23. Chapter 23
Chapter twenty-three
Mitch sat at his desk for what felt like an hour. Finally, he lifted his tired bones and climbed the stairs to the kitchen. Isla was already there, concern written all over her face. He met her gaze as she stood up.
“What’s wrong—is it my parents?” she asked as her eyes filled with tears.
“Your parents are fine,” Mitch said. “Molly, let’s go up to your room, we can talk there.”
She stiffened at the sound of her protection name, her jaw setting. It broke Mitch’s heart. She turned and walked up the stairs with Mitch behind her. She opened the door to her room and walked inside. Mitch stood behind her, his hands on her waist.
“Turn around,” he said. “Look at me.”
Isla didn’t budge. “They’re taking me away from you, aren’t they? I could see it in your face when you came up the stairs.”
“We don’t have a choice, Isla. We’ve been given direct orders to turn you over to the US Marshals’ office. They’re taking over your case.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do this. If you’re not with me, I just can’t.
I’m not strong enough. It’s you who gives me the strength to do the right thing.
” Tears streamed down her face. Her body trembled as he took her into his arms and pressed her tightly to his body.
“Mitch, why is this happening to us? It just isn’t fair. I…I love you.”
Tears filled his eyes as he rested his chin on the top of her head and breathed in.
He would never forget the way she smelled, like cinnamon and vanilla.
The noises she made as she slept. This woman had stolen his heart, a heart he never thought would feel love.
A heart that hurt so badly now that he worried it’d just stop beating without her.
“Isla, I don’t like this any better than you do.
But if this means that we can keep you alive, who am I to say that they’re wrong?
They must know something, or they wouldn’t have taken you out of our care.
Hernandez has almost gotten to you twice already in our care.
Maybe the mole that we discovered wasn’t working alone.
We can’t take the chance. I can’t take the chance.
If they killed you, I don’t know if I could survive the guilt knowing that I should have turned you over.
Maybe you’re not safe in our care. I love you too. Enough to let you go.”
“I don’t want to leave you,” she sobbed, her tears drenching his shirt.
“You’re the strongest person I know. I’ll always love you—they can’t take that away from us.
It’s ours to hold onto. But, in time, maybe you’ll find someone else to love and you’ll go on to have a family and a future.
Do this for me—I need to know that you’re safe.
You’ll be happy again. I know you will.” He pulled her away from him and looked down into her tearstained face.
He placed his fingers under her chin, then lifted her face to his and kissed her lips.
She clung to him like she needed him to survive. But Mitch knew that she needed to be able to live without him.
He pulled himself away, placed his hands on her shoulders and with a firm voice said, “Now pack your bag. We leave in the morning. It’s what we have to do.”
Then he turned and left, shutting the door behind him.
Mitch went down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. His team stood around the island looking at him. He knew they were waiting for him to tell them what had just happened.
“What the hell’s going on, Mitch?” Max asked.
“Molly is being turned over to the US Marshals’ office. It’s a direct order from the top.”
“What the fuck!” Dirk exclaimed. “She’s ours till after the trial. That’s the way this works!”
“Obviously, it’s not. They figure that the Marshals can protect her better than we can.
Look, I don’t like it either. But orders are orders.
It’s probably for the best anyway. Hernandez won’t realize she’s not in our care anymore and she’ll be safer.
We don’t know if Mary was the only mole in the department.
How did they find us a second time?” He turned around and left them with more questions than answers.
Mitch took the stairs two at a time and slammed the door behind him.
Once he was in his room, he sank onto the edge of his bed with his head in his hands and tears in his eyes.
He couldn’t let his guard down in front of his team.
They looked up to him for guidance. He needed to remove himself from the situation with Isla, because if he didn’t, people could get hurt.
People could die. He was too involved with Isla’s case.
It wasn’t good for anybody if his feelings for Isla distracted from his job.
And that was keeping her and his team safe until he turned her over. He needed his head in the game.
It would kill him to do so. But he had to detach himself from the woman he loved.
And that was the hardest mission he’d ever have to pull off.
This can’t be happening, Isla thought as she stared out her window, feeling numb. How could she just walk away from the man she loved? He taught her what love really was, and now he’d be taken from her. Her heart was breaking in a million pieces. It could never repair itself after this.
Isla felt sure that when she walked away from Mitch tomorrow, her life would hold no purpose. She would never love again. She threw herself on the bed and cried for what could and should have been.
Isla heard a knock on her door.
“Who is it?” Isla asked, her voice breaking.
“It’s me—Lara. Can I come in?”
“It’s open.”
Lara entered the darkened room and found Isla standing by the window. Tears stained her face.
“I’d ask if you’re okay,” said Lara, “but I already know the answer.”
Isla shook her head. “Lara, I’m so scared. I don’t think I can do this anymore. You were the ones holding me together these last eight weeks. You became my…friends. How am I supposed to start over?”
Lara sat on the edge of the bed. “Molly, you knew this was going to be temporary. The US Marshals were going to be taking over your case eventually. You can do this. I know you can. The trial’s coming up.
You’ll testify and you’ll get a whole new identity.
You’ll be able to go on with your life. You’ll make new friends, you’ll get a new start, a new job.
They’ll even make sure your parents are nearby.
Maybe you’ll even find the love of your life and go on to have a family of your own.
” Isla looked into her friend's face and started to cry.
Lara held Isla for several long minutes. Finally, her breathing calmed. How could she keep this from Lara? Now that she was being ripped away from Mitch anyway, she might as well come clean. “I’ve already found the love of my life, Lara,” she sobbed.
“Who?” Lara asked, surprised. “Max? Colt?”
“Mitch,” sniffed Isla.
“God,” said Lara, palming her face. “I’m literally trained to see things that are amiss. How did I not see it? Mitch…I would have never guessed. He’s so by the book.”
“Lara, I love him, and he loves me. Once I’m in the Witness Protection Program, I’ll never see him again.
And there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m supposed to just accept what is and make a new life for myself.
I’ll do the right thing and testify against that bastard, but my life will never be the same.
Once I lose him, I’ll have officially lost everything. ”
Lara stood and put a hand on Isla’s arm. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. There’s nothing I can say to make this better and I’m not going to even try. But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you will survive this.”
Isla pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself. “I just want to be alone right now,” she said.
“Molly, things have a way of righting themselves. When you’re ready, come down. We’re waiting for you.”
Isla had a choice—she could hole up in her room, away from everyone, so no one could see her hurting.
She’d done it for years. Every time she was asked to go out with her nursing friends, she’d turn them down.
She’d go home and study or watch TV alone, because it was safer than letting people in.
It was how she dealt with things after her mom died in that car crash.
She’d learned early on in foster care that no one wanted to deal with a kid who had big feelings.
This, too, felt like a death.
Isla knew her other option—she could go downstairs and face her friends, the people who had kept her safe. She could trust that they would be there for her, even if she wasn’t cooking for them or acting chipper.
In that moment, Isla chose to be brave.
She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.
The team was in the living room, and Mitch was addressing them.
His voice sounded tight and firm. “We leave at ten tomorrow morning. It’ll take us approximately two hours to get to Richmond.
A private jet will fly us to Albuquerque where we’ll hand Molly over, then we’ll return to Philadelphia for a new assignment.
If all goes according to plan, we’ll be on home turf by seven tomorrow night.
Until then, get your gear together and pack your bags. Any questions?”
“No questions, Mitch. We’ll be ready.” Lara said with a sad smile. She turned toward Isla, who was standing at the edge of the room.
Suddenly, Isla felt all eyes on her. She started to tear up again.
“I’d like to thank all of you for taking such good care of me.
I’ll always remember the kindness you showed me.
I know the sacrifices you have all made to keep me safe and I’ll never be able to repay you.
You have all protected me with your lives countless times. I’ll never forget any of you.”
She looked up finally and saw that Max and Colt were red-eyed too. She should have known she could trust these people not only with her life, but with her heart.
She cracked a smile, a real one. “Now where are those brownie sundaes we had planned for dessert? I, for one, need chocolate.”