Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (41 page)

"I'm fine."
She
was
deep in thought of all t
his
that
's going on
in
her
life
. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"
How d
o you work t
his
kind of stuff all the time? I'm stressed beyond belief and you and the guys act like t
his
is everyday stuff, or am I just imagining it?"

"As a U.S Marshall, we deal
with
t
his
stuff every day. Honey, we are adren
aline junkies and
the more
bazaar
and dangerous it is, the better we like it. I will admit not all cases fall into place as well as t
his
. Think about it, we've had a couple of different crimes happen to us in the last several days. You can see how we're putting it all together. We love the stress and action of it all. My team is great and we know how to get results.
That
's part of police work, you may have ten suspects and it dwindles down to one or two o
r sometime we have to start from the beginning
."

"Do you deal
with
the witness protection area? I might need it."

"Now why
would
you think you might need witness protection?"

"If you don't catch t
his
guy he might kill me unless I vanish."

Those words
she
said hurt Mike to the core. He hated the idea of someone as innocent as
Lana
would
have to think of something so drastic. "Squirt, you are so cute. We will catch him. I've worked in the fugitive investigative strike team. T
his
is what I used to do, so I know exactly what I'm doing," he said as he kissed
her
on the nose.

*****

The room got loud as several agents entered the front door and they
were
talking about the case. Mike
was
right, they were
adrenaline junkies. Excitement filled the air every time they put a piece of the puzzle together.
Her
favorite agent
was
Joe
,
and he reminded
her
of a kid.
Everything
something happened
his
eyes light up, like a kid on Christmas morning.
She
also noticed he
was
more kind hearted than the other agents.
Raymond
was
definitely Mike's right hand man. Raymond
seemed to be about
ten years younger than Mike, so
his
age is around forty.
His
personality
seemed
more like Mike's, more so than the other agents. Both were more quiet and to the point. He had dirty blond hair an
d hazel eyes. He's thinner built
than most of the men, but still very well built. Raymond
was
the only one married, or at least the only one wearing a wedding band.

Everyone got quiet when
she
walked in the kitchen.
She
was
embarrassed
that
she
interrupted their important conversation. "You all don't have to be quite on my account, unless you
're
talking shop talk."

Mike answered
with
authority and professionalism. "Actually we are talking about something very important."

"I'm sorry I interrupted, I'll go to the bedroom and watch TV. I don't want to bother you all,"
she
said
with
all sincerity.

All the guys laughed "Honey we're talking
about what we are going to have
for lunch."

"
That
was
mean, but
that
's fine I got the stuff to make lasagna, salad and a cheese cake. But since you want to hurt my feelings I'll just go be by myself,"
she
said winking at Joe.

Joe caught on quick. "I think lasagna sounds fantastic. You guys need to leave
her
alone and quit teasing
her
.
Lana
, I
would
never tease you."

She
thought
that
's the first time he ever used
her
first name.

Raymond snarled
at Joe. "Teacher's pet!
"

Everyone laughed. "Okay guys scoot and I'll make some lunch."

Mike scooped
her
up in
his
arms and swung
her
around in a circle and said. "Honey you are the best, I'm starving and I know the guys are. I cannot wait to try your lasagna, and what do you want me to do?"

"How about chopping onions? I need five cups."

"I can definitely do
that
."

After they
was
hed their hands,
she
handed him everything he needed, and he
started
chopping away.
She
browned the meat and adding the onion as Mike finished chopping. Then
she
added the wine and spices. The house started to smell good.
She
quickly whipped up two cheese cakes and put it in th
e fridge. The guys drooled
over the cheesecake.
She
knew Mike didn't know t
his
, but when
she
cooked
she
felt like
she
's contributing to the investigation. It keeps
her
busy and it keeps the guys fed and
that
makes them all happy and productive.

Mike walked over to the sink where
she
happened to be
standing and looked down at
her
,
with
all seriousness. "Can I talk to you in the bedroom?"

She
could tell by the look on
his
face something
was
wrong. "Sure."
She
did not know what he
was
about
to say, but
it had
her
worried
a little bit
.
Her
heart
pounded from nervousness
.
With
out a doubt the news
would
be bad.

He closed the door behind them. He picked
her
up and kissed
her
so deeply,
his
tongue found hers.

Her
heart raced
with
excitement.
She
pulled him close. "Oh Mike, I think
that
is by far the best kiss I ever had, ever. It
was
a wonderful unexpected kiss."
She
didn't want to stop.

"Oh baby, I have wanted to do
that
all morning, but I wanted you to rest especially after getting
that
bump on your head, and I had to find time to be alone. Are you feeling better?"

"Now I am."
She
kissed him again.

He stopped
her
and said. "
A problem has come
up and I can't go back into the room just yet."

She
knew what he meant. About
that
time
his
phone rang.
That
damn phone, I'm going to toss it out when t
his
is all over
,
she
thought.

It looked like
Mike
w
ould be
on the phone for awhile, so
she
decided to check on the meat sauce. When
she
walked in the kitchen the guys
were busy
stirring it. "Is it good?"
she
asked. The sauce appeared to have thickened perfectly.

"Can we taste it? It smells delicious." Joe asked
with
a spoon in
his
hand.

"Of course you can taste it and you can tell me if it needs anything."
She
reached for
her
own spoon. It looked too scrumptious to pass up a taste.

Everyone
gathered
in the kitchen standing in line to taste the meat sauce, and
she
could tell by their expressions
the sauce tasted
good.
She
let them taste it for minute then
she
scooted them out so
she
could finish.

She
stacked all the layers of lasagna and covered it
with
foil and
she
let Joe pop the heavy pan in the oven. Then
she
made the salad and put it in the fridge.
She
made the garlic cheese bread for when the lasagna
was
done. In the meantime
she
made a gallon sweet tea. As
she
walked into the living room Mikes phone rang again and
she
just shook
her
head in disbelief.

"Hello Sara, what do you have for me?"

"I have the manifest from the flight and I'm sending it as we speak. Michael you will owe me lunch after t
his
case. At first the airline told me I
would
need a court order."

"So what did you tell them?" Everyone knew how feisty
she
was
and they shouldn't challenge
her
to a duel.

"I told them, fine. I'll get the cour
t order, but if the victim dies
I will testify you were uncooperative knowing a life
was
at stake."

All the men were covering their mouths laughing at how tough
she
was
acting. "You go get them Sara Jane. You scared me. So did your tough act work or did you have to get a court order?" It
was
a cute game Sara and Mike played.
She
would
call him Michael and he
would
call
her
Sara Jane.

The men couldn't hold it in any longer, and they burst out laughing. "You guys are so mean. To answer your question, my tough act worked. Mike?"

"Yes?"

"I've picked Outback Steak House for lunch."

"You got it sweetheart. Buying you lunch is the least I can do."

"Later."

"Bye." He hung up and looked at Raymond at the computer. "Did you get the passenger list?"

"Yes, it
was
delivered about two minutes ago, and
that
's what I'm looking at now." he paused. "…there are a lot of men's names."

Mike motioned for
Lana
to come sit next to him. "Raymond, I want you do say out loud every name so
she
can hear the names in a man's voice.
That
might help
her
remember better."

Raymond started saying the names on the list, and then
she
answered.

Charles Schmidt
             
             
             
Nope

Robert Jamison
             
             
             
Nope

David Durham
             
             
             
No

Paul Crocker
             
             
             
No

Lawrence Wicker
             
             
             
No