Page 29 of Justice for Aleta

“Because he killed the man in the red car. That was his job. The wreck killed him, which made it easier for the hit man to do what he came to do, which was kidnap somebody from that car.” She waited, her brow furrowed. “The passenger in the car was what we call a chemist, somebody who cooks methamphetamine.”

“You mean like on that TV show?” Aleta asked in a gasp.

“Yeah. The man in the red car was taking the chemist to the big cartel, but the guy from the little cartel found out somehow and had his hit man effectively steal the chemist.”

“And where is the chemist now?”

“We don’t know. We’re looking for the hit man and the chemist. So is the big cartel. It’s a crap shoot who’ll find them first. But it gets worse. The chemist?” Aleta nodded. “She’s a seventeen-year-old high school student from PikeCounty.”

“Oh my god,” Aleta whispered out. “You’re not serious. A teenage girl?”

“Yeah. The cartel found her on the internet. They sent emails back and forth. I’m guessing they had no idea how young she was because, trust me, she looks older. Her parents seem more pissed than upset, and I don’t think they had a clue what kind of danger their daughter is in, but they do now. By now, the PikeCounty Sheriff’s Department has talked to them and they know what she’s done. The guy in the red car was one of the cartel’s drug runners, going to Texas, picking up meth, and bringing it back to the Bardstown area. They found out he was dead and the girl was missing when the rental company called their man who rented the car. It’s a mess, Aleta, but there’s one thing we know for sure.” She’d stayed pretty calm so far, but he knew that was about to change. “That big cartel? They don’t know what this hit man looks like or who he is. They’re looking for him, and he knows it. And there’s only one person who can put him at the accident scene as the person who took out their driver and snatched their chemist.”

He watched as her face paled and her jaw dropped. “Oh my gosh, that’s me. Oh, Jack, what do I do? What will he do if he finds me?”

“He’s going to try to get to you before you can tell anyone who’d pass information to the cartel. And I expect somebody from their organization is going to try to contact you once they realize you lived through that.”

Panic was setting in. He could see it in her eyes. Jack had wanted to spare her that, but he knew he couldn’t. “The TexasRangers and FBI have men on the inside pretending to be cartel members. Undercover guys. We’re hoping one of the undercovers takes the initiative to call you and we can stage something. Until that happens, I’ve got to keep you close and keep an eye on you all the time. That means you can’t go to work, and you can’t leave this apartment without me.”

“But your boss?”

“You are my assignment for now. We all agreed on that. But we’re trying to keep this out of the hands of Kentucky Department of Criminal Investigations so we can manage it ourselves. May not be possible, but that’s the goal. And if it goes to them, my brother works for KDCI, so we’ll have a leg up there.”

“Oh my gosh, what do I do? Jack, how do I… Should I… I don’t know?”

“Let’s just take it a day at a time and do what we know to do, okay? I’m in touch with the Texas guys, and they’ll let me know if there’s any movement. My updates to the post will be via video messaging with my captain. We’re playing this close to the vest. The less anybody knows about this, the better.”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay. I, um,” she mumbled, then stopped. “What do I do now?”

“You stick to me like glue. You don’t leave my sight. We’re hypervigilant, watching everyone and everything around us. Any member of KSP will help us if we need it. We’re a brotherhood. And there’s something else I’d like for you to do.” She nodded, her eyes blinking rapidly. “I want you to move to my place. It’s more secure, and I’m more familiar with the surroundings. It would be easier for me to detect something out of place or amiss out there. And it’s easier to guard too. Will you at least consider?”

“I’ll start packing now.” Without another word, she hopped out of the bed, slipped on her panties, grabbed a tee shirt and pulled it over her head, and started yanking drawers open.

“Sugar, don’t get carried away. Just take the things you need. We can get the rest later.”

“Oh, gosh, I’ve got to let my family know where I am and?”

“No!” She jumped at the volume of Jack’s voice. “You can’t do that. Everything has to seem as normal as possible, except for work. We can make up a story about you being set back in your recovery or sick or something. We’re hoping to have this wrapped up in a couple of weeks, so until then, we keep it all on the down low. If it goes longer than that, yeah?we’ll have to consider how to handle family and friends.”

She plopped down on the side of the bed and dropped her face into her hands. “Oh, Jack, I’ve worked so hard. I’ve tried so hard. I just wanted to have a new life, to be my own person and do things on my own, to show everybody that I can, and now I can’t even?”

“Shhhh, little one.” He’d scooted up behind her on the bed and his arms wrapped around her waist. “It’s okay. You’re doing great. This isn’t the end of all that. It’s just a little hiccup. We’ll take care of it and you can go right back to the life you’re building. Of course,” he said and kissed the side of her neck, “I hope when you go right back to it, you take me with you.”

She spun in his arms, dropped to her knees in front of him on the floor, and gazed up at him, her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, please, I don’t want to lose you! I just found you! I love you, Jack. I’ll love you no matter what. I don’t want to be apart from you for one single minute. Please, don’t get tired of me and all this mess and walk away, and don’t let them get me. Don’t I deserve some happiness? Just a little?” Throwing her arms around his waist, she pressed her face against his belly and wept.

He hadn’t wanted to hurt her, but she had to know. That reaction was what he’d dreaded and, even though he’d known it was coming, his heart still broke. Aleta deserved every good and precious thing she could eek out of life, and he wanted to be there, to give it to her. More than that, he wanted to keep her safe so she could enjoy it. There was some selfishness there too. He wanted her to enjoy it with him.

“Listen to me,” he said, gripping her upper arms and lifting her to sit beside him. “There’s one thing you should know. It’s my responsibility to keep you safe, and if need be, I’ll die doing it. If anything happens to you, it won’t be because I slacked off. I’m right here, and I’ll take a bullet before I’ll let you take one.”

“That,” Aleta sobbed, wiping her eyes, “is exactly what I’m most afraid of.”

Chapter 6

“I’m notsure that’s a good idea.”

“Have you got a better one? Because I’m thinking nobody does, and I’ve got to keep her safe. Forget the fact that she’s with me. She’s the only hope we have of finding this madman and bringing him in, not to mention saving a teenage girl.” Jack was pacing and listening to Cappy yell at him while Aleta threw things in her bag. “I can’t watch her if she’s in protective custody, and I want to know she’s safe.”

“This is fast getting out of control, Fletcher. We may have to involve KDCI so they?”

---