Page 68 of Love Me Carefully
He’d come to Jamaica to save his mother, and it was time he got down to business. He had plenty of time to woo Leah after he took care of the situation at hand. He quickly prayed for his mother’s safety.
* * *
An hour and two cups of coffee later, Terrell and Leah sat on the couch in Jeff’s room. Pictures were spread across the coffee table, and the other agents and Jeff discussed locations and strategy for moving in.
“There’s no picture of Donald.” Leah noticed instantly and looked to Terrell.
He flipped through the pictures, shrugged, then turned his attention back to the agents. “So, again, this is all about some weed?” Terrell interrupted the conversation, tired of the way the agents talked only about the drug dealers and the smuggling ring. He was concerned about his mother.
“Like I told you before, yes. The operation started because of the illegal transportation of large amounts of marijuana,” Jeff said. “We know the key players, we know how they’ve been smuggling the drugs, and we know who’s been moving it in the States. Now it’s time for us to put an end to it.”
“And my mother, where does she stand in your grand plan to put an end to this drug ring?” He sat with his legs spread, his elbows resting on his thighs, his hands clasped to keep from fidgeting.
“Once we bring the ring down, your mother will be safe,” Jeff advised.
“How do you know if she’s safe now, right at this very moment?”
“I told you we had men in their hotel. They’ve kept close tabs on your mother and Donald throughout the night. She seems to be fine.”
“Does she appear to be a captive?” Leah asked.
“No, as a matter of fact, she doesn’t. She was actually left alone for the greater portion of the day yesterday until Donald returned later that evening. We don’t think she knows what’s going on, and it’s apparent to us that she’s not in any danger at present.”
Leah placed a hand on Terrell’s shoulder. “She’s okay. She’s not in any danger right now. Just let them get their game plan together and then we’ll go and get her.”
“But what if…” Terrell turned to her, anguish clear in his features.
“No, we’re not going to think about what if. She’s fine now and she’ll remain fine until the FBI makes the necessary arrests. Then we’ll go in and get her. It’s simple, you just have to remember that she’s safe now.”
As awful as he felt, as nervous as he was, her words calmed him. The steady feel of her hand on his shoulder soothed him and the fact that she’d referred to them as ‘we’ elated him. “Alright, when do we go in?”
* * *
They rode in a white minivan with Jeff, Agent Blum and two other men who tinkered with expensive looking equipment on the back seat. Jeff explained that Donald’s room was bugged, and someone was always listening for his next move. Leah looked out the window as they pulled up in front of another resort.
A three-story pale pink building stood draped by palm trees and bathed in sunlight. Off to the side were smaller rental cabanas that resembled the huts built on Gilligan’s Island. People came in and out of the front doors, scantily dressed women, men in sandals, children with their buckets and shovels heading for the beach. Leah paid particular attention to a young couple that walked hand in hand. There were two children, a girl and a boy, neither of whom was older than about ten, who straggled behind them.
Once the woman looked back and said something to the children, which made them walk faster and smile with glee. Leah smiled as she pressed her forehead against the window. They were a family and they were happy. That’s what she wanted, she realized with a start. She wanted a family and the happiness that came with it. And she wanted it with Terrell.
Her mind drifted to the Ortega wedding, and all she had to do to get ready for the event next week. Melinda was probably handling most of it now, but there were things she needed to take care of herself. So why was she here in Jamaica instead of at home doing her job? Because she was in love, she thought with trepidation.
She felt a hand jostling her shoulder, “Hmmmm?” Tearing herself from the window and the path her thoughts had taken, she turned to see Terrell staring at her intently.
“I asked if you were okay?”
“I’m fine. Are you alright with what’s about to happen?” The agents had told them they had all the evidence they needed to move in and make some preliminary arrests, removing some of the key players and, eventually, toppling the ring. It would also allow Terrell to walk in and get his mother without putting himself or anyone else in danger.
“I’m cool, I just want her to be safe.” His hand moved from her shoulder to her lap to entwine his fingers with hers. “I want all three of us to go back home and get on with our lives. And put Donald and this whole mess behind us.”
Leah wanted the same thing, but something told her it wouldn’t be just the three of them.
* * *
It didn’t take long for the agents to enter the hotel and round up five men, some of whom Leah recognized from the pictures back at the hotel. But Donald wasn’t one of them. She could feel Terrell tensing beside her and knew that he’d noticed the same thing.
“Where is he?” he asked.
“Just wait, maybe they’re not finished. Just stay calm,” she told him, but she felt unsteady, as if things hadn’t gone the way they’d planned after all.
