2. Chapter 2
Chapter two
Isla waited four hours in Detective Anders’s office.
Every once in a while, someone would come in and check on her.
They were trying to be as courteous as they could, asking her if she needed anything.
She could see the exhaustion in their eyes too.
She’d finally put her head back against the couch and had dozed for a bit when the door opened.
Detective Barton ushered four people into the room.
Three men, and a striking woman with black hair and sharp green eyes.
“Isla, this is Agent Dirk Wentworth. He’s one of the agents on your case.”
Agent Wentworth, dark-skinned and muscular with a short beard, stepped forward and said, “Ms. Pierce, we’re sorry about your involvement in this case.
I’d like to introduce my agents, Max Carson, Colton Garvey, and Lara Kendrick.
You’ll be with us until this is all over, ma’am.
You’re a key witness, the only one we have that can take down one of the biggest drug cartels in South America.
You’ll be under our protection. We’ll be taking you to a safe house as soon as we acquire the paperwork we need. ”
Safe house? She just wanted to go home. Isla stammered, “Will I be able to go back to my apartment and pack up a few things?”
“No ma’am, you won’t. They’re probably watching your place. We’ll provide whatever you may need.”
“Can I make a call to my family? They’ll be worried if they don’t hear from me.”
“You can make a call from here. After that I’m sorry to say that you won’t be able to let them know anything. Just tell them that you’re fine and you’ll be in touch. For now that’s all you can do. We don’t want Hernandez to know where we’re taking you. We’ll keep you safe. You have my word.”
Isla bit her lip. “Agent Wentworth, my adoptive parents are elderly. Do I need to worry about them? If these thugs find out who I am, they can be in danger too. Will they be protected as well?”
“We’ve got that covered, Ms. Pierce. After you’ve talked to them, we’ll take them to a safe house as well. As of now, they have nothing to worry about. But we’re taking all precautions to ensure their safety.”
“Can’t we be together?” She felt her eyes prickle. Her parents were all she had.
“It’s not a good idea,” said Agent Wentworth. He softened a bit and said, “They’ll be fine. I promise you.”
Isla dialed her parents’ house, and her dad picked up. “Hello?”
“Hi Dad, can you get Mom and put her on speaker? I need to talk to you both.”
“Sure honey, just a minute.” He yelled behind him. “Maeve, Isla’s on the phone. She wants to talk to both of us.”
Isla could hear her mother shuffling around in the background. Isla could imagine her, neat white hair in curlers and ratty pink slippers on her feet. “Hi, sweetie. This is a surprise— two calls in two days. What’s going on?”
“Mom, Dad, I’ve gotten myself in some trouble.”
“Oh dear, what kind of trouble?”
“I was walking home from work last night and I witnessed a murder.”
“Oh my God, honey, are you okay?” her dad asked.
“I’m…safe. But they say I could be in danger.
Mom and Dad, because of me, you’re in danger as well.
The FBI is sending people to your house.
You need to listen to them. They’re probably going to take you to a safe house till this is all over.
I’m so sorry. Please do what they say, I don’t want either one of you to get hurt on my account. ”
Her parents had always been unflappable. They had to be to foster a teenage girl with anger problems—and keep her. Her mom’s first question was, “You’re sure you’re okay?”
Isla shook her head, but couldn’t bring herself to say no. She turned to Agent Wentworth. “Will I be able to call them?”
“I’m afraid not, but we’ll get letters to them if you write. It’s for your and their protection. Phone calls can be traced.”
“Mom and Dad, this could take weeks before this is all over and I can’t see or even talk to you. I’ll be able to write, and you can write me. I love you both so much. Please stay safe and we’ll be together soon. I promise.”
Isla was ushered into a black SUV with tinted windows.
She slept on and off as they traveled for seven hours up into the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
She awoke as they turned up a gravel road in the middle of nowhere.
It was dusk when they pulled in front of a huge log home.
Another black SUV was parked in front of the garage.
“Looks like Mitch got here ahead of us,” said Agent Wentworth. “Hopefully he’s had time to cook dinner. I’m starved.”
Before they even had a chance to emerge from the SUV, the front door opened. A tall, muscular man descended the stairs. Opening the back-passenger door, he said, “It’s about time you all got here.”
He reached across Agent Kendrick, offering his outstretched hand. Isla stared at this agent, who was broad-shouldered with short brown hair and electric blue eyes. He had a silver scar over his left eyebrow. He was perhaps the most attractive man Isla had ever seen.
“Ms. Pierce, it’s nice to meet you,” he said. “I’m Agent Mitch Larkin. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
As they walked into the huge country house, Isla said, “Quite the place you’ve got here, Agent Larkin.”
He looked over to Isla and said, “Please call me Mitch.”
“And you can call me Isla,” she said with a small smile.
His own smile disappeared. “I wish I could, ma’am. But the name is always the first thing to go.”
Isla didn’t know what he meant. She started to open her mouth to ask, when Mitch said, “The house belongs to a friend of mine. Navy SEAL, out of the country for a year. House sits on two hundred acres.” Mitch described the place as they walked in.
“It’s got top-of-the-line security—the twenty acres surrounding the house are all wired.
The gate is ram proof, and the entire house and garage are wired as well.
There’s a safe room as well as a private arsenal in the basement and a command center that has all the newest updates.
Lara, I can guarantee you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven after you see the setup he’s got down there.
He’s retiring after this deployment and is setting up his own security company.
I grew up with him, he’s good people. He’s also left us a list of some of his friends, all retired SEALs, or Special Forces kind of guys.
They all live in the area, so if we need backup they’re prepared to help.
These guys are top-notch at what they do.
Curt’s vouched for every one of them. When he’s done with his deployment, these guys are his team.
We just need to make the call if we need help. ”
Mitch must have read the worry on Isla’s face. He said, “Isla, I hope all this talk isn’t scaring you. We’re here to keep you safe and I promise you we will. How does spaghetti sound? I can have it on the table in twenty.”
Isla softened a bit. “Sounds good.” Then she remembered. “Oh my God—work! I was scheduled to work today. I never call off. They’re going to wonder where I am.”
Mitch said, “Not to worry. Colt called your supervisor and told her that you had a family emergency. We’ve made arrangements with Human Resources for you to take family leave, so you’re all set.”
Isla shook her head. “It’s that easy to put one’s life on hold?”
Mitch put his hand on her arm, then removed it quickly. “I’ll see you at dinner.”
Dinner was a veritable feast, but Mitch said it was just canned sauce and boxed pasta. Isla found herself famished, and dug in. Everyone seemed in a better mood the more they ate.
Lara smiled and said, “I, for one, can’t wait to see this command center you’re talking about.”
“I want to check out the arsenal this guy has,” Max said, excitement in his voice. Isla pegged him for the outdoors, adventuring type. His dirty-blond hair was held back in a ponytail and he had a scar over his lip.
“We’ll check things out in the morning,” Mitch promised.
“Meeting at seven a.m. Max and Colt, you’re on lookout duty tonight.
I want the perimeter checked every hour, one inside and one out.
If you see anything suspicious, I want to know about it.
I don’t care how small you think it might be.
If a twig snaps or an owl hoots, I want to be made aware. ”
“Yes, sir, we’ll keep you informed of any suspicious activity,” Colt said as he assessed his team.
Mitch grew serious. “We’re in this for the long haul. This could take months—we can’t be lax in any area of this operation. Hernandez has resources. Plus, we don’t know if anyone’s dirty on the inside.”
He turned to Isla. “Now Isla…we’re changing your name. It’s only temporary. Your name is unusual, and we don’t want it to be spoken while we’re here. This is common witness protection procedure. You’re now Molly Stewart. And we’d also like to dye your hair.”
Isla touched a piece of her long strawberry-blond hair. “What color do you want it to be? I’ve never dyed my hair before.”
“Something dark,” Mitch said. “Also, we’ve got contact lenses for you to wear. If it’s okay with you, we’d like Lara to cut your hair into a different style than what it is now. It’s just another precaution. Not like there’s anything…wrong with your appearance. At all,” he stammered.
Isla cracked a grin. “I’ll do anything you want me to do. If it means you can keep my family safe, Agent Larkin.”
“Mitch,” he said. “Remember, we’re on a first name basis here.
We’re just a bunch of friends that have gotten together on a vacation.
The closest town is twenty miles away and the closest neighbor is three miles.
Curt’s buddies live in a five-mile radius of the compound.
They’re our link to the outside world. So, anything you need that isn’t already here they’ll provide for us.
We won’t be doing the grocery shopping. Small-town living, everybody knows everyone’s business. We can’t take the chance.”
“I’ve never felt safer. I’ll never be able to thank you enough. But I’m asleep on my feet. Right now, all I want is a hot shower and a nice cozy bed.”
Mitch stood up. “Follow me. You’re at the end of the hall.”
The room was filled with masculine, solid-wood furniture. Gray-and-burgundy patterned curtains hung over the windows. The comforter on the bed matched the curtains.
“It’s the master, so you have your own private bath. There’s clothes and toiletries in your room. If you need anything else just ask.”
“Good night, Mitch.”
“Good night, Molly.”
Isla awoke with a start. Her heart pounded in her chest. It was still the middle of the night.
The door flew open and Mitch stood in the doorway. His gun drawn, bare chested, his sweatpants hanging low on his hips, his feet bare. If she weren’t so scared, she’d devour him with her eyes. Muscles rippled as he walked toward her.
“Are you okay, Molly? I heard you scream.”
Isla shook her head. “I must have been having a nightmare. I thought I heard a gunshot and then all I saw was red splattered all over me—I’ll be fine.
It’s just too much. I should have never walked down that alley or gone into that garage to see if Jim was okay.
I should have gone home and called the police and had them look into it.
It wasn’t like my opening that door saved Jim’s life—it didn’t.
Now I’ve put my family in jeopardy. If anything happens to my parents, I’ll never forgive myself. ”
“Molly, you’ll get through this—I promise. I can’t tell you how long this will take to get rectified. Once Hernandez is behind bars, we can rest easier. I don’t know when, but you will get your life back.” Mitch went to flip the lights off and close the door.
“Can you leave the light on? I don’t think I can sleep in the dark right now.”
“Sure, try to sleep.”
She rolled over and pulled the pillow over her head. Morning couldn’t get here quick enough—the night sounds had her on edge. Every noise made her think this was the end. She had to stop thinking like that. These people were here to protect her—they’d keep her safe. She had to believe they would.
In the morning, for better or worse, she would start her life as Molly.