Page 29 of The Agent

M ARLEY STOOD IN FRONT of the sliding door leading to her backyard and stared at the sparrows pecking at the seeds in her bird feeder.

Male voices drifted in from the living room—Caleb was in there with Jamison and D’Amato, the two DEA agents who’d been posted outside during the night.

They were discussing the money Caleb had discovered in the bathroom, and she preferred not to be there for that.

She still couldn’t believe it. Patrick had stashed two hundred thousand dollars under her floor.

She’d probably walked over that spot hundreds of times in the past few months, completely oblivious to what lay below.

The thought that her bathroom floor had been housing Patrick’s drug money for so long made her want to cry.

Caleb was certain Patrick would come back for the money. It was probably the only reason he hadn’t fled the city earlier. He had to know by now that their bank account had been frozen. Caleb told her that the bank wouldn’t authorize any transfers out of the account.

Patrick must be pretty desperate by now, she thought, her stomach churning.

She grew even more uneasy when her cell phone vibrated in her purse, which sat on the kitchen counter.

It was probably Gwen, or maybe her brother or her dad, whose calls she’d been avoiding since last night.

Her best friend and family had no idea what had happened yesterday—finding Lydia White tied up in her bedroom, discovering Patrick’s drug money.

She hadn’t called because she didn’t want to scare them any further. Patrick’s stunt at the hospital already had everyone on edge.

She fished the phone out of her bag, sighing when she saw her dad’s number flashing on the screen. This was his third call in the past hour. If she continued to not pick up, he and Sam would probably drive over in a panic. That was one scene she wouldn’t mind avoiding.

“Hey, Dad,” she said as she pressed the talk button.

“Hey, sweet pea.”

Shock slammed into her like a baseball bat, sucking the oxygen right out of her lungs.

“Don’t say my name,” Patrick added swiftly. “Are you alone?”

Her fingers shook against the phone. “Y-yes.”

“Good. If anyone comes in, you’re talking to your father.”

She choked down the hard lump of terror obstructing her throat. “Why are you calling from this number?”

“Because I’m having a nice little visit with your father,” Patrick answered in a pleasant voice. “Sammy’s here, too, but I’m afraid I had to knock him out. He was being very difficult.”

A chill rushed over her. “Don’t you dare hurt either one of them.”

“I’m not going to hurt anyone.” He sounded annoyed. “Your father’s sitting right here beside me, not a hair on his head disturbed.”

“Let me talk to him,” she blurted. Her heart hammered in her chest, so fast she feared it might stop beating altogether. “I want to talk to him.”

“Fine, but be quick. You and I have some things to discuss.”

There was a shuffling noise, and then, to her sheer relief, her father came on the line. “Sweetheart?”

“Daddy?” she whispered. “Oh, God, Dad, are you okay?”

“I’m all right,” her father replied, but the slight quiver in his voice told her he was anything but all right.

“Has he hurt you?”

“No.” Not yet, was what he seemed to be saying. Her dad grew urgent, his words coming out so fast she struggled to keep up. “Don’t do a thing he asks, Marley. Your brother and I will be okay. Whatever he wants, don’t give it to him. Do you hear me, sweetheart, don’t—”

An angry curse whipped through the extension, and then Patrick returned. “Your father’s trying to be a hero,” he said with a chuckle. “But we both know you’re not going to leave him at my mercy, right, sweet pea? ”

“What do you want?”

“I need you to bring me something. There’s some money stashed in your house. It’s hidden under…”

Marley tuned him out, the sound of footsteps sending alarm spinning through her. She heard the front door shut, then more footsteps coming toward the kitchen. Caleb appeared in the doorway a second later, and she quickly held up her hand to silence him.

His blue eyes immediately hardened as he looked at the cell phone pressed up to her ear.

“—and bring it to your father’s house,” Patrick finished. “One hour, Marley.”

An unsteady breath squeezed out of her lungs. “I c-can’t. They’re watching me.”

“The cops?”

“Yeah. They’re next door. And one is upstairs right now,” she said, avoiding Caleb’s eyes. “I can’t leave without them knowing.”

“You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you’ll find a way.” Patrick’s voice turned to ice. “You sure found a way to screw someone else while I was gone.”

She swallowed. “I…”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses,” Patrick snapped. “Get the money and bring it to me, or you can say goodbye to your baby brother and your daddy.”

“Please, don’t hurt—”

“And you’d better be alone,” he interrupted. “I’ll be watching you pull up, and if I sense anything funny, your father and junior die.”

He hung up, and Marley sagged against the counter. She gasped for air, salty tears welling up and coating her eyelashes. A pair of warm arms surrounded her, steadying her before she could keel over.

She whirled around and pressed her face against Caleb’s strong chest, her tears soaking the front of his shirt. “He has my dad and brother,” she wheezed between sobs. “He’s going to kill them if I don’t bring him the money.”

Caleb’s hands stroked her back, soothing her, bringing warmth to her suddenly freezing body. He tangled his fingers in her hair and angled her head so she was looking up at him. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “It’ll be okay.”

“How can you say that? He’s going to kill them!”

“I won’t let him,” Caleb replied. He used his thumb to wipe away her tears. “I won’t let him hurt them, Marley.”

“What are we going to do? He wants me to bring the money in an hour, and I have to go alone. If I bring the cops, he said he’ll kill them.”

Whatever confidence she lacked at the moment, Caleb made up for in spades.

He released her and picked up the radio he’d put on the counter, alerting AJ and the others to the situation.

As she stood there, shaken up and afraid, he placed a call to Hernandez and then to a man he referred to as Stevens.

Fifteen minutes later, Caleb had efficiently assembled a team in her living room, except for Stevens, who listened in on speakerphone.

Marley could barely focus as the men discussed the situation in urgent tones. Patrick had her father and Sam. He’d taken so much from her already. Several pieces of her heart, her ability to trust, her confidence and now he wanted to take her family?

“We can use a decoy,” she heard Hernandez suggest.

Marley’s head whipped up.

“We’ve got an officer in vice who’s about Marley’s height and build,” the detective continued. “We’ll set her up with a wig and a wire, and send her in to—”

“No.”

The men swiveled their heads in her direction, stunned into silence by the vehemence in that one word.

“Marley,” Caleb began, “I know you’re upset, but we’re doing everything we can to get your dad and brother back.”

“You can’t send in a decoy,” she insisted. “He’ll know.”

Hernandez glanced at her in annoyance. “Officer Gray is trained to—”

“I don’t give a damn what she’s trained to do,” she snapped. “I’m telling you, Patrick will know the second she gets out of the car that she isn’t me. We were engaged, Detective. He’ll know .”

Silence descended over the room again.

“What exactly are you getting at?” Caleb asked, sounding extremely wary.

She drew in a steadying breath. “I should be the one to go.”

“No way,” Caleb jumped to his feet. “No way, Marley.”

“Why not? I can take the money, give it to him in exchange for my dad and Sammy, and then you guys can catch him when he tries to leave.”

“It’s not that simple,” Caleb said. “He’s bound to have a weapon. He could shoot you and your family the second he gets the cash.”

She lifted her chin. “So give me a bulletproof vest.”

“And if he shoots you in the head?”

She swallowed hard. “I need to do this, Caleb. I won’t let him hurt my family, and if you try to send in some fake version of me, he will hurt them.”

She studied the faces of the men. Caleb’s partner was looking at her with what appeared to be admiration, the two DEA agents looked as if they were mulling over what she’d said, the SDPD officers were stone-faced and Hernandez watched her with serious dark eyes.

“Do you think you can get him outside?” the detective asked.

Caleb spun around to glare at Hernandez. “What are you doing? She’s not going in there, damn it!”

“It could work,” Hernandez replied. “She gives him the money, and then convinces him she wants to run off with him. Kincaid Sr. and Jr. remain in the house, and Marley and Grier head outside where we’ll have a team waiting.”

“He’ll spot us,” AJ spoke up.

“Not if we stay out of sight until Marley gives the signal they’re coming out,” Hernandez countered. He looked over at her again. “Do you think you’ll be able to do this?”

She hesitated. Convince Patrick she still loved him, that she wanted to flee the country with him? The very idea of seeing his face again made her feel sick.

But what about her dad? What about Sammy? Could she really let them be taken away from her simply because she felt ill at the thought of being near Patrick?

She exhaled. “I can do it.”

“No,” Caleb said again. He stepped toward her, his features hard. “I won’t let you put your life in danger. We can handle this.”

“No, you can’t. Patrick won’t open that door to anyone but me.”

She stared into Caleb’s blue eyes, floored by the agony she saw in them. He was scared. Scared for her.

“I’m scared, too,” she murmured as if he’d vocalized his fear. “But you’ll be right outside to protect me.”

He nodded. “Always,” he said softly.