaks with Jenna. I hope your couch is plenty comfortable.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time, believe me.” The way he frowns I almost feel sorry for him. His wife, Dr. Jones is a formidable woman.

“At least she’s no danger magnet.”

Colin chuckles. “You’d be surprised. Someday, over beers, we’ll talk about how we met.”

“Before Jason?” Intrigued, I stop wrangling as his eyes grow soft.

“Not really. Do you know she had a working AI application long before anyone dreamed it possible? In some ways she’s a genius. In others…” He shakes his head. “Let’s just say she’s similar to Sam.”

I use his weak moment to help my cause. “Then you must understand why I need to tell my wife something. She’s a damn fine investigator. If you don’t, she’ll find out some other way and maybe, put the mission at risk.”

He sighs. “Very well, but you’ll need to have Lucky watch over her.”

Alarm bells go off in my head. My pal is the only bodyguard who suspects I may be seeing things. Surely, he wouldn’t tell my boss. Some things are sacred between buddies. However, I recall a certain intervention where I put my nose intohisbusiness. It took a couple years for him to fully forgive me but that was different. Damn, he was nigh onto suicidal. I sure as fuck am not.

Anything I say now would throw suspicion on my mental health so I let it go. I told Sam I needed my brain waves machine so she knows I’m having bad dreams. Hopefully, Lucky won’t spill the beans to anyone else.

Chapter 14

Sam

Pacing in front of my floor-to-loft industrial window, I count trains. Five have come and gone in the station across the street since Suds left. By the time my husband’s Aussie friend buzzes the front door, I’m a fucking mess.

I rush to the waiting room and open the door. “I swear, if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I will storm the damn FBI castle. If that doesn’t’ work, I’ll call The Times and tell them all about the stupid clown pizza gun range.”

It’s then I notice he has his five-year-old with him. “Oh, I’m sorry. Hi, Polly.”