Chapter 17 #4
She sat down, her mind going crazy, thoughts racing as Tim’s brother sat with his hands zip-tied behind his back. He was soon identified as Ronald Barr. Within thirty minutes, somebody was at the door, and their prisoner was taken away, along with the original material they had found.
But not before Burton and Anderson had made copies of absolutely everything and had passed that on to Levi in digital form as well.
Sammy asked, “You really trust this Levi? Because he’s not only taken your prisoner but he also has all the information you just found.”
Burton smiled. “One thing you learn in the military is, when you have people who can help, you have to trust them. And Levi? Yeah, we totally trust him. He’s a military man too, and we’ve dealt with him for many years,” he stated.
“I know you don’t know him, and you don’t understand this whole scenario, but I think we finally might be about to get this sorted. ”
“I don’t know about sorted,” she muttered.
Anderson walked back into the room, tired but happy.
“Ronald went out calm, quiet, and no longer shrieking, seemingly understanding that things had taken a completely different turn. I reminded him that, if he cooperated, he would be in a much better position over this whole thing—meaning that he could put away his brother for a long time on this one. He seemed to think that was an absolutely perfect ending to something he had nothing to do with.”
“You’re not saying you trust Tim’s brother now, are you?” she asked Anderson curiously.
“Hell no, but, on this topic, I probably do. Whether he ever had anything to do with Tim’s drug business or not, I don’t know. Yet it seems he may be in the clear.”
Burton nodded. “He was trying to clear his name. Now, that doesn’t mean that we won’t find out even more to come that we still don’t know about.”
“I’m not that much of a fool.” Anderson chuckled. “But it’s quite possible that Ronald was a victim in this instance, just as much as everybody else.”
“So, why take him away in handcuffs then?” Sammy asked.
“He did break into the house with a gun and threaten people,” Anderson pointed out. “That’s still quite an offense.”
“Right,” she whispered, as the shock from first seeing him returned. “I hadn’t considered that.”
“That’s because you’re worn out.”
“Are we safe yet?” she asked.
“I would like to say yes, but we’re not,” Anderson replied.
She nodded, turned to Burton. “I don’t know about you, but I need sleep, and I do have to work tomorrow.”
“Right. And we have shift change coming up. I’ll go to the hospital to relieve Leland,” he noted.
“Will you be okay here?”
“I’ll be okay.” She walked over and gave him a big kiss. “Make sure you come to the right bed when you get home.”
He laughed. “I would love to, but chances are it’ll be morning.”
“Right, as long as I can get to work on time, I guess that’s what matters.” She groaned. “In that case, I’ll bring you coffee, but not until I’m on shift.”
He was still laughing as she smiled at Anderson and said, “Thanks for saving us.”
“Not a problem. Sorry it’s been such a hairy night for you.”
“Yeah, well, the good news is that the Lisas made it through it all. They’re still sleeping, though I don’t know how that is even possible, but it’s a good thing.
” Sammy then announced, “I’m going back to bed.
” And, with that, she headed to the stairs.
She heard the men talking behind her, but she didn’t care.
She did have a full day tomorrow, and things were starting to look up in many ways.
Anderson called out to her. She looked over the stair railing, as he came up to her. “You’re doing great, you know?”
“I’m doing great?” she asked, one eyebrow raised. “What? Are you my cheerleader now?”
“No, I really appreciate who you are, what you’ve been through, and how you’re handling it all,” Anderson explained. “And so does Burton.”
She smiled. “I’m not running away. I promise.”
“I know you’re not,” he declared, with a knowing grin. “As long as Burton is here, you’re here. You’ll stick with him, won’t you?” He stared at her, as if looking for confirmation.
Burton joined Anderson, and she teasingly said, “At least for a little while.”
“Oh, great,” Burton muttered, rolling his eyes. “No pressure.”
She laughed. “No, no pressure. Just remember which bedroom to come to when you get home.”
“Oh, I hear you.” Burton was all smiles. “I promise. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but it’ll probably be quite a few hours. Leland’s been out all day and never did get a nap, so I need to give him a solid break too.”
“Good enough.” As Sammy climbed up the stairs and went to bed, she smiled as she realized that at least this stage was over.
In the early hours of the morning, she felt the bed creak, and warm arms wrapped around her. She smiled and asked, “You finally got home, did you?”
“I absolutely did,” he murmured gently. “Now go back to sleep.”
She closed her eyes and gently drifted off in Burton’s arms, hoping for a much better day tomorrow.
Maybe she had muttered something out loud, but she wasn’t sure. Yet he whispered, “Absolutely. Not just a better day tomorrow, but a much better future, … for both of us.”
“Both of us,” she whispered and drifted off, a smile on her face.