Page 44 of Justice for Aleta

“Have to.” He hit ACCEPT and put the phone to his ear. “Fletcher.”

“Jack. It’s CaptainSeitzer. I need to brief you. I’m on my way to your place. ETA five minutes.”

“Shit. Yeah, okay. Five minutes. Thanks. I’ll be ready.” He hit END and frowned. “Well, fuck me. I guess I won’t be getting off now.”

“Who was that?”

“It was Cappy. He’s coming over here to talk to me.”

“Dang it. Okay.” She sighed against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “Guess I should get up and get a shower, huh?” she mumbled.

“Yeah. I don’t have time to take one.”

“Sorry.” Seconds later, she padded off to the bathroom, so he pulled on his briefs and a pair of jeans, then slipped a tee over his head and wandered into the kitchen to make some coffee.

Five minutes on the dot and there was a knock on his door. “Come on in,” he said as he held the door for Morgan. “Fresh coffee. Want some?”

“Hell yeah. I don’t want it, I need it,” his captain responded.

“This way.” After pointing to a chair at the kitchen table, Jack got them both a cup of coffee and sat down opposite his commanding officer. “What’s up?”

“Moss knows.”

Jack’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Intel says he was talking smack at a bar in St.Louis last night about how he’s going to come down here and eliminate someone who could ‘fink’ on him.”

“‘Fink’ on him? What is he, seventy?” Jack asked with a sarcastic laugh.

“Right? He’s nuts. But at any rate, we now know that he knows about the picture. I wish Menendez would clean house and figure out who his spy is. We knew this was going to happen, but it’s further proof that somebody’s feeding info from Menendez to Ortiz.”

“No shit. Maybe one of the undercovers needs to throw that bone to Menendez.”

“I think that’s their plan, but they haven’t found a good way to do it. In the meantime, we still don’t know where the Stone girl is.”

“That’s no good.” Jack could hear Aleta down the hallway in the bathroom, and he wondered how long he could keep her from knowing how dire their situation was.

“The FBI’s got more undercovers working on finding the girl. Right now, my focus is you and getting Moss before he gets to you or Mrs.Culp, but especially her. Her testimony may be the deciding factor on whether he works or walks.”

Jack sighed. “I’m doing my best to keep her safe. So are the guys. I’ve got no complaints. They’ve been vigilant and done everything I’ve asked of them. But I guess it’s time to batten down the hatches.”

Cappy stood. “I have to believe it’s just a matter of time before he tries to come here and find her. That will let us get him. We’re changing tactics, moving into camo, taking up blinds and tree positions. He can’t see us, but we damn sure want to be able to see him. I’ll let you know how we progress.”

“Thanks for coming out. If it’s okay with you, I don’t think I’m going to say anything to her.”

Cappy shrugged. “That’s up to you, but she’s got to stay inside. No going anywhere. No going outside. No going somewhere inside the house that’s all the way across the house from you. You need to know where she is at all times. This guy, he’s sneaky as fuck, and he’s looking for a way to get in here when you won’t expect it. Keep her on a short leash.”

“Yes, sir.” Jack appreciated the time his captain had taken to come there personally. Things were really bad when Morgan went to those lengths. “She won’t be out of my sight.”

“Good. Carry on, and don’t be afraid to let someone know if you need something.”

“Will do.” Jack walked him to the door, waved once, and closed and locked the door before setting the alarm system.

He heard the water stop and waited in the bedroom for Aleta. When she came in toweling her hair, he sat there, watching her. Her hips were so beautiful, so perfectly sloped and so gorgeously round, that it almost brought tears to his eyes. He couldn’t lose her. That wasn’t an option. “Jack! I didn’t see you! You startled me!” she said, wrapping the towel around her head.

“Just waiting for you.”

“Why?”

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