Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (35 page)

She
walked back and sat in Joe's SUV because it
was
so cold.

When
Mike
calmed down, he
walked over to
Lana
. "Are you okay? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine. I thought
that
was
kind of fun but I
would
n't want to do it again."

Joe interrupted. "The license plate came back to an Eddie and Donna Borders. They live out here just a few blocks from you off Wabash road. My guess he stole the Explorer. Let's hope they're not home."

Mike said. "Let's head over there and call our crime scene investigators just in case. Honey do you see
that
convenience store, we
'll grab a few things then we need to head over to the
Borders house."

Joe called detective Quent and told him about the incident and about the Borders.

Lana
said. "Don't worry about me, I'll grab what they have and I know you need to work to catch t
his
bastard." Joe drove them
to the store
and they grabbed some snacks, coffee and water. They didn't have any liquid creamer so
Lana
got milk.

They were heading to Wabash road when Mike got a call from Quent. "Mike we can't get hold of the Borders, but we found your Explorer. No one
was found
around
it,
and
it is being
process
ed
it
as we speak
.
We'll be there in about fifteen minutes. If you get there first call me before you do anything, he might go back to the house."

"We'll be there in a couple minutes. I'll let you know what we find."

Wabash road
was
dark and it didn't look like anyone
was
home at any of the houses.
That
was
a relief for
Lana
.
She
hoped the Explorer
had been
a vacation vehicle.

When they pulled up to the house Joe tried to position the SUV so the lights
would
shine on the house. The angle of the house
was
higher than the road. T
his
caused the headlights to reflect off the snow. "
Lana
, I want you to lock the doors and if you see or hear anything, honk. Joe and I will be here in just a few seconds. Okay?"

"Yes, please be careful."
She
locked the doors and
she
noticed they were very careful not to step on
the
snow
that
had prints.

Joe knocked on the door and they had their guns pulled. It
was
pitch black other than a little snow on the ground
that
was
reflective from the headlights. Mike motioned for Joe to go around to the side of the house. He
had been
gone a long time,
and it
seemed like forever. After several minutes
she
could see
his
flashlight before
she
saw him. Joe pointed to the back left side of the house. Mike shook
his
head side to side. He then got out
his
phone and made a phone call. If
she
's right about the body language, Joe found them dead. Tears whelped up in
her
eyes.

To
her
right
she
could see police lights coming. Mike saw them too and he knew he
would
get busy when they got there. He quickly walked back to the SUV. "Baby we
will be
here for awhile, so
Raymond is
on
his
way to
get you. He'll take you
back to the beach house and stay
with
you."

"How long do you think you'll be?"

"I think we will be at least a couple of hours."

She
hated to ask but
she
had to know. "Are they dead?

He looked
in
her
eyes. "Yes." He hoped
she
would
n't ask. He stayed
with
her
until Raymond arrived, which
was
only a few seconds. Mike opened the door for
her
and hugged
her
for several seconds. Raymond just sat in
his
SUV
, not saying a word.
They walked around to the passenger door. He
kissed
her
then
sat the bags of groceries in on the floor board. "Take good care of
her
, and I'll be home in a couple of hours."

"Yes sir."

Raymond and
Lana
drove the few short blocks to the house. "Wait here while I make sure everything checks out
okay
." He stepped out of the truck and thoroughly checked the house.
His
demeanor
was
totally different than Mikes. Mike
would
give instructions on what to do if anything happened. He didn't say one word during their short ride to the house. It
was
obvious to
her
that
he
was
the serious, quiet deputy.

While
Lana
made fresh coffee,
she
wanted to break the silence. "I see you guys work well together."

"Yes ma'am, Joe is the youngest of all of us but he has caught on
fast
."

"I have to say I admire you guys and all the work you do. It amazes me how you all work as if t
his
is everyday stuff. I'm stressed enough for all of you guys. Does your wife get stressed?"

"Sometimes
she
does, especially if we are in the field and
she
doesn't hear from me for a couple of days. Not long ago we were serving a federal felony warrant in New Mexico. The guy we were staking out
was
literally in the middle of the desert. We had no phone service so I couldn't call
her
. We were not allowed to break radio silence, so
she
worried a lot on
that
one."

Lana
thought about how awful
that
would
be to not be able to talk to Mike for two days.
She
missed him after two hours. "How does
she
handle it?"

"Pray."

"I'm glad to hear
that
. I want to say I'm sorry you have to be here now and not
with
your family."

"My wife and I look at it like t
his
, every minute I'm away from
her
I'm keeping
her
and other American's safe."

"Wow,
that
's a great way to look at it the situation."
She
would
have to remember
that for the future.
"Raymond, why did you use the word Americans instead of citizens or people?"

"Our team is an anti-terrorism team, and we serve warrants. We were formed after September 11.
That
's just a word we decided as a team to use as part of our terminology."

"So why are you working t
his
case?"

"Because of Mike, w
e normally don't work jobs
that
don't have anything to do
with
terrorism, but t
his
is an exception."

"If you're on the anti-terrorism team, then why
was
Frank killed on a drug bust?"

"Well, we only tell the media what we want them to tell the public."

"
That
makes sense. Do you have many terrorist
that
are female?"
She
didn't know why
she
thought of
that
, and
she
expected him to say no.

"Not many, but the numbers
keep
rising.
That
makes it hard on us because we can't be gentle on them. People sometimes don't understand why we get rough
with
a woman. But they can tote a bomb just as easy as a man. And they can fly planes as well."

"I guess I never thought about it
that
way. But your right, in your business you can't trust anyone."

Her
heart felt so proud to have men like Raymond and Mike protecting
her
.
She
now knows how the wife's of the soldiers
in
Iraq feel. "I want to thank you for taking care of me."

Raymond put
his
hand on
her
shoulder and said softly. "You are welcome."

"Thank you for your honesty. If you don't mind I'm going to go
to bed.
"

"Absolutely, just call me if you need anything."

"I will, and you do the same."

Chapter 23

Day 8

October 22 1:41 a.m.

Lana
woke to a faint splashing of water and teeth being brushed.
She
rolled over and s
aw a shadow through the crack of
the bat
hroom door.
She noticed he
tried to be quiet as he got
ready for bed.
She
pulled the covered back for him, so all he had to do
was
crawl in and
snuggle.

Once he turned off the light, an immediate beam glowed through the crack of the drapes. The guys left the back porch light on, and it guided Mike to the bed. The dense coolness of the room surprised Mike. Whenever he stayed at the beach house he always left the door open.
With
the door shut th
e room didn't get much heat. He tried to make a mental note
to remember to check on the vents tomorrow and make sure they were opened fully. He knew their snuggling
would
create enough body heat to keep them warm for one night.

As he crawled in bed
Lana
moaned a sleepy sigh and asked Mike a question. "Did the computer run to town?"

"What?" He pulled back and looked over at
her
.
She
was
sound asleep.
Someone talks in
her
sleep
. He pulled
her
close and made sure he didn't touch
her
with
his
icy feet, nor did he touch
her
forehead.

*****

It
was
n't even daylight when one of the agents knocked on the bedroom door.

"What do you need?" Mike asked
with
out moving one muscle. He
was
exhausted
with
only a couple of hours of sleep.
His
mouth
was
near
her
ear and
his
voice seemed louder than normal. "I don't want to get up," he w
his
pered.

Joe
stood
at the door. "Sorry to bother you sir, I just wanted to let you know Detective Quentin is
here and wants
to see you."

"I'll be
out in a minute
." Mike pulled
Lana
closer and he kissed
her
on the shoulder.

"Yes sir," answered Joe.

"As much as I want to snuggle, I've got to get busy. But you sleep in and come out whenever you want
.
" He sat on the edge of the bed for a few seconds then he gathered enough energy to walk in the bathroom. He didn't turn on any lights until he shut the bathroom door.