Stranded with My Stepbrother Chapter 77

-Caleb-

“So,” I said conversationally once Mike and Ed had us on the road, “which one of you is the mole?”

Mike turned back to look at me while Ed, who was driving, flicked a glance at me in the rearview mirror.

“Um… I think Jacey might have screwed your brains out, kid, because you’re talking to two loyal agents.” Mike frowned.

“You’re probably right about that,” I conceded. “But I still have enough cells to rub together to know somebody spilled the beans.”

“It was probably one of the perimeter guards,” Ed sighed. “Though it pains me to say it.”

The possibility had occurred to me. But given everything Jacey and I had been through, the skeptic in me wasn’t holding out much hope. “That would be a convenient explanation,” I said.

Mike looked over at Ed. “I think the kid’s lost his marbles.”

“I think he’s smarter than he looks,” Ed replied, glancing at me in the rearview mirror again.

“Experience has taught me that if there is a way I can be screwed, I will be screwed. And I wasn’t about to take Jacey down that path this time,” I stated.

Mike sniggered. “Looking at that piece you’ve been keeping to yourself, I’m pretty sure you are getting screwed every which way to Sunday. I say again, you’ve lost your damn mind.”

“Actually, he hasn’t.” Ed pulled a gun out of his shoulder holster and pointed it at Mike.

There it was. The moment I’d been dreading. I couldn’t say I liked Mike much, but that didn’t mean I was looking forward to seeing his brains painted against the passenger window.

The poor asshole didn’t even get out a full squawk of surprise before he was little more than hamburger on a torso.

“Clean that up. We don’t want to draw attention on the highway,” Ed said flatly, not one spark of remorse in his tone.

“Yessir.” It was going to be one of those days. I looked around for something to wipe up Mike with, then settled on my own shirt. I pulled it over my head and started cleaning the window.

“Masterson said you were both brighter than you looked. And he was right. How did you know it wasn’t Bea?” Ed asked.

I finished cleaning the window and sat back again, dropping my shirt on the floor and toeing it over behind the driver’s seat. “Bea walked right up to a gun and stuck her forehead between us and danger. I figured of the three of you, she was the least likely. Though I really had been hoping it was Mike. Or one of the perimeter guards. Or Mike.”

He grunted. “Glad I didn’t have to shoot Bea. Mike’s an ass, but we’ve been working together for nearly a decade now. Can’t say as I enjoyed that. I won’t enjoy blowing your brains out, either, if you make that necessary.”

“How much is he paying you?” I asked.

“None of your business. I will tell you it’s a lot sweeter if I have both of you. And I will have both of you,” he said.

“Good luck with that. Bea’s probably taking Jacey all the way to FBI headquarters after this. I think it’s just going to be you and me.” I smirked, feeling superior. I’d at least taken Jacey out of the game. Finally.

I needed her to be safe.

“Bea is going to take her to the safehouse. She has a policies and procedures stick so far up her ass that it’s coming out the top of her head,” he snorted.

I shook my head. “Wanna bet on that? Bea’s not taking Jacey anywhere near that safehouse.”

“You’ll lose,” Ed said.

“Well, then it’s a safe bet for you. I tell you what. If Jacey’s there, I’ll convince her to come with us quietly. But if she’s not, you let me go and fuck off somewhere Masterson can’t find you. Because I imagine he’ll be pretty disappointed if you lost me,” I responded.

He gave me a hard look in the rearview mirror. “You really don’t think Bea’s going to take her there?”

“I swear on my sex life.” I folded my arms defiantly across my chest.

That made him snort. “I suppose I should be wary then. Bea may not trust me.”

“You think rolling up without Mike is going to help matters?” I scoffed.

“Hmm. You have a point there.” But Ed merely shrugged. “I’ll deal with Bea. If she’s not bringing Jacey, then she’ll be alone. I like those odds.”

“She might bring down the whole force on your head,” I warned him.

He shook his head. “She’d want to be sure first. Oh, and speaking of being sure, much as I’d love for you to try to get us into an accident, I think I might like it better if you were restrained.” He tossed a pair of cuffs into the back seat. “Cuff your wrists to the oh-shit bar.”

“Or?” I asked.

“Or Masterson wasn’t specific about how many pieces I could return you in.” Ed growled.

I sighed and cuffed one wrist, threaded the other cuff over the oh-shit bar, and then snapped the other cuff onto my other wrist so my arms were dangling in the air. “Happy now?”

“Much better. You might want to get some sleep. Masterson’s probably not going to let you get much when you get to his place,” he said.

There was wisdom in those words. Still, I only pretended to close my eyes and sleep, watching Ed through slitted lids. He wasn’t going to get the drop on me anytime soon.

We stopped in front of a dilapidated old house with an overgrown yard and a listing chain link fence. He turned off the motor and peered at the house, which was completely dark.

“Think we beat them here?” I asked.

“I knew you weren’t sleeping. Your loss, kid.” He kept eyeballing the house. “The way Bea drives? Unlikely we’re the first people here.”

“You could uncuff me, and I could go find out for you,” I suggested sweetly.

Ed rolled his eyes at me. “Nice try, kid.” He stepped out of the SUV.

As he walked down the path to the house, I started wrenching at the oh-shit bar, trying to get away. Unfortunately, either the SUV was made with really strong oh-shit bars, or the FBI fortified them with something because the stupid thing wouldn’t budge.

I was so focused on the task at hand that I didn’t notice anyone else around the SUV until the driver’s door opened. My head snapped around, and I saw Bea.

“He killed Mike…” I began, but she put a finger to her lips. She fished in her pocket, then came up with a handcuff key.

Bea quickly uncuffed me then had me wriggle to the front to follow her out the driver’s door, I supposed to keep the sound of another door opening from Ed. I glanced at Mike’s remains as I passed. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“Not your fault. Now let’s get gone.” She grabbed my wrist, and we slinked across the street to a beat-up old Corolla.

“Get in the back. Head down,” she said. Bea quickly hopped in the front, and, just as Ed was coming back out of the house, a look of confusion on his face, she floored it.

The Corolla fishtailed around in a half circle. I ducked while Bea aimed over my head to shoot out Ed’s tires.

Ed dove to the ground before she could shoot him, but she was more focused on getting us out of there than getting into a gunfight with him.

I had to give her credit for that. If it had been me, I’d have stayed to shoot the bastard full of holes for what he did to Mike.

Then again, as the back window shattered, I remembered Ed also had a gun, and perhaps, discretion was the better part of valor.

“Don’t worry. He’ll get his. Keep your head down,” Bea said as though she’d read my mind.

I pressed my face to the upholstery. “Is Jacey okay?”

“She’s fine. I thought it best not to get her caught in the middle of this mess,” she replied.

“Good thinking.” I still felt bad about Mike.

“Ed’s not going to take the SUV anywhere. I’ll call for a pick up. Mike will be properly buried,” Bea said.

“You really are psychic, you know that?” I murmured.

She gave a sad chuckle. “You’re not the first person to think so.”

I figured the first person was probably Mike, judging from her tone, so I decided not to press the issue.

The trip wasn’t long. Within ten minutes, Bea and I were standing in front of a shit pile of a motel.

“She’s here?” I asked.

“She’s here,” Bea confirmed. “And you two are staying here until I can get another team to come get you. One led by a guy I trust.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I followed her to Room 107.

Bea knocked on the door. “Jacey? It’s me.”

The curtains twitched, and I saw just a glimpse of a very intact Jacey. A tightness I didn’t even know I was holding left my chest.

“Just a sec!” Jacey called through the door. “I… uh… sorta rearranged the furniture.”

Bea chuckled. “You’re both smart kids.”

“Experience is a great teacher,” I remarked.

After a few minutes, the bolts on the door finally snapped open, and Jacey opened the door. Her eyes went straight to me, and she, too, relaxed.

“Caleb.” Jacey’s lower lip quivered.

I stepped forward and opened my arms but got a hard smack across the cheek instead. “Ow.”

“How dare you put yourself in danger like that!” Jacey shouted as I rubbed my cheek. “You could have been killed!”

“I think you two need to take this inside,” Bea said, waving Jacey away from the door so we could both step in. “I can see you’re going to head into one hell of a fight, so I’ll just take my leave now. You’ll be hearing from me.”

“Thanks, Bea,” I replied, my cheek still smarting.

Bea looked at the red-faced Jacey, the wincing me, and shook her head. “Good luck,” she said to me before stepping back out.

I closed the door and bolted all the locks, even the bar that went under the doorknob. “I can explain…”

Once I turned around, Jacey launched herself at me, pounding my chest with her fists. “Explain?! You went with the enemy! On purpose!!!”

I grabbed her wrists to stop her from hitting me. “Jacey, love, it was either you or me.”

“You didn’t tell me! You made the decision without me!” she snapped, tears rolling down her cheeks. “How could you do that?”

“There wasn’t a lot of time to discuss it,” I reminded her. I wrapped my arms around her, pinning her fists between us, and cradled her head against my shoulder. “I love you. I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”

“You don’t think I feel the same way?!” she argued, her tears sliding down my bare skin.

“I know you do.” I nuzzled her hair gently. “Forgive me? I would have convinced you if we’d had time.”

Jacey pouted up at me, a stubborn set to her jaw. “No, you wouldn’t have.”

“Hmm. Maybe not. But it’s over now. Do you really want to argue about it?” I asked, giving her my best puppy-dog expression. “Or would you rather kiss and… make up?”

She pursed her lips, anger still flashing behind her tears. Then she sighed and lifted her lips to mine.