Jake took a few minutes to calm himself. Finally, ready to approach her, he nervously walked up to her. Heather did not hear his approach and was still looking over the water. Her back was to him.
"Hello, Heather."
Heather was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of her name. 'Jake? That sounds just like Jake...'
"Heather."
'It is Jake! Jake's here?!' Heather slowly turned around and came face to face with the man who had been haunting her.
"Jake! What are you doing here?" Heather asked, bewildered by his sudden presence.
Driven by his relief to finally see Heather safe and in one piece he stepped up to her and enveloped her in a hug. When he felt Heather's arms go around him he held her tighter and buried his face in her neck.
They stood that way until Heather laughed shakily and said, "Jake . . . you're hurting me. " At her words, Jake immediately loosened his hold on her and pulled back.
Heather repeated her question, "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to make sure you were safe." Jake replied softly. He looked into Heather's eyes trying to gather the courage he needed to tell her how he felt. Instead, he froze and all his intentions of telling her how he felt flew out the window.
‘I can't do this do her . . . I'm only gonna end up hurting her . . . she'll never want me when she finds out what I did . . . I don't deserve her.' Jake had always dealt with his insecurities and fears by channeling them into anger. This time, much to his chagrin, was no different.
Jake dropped his arms from around Heather, demanding, "More to the point, Heather, what are you doing here? Don't you realize how dangerous it is for you to be here alone, without help?"
"Well, it's nice to see you too!" Heather replied in a sarcastic tone. Both stunned and irritated by the way Jake was speaking to her, she turned away before he could see the hurt and confusion in her eyes.
"I want an answer, Heather. Do you know how much I've worried about you since I found out you were alive?" Jake said, shocked by the sarcasm in Heather's voice, but still angry.
Holding her tears at bay, Heather turned back to Jake, forcing her voice to remain steady, she replied, "Worried!? If you were so worried, what took you so long to get here? As far as my being here, you know why I'm here! You got the letter!"
"You mean the letter that said you were taking another page from my book? The one said that you were investigating something you know nothing about, without any help . . . And you say I live for danger . . ."
"You have no right to stand there lecturing me! If you didn't want me to come, why didn't you try to stop me?! The least you could have done was to send a note back with Colonel Hoffman's attaché when he delivered the letter!"
Heather turned and started walking away.
"Don't walk away from me! We're not done here." Jake said and followed her. When he caught up with her, he grabbed her by her upper arm and turned her around.
"Jake, take your hand off me right now," Heather said in a tight, quiet voice. Jake stood there with his hand still on her arm ready to continue his tirade but the tears he saw falling from her eyes stopped him dead.
'Damn it, I'm making her cry . . . Think . . . think . . .' Jake regretted that he had caused their reunion to get off to a bad start. ‘God, I have to fix this . . .'
Jake slowly let go of her arm. "Heather, please stay," he pleaded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you."
Heather could see the regret in Jake's eyes. She was hurt and confused, but she needed a friend and Jake was a good one. She decided to take the risk. She wiped the tears from her face and let Jake lead her over to the picnic table where they sat down, one on each side of the table.
"Friends?" Heather asked and tentatively held out her hand.
"Friends." Jake replied as he took her hand. "Heather, I didn't get the letter until last week. As soon as I knew you were alive all I could think about was you and whether or not you were okay. I came as soon as I could."
A confused look crossed Heather's face. "That doesn't make any sense, Jake. I've been here for six weeks and Colonel Hoffman said that he was going to have it delivered to you the day I wrote it. It was the day before I left for Cheyenne."
"Heather, his attaché did deliver it. I wasn't home so he gave it to Emily to give to me."
"Emily? Why would he have given it to Emily?"
Jake groaned. He should have expected the question, especially from someone as perceptive as Heather. She would know if he was lying and decided it was best to respond with the truth.
"Let me explain. When my dad died, I was so..."
"Oh,Jake! I heard the news from Colonel Hoffman. I'm so sorry."
Jake nodded his head in acknowledgement of Heather's words before looking away. When he turned back to her, she saw the depth of his grief in his eyes and sensed that he still hadn't come to terms with his father's death.
Jake leaned his forearms on the table, clenched his hands together and started fiddling with his thumbs. Worried about her reaction, he couldn't look her in the eye as he continued his explanation.
"After he died, I felt so alone . . . I still do . . . Emily was there to comfort me. She wanted to try and work things out with me. She was living at the house when they came to deliver the letter. I had promised her some quality time and she didn't want anything to interrupt it. When she saw the envelope with the army logo she just assumed it was them asking me to do something. She said she was going to give it to me the next day but then she forgot all about it. I didn't know you were alive until last week, when I ran into Colonel Hoffman."
Heather's heart ached when she heard Jake's words. 'Oh God. He's with Emily. I should have known better than to believe her when she told me wasn't interested in him anymore. Jake should be with me not her. I'll never get a second chance with him now. . . I remember how he looked at me by the railroad track . . . If only I hadn't went to New Bern, I would have had a chance . . . we would have made such a good team. Jake says he's so concerned about me, but that doesn't make sense if he's with her...
"Jake. You don't know how I wished you got the letter that day. I could have used a friend these past weeks."
‘Even if we'll never be together, I'm glad he's here,' Heather thought, both sad about what would never be and relieved that she wouldn't be alone any more.
"I wish I could've been here for you earlier, but, hey, I'm here now," Jake replied.
"That you are. How does Emily feel about you being here?"
"Emily and I called it quits the day before I left for Cheyenne. I finally realized that she wanted to live in the past and I wasn't willing to. I want to live in the here and now and look toward the future."
The way Jake looked at her when he said those words made Heather feel all warm inside. She couldn't help but smile at Jake.
Jake smiled back.
"So," Heather said and then continued, "I'm meeting someone for lunch do you want to join us?"
"Heather, Robert Hawkins came with me to Cheyenne. When we got here yesterday, we met up with someone he worked with before the bombs--someone you know--Joe Chavez. He told me your plans and let me come in his place."
"Hawkins . . . that name seems familiar. Is he Sam's dad?"
Jake nodded his head.
"The day before the bombs I met Sam and his mom when she registered him for school. He was going to be in my class."
"Leave it to you to think of people in terms of their children," Jake laughed.
Heather smiled at the truth behind Jake's words.
"Do Mr. Hawkins and Joe know about the document I gave you?"
"Yes, but there's something else I need to tell you before we talk about the document. Not only did I come to make sure you were safe, I also came to help Hawkins."
"I don't understand. Why does Mr. Hawkins need your help?" Heather asked.
"Hawkins and Chavez are part of an off-the-books anti-terrorist task force. Their mission is to find the person or group that were behind the bombs. The third member of their team died. Hawkins asked me to replace him. They think the document you gave me could be a lead in their investigation."
Jake took a deep breath before continuing. "Heather, they want your help. Chavez says that you have access to information that could be helpful to them."
"Of course I'll help, especially if it means that we'll find out who's behind the bombs."
Jake said warily, "Somehow I knew you were going to say that. Truth be told, I don't want you to be a part of this. It's too dangerous, but I also know enough about you to know that I won't be able to change your mind. You're going to have to be very careful . . ."
Heather interrupted, "What they want me to do doesn't sound so different than what I set out to do by myself to begin with . . . find information that will either prove or disprove what was in the document I gave you. I'll be more safe working with you than I would have been on my own."
Jake couldn't help but smirk before he replied, "Yeah, that's what they said. At least this time we'll be taking a page out of my book together."
Heather couldn't help but chuckle. "Why don't we eat lunch?"
"Okay." Jake said, happy that Heather seemed to have put their argument behind them.
Heather reached for her bag and pulled out two egg salad sandwiches, two bottles of water and two bags of cookies.
Jake took one bite out of the egg salad sandwich and said, "Mmmm . . . I can't remember the last time I had anything with egg it. This sandwich is good!"
"I was lucky enough to get the last half dozen eggs when I went to the market last week. There's a large farm outside of the city limits that provides the city with eggs, meat and produce. It's been a godsend to the people in the city. Ration coupons for farm goods are provided to all residents. The farm doesn't produce enough for everyone yet so the goods that the ration coupons can be used for vary from week to week. The last time I was able to get eggs was last month."
"Well, I have to say I'm glad you got the eggs. This is the best lunch I've had in months." Jake said.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it."
"Oh, I forgot to tell you the latest news from home. Stanley and Mimi are getting married. They haven't set a firm date but think it will be a couple of months from now."
"That's great news! I hope we're home in time for the wedding."
"We have to be! I'm the best man! If we're not done here, we'll take a trip home for it and come back."
Heather smiled. She was happy that Jake was including her in his plans.
They finished their lunches and cleared the table. As they were walking out of the park, Jake asked Heather what time it was.
"It's two o'clock. Do you need to go somewhere? I was thinking we could take a walk around the town."
"No, I don't need to go anywhere, but Chavez and Hawkins want to meet with us at three o'clock. Does that work for you?"
"Sure. I don't have any other plans. Do you know what's up?"
"Well, you already know they're gonna ask for your help. Then they're gonna brief you on the intel they've collected to date."
"Hmm, can you tell me anything now?" Heather asked.
"It will be better if they tell you. It's big, Heather. Are you sure you're up to it?" Jake said.
"What? You're worried about me?" Heather repeating what she said to Jake by the railroad tracks after Black Jack.
"Always." Jake didn't hesitate to reply.
For the second time today, Heather got that warm feeling inside of her.
Heather and Jake spent the next forty-five minutes walking around the town enjoying each other's company before going to the safe house to meet with Chavez and Hawkins.
Jake used his access card to open the door of the safe house. He stepped aside and allowed Heather to enter the house before him. They walked toward the kitchen where Jake heard Chavez and Hawkins talking.
As they entered the kitchen, Chavez looked up. "Hello Heather, Jake. We're just finishing up here. Why don't you come in and sit down?"
Once they were all seated, Heather didn't beat around the bush. She looked at Chavez and said, "I understand you need my help. Would you mind telling me what this is all about? "
Hawkins turned to Jake and asked, "How much have you told her?"
"Not much. Just that the document she found has something to do with your mission and that you need her help."
Chavez then spoke up. "You work in the capitol building. We'd like you to keep your eyes and ears opened and report back to us with anything unusual you see or hear. Also, you have first hand access to the news from the west that we need to build our case...."
Heather interrupted him. "Before I agree to do anything, I need to know what this is all about."
"Yes, Jake insisted we tell you everything. He also said you could be trusted. I need your reassurance that anything you hear in this room stays here."
Heather shot Jake a grateful look before she turned to Chavez and said, "You have my word."
"Heather, Hawkins and I work for the government in the East. We have intel that someone working in the Cheyenne government masterminded the attacks."
Heather was stunned. It was the last thing she would have imagined. Without realizing what she was doing, she reached her hand out and placed it on top of Jake's hand, unconsciously seeking the support she knew she would need to get thorough this conversation. Jake turned his hand and gently clasped Heather's hand in his, quietly offering his support.
Once Chavez saw that Heather was settled, he continued. "I'll give you some background info and then Hawkins will takeover. Are you sure you're ready to hear this?"
Heather nodded her head.
"Were you aware that after the bombs exploded there were six factions claiming to be the rightful successors of the government?"
"Yes, I heard that when I was in Black Jack with Jake. What I didn't understand was how it could have happened. I thought there were clear rules of presidential succession. I know that there was a Joint Session of Congress the day the bombs exploded. In the case of such a catastrophe isn't it the Designated Survivor who becomes the president? "
"Yes you're right; he becomes the Acting President until such time a presidential election can be held. There were only five surviving members of Congress after the bombs, five senators who had just returned from a fact finding mission in South America. What most people don't know is that if a cabinet member succeeds to the presidency then the House could elect a new speaker and the Senate a new President pro tempore. Do you see where I'm going with this, Heather?"
"Yes I do. The speaker is third in the line of presidential succession and the president pro tempore is the fourth in line. Since there were no surviving members of the House, one of the senators would have been next in line to be president."
"That's right. In this case, the senators couldn't come to an agreement. They all thought they had a claim to the presidency and all returned to their home states to set up their own governments. The designated survivor, Derek Charles who was Secretary of Commerce, is now Acting President of the government in the east, which was relocated to Columbus, Ohio. As a result of intense negotiations between the various factions, there are now only two holdouts claiming to be the rightful successor of the U.S. government. The Eastern States, headed by President Charles and the Western States, led by President Tomarchio here in Cheyenne."
"Well," Heather said then asked, "that is all very interesting but what does that have to do with anything?"
"This is where I step in, Miss Lisinski." Hawkins said.
"Please call me Heather."
Hawkins nodded his head. He then began to brief Heather about the twenty-five nuclear devices that had been stolen, the groups that had been behind the attacks and his part in the investigation.
"We believe that one person masterminded the attacks. We believe that person is Thomas Valente, the Chief of Staff of the Cheyenne government. He was the Director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office in the Department of Homeland Security before the bombs. He was in the unique position to know exactly when those devices were scheduled to come into the United States. I also have some intel that supports the theory he was behind the attacks."
"You said there were twenty five nuclear devices. I know that twenty-three went off and that there was one that was supposed to go off in New York that was intercepted. What about the twenty fifth one?"
"It was scheduled to go off in Columbus. I was supposed to transport it there but instead I got my family and came to Jericho. The bomb is in a safe location . . ."
"Are you saying that there's an undetonated nuclear bomb somewhere in Jericho?" Heather asked shocked.
"I didn't say that. I said it was in a safe location."
Jake could see Heather was distressed about what she had just heard. "Heather, it's too dangerous for you to know where it is. You have to trust us on this."
Heather nodded her head.
Chavez turned to her and said, "So, Heather, now that you know everything, are you still willing to help? "
"Now that I know, how can I not help?" Heather asked in reply.
Both Chavez and Hawkins nodded their heads in agreement. Jake gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Heather then looked down and for the first time noticed that her hand was in Jake's. Keeping her hand in his, she looked up and addressed the men.
"I'm actually meeting Valente on Monday. Apparently, he was impressed with one of my reports and wanted to review it personally with me. He has a position opened in his office for an Senior Research Analyst. My manager said the meeting was a way for him to size me up for the job. If I got it, it would mean a higher security clearance and more information would be available to me. I would also be able to keep tabs on where he is."
"That job could make a big difference in our investigation." Chavez said
"I agree it could, but is it worth the risk? Heather will be putting herself in more danger. I don't know . . ." Jake said in a concerned voice.
Heather, seeing that Jake needed some reassurance, gently squeezed his hand before saying, "Jake, its okay. I want to do this. If we find the truth, it will be worth the risk."
Jake knew Heather well enough to know that once her mind was made up there was no changing it. He had no choice but to accept her decision.
"Okay, the minute any of us feel you are in too much danger we're pulling you out. Understood?" Jake asked.
"Understood!" Heather replied with a smile on her face.
Hawkins then looked at Heather and Jake and said, "Chavez and I were talking. We don't think Heather should be alone. Jake, we want you to stay with her."
Although this wasn't the plan they discussed the day before, Jake nodded his head in agreement. He sure as hell didn't want to leave Chavez alone with her and if someone needed to be responsible for her safety he wanted it to be him.
Heather let go of Jake's hand and turned to Chavez and Hawkins, "Oh, I don't think that's necessary . . . "
Before she could continue, Hawkins interrupted, "One thing you need to understand, Heather, is that Chavez and I are running this investigation. If we say it's necessary, it's necessary."
Heather turned to Jake, seeking his support.
"Hey, don't look at me!" Jake said before continuing, "I happen to agree with them. If you don't have a couch, I can sleep on the floor."
Heather realized that she was backed into a corner and had no choice but to go along with Chavez and Hawkins' decision.
"I've think we've talked enough for one day. How about if we plan to meet here after Heather gets out of work on Monday?" Chavez asked.
"Sounds good." Jake said before turning to Heather and saying, "I'm going to get my stuff together. I'll be right back."
A few minutes later, Jake came back into the kitchen carrying his duffel bag. "Ready?"
"Yeah, I'm ready." Heather replied.
Jake turned to Hawkins and Chavez, "We'll see you on Monday."
"Good bye, Jake. Good bye, Heather." Chavez said as he walked them to the door.
After Chavez walked back into the kitchen, he took one look at Hawkins and they both laughed.
"Well, Hawkins, you were right. Jake has it bad and by judging by Heather's reaction, she has it just as bad."
"We need both of them at a hundred percent for this mission. Let's hope your little plan of throwing them together works. Come on. Let's head out to the camp now." Chavez said.
Jake turned to Heather when they stepped outside of the apartment building. "Heather, I'm sorry about how this worked out. I know you don't want me to stay with you but you need to realize that your safety is my top priority."
"Jake, really . . . its okay. I have plenty of room for both of us. We'll make it work."
They then started the walk back to Heather's apartment each lost in their own thoughts.
Heather had thought that she had gotten over Jake; but, after today's events, she realized that she was wrong. The fact that she had reached out for Jake's hand confirmed this. The gentle way Jake held her hand gave her reason to hope that the feelings were not just one-sided.
Jake thought back to how Heather had reached for his hand when she needed support at the meeting today. It gave him reason to hope that she still had feelings for him. He also realized that he wanted to open himself up to her in a way that he never did for anyone else. It scared him a little but not having her in his life scared him even more.
When they entered Heather's apartment, Jake put his duffel bag down and took a quick look around. The apartment was a little smaller than the safe house. The room he was standing in was a combination living room and eating area with a kitchen table and chairs set up at the far end of the room. In the living area was a couch with a coffee table in front of it and a large comfortable chair which had an end table beside it. On the end table was a light and a book that was opened faced down. Jake could just imagine Heather curled up in the chair reading a book in her flannel pajamas.
Heather turned to Jake and said, "Well, I'm going to get dinner started. Do you want to help?"
"Sure, but can we sit down for a minute first? There are a couple of things I need to tell you."
"Okay." Heather replied nervously, not sure where this conversation was going to go. "Let's go sit at the table."
Once they were seated, Jake looked at Heather and said, "I have some bad news from back home."
Heather immediately became apprehensive and asked a little unsteadily, "What is it, Jake?"
"Constantino escaped two weeks ago. Russell has teams out looking for him as we speak. When Hawkins and I left Jericho the other day, he was still on the loose."
"Oh no, Jake! Do you think he'll come after me?"
"I don't know. The good thing is that he has no way of knowing that you're alive and if, by chance, he finds out, I think Cheyenne will be the last place he'd look for you."
"I hope so! I know I can't stop living my life because he's out there," Heather trailed off and then continued in a quiet voice, "but he scares me, Jake."
"Heather, try not to worry. I do enough of that for both of us. I'll watch over you."
"You don't know how glad I am that you're here."
"Me, too." Jake went to his duffel bag and pulled out the letter from Emily. He walked back to Heather and handed it to her and sat back down at the table. "Emily wanted me to give you this letter. She wrote it the day I told her I was going to Cheyenne."
"Jake, would you mind if I took this letter into the bedroom and read it in private?"
"Not at all."
"Would you like me to get you a drink first?"
"Yes, water would be fine."
Jake followed Heather into the kitchen. She went into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. "Jake, I'll be back in a few minutes. Why don't you make yourself comfortable?"
"Thanks, I will."
As Heather was walking down the short hall to the bedroom, Jake walked into the living room and sat on the couch. He wondered what Emily had written in the letter and hoped that whatever it was it didn't ruin his chances with Heather.
In the bedroom, Heather turned on the light and sat on the bed. She pulled the letter from the envelope and began reading. As she read, tears began to form in her eyes and she realized what a good friend Emily was. In the letter, Emily explained that things were finally over between her and Jake.
Emily had written about how lost Jake had been when he returned to New Bern with the news of her death and the joy he saw in his face when he found out she was alive. Emily then had written how she knew right in that moment that Jake's future lay with her. Emily closed the letter by saying that she hoped that both Jake and her could find the happiness they deserved . . . with each other.
Heather clasped the letter to her chest as the tears rolled down her eyes. Words couldn't express how much this letter meant to her. She took a minute to compose herself before walking back into the living room with the letter in her hand.
She walked over to the couch and sat down. Jake took one look at her and knew she was upset. He was suddenly angry at Emily, for whatever she wrote in the letter. "Heather, what's wrong?" Jake asked in a concerned voice.
Heather smiled at Jake to allay his fears. She handed him the letter and said, "I'm fine, it's just that Emily's letter means so much to me."
Jake took a few minutes to read the letter. He turned to Heather and found the courage for what he needed to say in her eyes.
He took her hands in his and said. "Heather, what Emily said is true. I don't see my future with her . . . I see it with you. You don't know how much I regret not talking to you after you kissed me the day I left for Rogue River. We lost so much time . . . I was scared, Heather, scared that you wouldn't want me once you found out about my past. Now I'm more scared of what my life would be like without you in it."
Heather saw the depth of Jake's feelings in his eyes. "Jake, I thought I was over you but I knew I was wrong the minute I saw you in the park today. I realized then that my feelings for you had never changed. I had just buried them deep inside of me."
"So, Heather, what do you say? Are you willing to take another chance on me?" Jake asked a little apprehensively.
"Jake, there's nothing I want more, but I don't want to be hurt again. I'm scared, too." Heather than turned her face away from Jake's and continued, "Something happened in New Bern . . . something I just can't talk about now . . . I'm scared you won't want me when find out.." She said as tears started rolling down her cheeks for a second time that night.
At her words, Jakes mind began to fill with the various possibilities of what could have happened to her. ‘She thinks I won't want her . . . I want to know, no, I need to know what happened, judging by her reaction it must have been really bad.. Was she tortured for information? Eric said that she was dead, was she almost killed? Was she raped?' With each thought Jake's jaw clenched tighter. ‘Whoever is responsible is going to pay but I can't think about that know. I have to think of Heather, be there for her when she's ready to talk . . . help her deal with it.'
Jake took a calming breath before saying in a gentle voice, "Heather, look at me," Heather slowly turned her head back to Jake. He waited until they had eye contact and said, "Nothing you tell me will change the way I feel about you. Please trust me on this. When you are ready to talk, I'll be here for you. You know that, don't you?"
Heather saw the sincerity and the depth of his feelings for her in his eyes and knew that he was telling her the truth. She took one of her hands out of Jake's and raised it to his cheek.
"As long as it works both ways, Jake. Nothing you tell me will change what I feel for you. I'm here for you, too. In the meantime, could you . . . would you just hold me, Jake?"
"Gladly."
Jake wrapped his hands around Heather's waist and lifted her to his lap. They wrapped their arms around each other and Heather laid her head on Jake's shoulder as he pulled her snugly against him. In each other's arms, they both found the comfort they had been so desperately seeking.
It wasn't long before Jake's stomach started to growl. When Heather heard it, she couldn't help but laugh. She raised her head off of Jake's shoulder. "It seems like someone is hungry. It's getting kind of late but I can make you a cheese omelet. I know you had egg salad for lunch but eggs are just about the only thing I have left in the house. "
"That sounds good." Jake said as Heather got off his lap. He followed her into the kitchen and watched while she cooked an omelet for the both of them.
While they ate, Heather told Jake about her job and how much she enjoyed volunteering at the FEMA camp especially now that she was finally able to teach again. She told him that she mostly kept to herself and that Joe was the first and only friend that she had made since she came to Cheyenne. Except for the occasional question Jake remained silent, happy to listen to the sound Heather's voice.
"I hope I didn't bore you too much." Heather said before she yawned. "I'm tired, I think I'll clean up the dishes and go to bed."
"You didn't bore me at all. I enjoyed hearing about your life here." Jake said as he and Heather picked up their dishes and took them into the kitchen. Heather washed the dishes while Jake dried, both lost in their own thoughts.
‘There are things she needs to know, things I have to tell her. . . She says I can tell her anything and it won't change the way she feels about me, I have to hold on to that . . . I hope she tells me what happened to her soon . . . I know what it does to you to keep things bottled up inside . . . I don't want that for her . . .I know I can help her come to terms with whatever it is . . . ‘
‘He does have feelings for me . . . I should be happy . . . but I'm not . . . I'm so scared he won't want me when he finds out . . . I have to tell him and soon . . . I don't want to start things up with him only to tell him and not want me . . . I don't think I can go through the hurt again. So much has happened to me . . . I'm getting so tired of putting up a brave front . . . so tired of being alone . . .there's nothing I want more than to curl up in Jake's arms and take whatever comfort he has to give me . . I'm going to ask him.'
Once the dishes were put away, Heather turned to Jake.
"Umm . . .this is a little awkward for me, Jake, so please bear with me. It may be even too soon to bring this up . . . but, maybe not, since you're staying with me. It's just that . . . that . . . "
Seeing that Heather was struggling to tell him what she had on her mind. Jake said to her in a reassuring tone. "It's okay Heather. You can tell me anything. Take a couple of deep breathes and just come out with it."
Heather took Jake's advice and then blurted out, "There's nothing more I want than for you to sleep beside me and hold me in your arms but you need to know that I'm not able to offer you more right now. I don't know when I'll be ready to."
"Hey, I was expecting the couch!" Jake joked trying to lighten the mood. When he saw the tears pooling in Heather's eyes, he knew he had said the wrong thing. He pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear, "Heather, I'm sorry, there's nothing I want more then to hold you in my arms as I sleep. You don't need to offer me anything else. We'll take it as slow as you need it to be."
That night with Jake spooned against Heather they both slept more soundly than either of them had in months.
Earlier that day at the Ravenwood camp outside of New Bern
Goetz, had just raised Valente on their secure satellite connection to provide him an update on Constantino.
"Valente."
"Goetz, I take it you have some news to report?
"Yes, Constantino's on track, headed toward Cheyenne. I have two operatives tagging him. He's managed to hijack a car but it ran out of gas about ten miles outside of Cheyenne. He's headed there on foot now, and we expect him to reach the city sometime tonight. My operatives will give him a couple of days. If he doesn't locate Lisinski by then, we'll drop a couple of hints in his ear."
"Well, just make sure this plan doesn't fail. Constantino is a loose end we can't afford to have."
"Don't worry about it. Everything is going according to plan. What do you have for me?"
"The Eastern government has filed a complaint with Cheyenne. They say that drug trafficking is on the rise in their region. They have information from a couple of sources that the drugs are being smuggled in from the west. They want to know what we're doing about it." Valente paused for effect before continuing, "I, on the other hand, want to know what you know about it."
"I don't know anything." Goetz lied.
"Well, find out what you can and do what needs to be done so that I get a piece of that business."
"Whatever you say." Goetz gave Valente another one of his mock salutes before disconnecting.
Goetz took a minute before raising his contact at the company that he worked for.
"Goetz, this is a surprise. I didn't expect to hear from you until our next scheduled meeting in two weeks," his contact said.
"Something came up . . . I met with Valente today. He knows about the drugs. He wants a cut."
"Well, do what you can to put him off. Worse case, we give him a cut. His influence with the government is too valuable to us right now."
"Will do, but you know one day the decision you made to keep him on the payroll after the bombs went off is gonna bite you in the ass if you're not careful."
"Well, we don't have a choice, it's a risk we have to take."
"If you say so."
"Anything else, Goetz?"
"That's it."
"At our next meeting you can apprise me of any updates in the situation. Remember we're counting on you to keep tabs on Valente. If he threatens you, don't do anything more than tell him you have evidence that you'll use against him. It's imperative to the company that you continue act like he has you in his pocket, we don't want to arouse his suspicions."
"If you say so. I'll talk to you in two weeks."
"Until then," his contact replied before dropping the connection.