Chapter Eight
As Evelyn approached the restaurant the more intensely she felt that the events of the past few days would dominate her actions, to the point of distracting her from the objective of this mission. Making contact with her chief had to be paramount. The next few moments were all she had to collect and sort the newest developments in the case against theses Drug Lords. Now she had to find out was what the others might know about the death of her brother.
When they crossed the road and reached the payphone, she felt more than saw Chase dismount the horse. Evelyn turned, lifting her right leg over Beau’s rump and slid off the horse right into Chase’s arms. As much as she wanted to stay right there and let the rest of the world go by, she pushed herself away. Inside the phone booth, she dialed the operator, asked for a collect call, and gave the number.
When her boss Ron answered the call, he expressed his concern, “What the hell happened to you guys? We got the call about Ian two days ago. Where the hell are you and are you safe?”
Evelyn had to chuckle. “Yes Ron, I’m ok and for now, I’m safe but that might not last very long. Long story short after Ian was murdered, the killer found out I was a witness and in my escape, he ran me off the road. I crashed and the guy who found me is hiding me but we can’t stay hidden forever. I only just got some of my memory back. When I crashed the car, I bumped my head pretty good and I couldn’t even remember my own name for the last few days. Then I saw that pig on the TV blame me for killing Ian and I started to remember. Here’s what I know…” She went on to tell him what happened in the alley and what she could remember so far about the case she and Ian were working.
A few minutes later, she returned to Chase. “Well, that’s done.”
“What exactly is done?” Chase asked.
“Within the hour, the DEA will raid the warehouse and arrest everyone inside. They were able to stop the boats from bringing in the shipment so that part is under wraps. Now they’ll move in and arrest the handlers. Hopefully, all the way to the top of this particular food chain. They were able to trace this shipment back to the big wigs in Canada and they are working with the Mounted Police to take them into custody as well. Ron is sending agents on the way to your ranch to arrest the Trainer brothers and anyone else who happens to be at the ranch. If they find drugs at the warehouse, that will close the case. At any rate, Travis Trainer will go to jail for the death of my brother.”
“What about Grayson Trainer?”
Evelyn shook her head. “I had to tell them I couldn’t see the face of the man in the shadows. If Grayson is involved, we’ll have to find the evidence to connect him to the crime and to his brother.” She shrugged. “It’s possible if Travis gets arrested, he’ll turn on his brother and give us the evidence we need to take him down as well.”
Chase rolled his eyes. “Somehow, I doubt that very much, Eve. But it might work. Travis certainly wouldn’t be man enough to take the fall without dragging Grayson down as well, but I guess we’ll see.”
“We’ll see? What will we see?”
“We’ll see if old man Trainer allows his son to go to jail in the first place. Seth Trainer isn’t a good man, he’s a bastard. One that isn’t going to want family secrets told to make a deal and believe me that family has secrets he doesn’t want known especially by the police. Oh, and he hates the law. Like I said before it’s ironic that both his sons are cops.”
“Travis isn’t going to be making any deals.” Evelyn vowed. “I won’t let him get away with murdering Ian, even if it’s the last thing I do. He’s gonna fry for killing a DEA agent.”
Chase watched her intently as he rubbed her arms up and down with his hands to try to calm her. “Fierce Much?” he asked with a twinkle in his eyes. “Sexy, stubborn, and fierce. I think I like you Eve Carlyle.”
Evelyn felt her body heat up at his expression and his compliment. She’d never heard these words from a man before. In her line of work, as a woman, she’d had to fight and earn every ounce of respect she’d never really gotten from her male counterparts.
“So what are we supposed to do now?” he asked.
“We are supposed to wait here. Someone will pick us up after the arrests are made.” Evelyn looked around. She didn’t really want to spend the morning in a bar but then she noticed there was a restaurant too. “Let’s go get some breakfast. I’m starved.”
“As much as I’m starving too, I don’t know that it’s wise to be out in the open like this.” He warned her looking around. “We might not see them but they could be watching us right now, just waiting to take the shot.”
“I know. I can feel it too.” She searched the area carefully. “Maybe we could get something to go and then hide somewhere until the agents get here?”
Chase nodded. “We could do that. But let’s do it soon.”
They went inside the restaurant for food to go. When they returned a few minutes later, they both froze as they could hear the whine of a police car coming toward them. They couldn’t see the car but they could hear it and it was just around the corner.
“Oh, shit.” She swore as they both rushed over to where Beau was hitched. Chase vaulted up into the saddle and he reached down to haul her up behind him. She made sure to clutch the to go bag close to her. Then he turned the horse around and raced toward the trees on the other side of the road.
He didn’t stop until they were far enough into the wood line he was sure they weren’t being followed. Even then, they continued traveling.
Chase told her under his breath that they were leaving tracks in the fresh snow but it couldn’t be helped. They couldn’t afford to get caught now.
After twenty minutes or so without anyone following them, Chase slowed Beau and began circling back. Staying hidden within the trees, they watched the diner and bar. There were two police cars parked outside with the red and blue lights flashing.
Chase waited and watched from a place well-hidden in the trees. He wouldn’t expose either of them to the possibility of getting shot. Peeking over his shoulder, he asked, “Do you see any of your fellow agents there yet?”
Evelyn shook her head. “No I don’t. Now I’m getting worried. They should have been here by now. What do we do now? Do we wait and see who shows up or do we leave and try again to make contact with Ron?”
“At this moment I’m not sure. How good is this Ron?”
“Oh, Ron is very good,” she assured him.
“Can he really do what he claims he can?”
“Yup, without a doubt.” She nodded.
“Then I guess we find a place where they can’t see us.” He nodded at the police cars. “And we wait.”
“Ok.” She nodded as she opened the food bag and lifted out a burger. Her mouth nearly watered from the smell of it.
“What are you doing?” Chase asked form in front of her on the horse.
“I’m eating dammit.” She handed his to him around his waist. “I haven’t had meat in days.”
He snickered. “Well, that’s not exactly true.”
Evelyn stopped chewing and realized what he meant. She laughed and almost choked on the food. Swallowing, she grabbed a napkin from the bag. “Here…” She handed it to him. “Wipe that dirty mouth, soldier.”
Chase grabbed it and kept chuckling.
~*~
After they ate, Chase rode to a point where they couldn’t be seen from the road and dismounted Beau. He helped her down and tied the horse up to a tree. Keeping an eye on the bar and grill they waited
Finally, about two hours later, chilled to the bone, they saw four officers rush out to their vehicles. Sirens blaring and lights flashing, they left in a hurry.
Eve looked over at Chase and wondered what was going on.
Chase shrugged and kept watching.
A little while later, they watched as an old pickup truck pulled into the lot. A single man got out and went inside the bar/grill. Chase nudged her. “Come on that’s Barry. Maybe he can fill us in on what’s going on.”
“Good a cup of something hot wouldn’t be too hard to handle right now.” She said as she stumbled along behind him.
Chase left Beau tied up to the tree in case they had to make a quick getaway. They broke the tree line after surveilling the entire area for a while. Seeing nothing out of order, Chase grabbed her hand and pulled her across the road and into the grill.
They chose a table in the corner of the room far away from the front door yet close enough to the back door to make their escape if they had to run. Neither of them said too much while they ordered coffee and waited for Barry to join them.
When Barry sat down, he stared at her for a moment then turned to Chase.
Eve kept a close eye on the front door while they exchanged pleasantries.
Then when Chase asked how things were going at the ranch Barry fidgeted in his seat. “Well nothing much happened all day but they were there. I saw signs there were several men waiting in the out buildings. I heard snowmobiles too, off and on all day. They were searching the property. I assume they were looking for the two of you.” Barry paused then addressed the situation regarding Eve. “Did you really kill that guy in Coven Glade?”
Eve shook her head. “No I didn’t. Travis Trainer shot Ian in an alley. He put the blame on me to try and smoke me out. He and his brother want me dead, so I can’t tell anyone who really shot Ian.”
Barry glanced at Chase before he turned back to Eve. “And you are?”
“My name is Evelyn Carlyle. DEA agent, Evelyn Carlyle.” Then she paused. “Ian Carter was my foster brother, he was also the closest thing to family I had.”
“Ok.” Barry nodded. “Then what I’m about to tell you will make sense then.”
“And what is that?” Chase asked.
“Six dark sedans pulled up to the front door a little while ago. Men swarmed all over the ranch looking for something or somebody. They heard the snowmobiles take off and four of the vehicles left but there are still two sitting there and about six armed men waiting and watching. They had me show my ID before they would allow me to leave.” He sipped his coffee. “They said they were there looking for Grayson Trainer or his men.”
The waitress came over to fill their cups. She hesitated a moment before she looked at Chase.
Chase nodded at her. “Sally, how are you?”
Sally bit at her lip and then spoke, “The cops were in here earlier looking for you. They said whatever happened the other night in Coven Glade was coming here.” She met his eyes. “One of the cops here today went to make a phone call. I overheard him warn someone on the phone about the guy that got shot being DEA. I think he was talking to Travis Trainer.”
“Thanks Sal.” Chase nodded.
Barry nodded and stood up as he dropped a five bill on the table. “I’ll be watching everything from my truck.”
“Thanks for everything Barry.”
“We stick together man. We always have each other’s backs.”
When he walked away, Chase looked over at Evelyn.
She had her elbows on the table with her head in her hands. “Oh god, what if Travis was warned before Ron got to the warehouse? Travis was going down for murder, so one more wouldn’t matter would it?” She looked up at Chase. “What kind of hell did Ron and the others walk into?”
“You can’t think like that.” Chase reached over to grab her hand. “If Ron is any kind of agent, he would have been prepared for anything. Even losing the element of surprise. We just have to wait and see how it all came out.”
“Maybe I should call Ron again.” She worried her bottom lip with her teeth.
“Let’s just wait a while and see if he comes or sends someone,” Chase offered. “He might be tied up cleaning up the warehouse.”
Eve nodded and watched the front door. As time passed, she began to get more and more nervous.
When the door finally opened, a stranger walked in.
Eve smiled and waved at him.
He came over to where they were sitting and slid into the last chair at the table. He smiled at the waitress who brought another cup of hot coffee to the table. He took a sip and groaned out loud. Then he looked at Eve and chuckled. “You want to know how it went down, don’t you?”
“Well, duh.” She rolled her eyes while looking like she might explode at any minute.
Chase hid a smile. Firecracker may become his nickname for her as he enjoyed seeing her get riled. He thought of ways to work her up that might be even more enjoyable. He figured they would win this now with her team arriving, so he relaxed and just watched this play out.
Eve narrowed her deep green gaze at the man. “Did you get Travis Trainer or not?”
“We got him.” Ron nodded grimly. “We would have walked into a shit storm but just before we stormed the warehouse, one of our men called and said they picked up a patrol car coming to warn Trainer. The two police officers inside claimed they thought Travis was being railroaded. We’re holding them until things get straightened out.” He shifted in his seat. “Apparently, Grayson bolted when he saw the DEA and FBI moving in. He and three other people got away. We chased them but they all separated and as we didn’t have snowmobiles, we just watched them go.”
“Good luck with that.” Chase shook his head.
Ron turned and studied him. “What does that mean?”
“Grayson is Travis’ brother and he has a mean old bastard for a father. Neither one of them is going to take Travis being behind bars very well. They won’t break the law outright, but they will bend it until it cracks. Expect a visit really soon by the best crooked attorney they can find. And Grayson is also a cop, so he might use his badge to get his brother out. And if Travis gets out, you’ll never see either one of them again, unless its seconds before they or the old man puts a bullet in your head.”
“Nice family.” Ron sneered.
Barry showed up seemingly out of nowhere and sat down. “Oh, you have no idea. Seth Trainer would just as soon beat you half to death as look at you. Especially, if you cross him or his sons.”
“I think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the man.” Ron grimaced. “We no more than got back to the station, when this older man walked in demanding to see his son. Between the liquor on his breath and that sickening cologne he was wearing, I couldn’t get too close to him without throwing up.”
Eve snapped her head over to stare at Chase.
Knowledge dawned on him as well.
“Could that be the third man in the alley that night?” she wondered out loud.
“What are you talking about?” Ron asked looking confused.
“The night Travis shot Ian, I saw someone else in the alley,” Eve explained. “He was back in the shadows and I couldn’t see him clearly but I smelled him well enough. The aftershave he was wearing smelled overly sweet and nauseating. He leaned into the light but not far enough. His face was distorted and he was angry, very, very angry. He kept telling Travis to get this done. He told him to clean up the mess he made.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Barry dared to ask.
“I think it means we just identified the ring leader.” Ron grinned. “Old man Trainer might be the kingpin we’ve been looking for all this time.” He sat up in his chair and nodded at Eve. “It does make sense though when you think about it. If he were the kingpin, he wouldn’t have to worry about running afoul of the law. With both his sons as police, he’d have free rein to run the shipments through both towns.”
“Can you check his financials?” Eve asked. “Maybe we could get the evidence we’d need from an independent source that would tie him into the ring.”
Ron reached for his phone and called his guy at headquarters. “Billy, we need you to run financials on…” He glanced over at Chase. “What’s this guy’s name?”
“Seth.”
“On Seth Trainer.”
Chase leaned forward and interjected, “Also try Margaret Trainer. That’s Seth’s wife. Seth might not want anything in his name in case this situation came up.”
Ron nodded and gave her name to his contact as well. When he hung up the phone, he glanced at Chase. “Would he be that much of a bastard to lay the blame on his own wife?”
Chase shook his head, disgusted. “Seth Trainer would lay the blame on his dog if he thought he would get away with it. Hell, he’d put a bullet in the dog’s head just to keep him from talking if dog could talk.”
“Damn. What a guy.” Ron sobered for a moment as he reached out and patted Eve’s hand. “I’m sorry Ian is gone. He was a nice guy. We’ve taken care of him. He’s at the morgue waiting for you to decide how you want to care for his remains.”
Chase saw the tears burning in her eyes and his heart wrenched for her.
“What about Grayson?” she asked.
“Until we catch up with him, you both need to go under wraps.”
Eve glanced over at Chase. “I know you won’t like hiding—”
He reached out and grasped her hand. No, and he didn’t want to leave her quite yet. They needed to talk about happened in the cavern and what it meant for their future.
“Well, it looks like you’re still stuck with me for a little longer,” Eve stated. “It shouldn’t take too long to run Grayson down. Then you can have your life back.”
I don’t want my life back without you in it. Aloud, Chase asked, “What about Beau? I can’t leave my horse here alone.”
“Can Barry take Beau back to the stables?” Eve asked as she looked over at him.
“I can do that boss.” Barry nodded.
“But we need to get the two of you somewhere safe, fast,” Ron warned.
“What happened at the ranch?” She stared at Ron.
He frowned. “From what I heard, the men went back to the ranch after the first visit. Only this time, they came in on two sides. There was a small firefight. We saw part of the group bolt. Three of the seven men who had returned, escaped our men for a second time. We managed to get the remainder of the group contained and the FBI went after the three who got away. That’s where they split up and disappeared into the woods. FBI and DEA went in after them and found all three. Unfortunately, Grayson wasn’t one of the men we captured. We still don’t know where he is yet.”
“Damn,” Eve swore.
The door opened and a man with a gun strode into the restaurant.
Ron pushed her to the floor. He reached for his gun but the intruder raised his weapon and got a round off. Ron went down clutching his shoulder.
From where he was sitting, Chase watched Eve fumble for Ron’s gun then begin firing at the man by the door.
Her first bullet hit him in the chest and knocked him off his feet but it didn’t put him down. The man shot off another round. His bullet splintered the table over her head. Her second bullet put a hole in the man’s forehead. The gunman dropped to the floor.
Everything happened so fast, Chase hadn’t had time to even think, he simply watched her react, a blessed consequence of endless training. Feeling sick to his stomach, he went to check on Ron.
Barry handed Chase a towel. Chase pressed it down on the wound in Ron’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Ron nodded then turned his head to see Eve was standing over the man she’d just shot.
Chase followed his gaze and shook his head. Looking back at Ron, he said softly, “I’d better go check on Beau.” He didn’t know what to do for Eve right now, but he knew that old man Trainer wasn’t above shooting his horse just for the spite of it.
Ron nodded and grimaced in pain as Barry pressed the towel into his shoulder.
~ * ~
Evelyn stared down at the man who’d just tried to kill her and everyone in the diner. She let out a long, slow breath. Raising her head, she gazed around.
Ron was struggling to sit up, holding his shoulder, in pain and rapidly going into shock, but he was alive. Barry was assisting him. Evelyn looked at the front door again. Shock reverberated through her mind at what had just happened. Time had slowed down and now it seemed to pick up, as she knew something was off.
She glanced back at Ron and saw Barry still holding a cloth to Ron’s shoulder. She knew he would be taken care of. “Are you all right?”
Ron nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be okay. It’s just a shoulder wound.”
“Where did Chase go?” she looked around but couldn’t find him. Yes, this was the thing that was wrong. Where is he?
Barry raised his head up. His alarmed expression showing that he’d been caught completely off guard by the shooting. Glancing at the man lying dead, he said, “Chase went to check on Beau.”
She nodded and headed for the back door. She still had Ron’s gun in her hand, automatically checking the load as she carefully scanned the lot. She opened the door part way and slowly slid through it, plastering herself against the wall of the restaurant. She couldn’t see anyone but if the man she shot was one of Grayson’s men, she couldn’t take the chance that Grayson wasn’t out there somewhere. She made her way around the building. She found Chase’s horse but again there was no sign of Chase. She turned to go around the other way and ran into a man’s arms. “Chase! Oh, thank god. I was looking for you.”
“I had to retrieve Beau. How is Ron? He said he was ok but you never know with bullet wounds.”
“Ron will be fine. I’ve never seen the shooter before so you may need to identify him for us.” She paused then looked at him carefully. “Are you sure you’re all right? You seem a little freaked out.”
Chase nodded. “He’s one of Grayson’s men, Jared Fry.”
“Did you see Grayson out there somewhere?” Evelyn asked.
“No, Grayson wouldn’t be here.” He pointed toward the other side of the road to the snowmobile sitting there. “But you can be sure he sent Fry. That’s just what kind of guy he is. You can bet though, he’s safe and sound somewhere being protected by his men.”
“So where is Grayson, do you think?”
Chase rubbed his chin with the back of his hand. “I’ll have to think about where he might go. Jared must have found our tracks by the cabin and followed them.”
“Either that or Grayson is smart enough to have had someone waiting for us at the nearest phone in the area. The quicker we can get to the safe house, the more time the agency men will have to find him.” Evelyn took his elbow. “Let’s go see how Ron is.”
Chase followed her back inside the restaurant.
Ron was sitting in a chair while one of the staff manufactured a pressure bandage from several laundered kitchen towels. He badly needed to see a doctor. He glanced up at Evelyn. “I called the DEA office. They are sending another team to pick you up.” He gazed over at the dead man. “Do you know who he was?”
Chase nodded. “Jared Fry. He’s one of Grayson’s men.”
“Three men escaped the ranch this morning. He could have been one of them,” Ron told them. “Grayson is still out there somewhere.”
A few minutes later, two agents entered the restaurant, Steve Houser and Ben Lock. They quickly assessed the situation. “We have orders to take Evelyn and Chase Rivers into custody and get you to the hospital.”
“Have you heard anything new about Grayson Trainer yet?” Ron asked as he got to his feet.
Steve shook his head. “No, but we have all possible police personnel looking for him.” He glanced back at the front door to the body on the floor. “We’ll call an ambulance for that one. He needs a ride to the morgue.”
Ron nodded. “Evelyn shot him before he could finish what he started.”
Ben looked over at Chase. “I’m ready to take you and her to a safe house. Steve will stay here with Fry until the ambulance gets here then he’ll meet us.”
Evelyn nodded as she glanced at Chase. “Barry will take Beau home. I told him I’d check with him in a few days. It shouldn’t take much longer than that for you to bring in Grayson.”
A few minutes later, the ambulance pulled up. The medics argued hard to take Ron with them as his situation had deteriorated. Ron kind of minded riding with a corpse, but in the end he had no choice.
Ben drove Chase and her about forty miles to a town called Winona. Turning off highway 61 onto Huff Street, Ben drove through town toward the Mississippi River. Ben took Huff Street right into the heart of the city. He turned on Broadway and traveled several blocks to Walnut Street. Turning left, he traveled several more blocks before he pulled into a driveway on the left, a light blue house on the corner of the block. The safe house faced the Mississippi River. They could see ice along the shoreline from where they stood.
Evelyn, Chase, and Ben got out of the car then walked to the front door.
She glanced down the street but didn’t see anything out of order. All the other houses in the area were a little run down. They wore fading and peeling paint while their sidewalks hadn’t been shoveled since the last snowstorm. Yet, everywhere she looked, she could see signs of the Christmas holiday. The porch across the street had Christmas lights wrapped around the railing, a Christmas tree in the window. The red and green lights sparkled through the glass. The neighborhood looked quiet, homes sat on large lots making rows of just five to a block face. It was just the place to hide in plain sight.
Ben dug in his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys. He unlocked the front door and inside they all went. Ben let Steve know they had arrived safely then went out to scout the perimeter.
~ * ~
Chase sat down on the sofa and watched them at work. In the first place, he wasn’t happy being there. He’d rather have been able to go back to his ranch. He’d been unusually quiet throughout the trip down here, and he didn’t have too much to say right now. He had been thinking about where Grayson Trainer might hide out. Likewise, he’d also been thinking about what happened last night. She’d said after this was over, he could have his life back. He wanted her in it, but he wasn’t sure what Eve was really thinking. Starting out of a brown study, he looked in her direction only to find her looking back at him. When she winked at him, he felt a bit surprised and intrigued by her amused expression. “Where are we exactly?” Not much of a conversational starter, but the best he could do at the moment.
“We’re in Winona. It’s a small town on the Mississippi River,” Eve told him.
“I know where Winona is. In case you’ve forgotten, I live in Minnesota,” Chase told her gruffly.
Eve closed her eyes. “I didn’t mean to patronize you. I forgot you grew up here. I guess I’ve forgotten quite a lot the last few days.”
“But you remembered things, too,” Chase reminded her.
She nodded as she looked around the room. “I have remembered most of it but Ian is still dead, and you and I are hiding out until Grayson Trainer is in custody.”
Ben joined them and announced, “The word is that Ron is going to be fine. He’s on his way back to Minneapolis. We’re supposed to stay here tonight and check in with Steve tomorrow. They found the other men who got away with Grayson but they haven’t found Grayson yet.”
Eve asked Chase, “Do you have any idea where Grayson would go if he were hiding?”
Chase shook his head. “He knows the woods pretty well, although if he were really in trouble, he might go back home. Seth Trainer is a mean bastard, but he wouldn’t allow his sons to come to any harm unless he did the harming. He doesn’t much care for any unrelated members of law enforcement. There are plenty of places he could be hiding on his father’s land.”
Eve stretched and covered a yawn. “They just play cops. They don’t really enforce any laws.”
Chase’s mouth twisted in what passed for a grin. “Seth figured he could work with them to monopolize local law departments.” He sat back on the sofa. “They used fear and intimidation and kept their noses clean, at least on the surface. They know enough about forensics to clean up a crime scene before anyone else gets there. They never would leave enough evidence to condemn themselves.” He paused and shook his head. “Until now.”
“Until now? What are you thinking?” Eve asked.
“Now Travis is behind bars while Grayson is on the run. A Trainer behaves when threatened, like a wounded animal. If you back one of them into a corner, he will fight for his life, so more people are going to get hurt.”
Eve stilled and stared closely at his expression. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that Grayson won’t come quietly once you do find him. If he figures he’s caught, there is going to be a gunfight. He isn’t going to be happy that Travis is sitting in jail. He might even figure he’ll never go to jail.”
“Ok, how can we get to him with minimal damage control?” Ben asked.
Chase shrugged. “I think we are going to have to convince him that Travis is going to talk. Grayson will see today as a failure. Reason number one: Travis got busted so his brother is in jail even though he’s not. Reason number two: he’ll think I probably set him up, so he’s going to link me with ending his career. He’ll more than likely come after me because he can and he still has to get Eve. He thinks I’ve been hiding her all this time. But she’s not the only witness who can place Travis but also his father at Ian’s murder. Right now, the charges against Grayson aren’t that serious. They are circumstantial, until the DEA can link him to the drug ring but if the State Police convince Travis that Eve’s testimony and his would give him room to bargain for a reduced sentence in exchange for catching Grayson, we stand a better chance of finding him before he surprises me and Eve.”
Ben nodded. “Ok, say all of this is true, how do we stop him?”
Chase shook his head. “You aren’t going to like my idea.”
“If it involves using yourself as a target, forget it.” Eve looked like she was about to get riled up again. “I see where the conversation is going and I don’t like it!”
Chase switched his gaze to her for a moment then turned to look at Ben. “It might be the fastest way to catch him, if not the only way to catch him.”
Ben had certainly read the look that passed between the two and didn’t quite know what to think. He didn’t want to get in the middle. “I’ll have to talk this over with my supervisors, but it might be the only way, like you said.”
Eve growled. “You can’t, I won’t allow it. He’ll kill you without even thinking about it. He hates you and all you represent.”
Chase glanced at her and smiled. “I won’t let that happen. Remember I’m a soldier?” He now gave her a wink. “Don’t you know that the good guys always win?”
She huffed as she crossed her arms over that lovely chest of hers. “Not always, they don’t. Sometimes, the good guys die young,” Eve reminded him with tears in her eyes. “My brother was a one of the good guys.”
“Not this time. I won’t let him kill me.”
Eve could read the determined expression in his eyes and knew there was nothing she could say to change his mind. “You might not see the bullet until it’s too late to stop it, then what? You’ll be dead and he’ll still be free.” She shook her head. “I don’t want this.”
“I don’t want this either but it might be the only way to catch him without anyone else getting hurt,” Chase reminded her.
Eve looked away with tears in her eyes. There was nothing she could say.