Page 71 of The Fixer and the Fugitive

“But necessary,” The Colonel finished the thought for her.

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ll touch base when this is over. I’m going to want eyes and ears on the package for a while.”

“He’s solid, sir,” Celeste assured him. Whatever Sam had done before, he wanted nothing to do with it now. Of that much Celeste was certain.

“I don’t disagree, Sergeant Major. But Komeni’s not the only one who wants him gone. It would benefit us all to babysit him for a while, to keep him safe. If only I knew such a person and such a place capable of such an undertaking.” He cleared his throat.

At any other time Celeste would have smiled. By now she knew the man well enough to understand when he was making a pointed joke. But it had been a morning and a half and she was fresh out of humor. “Yes, sir,” she muttered instead.

The Colonel hesitated, a signal that he’d caught her tone and read all that she left unsaid. “I’ve been around a long time, Sergeant Major. Trust me when I tell you things have a way of working themselves out in the most surprising manner sometimes.”

He was gone before Celeste could fathom a reply, not that she knew what it might be. Was The Colonel secretly a romantic? Add that to the mystery that surrounded him, one that would likely never be solved.

By the time she finished her phone call, the state chopper arrived, followed by the medic. Two helicopters that landed on the far side of her property. Two troopers got out, followed by two medics. Celeste reached to the ground for some dirt, smearing it on her face. She put her hands in her hair, tousling it, and then widened her eyes a few times, mustering some tears. Her eyes felt gritty, the tears a little too ready. She walked to Elliot, who was now talking to the troopers as the medics bent over the oaf, checking his pulse.

Elliot glanced at her and did a double take, noting the fresh tears and dirt. “Sorry,” she apologized, using the back of her hand to wipe her eyes. “it’s been a rough day.”

The troopers nodded at her in sympathetic understanding, towering over her much smaller size. One reached out to give her shoulder a reassuring pat and Elliot turned away, choking on a laugh he tried to turn into a cough.

The door to the house opened and closed and Sam eased out, coming to rest beside Celeste. She darted him a glance and found him studying her, eyes big and brown and brimming with concern.

Her eyes darted away, filled with real tears this time. She couldn’t take his warmth and care, not right now, not with all she had told him still hovering uncertainly between them, a rejection waiting to happen. He reached for her hand. She crossed her arms, pretending not to notice.

The troopers weren’t interested in talking to her, probably not wanting to traumatize her further after her “difficult ordeal,” as the one who’d patted her shoulder said at least three times. She nodded along, biting her lip as she stared sadly at theground. At one point she felt Jed’s eyes on her. When no one was looking she shot him a glare, sliding her finger over her throat in an unmistakable gesture of warning. He nodded furiously, wiping his face in the grass again.

“It’s like she said,” he yelled, even though no one had asked him a question.

“You already told us,” the trooper said impatiently.

“Yeah, but I really mean it. It happened just like she said.Exactly.”

“Okay, now shut up,” the trooper said, turning to his colleague with a shake of annoyance.

Jed turned imploring eyes to Celeste. She gave him an approving nod and he relaxed a little, apparently falling asleep.

“That one wouldn’t know a bull from a potato,” one of the troopers muttered.

Celeste was inclined to agree. She was glad she hadn’t had to take him out. It was no fair to exterminate someone too stupid to understand the rules of the game.

Almost as soon as the troopers and medic and Elliot finally cleared the scene, a new chopper landed. The timing was so precise, it was almost as if it were planned, as if they’d been circling, which they undoubtedly had.

They tumbled out in tactical gear, Leo and a man Celeste didn’t recognize, followed by Esther, a sharp contrast to the men with her long dress and big, windblown hair.

“Celeste, are you okay?” Esther asked, bestowing a tight hug.

“I’m fine,” Celeste said, hugging her in return. At the moment she was more worried for Sam, who had turned tense and stoic as soon as the men stepped from the helicopter.

“Celeste,” Leo’s cheerful voice boomed. “You’re not supposed to have this much fun when you’re retired.”

“It’s a laugh a minute,” Celeste agreed.

“Let’s keep it to a dull roar from now on. This is my boss, Cameron Ridge.” Leo gestured to the man beside him. If possible, Sam grew even tenser.

Celeste had a feeling he was the same lieutenant she met long ago, the night she helped the SEALs during their raid. But since the memory of that night was especially unpleasant, she didn’t bring it up. “Sir,” she said, extending her hand for a shake.

“Sergeant Major,” Ridge said, returning her shake.

---