Ферн Майклз - Truth and Justice

Paul nodded because he didn’t know what else to do. “But one of them said that the house Sara is living in is under surveillance by your people round-the-clock. If she gets spooked and takes it on the lam, they’ll catch her.”

“There are just two of them out there now. Front door, back door, side door, basement door. Various windows. From what I’ve been told, Sara is a remarkable escape artist, and she also excels at various disguises.” Bella talked nonstop until the pizza arrived. They ate and guzzled until everything was gone. Then they cleaned up, checked all the windows and doors, set the alarm, and left the town house. Paul tossed the pizza box and the beer bottles in the Dumpster in the parking lot.

“Back to the farm, right?”

“Yes, we need to bring this to a close as soon as possible. Not us but the Sisters. You do understand there is no way we can interfere in any of this going forward. That’s how they work. We can voice our opinions, but that’s it. Tell me you understand, Paul. Otherwise, I cannot take you back to the farm,” Bella said.

Paul looked down at her anxious face. He wanted to cup her face in his hands and kiss her. He had never wanted anything more in his whole life. He jammed his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet. “I understand. Remember, I’m ex-army. I’m trained to follow orders whether I like them or not. Right now, I’m just here to do whatever I can. I won’t botch it up. I know who’s in charge. And it is not me. Okay, let’s go now that we have that all cleared up.”

“You look upset,” Bella said quietly. “You don’t agree, is that it? I think we need to clear that up before we leave here, or there are going to be problems. Or is it that you resent taking orders from a bunch of women?”

“What?” The single word exploded out of Paul’s mouth like a gunshot. “Good God, no! I . . . just . . . I’m fighting with myself here not to grab you and kiss you till your teeth rattle.”

“Then maybe instead of thinking about it, you should do something about that thought.” Good Lord, did I just say that out loud? I guess so, she thought, as she felt hot lips crushing her own.

Paul was the first to pull away. He stepped back to stare at the woman whose world he had just rocked out from under her. He needed to do something, say something, but he was frozen to the floor, his tongue glued to his teeth. He was mesmerized as he watched Bella lick at her swollen lips. She said, in a harsh whisper, “I think we should head back to the farm. Like right now would be good.”

He followed her to his rental car. He really needed to say something.

“Looks like it’s going to rain,” Bella said. “I like a good rainstorm sometimes, but only if I’m safe inside. When I was a little girl, I would hide under the covers when it would thunder and lightning.” Bella babbled away to hide the way she really felt and what she really wanted to say.

Paul swallowed hard. He joined in and started to recount his own boyhood tales of storms he’d weathered. So that’s how we’re going to play it.

That rock-my-world kiss never happened.

But it did happen. And they both knew it and were hyperaware of it.

* * *

“They’re back!” Annie said, looking at the overhead monitor.

“And they have the goods, as the saying goes,” Nikki said.

“I just got a text from Avery saying he is three miles out and will be here shortly. He said he has the house surrounded. Six operatives are on duty. Sara with a million aliases is not going anywhere. Well, she might try, but she won’t get farther than the doorway,” Myra said.

“Isabelle, how’s it going with her finances? Do you have them all? Even the overseas ones?” Nikki asked.

“I have seventy-five percent of them. Abner’s friend Phil is helping me. He said he’d have the ones that are off the beaten path shortly. He did say she is pretty smart, and that not many people know how to utilize whatever it is he uses to track . . . um . . . other people’s illegal money.”

Alexis’s fist shot in the air. “The only thing that is important is we got her. We really got her. And all that lovely money. Bella, you are going to be a very rich young woman.”

Bella held up her hands, palms outward. “Like I said, for me this was never about the money. All I wanted was enough to pay off Andy’s truck, the tax on it, and the insurance. I didn’t want him to go to his maker as a deadbeat who didn’t pay his bills. I was expecting a little to help me with my move. Paul said Andy had some ideas of what he was going to do with his inheritance and his own personal fortune when he retired from the military. I’ll do whatever it was he wanted. I don’t need his money; I can support myself.

“I thought I would keep Andy’s life insurance, and that would take care of everything. I really thought he would have left his money to his sister. Of course, that was before I knew what I now know.”

“That’s a lot of money to give away,” Kathryn said. “If you factor in all the money Sara scammed from unsuspecting men, we’re going to be busy distributing it to worthy causes, minus our expenses.” The others agreed with Kathryn’s statement but also agreed they would all be happy doing it.

“I also made another decision,” Bella said, looking at Alexis. “I’m going to need your help, I’m thinking. I want the clinic to dispose of my eggs and Andy’s donations. I want that done as soon as possible. I have a sick feeling that Sara already . . . I think she . . . I do not think Andy would want Sara to carry his child. He would think that was incestuous even though it wouldn’t be since they aren’t blood relatives. I want them destroyed,” she said firmly.

“Nikki and I can legally take care of that for you,” Alexis said. “And for whatever it’s worth, I think you are doing the right thing. And from what we know of Andy, I think you are right about that, too. I do not think he would want Sara giving birth to his child. Better, he would think, just to let it fade away.”

“Avery’s here,” Myra said, as she walked to the kitchen door to let the old spy in. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“We got her. She’s not going anywhere,” Avery said, as Annie thrust Bella’s papers into his hands. Satisfied at what he was seeing, he started to laugh. “Okay, ladies and one man, what’s our next move?”

“Everyone, head for the dining room, take a seat, get comfortable. Myra and I will make fresh coffee; then we’ll join you all to decide our final move,” Annie announced.

As the two women bustled about the kitchen, they whispered to each other.

“I have to say, this mission ate at me, Myra. I didn’t think we had a snowball’s chance of making this come out right for Bella.”

“I agree. What we lost sight of was Andy himself. He was, according to Bella, a stand-up guy. He would have done the right thing no matter what. At the last second, yes, and on the fly, but he did do what was expected of him. We can forgive him that laxness, he just got married to the girl of his dreams, and that’s all he was thinking about. I feel so bad for Bella. I’m sorry Andy passed. Life would have been so promising for them both.”

“Annie, by any chance did you happen to notice anything different between Mr. Montrose and Bella?” Myra asked, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“I certainly did. That mouth of hers was kissed solidly for a very long time. Their eyes are glassy. I’m happy for them, but they’re both feeling guilty and don’t know what to do about it. That’s the sad part.”

“They’ll figure it out and go on from there. It may take a while, but they both have all the time in the world now,” Myra said.