Authors: Ribbon of Rain
“That’s my girl,” Cody laughed.
“We’ve got to move out of here.
Our mission was to get you.
For the first time, Jude looked at her feet.
“Where are your shoes?
Your feet are bleeding.”
Kat shrugged.
“Shoes didn’t come with the outfit.”
“Hop in.
The sooner we leave, the sooner your feet can be treated.
Get in, Red.”
Jude held the door for Kat to get in the back with the dog.
He knew he wouldn’t be able to sit next to her without kissing her senseless.
And he sure as hell wasn’t going to have her sit in the front with Cody and have to watch their antics the entire trip.
“Did Winter hurt you?”
Jude’s mouth tightened as he asked the question.
“No, but I did a job on him.”
Jude had turned to look at her.
“Red’s quite a dog.
He led us to the place in the woods where you were kidnapped.”
“I’ve got some great news for you, Jude.”
He imagined her eyes sparkling with excitement to match the excitement in her voice.
“I know where the gems are.”
“We found them.”
“You did?
How?
They were well hidden.”
“Brian had them.”
“Well, I hope you arrested him and threw him in jail.
He’d been working for Carl, you know.
He followed me and had a tracking device.
That’s how Carl’s men found me.”
Jude closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Brian’s dead.”
The darkness hid her expression.
“You killed him?”
Her question was matter-of-fact, not accusatory.
“No.
He’d already been shot when we got there.”
He paused, then deciding to tell her everything.
“Two shots were fired from your gun.
One of them killed Brian.”
Kat remained silent.
Jude turned back to the front.
He wouldn’t push her for information.
Later, but not now.
When she spoke, her voice was low.
He could hardly hear her.
“I didn’t kill Brian.
I killed one of the men in the group that jumped me.”
Jude twisted around, reaching over the back of the seat to caress her cheek, but stopped himself before he made contact.
“Try to get some rest.
There’s plenty of time to hash out everything.
You’re safe.
That’s the important thing.”
“Carl’s smuggling terrorists into the country.”
“What?”
Jude said.
“No shit.”
Cody whistled.
“I found evidence in his desk.
“Jesus.”
The word whooshed from Cody.
“You’re sure about this, Kat?”
“Christ, Jude, of course I’m sure.
I saw drivers’ licenses, birth certificates, and passports, and held them in my hands.
I don’t…”
Automatic gunfire from behind filled the night, cutting off conversation.
Kat ducked and then peered over the backseat.
“Their headlights are off.
Give me a rifle.”
She barked the order, holding a hand towards the front.
Jude opened his mouth to protest.
“Give her a damn rifle,” Cody said.
“She’s in a better position to return fire than you are.”
Kat kneeled on the seat, staying low, and watched out the back window.
“Just one vehicle, I think, but it’s hard to tell.”
Jude slipped the rifle next to her on the seat.
Red whined his displeasure and hunkered down on the floor.
“Cody, slow down when I tell you.
I’ll empty the rifle.
Then floor it.”
“Gotcha.”
“Okay, slow down.”
The pursuing vehicle gained ground.
She shouldered the rifle in one fluid move, took aim and emptied the clip through the back window.
“Floor it.
I’m hoping I hit the radiator and the front tires.
Don’t know if I hit the driver or anyone else.”
The jeep veered sharply to the right.
“They got one of our tires.
We’re going to hit the ditch.”
“Keep it straight as long as you can.
Kat, are we still being followed?”
“I don’t think so, but it’s hard to tell.
It’s dark, and there’s a lot of dust.”
Jude saw Cody give a hard twist to the wheel in an attempt to prevent a rollover.
They rounded a corner and Cody hollered.
“This is it.
Hang on.”
The jeep went over the embankment, rolled once and ended right side up.
The rollover pushed in the dash, pinning Jude’s leg.
He couldn’t move.
“Cody?
Kat?
Are you all right?”
“Affirmative.”
Cody answered back.
“Kat?”
Jude panicked when she didn’t answer.
“She’s not in the back seat.
Must have been thrown clear.”
“Cody, get out and find her.
I’m stuck.
Can’t move.”
“I’m okay.”
Kat stood outside the jeep by Cody’s window.
Jude’s gaze ran over her, but other than a few rips in her clothes and dirt on her arm and face, she seemed fine.
“Where’s Red?”
At the sound of his name, Red whined pitifully.
The back door hung open, and he wobbled out.
“Jude’s pinned under the dashboard.”
“I’m all right.
Make sure no one else followed us.
I’ll call the chopper and change the pick up destination.
Shit.
I can’t reach my phone.”
“Where is it?
I’ll get it for you.”
Her soft voice came from beside him and opened the floodgate of bottled up emotions.
He damned himself for ever doubting her loyalty.
If only he could turn back time.
“Right front pocket.”
Even a banged up leg didn’t prevent his getting a hard-on when her small hand slid into his jeans.
“Here it is.
We’ve got to get you out of here.”
Her hands roamed over his lower body.
“If Cody and I pull back on the dash, I think you’ll be able to free your leg.
Are you in pain?”
He wasn’t.
At least not the kind she meant.
“No.
I don’t think anything’s broken.”
“Make your phone call.
I’ll go see if Cody needs any help.”
Jude punched in the number.
“Change of plans.
Pick us up on the road about ten miles northwest of the hacienda.
Affirmative.
We have Kat Tenney.
Winter’s smuggling potential terrorists.
Something’s coming down near dawn.
Get word to the team.”
By the time the chopper arrived, Jude was on his feet, limping around.
He’d been able to free his leg when Kat and Cody relieved the pressure of the dashboard.
The gash on his thigh needed some stitches, but no bones were broken.
Kat ripped off the bottom of her skirt and tied a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding.
The chopper headed to Laughlin AFB.
From there, they’d catch a flight back to
Red abandoned Jude for Kat, wanting to sit on her lap, but settled for the floor, head resting on her knees.
Jude remembered Cody’s words.
Unconditional love.
Kat deserved that type of love, and he’d screwed up.
Like a cancer, guilt ate at his insides.
Now he had to come clean and tell her.
Would she forgive him?
His gut instinct said not a chance.
*****
Kat fondled Red, enjoying the warm soft fur on his ears.
What had happened to the camaraderie between Jude and Cody?
And to Jude’s love for her?
As they waited for the copter, the tension between the two men made her uncomfortable, and she intended to get to the bottom of it.
“You two mind telling me what’s wrong?
You’re hardly speaking to each other.
And neither of you are talking to me.”
“I’ve got nothing to say,” Cody offered.
Hard lines appeared in Jude’s face, turning him into a distant stranger.
“Later, Kat.
You and I need to talk, but not right now.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned away from him, feeling the proverbial axe about to fall.
One thing she knew for sure.
Jude Callahan wouldn’t catch her off guard this time.
Chapter 17
The helicopter flight dragged on forever.
Kat’s eyes refused to stay open, so she dozed on and off.
Dreams of hypodermic needles and death haunted her sleep.
Once she woke to discover Jude’s hand caressing her neck.
Had she cried out?
The moment her gaze locked with his, he removed his hand and looked away.
The ache in her heart worsened.
The sooner he told her it was over, the better.
No sense in prolonging an unhappy ending.
Cut your losses and move on.
That philosophy had served her well in life.
This time, however, the sorrow might be more than she could handle.
Like an injured animal, she wanted to crawl away to some dark secret place and lick her wounds.
The helicopter finally landed.
Once inside the base they were escorted to a conference room where several FBI agents waited.
“Miss Tenney, we have some questions to ask you.”
Jude stepped forward, before she could respond.
“This can wait until we’re back in
“No, Agent Callahan, it can’t.
Our agents raided the hacienda, and everyone found on the premises has been arrested.
I need to question Ms. Tenney about her time there.”
“Glad to help.”
Kat smiled at the young agent.
“Fire away.”
She answered all their questions.
Plans were made for her to look at mug shots of those arrested once she arrived in
“Any chance of getting a shower before our plane leaves,” Jude asked.
She wanted to hug him for asking the question, before she remembered.
Spontaneous hugs with Jude were a thing of the past.
“Sgt. Mallory, show our visitors to the guest quarters.
Make sure to provide them with clean clothes.”
The agent’s eyes skimmed Kat’s body and lingered on her feet.
“Capt. Tenney needs some footwear and medical attention for her feet.
Arrange for a medic to stitch Agent Callahan’s leg.”
Kat breathed a sigh of relief when the door to her room closed behind Sgt. Mallory.
She had two hours to pull herself together, not just physically, but emotionally.
She was stunned at the rumpled, dirty woman staring back at her from the full-length mirror on the wall.
Christ.
With her tangled hair and filthy clothes, she looked like she’d just escaped from an asylum.
The bare, bleeding feet completed the image.
In the shower needles of hot water stung her body.
She inhaled the clean smell of soap and scrubbed her skin.
If only her sadness would wash down the drain along with the dirt and grime.
No matter how hard she pushed, Jude refused to get out of her mind.
Would it be the same a year from now?
Would she wake up every morning, wondering where he was, what he was doing, who he was with?
Or would the wound heal, and she’d remember him with fond memories?
Once she’d washed the filth from her body, she added a glob of bubble bath and filled the tub.
Sinking under the sudsy water, she rested her head against the back of the tub and concentrated on the pleasure of the water flowing around her.
She hardly ever indulged bubble baths, but this one felt great.
Red snored softly on the floor by the tub, his head on his paws.
There couldn’t be a finer dog in the country.
Having him for a companion eased some of her apprehension of the future.
Dogs loved without question and never judged.