Beverly Barton - Grace Under Fire

"You said Jaron was knifed to death… could they tell by looking at his body if he'd been tortured?"

Sheriff Long swallowed hard. His forehead dotted with perspiration. "Hell, Mrs. Fortier, what do you think?"

Ronnie grasped Charmaine's arm. "Mrs. Fortier, maybe I should call a doctor for you."

"No, that won't be necessary." Why did she suddenly feel faint?

"Any chance of me talking to Mr. Fortier tonight?" the sheriff asked.

"My husband has been ill-"

"I've already explained that Mr. Fortier is under doctor's orders to stay in bed and he's been given a sleeping pill," Ronnie said.

"Well, that's it then, folks." The sheriff plopped his hat down on his head, knowing it would be useless to pursue the matter tonight.

Ronnie lowered his head and whispered in Charmaine's ear. "Wait right here." Then he walked the lawman to the door.

Charmaine felt nothing, only a blessed numbness. Jaron was dead. She soon would be. But before she died, she intended to find a way to save Ronnie.

"He's gone," Ronnie said as he returned to the living room and closed the pocket doors in order to give them a little privacy.

She looked at him. Could he see inside her, deep inside her? Did he realize she was a soulless creature, that a part of her spirit had died tonight along with Jaron?

Ronnie pulled her into his arms and held her. "Go ahead and cry."

"What if someone comes in and sees us?"

"Just act like you've fainted and I'll pretend I'm catching you."

She lifted her hand and caressed his cheek, then brushed a kiss across his lips. "I've already cried. Can't you tell. Just look at me. I'm a mess."

"I'm getting you out of here as soon as I can," Ronnie whispered, as if he suspected the walls had ears. "Booth had Jaron killed, didn't he?"

"You didn't know-I mean before the sheriff came tonight?"

"No." He shook his head. "But you knew, didn't you?"

"Jaron was the traitor. I didn't know what he was doing, not until it was too late to stop him. I begged him not to go through with it. I told him Booth would find out."

Ronnie cradled Charmaine's face with his hands. "Play dumb, do you hear me? Tomorrow when Booth sees you act like you're shocked about Jaron. Put on a real show. Pretend you had no idea Jaron would do such a thing."

"I don't understand…"

He squeezed her face gently. "I can't explain more. Just trust me, will you, Charmaine? I love you and I'm going to take you away from all this very soon. Do you believe me?"

She smiled. Tears misted her eyes. She'd been wrong when she thought she could no longer feel anything. Ronnie made her feel, but he couldn't give her hope, no matter how much he wanted to.

"I trust you," she told him. "I believe you."

But she didn't believe. She knew he meant what he said about taking her away from Booth, but Jaron had made her the same promise. And look where that had gotten him. She was trapped, more so than ever. With no way out.

"Promise me something, will you?" She laid her hand over his heart. "Don't risk your life for me. I want you safe, no matter what."

"Charmaine, I can't-"

She placed two fingers over his lips to silence him. "Promise me that even if you can't save me, you'll save yourself."

"How can I promise you such a thing?"

"If you love me as much as I love you, you'll do it."

"I promise that I'll save us both."

"Oh, Ronnie, no…"

"Yes. It's both of us or neither of us."

In that moment, she knew that Ronnie Martine truly loved her. She knew she could trust him. But she also knew that it was only a matter of time before Booth would have them killed… just as he'd had Jaron killed.

" What do you mean you want to tell her everything?" Sawyer MacNamara growled the question. Jed's having phoned him in the middle of the night and wakened him from a sound sleep might have something to do with his less-than-pleasant attitude.

"She has a right to know what's going on," Jed said. "Her life is in danger. She had a dead body dumped at her gate tonight."

"What's going on there with you two?" Sawyer asked. "You sound as if you've gotten personally involved with Ms. Beaumont. Tell me you haven't."

"Whether I have or not isn't the issue, the issue is-"

"Damn it, man, you've known her only a few days, just how serious could things have gotten in that length of time? And you're right-the issue isn't whether you've got the hots for Grace Beaumont. It's that Dundee 's, and therefore you, are part of a major operation involving the Federal government. There's a hell of a lot more at stake than just proving Dean Beaumont's and Byram Sheffield's deaths were murder."

"Don't you think I, of all people, know that," Jed snapped. "I'm telling you that Grace can be trusted with the truth."

"The Bureau isn't going to see it that way."

"Screw the Bureau."

"Look, we're going to keep Ms. Beaumont safe-you, Dom, Kate, Rafe and J.J. When this is all over, she'll be alive and we'll have Fortier behind bars for the rest of his life. What more could she want?"

"Grace wants to know whatever I'm not telling her. It's not the information that's so important to her, it's the fact that I'm keeping something from her. She's the type who doesn't like being kept in the dark-about anything. Besides, she's smart. She'll probably start figuring it out pretty soon."

Sawyer groaned. "Use some of that good-old-boy charm of yours and feed her a line of bull. You've charmed many a woman, haven't you? This wouldn't be any different."

"I'm not going to lie to Grace. I won't fabricate some story to pacify her."

"There's no way Moran will give you permission to share secret information with her. Too much is at risk, including the life of the agent working undercover."

"Maybe I won't ask Moran."

"Don't you go off half-cocked and do something stupid," Sawyer said.

"Get this straight-I'm telling her something, even if it's only half the truth. I've already told her that I'm going to see Booth tomorrow and that I'm attending Jaron's funeral. "

"Did you tell her that you're Fortier's nephew?"

Every muscle in Jed's body froze. He wanted to tell Grace everything-everything except that. "No, I haven't."

"She'll find out eventually," Sawyer reminded him. "Maybe your personal history with Fortier is what you should share with her, not the details of a highly confidential and potentially deadly FBI operation."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Jed knew he wasn't going to tell Grace that he was Booth's nephew. Not yet. Not until he had no other choice. "The other reason I called is so you can tell Moran that if he wants to give me a last-minute briefing, he should call before nine. I'll be leaving then for Beaulac to pay a visit on my uncle."

"I'll let Moran know that you're set to make contact with his agent tomorrow. And as far as the other, don't let your dick do your thinking," Sawyer warned. "If you do, you could wind up in trouble with the Feds and you could also lose your job at Dundee 's."

"Mmm-hmm. Sounds like a win-win situation."

Sawyer harrumphed. "You're going to do whatever the hell you want to do, regardless of what I say. Why bother even asking me?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Jed said honestly. "But I do know that my first priority is Grace Beaumont."

"Bringing Booth Fortier down will be in Ms. Beaumont's best interest. Just remember that."

"Yeah, I'll remember." Jed hit the Off button on his phone.

He'd pretty much known before he called Sawyer what Dundee 's CEO would say. Hell, the guy was a former Fed. And Jed knew that as much as he wanted to come clean with Grace, he couldn't. If by keeping silent, he had to face her wrath, he could handle it-even if she stayed angry with him until this assignment was completed. But it sure would make things easier for him if he could tell her something. Anything to appease her curiosity. Okay, Tyree, just how much can you tell her and not jeopardize the operation?