Falling in Love on Willow Creek by Debbie Mason

Chapter Thirteen

No way. You’re not telling Sadie who we are. We can’t trust her. Look what she pulled last night.” Black tossed his cigarette, grinding it into the asphalt with the toe of his sneaker.

Thanks to his partner, the area around the industrial waste bin behind I Believe in Unicorns was littered with cigarette butts. Chase toed them into a small mound. “You should clean this up.”

“You’re talking about blowing our cover to a woman who just showed us her true colors, and you’re worried about a couple cigarette butts lying around on the ground?”

“There aren’t a couple of butts, there are twenty-two. You smoke too much. It’s bad for your health—and mine, since you continue to smoke around me even when I ask you not to. Death from secondary smoke has been scientifically proven, Black.”

His partner shook his head. “I don’t get you, Mikey. I really don’t.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, but what does surprise me is you can’t see the benefit in telling Sadie who we are.”

“Enlighten me, O brilliant one.”

Chase pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger in an attempt to alleviate a headache that came from lack of sleep, worry over Sadie and the baby, and indirectly inhaling two cigarettes. He wondered, and not for the first time that morning, how he’d gotten saddled with this man for a partner.

“If—and that’s a big if for me—she’s working with her brother, we’re more likely to get her to turn on him if she realizes we’ve been surveilling her and her grandmother and that we have the authority to make a deal. The last thing she wants is to end up in prison.” His chest tightened at the image of Michaela being ripped from her mother’s arms as they led Sadie away in handcuffs, just as it had last night when he’d learned she’d lied to him and could have been killed.

She’d put herself in danger without any regard for the consequences. Whoever shot at her and her brother last night, they’d assume she was involved, just like his partner had. Both Sadie and Michaela were in danger, and the only way Chase knew how to protect them was to tell her the truth. He was honest enough with himself to admit that the fact he’d no longer have to lie to her played into his decision.

But there was another reason he wanted to tell Sadie the truth, one he wouldn’t—couldn’t—share with his partner. By Chase’s calculations, Black should have come upon Sadie and her brother within minutes of the gunmen. Black was former special ops. From everything Chase had read in the agent’s military file, Nathan Black’s targets shouldn’t have been able to get away from him as he’d claimed when Chase and Gabe had questioned him at the rock in the woods last night. Chase also didn’t believe Black’s claim that his shots went wide.

Black had a night scope on his rifle, something he obviously didn’t know Chase was aware of. But Chase made it his mission to know every last detail about the men and women he worked with. However, one detail about Black eluded him—what was his endgame?

Chase had a feeling his partner’s brand of justice wasn’t the same as his. He didn’t want Sadie caught in the crossfire. When she was at her grandmother’s store, she’d be under his partner’s protection. She needed to know Black’s true identity so he couldn’t play her. There was the added benefit that she’d tell Chase if she saw or heard something suspicious.

If she ever talked to him again. He didn’t fool himself that his confession would go over well.

“What if Sadie is the mastermind and not her brother? Hear me out,” Black said when Chase opened his mouth to shut him down. “Like I told you and Gabe last night, I didn’t hear or see much, but it was obvious Sadie was calling the shots. She knew exactly what she was doing. She’s smart and one hell of a shot.”

Admittedly, learning that Sadie had been armed and knew how to use a gun had concerned him. Although practically everyone in the small town owned a gun, according to Gabe.

“Look, I know you have this Madonna fantasy going on but just because she’s a yummy mummy doesn’t mean she doesn’t also have the brains and motivation to be behind this. It’s in her DNA. This isn’t the first time she’d find herself on the wrong side of the law either. There was that incident with her father. She was the one who helped him escape police.”

“Allegedly. They never found any proof.” Not that he’d admit it to Black, but the thought had also crossed Chase’s mind.

Jeremiah Gray had put Sadie, a thirteen-year-old at the time, in an untenable position. So had her brother. Just like in her romantic relationships, Sadie had placed her trust in the wrong men. Men who had no scruples when it came to taking advantage of her innate goodness. He ignored the voice in his head that said he’d basically done the same.

“Because they underestimated her, the same as you are. In my experience, women can be just as manipulative and deadly as men. Maybe more so.”

“Whether I’ve misjudged her or not, this is our best play moving forward. We’ve wasted months looking for Elijah, and now that he’s gone to ground again, we need to ensure we don’t waste more time. Sadie will lead us to him.”

“And why did we waste three months?” Black cupped his hand behind his ear. “Come on, let me hear you say it. No? Then I’ll say it for you. Because we underestimated Agnes MacLeod. We never suspected that our Betty White look-alike was hiding her grandson.”

“Neither did Sadie, and Agnes raised her,” Chase said, still flummoxed, and irritated that Sadie’s grandmother had managed to pull the wool over their eyes.

“But did she really? Maybe the three of them are in on it together.”

“Either you need more sleep or your filthy habit has starved your brain of oxygen one time too many if you actually believe that.” He toed the last of the cigarette butts into the tidy mound. “We’re going with my plan, Black. Meet me at the cottage after work. We’ll tell Sadie then. Keep a close eye on them today. Let me know—” he began as he went to walk away.

Black grabbed him by the arm, whipped him around, and pulled him up hard against his chest.

“What the—” Chase got out just before Black angled his head as if to kiss him.

Sadie stood at the back door of I Believe in Unicorns, staring at Michael and Nate. She rubbed her sleep-deprived eyes. She knew she was tired but imagining the two men were kissing was ridiculous. They couldn’t be…

She blinked them back into focus. They still looked like they were kissing from where she was standing. The man she’d spent the past three months fantasizing about was kissing another man.

If she needed further proof her brain synapses weren’t firing on all cylinders, it had just been handed to her on a big, shiny silver platter. Even now, images from yesterday, moments when she thought there might be something between them, played out behind her eyes. She was lucky Gabe had been in the driveway last night, otherwise she might have chased after Michael and declared her feelings for him, anything to make him stay.

She was about to turn away and give them their privacy when Michael pushed Nate away. Then, as though Michael sensed her standing there, he raised his gaze. His lips flattened, and he shoved Nate again. “I don’t believe you,” he said to the other man.

Nate glanced back at her and shook his head before saying something to Michael that she couldn’t hear.

“Too bad. You brought me in on this. We’re playing it my way,” Michael said to Nate, then walked toward her. “Sadie, we need to talk.”

What did he mean by You brought me in on this? Something wasn’t right. She had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what he told her. She thought back to Michael’s interactions with Nate yesterday. “You two know each other, don’t you?”

Michael nodded, glancing over his shoulder at Nate, who’d lit another cigarette. “We do. You know him too.”

Nate muttered something, took a long drag of his cigarette, and then tossed it.

“Of course I do. My grandmother hired him.” Her voice hitched as Nate joined Michael. The ex-offender seemed different. His easygoing demeanor was missing. He looked a little scary.

The garbage truck rattled into the alley. “We should probably take this inside,” Michael said.

“Oh yeah, we should. Unless you intend to out us to everyone in Highland Falls,” Nate muttered.

Okay, so it sounded like her brain had been going in the wrong direction after all. This was about the two of them coming out as gay. A much better scenario than the one that had her thinking she should slam the door and run. They weren’t working for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department like she’d begun to suspect.

She gave them an understanding smile. “Small towns get a bad rap. People aren’t as closed-minded as you think. You don’t have to worry how people in town will react to you guys being partners.”

“We’re partners, Sadie, but we’re not gay.” Michael held the door open, lifting his chin for her to lead the way.

She turned to face them, blocking the entrance. “No, you’re not getting anywhere near my grandmother or daughter until I know who you are. Show me some ID.” She slid her hand into the pocket of her jeans, closing her fingers around her phone. Gabe or one of his deputies could be at the store in under four minutes. All she’d have to do is yell for her grandmother to get Michaela out of the store. The knowledge gave Sadie the confidence to lift her chin and hold Michael’s intent blue gaze.

“You don’t have to be scared. We’re not going to hurt you. We’re here to protect you, Sadie.” He took his wallet from his sage-green uniform pants and flipped it open.

She stared at the badge. “FBI,” she whispered, lifting her gaze to his. “You’re an FBI agent?”

He nodded, pocketing his ID before she could examine it. “Nate’s an agent with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.”

The man she’d believed to be an ex-offender flashed his badge. This time she was more careful. She didn’t let the sight of the badge distract her from matching the face and the name to the man towering over her.

“We’re investigating the murder of my friend. He was a deputy with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.”

“The man found in the woods near the cottage?” The man who’d been trying to help her brother. The man who was killed because he knew too much. “I’m very sorry for your loss,” she said at his clipped nod.

Turning, she walked back into the store and forced a smile for her grandmother, who was rocking Michaela in a chair by the display window. “Hey, Granny, I need to talk to Nate and Michael for a minute. Are you okay with Michaela?”

“And why wouldn’t I be? Look at her, sleeping like an angel.”

Of course she was. The moment Michael and Gabe had pulled out of her driveway last night, Michaela had woken up. Sadie was lucky if she’d managed forty-five minutes of uninterrupted sleep. Between that and panic, she was struggling to come up with a way to deal with this situation. How much of what her brother had told her should she share?

Calm down, she told herself as she walked down the hall to the office with Michael and Nate following close behind. She’d need all her wits about her. Both she and her grandmother could face charges of aiding and abetting a known felon. She’d been in this position before. Only then she’d been a terrified thirteen-year-old who’d made the mistake of trusting her father.

She opened the office door, praying they didn’t notice her fingers trembling on the knob. Wishful thinking on her part, she thought, catching Michael glancing at her hands. She folded her arms across the pink unicorn T-shirt she had on. Nate wore the same only several sizes larger. The office seemed crowded, the air charged and stifling—perhaps the reason she was having trouble breathing and felt faint.

“You should probably sit down, Sadie,” Michael suggested.

She wondered if he could tell her hands weren’t the only thing shaking—so were her legs. But she wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of appearing weak or intimidated. She leaned back against the edge of the desk instead of sitting down. “I’m fine. Why are you telling me who you are now?” she asked, buying time while playing through her options in her head.

“Yeah, Mikey, remind me again why we’re breaking our cover?” His arms crossed over his broad chest, Nate glared at his partner.

A partner who ignored him. “By meeting with your brother, you put yourself at risk, Sadie. The men who are looking for him could use you to draw him out.”

“Or they might come to the conclusion they’ve been looking for the wrong Gray all along,” Nate said.

“Either way, you’re in danger,” Michael said without correcting his partner.

“You think I had something to do with the drugs and shooting the deputy?” She pulled out the chair from the desk and sat down before her legs gave out. She wasn’t expecting to have to defend herself against charges of drug dealing and murder. Against aiding and abetting, yes, but never this.

“We should have the ballistics report back on your grandmother’s gun within the next seventy-two hours. We’ll know if it was used to kill Brodie then,” Nate said.

The gun she’d turned over to Gabe last night. The gun that had been in her brother’s possession since last summer.

“So you might as well come clean now,” Nate added, while Michael stayed perfectly still and quiet.

He was leaning against the wall, watching her. Like he’d watched her back in February from across the road. The day of hearts. Her grandmother’s prediction hadn’t been about Elijah or Drew after all. It had been about Michael.

“I didn’t shoot your friend, and I had nothing to do with stealing the drugs from the Whiteside Mountain Gang. You believe me, don’t you?” she asked Michael. “I’d just moved back to Highland Falls. I—”

“The autopsy came back last week. Brodie was shot in February,” Nate clipped out as if the words were hard for him to say.

“There’s no way I could have been involved in his shooting. I was almost nine months pregnant. You know that, Michael. You were…” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why were you there that day? Did you do something to the road, to my car? Did you set it up so I’d crash?”

“Of course not. Brodie had set up a meet with Nate there a few days before.” He glanced at the other agent. “We were searching for him, for clues.”

Her eyes went wide. “You,” she said to Nate. “You’re Eddie Taylor.”

He gave her a slight bow. “At your service.”

She shook her head. She’d thought they were her heroes, that Michael was her knight in shining armor, and all along they were lying to her. “What do you want from me?” Her voice was strained from holding back her emotions.

“We want to know where Elijah is,” Michael said.

“I don’t know. I don’t,” she repeated when he raised an eyebrow. It was true. She hadn’t heard from Elijah. He could be anywhere by now.

“After last night, you must know he’s in danger, Sadie. If they find him before we do, he doesn’t stand a chance.”

“And I’m supposed to believe he stands a chance with you, with him?” She lifted her chin at Nate. “You’ve tried and convicted him.”

“Are you saying that he didn’t steal the cocaine or kill Brodie?” Michael asked.

“Before you answer, you might want to remember that we’re the only ones who stand in the way of you going to jail for aiding and abetting. Same goes for your grandmother,” Nate said.

“Ease up, Black.” Michael pushed off the wall. “Look, Sadie, I know this is a lot to take in. But we’re”—he glanced at his partner and then back at her—“I’m on your side. I know how you felt about your brother stealing the drugs. You told me. So no, I don’t believe you’re involved. But you have to look at this from our perspective, and right now, all the evidence is pointing at your brother shooting Brodie.”

“He didn’t. He didn’t kill Brodie. He—” She closed her mouth. She’d said too much. She was angry that Michael had been lying to her but she didn’t want him to end up dead like Brodie. She’d never forgive herself. She imagined that’s how her brother felt.

“He told you who he thinks killed Brodie, didn’t he?” When she remained silent, Michael said, “Sadie, we know Brodie and your brother believed the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department is somehow involved in all of this. That’s why we’re undercover, and it’s why we have to stay that way. None of what we’ve said to you can leave this room.”

“So Nate is going to continue working at the store?” she asked, avoiding meeting the other agent’s hard stare. He didn’t trust her. She supposed she didn’t blame him. He believed her brother killed his friend. He wasn’t open to the possibility Elijah might not have had anything to do with Brodie’s death. But Michael seemed to be.

Michael nodded. “Yes, he’ll be here to protect your grandmother, and you and Michaela when you’re here. For that reason, I’d like you to suggest to your grandmother that she rent the second bedroom in her apartment to Nate. It shouldn’t be a tough sell. She needs the money.”

Her grandmother probably wouldn’t be difficult to convince, but Nate looked like he would be. Her life, their lives, were spiraling out of control, which might have been why she almost missed Michael’s quietly stated “I’ll be staying with you.”

She gaped at him. “Staying with me, as in moving in with me?” Her brain seemed to have missed the memo that she shouldn’t be happy about this turn of events. She blamed it on sleep deprivation.

“Yes, Abby has already created a cover story about us that by now half the town has bought into.”

“And what cover story is that?” Sadie asked, thinking this was very close to what she’d wished for last night before Michael closed the door on her hopes and dreams. Now she knew why they said Be careful what you wish for.

Nate clasped his hands to his chest, raising his voice to a grating falsetto. “Michael Knight is Sadie’s knight in shining armor. He helped deliver that precious child of hers into the world and the two of them fell madly in love.” Nate rolled his eyes. “What a pile of fairy-tale bullcrap. I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t heard it almost verbatim from at least ten different sources.” He waggled his eyebrows at Michael. “Too bad his real name is Chase Roberts and not Michael Knight.”