Page 64 of Cast in Shadow
Aggie breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the tracking dot moving again. Nix had sent her an emergency text, warning of FBI activity in the area.
She gathered her things and drove to the agreed-upon meeting point. As quickly as Zeke had disappeared into the woods, he reappeared, only this time, he had Sam Higgins with him.
Zeke ushered Sam into the vehicle, then got in himself. Unable to stop herself, Aggie grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him soundly.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“I was worried.”
He seemed to find that amusing.
Aggie glanced in the rearview mirror and caught sight of Sam. He looked awful. She had a feeling that it wasn’t just because he’d been living in the wilderness. His eyes were haunted, as if he’d seen things he wished he hadn’t.
“Any complications?” she asked Zeke.
“A few. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
She nodded, stepped on the accelerator, and drove away. She was sure he’d fill her in later, preferably once Sam spent some quality time with a bar of soap. They followed the route they’d outlined earlier and arrived at the safe house without issue.
“Tell me,” she said once Sam was in the shower.
Zeke filled her in.
“Do we need to send someone out there for Manelli?”
“No. I left him a flare gun. He’ll signal for help when he comes to. Assuming he doesn’t swallow it, that is.”
“What now?”
“Here.” Zeke placed a thumb drive in her hand. “Let’s see what all the fuss is about, then we’ll go from there.”
Aggie plugged the drive into her laptop. It had everything Sam had said it had—names, dates, schedules, pictures, even a few recorded conversations.
“This is gold,” Aggie said, blowing out a breath. “I have a feeling that once I plug in some of these names and follow the money trail, this is going to take us way beyond Parryville.”
Sam emerged from the shower, looking—and smelling—better than he had when he went in.
“Aggie, I’m sorry. Zeke told me what happened. I never wanted you to get hurt.”
“I know. You’re forgiven.”
Zeke snorted.
“That’s it?” Sam asked, doubt and suspicion clear in his features.
She shrugged. “That’s it. You were in a tough situation, and like you said, you didn’t mean for it to happen.”
Sam started moving toward her, but Zeke glared at him and shook his head. Sam turned around and headed for the tray of sandwiches and coffee instead.
“Feeling a little protective there?” she murmured softly.
He grunted, sending ribbons of warmth into her chest.
* * *
“It’s all set,” Aggie told Zeke several days later. “Sam’s agreed to testify. He’s officially in WITSEC, and Manelli will be remanded to a federal holding facility as soon as he recovers from his injuries. Seems like someone really did a number on the guy.”
Aggie looked at him expectantly, but Zeke just shrugged. “How’d they get Sam in WITSEC so fast?”
