Page 33 of Special Agent Jennie

Chapter Twenty-five

Once Kane joined them in the truck, Lisa still hadn’t gotten an answer from Lance about how he knew she’d been with Kane earlier that day. Or, for that matter, why he’d been hovering outside of Kane’s house that evening. While he stumbled over explanations, she stared at him, and everything started to become clear.

As soon as Kane entered the truck, Lisa started in on him. “What’s going on, Kane? The truth. You’re not really with those losers, are you?”

Hedging, he glanced her way and then at Lance who had made room in his seat for her. “What’s she talking about?” He started the truck and wheeled out of the yard.

Lance hesitated, but when she elbowed him in the ribs, he admitted, “I kinda let it slip that I’d seen you with her at the paper earlier… same as Ham. Now she’s imagining all kinds of things.”

Lisa had enough of their foolish hedging. “Stop it. Both of you. I’m not an idiot, nor am I a child. I’ve been around law enforcement people all my life and you two are starting to smell pretty ripe to me.” She looked first at Lance and then at Kane. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re wrong.” Kane quipped, his voice low.

“I am not. Who do you work for? The police?” She watched for any reaction. None. “The FBI?” Nope, not them either. Then she remembered Lance’s earlier statement. “NCPC?” She felt Lance twitch and knew she’d gotten the right answer.

“You’re both working in Counterterrorism. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re wrong.” Again, Kane’s voice sounded low.

Swinging his way, she attacked. “Why are you being so stubborn? I’m involved in this now whether you want me to be or not. I know what an undercover operation is all about, hell… I should with a mother in the FBI. Quit trying to protect me.”

Yanking the wheel and pulling over to the side of the dark road, Kane stopped the truck, and they were all jostled in the process. He got out so fast it shocked her.

But not for long. Squirming over to his side of the truck, she followed him and sensed Lance moving too.

When she approached Kane, he swung around, and she could see him fighting for control. His voice rose with unmistakable temper. “You want to know what this is all about? I’ll tell you. It’s about you… sneaking into my house, breaking into my privacy, and learning things you had no right to know about.”

Lisa stomped closer and stuck her finger in his chest, just like her mother would have done in her place. Voice filled with righteous indignation, she let him have it with both barrels. “Don’t you dare try to place the blame on me to get out of this, Kane Lambert. You’re the one who pushed me into your bedroom, so I’d be there to overhear all that horrible stuff.”

“Yeah… well a good girl wouldn’t have listened. You were supposed to just wait for me instead of acting like some weirdo peeping tom and then videoing what you never should have overheard in the first place. How the hell am I going to protect you if you keep putting yourself in harm’s way?” Shouting now, his stance rigid, he let her see into his eyes.

The pain there made his words hit home… yet she had to make him see her side. “Look, I was living in a fairytale when I found you. How was I supposed to know you’d be in with a bunch of white supremacist monsters? You’re my dad, for Chrissakes?”

“Watch your mouth, young lady. Didn’t your mom teach you better?”

“Don’t you dare bash my mom. Besides, she says a lot worse when she’s mad.”

“Right, when Baba isn’t around.” Kane’s face suddenly broke up and a grin began to form. Lisa also felt laughter bubble inside and break free. She heard Lance’s relieved chuckle behind her and realized he’d been worried.

“Yeah.” She pushed her face close to Kane’s, and her voice became super soft. “You saved me tonight. I prayed you’d come, and you did. Both of you.” Her hand reached behind her to Lance. “Those two morons scared me silly.” More words broke free, she hadn’t meant to say, “I didn’t know if I could fight them off.” That’s when her voice broke.

Kane’s arms reached for her and within seconds she was wrapped up and held tight, close to the man she’d only ever dreamed of. He was big, tall, warm, and whispering such beautiful words to her that tears flooded.

“Hush, baby. I’d have killed them both before letting them touch one hair on your precious body. Don’t cry now.”

Lisa finally sniffled to stop the harsh sobs and looked at him. “You won’t tell Mom, will you? I mean about what happened tonight. She’d murder me if she knew what I did, sneaking back into your house.”

Kane wiped the tear tracks off her cheeks. “I’ll make you a deal. I won’t tell if you don’t. This operation is top secret, Lisa. No one can know what’s happening. We need to find the organizer who they refer to as the Commander. We have no name. All we suspect is he or she lives in Texas. Until we get that vital information, we have to play the game. Gordie is the only one of us with ties to this person, so we stroke the bastard until he either gets us a name or a face-to-face meet.”

Lisa caught Lance’s eyes and saw him nod, no humor now. Just straight facts. She knew the truth instantly. “You’re Kane’s backup?”

Lance looked at Kane to get the okay before admitting her conclusion was correct. “Right. But you have to promise not to put us in jeopardy again. Kane got away with it this time because Gordie was drunk, but we can’t take any more chances. If there’s any suspicion Kane’s not who he says he is, they will kill him.”

Lisa saw the truth on Lance’s face and reached her hand out to Kane. “I promise not to say anything to anyone.”

“Or to write about anything you overheard,” Kane added.

“That, too.”

Kane reached into his pocket and pulled out her phone. “I deleted the video.”

Lisa shrank visibly but nodded all the same. “I was going to anyway.”

She opened the cell and saw a bunch of messages from her mom. “Oh, oh. She’s madder than I’ve ever seen her before. You better take me home.”

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