Heart in Wire: A by a Thread Companion Novel (17 page)

Frank looked out the floor to ceiling window and spoke in a low tone. “I haven’t been there for her. I haven’t been able to help her through any of this. I—” Frank’s voice broke and he cleared his throat, “I need to help my baby.”

Hours later, plans made and solidified, Patrick and Jesse sat watching the biggest Southeastern Conference battle, Georgia vs. Auburn. It was a toss-up that year, either team could win.

“Fuck!” Jesse yelled as Patrick cussed under his breath at the interception thrown by Georgia’s quarterback. They were in Jesse’s media room, which looked more like a movie theater, both reclining in leather chairs that had cup holders for their beer.

“I’m glad you had a weekend to do this, Jesse,” Patrick said. “I really appreciate it. I know you’re busy.”

“I’m not too busy for my friends,” he responded, not taking his eyes off the game.

“I think we have a plan that’ll work. I just need to make sure I get my part laid out before your next bye weekend.”

“Oh, yeah. Let me text you when that is. I’ll get some buddies to set up a party on that Friday night.” Jesse picked up his phone from one of the cup holders and messaged Patrick.

Now they had a date.
Putting the plan into action was up to Patrick. Handing out enough bait for Jamie to grab onto was going to be tricky, but he could do it.

“You know, this isn’t going to be easy,” Jesse commented, his eyes back on the game.

“I’m aware,” Patrick agreed.

“I’m not sure you are.”

Patrick didn’t know if he would ever wrap his brain around what they were planning, but he couldn’t let his mind go there. Jamie was a good guy once. They’d been friends once.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter now, does it?” Patrick took a gulp of his beer.

“Guess not.” Jesse was quiet for a long time; Patrick thought he had gone back to watching the game. “You gonna tell her what’s going on?”

Patrick sighed. “I’m not sure. I know she needs to know some, but not all, of it. I don’t want her giving anything away inadvertently when she’s interviewed.”

“That’s smart.”

“I think maybe I’ll let her know we have a plan and it’s on a need to know basis.”

Jesse guffawed at Patrick’s statement, which caused Patrick to laugh at its insanity as well. “When has Stella ever been okay with need to know?”

Patrick had been thinking about this part of the planning a bit, because El was prickly. “I think because she’s sold on the fact that the FBI will save her by arresting him, she’ll be distracted and not feel the need to know as much.”

“You haven’t told her about Jamie being in a safe house?”

“No,” Patrick answered.

“Fuck.” Jesse looked at Patrick with respect.

“I just don’t want her worrying any more than she is and it may be that the FBI
will
arrest him.” Patrick didn’t believe the words as he said them.

“But you don’t think so.”

Patrick shook his head. “I’m positive the FBI will never touch Jamie. Harris may not know it yet, but Jamie’s got shit that will help the ATF out of two legal snafus that are making it look bad. He’ll testify against the family that he was with in Montana, but he’s also got other information about a bigger issue to the ATF. There’s no way they’ll give him up now.”

Jesse was incredulous. “He killed FBI agents.”

Patrick leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, trying to figure out if he could trust Jesse, which was ludicrous since he was just planning to murder someone with him. “Look, I learned when all this went down with Jamie—it’s every man for himself. I’ve lost all faith in the agency I worked for when they put him under for so long. He wasn’t trained. His supervisor lied to him about the length of the operation and when I went to the higher ups, I was transferred and they cut off all communication between us.”

“Seriously?”

“It was a kick to the fucking balls, dude.” Patrick stared at the ceiling. He’d never admitted this to anyone. “It shattered every belief I had in doing what was right. I became an ATF agent to get guns off the street and out of criminals’ hands, not to see this shit. Jamie was a kid. They ruined his life.”

Chapter Thirteen

OH, BILLY, DID I EVER EVEN KNOW YOU?

When he’d come back from Atlanta, he’d lost himself in his work. He was part of the team investigating into the confiscated guns getting back on the streets shitstorm and it was beginning to become clear that the evidence was pointing in the direction of Burns, Jamie’s supervisor. Patrick was starting to accept the fact that Plan C was the only plan that would work. He taunted Jamie by dropping hints here and there when he knew Jamie was listening. He talked about El staying with him on and off.

“Hey, man!” Patrick called as he greeted the ATF agent in the cubicle next to his. Jamie’s cubicle was now three rows back, but Patrick knew he paid attention.

“What’s up,” the agent offered in return.

“Not much, just got back from walking the dog I’m dog sitting.”

“Oh yeah? Cool,” the agent responded and went back to his computer.

Patrick smiled because he knew Jamie would be aware that El would only leave Cooper with him if she and George were out of town. Also, the fact that El had made a trip to Iowa or something to see George tonight had been all over Twitter.
Fucking George.

Taunt and tease; he’d been playing this game for weeks. Up next was the bait. Jamie was chomping at the bit for his money and Patrick just had to find the perfect time to give him enough string to hang himself.

Patrick’s eyes popped up at the sound of El screaming in the basement. He frantically pulled on the pants that were on the floor next to the bed and padded out of his room, leaving a sleeping Millie. He shook his head at the fact that El was still having nightmares after all this time. He closed the distance from the stairs to her bed in a few seconds.

“Stella,” he said softly, sitting on the side of the bed.

Cooper looked up from the other side of her, his tail beating a rhythm at seeing Patrick. El didn’t stir so he grabbed her shoulders and shook them gently.

“El! Wake up.”

Her eyes opened in confusion, looking at Patrick with a scared expression and a sob escaping her lips. Raising her shaking hands, she covered her mouth. Whatever she’d been dreaming about must have scared the shit out of her. Instinctively, he pulled her into his arms, his bare skin sizzling at the contact.

“You’re okay,” he soothed.

El sagged against him and put her head on his shoulder, taking a deep breath.

“What was it this time?” Patrick asked his lips grazing her hair.

“Bullet to the head,” she answered without emotion. “When will it all end? I’m so fucking tired.”

“Have you talked to your psychiatrist about your dreams?”

She nodded into his chest.

“Why are they getting worse?”

“I assume because of what we’re planning. I don’t know.” Her voice was scratchy from screaming. “I’m feeling like I’m on the edge of something deep and scary, like an abyss where I keep falling.”

“We’re close,” he whispered into her ear.

She nodded and sighed.

Patrick had told her a little about a plan to draw Jamie out; he’d admitted he was using her being at his house as bait, hoping that Jamie would attempt an attack there. He’d refused to give her details and told her why—he didn’t want her to have anything to tell when she was interviewed after it went down.

“El! Patrick! You guys okay?” Millie called from the stairs.

Patrick squeezed El’s shoulders and moved back on the bed, separating himself from her. He turned away from El as she wiped the tears from her cheek, her hands still trembling.

“Sorry, Mil. I had another dream where Jamie killed me.” El used a fake smile that he hated. “Nothing new.”

“Why is your medication not working? You really need to get that worked out,” Millie rambled, sitting on the opposite side of the bed as Patrick. “Do you want me to stay with you?” she asked, her voice softened.

Patrick could tell something was going on with Millie. She was more guarded around him and El; if he wasn’t so wrapped up in El he would’ve been worried.

“Really? Would you?” El’s eyes sparkled with appreciation.

Millie nodded and lay down, pushing Cooper out of the way with her feet.

“Wait, can I stay too?” he joked and feigned like he was going to lie down next to El, opening his arms for them. “This is like a dream—”

Millie threw a pillow at him, hard, interrupting him. “Girls only.”

“That sucks.” He got up and started to leave, then thought better of it. “Can I at least tuck my girls in?”

“Get out of here, perv!” Millie threw another pillow at him.

Patrick laughed and walked back upstairs to find Billy awake and playing a video game. “What’s up?”

“You’re not the only one who wakes up when she screams,” Billy responded.

Patrick cocked his head at Billy and leaned against the entryway to the den. “When are you leaving?” Billy mentioned to him earlier that he had an assignment overseas and would be out of commission right when Patrick needed him. Patrick didn’t blame him, Billy’s job was his life. This was peanuts in comparison.

“Tomorrow.”

“Will you be back?”

“I asked if there was any way I could come back and forth, so it may be possible. I’ll find a way to let you know.”

Patrick walked over to his chair and plopped down. “Where you going?”

Billy didn’t respond or even look at Patrick.

“You need anything from me?”

“I’m in Houston doing a document review, that’s what I need from you.”

“What’s up, surly, you on your period?” Patrick joked at Billy’s mood.

Billy sighed and paused his game. He set the controller on the table in front of him and leaned back against the couch. “I’ve been thinking about the plan and I just don’t know if it’ll work. You’ve had to involve two people that we don’t really know, especially their ability to lie or to come through with their portion of this, and it’s my fault. I told you I’d help and I can’t.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” Billy rebutted.

“I have one best friend who wakes the whole fucking house up with her screams in the middle of the night and my other best friend is going to kill someone for her. What am I doing? Nothing. I feel like a bastard.”

“Well, you are a bastard,” Patrick joked.

“I’m serious Patrick, I need to be able to help in some way.”

Patrick thought for a minute. There must be something Billy could do. “How well do you know Harris?” he finally asked.

“Pretty well, he’s started coming around with the FBI liaison. Why?”

“You think we can trust him?”

“With this? Fuck no!”

“I want to get close to him and see what’s really going on with the FBI and its investigation. You can do that, right?”

“Of course I can…cake.”

“I want to have him in our corner when he’s told that it doesn’t matter what El got Jamie to admit on audio, that they’re dropping it.”

“Well, that will tend to piss an FBI agent off,” Billy commented, but nodded, seeing where Patrick was going.

“He’s known El for a while now and he’s heading up this investigation; it’ll be his to lose.”

“You think she’ll get Jamie to admit to shit with a wire on?”

“I do.”

“Well, if she does, I’ll go after him. I don’t want to tip him off early. He knows who I am, so I can be friendly until then.”

“All right, that’s the plan then.”

“Do you know when C is going down?” Billy asked.

“After Thanksgiving. Jesse has a bye weekend and we’re aiming for that weekend. You’ll be away at your sister’s wedding and I’ll be in Atlanta partying with Jesse; it’s the perfect opportunity for Jamie to get her. There’s no one here to protect her.”

Billy nodded, grabbed the controller, and restarted his game. “Plan C better work or we’re sort of fucked.”

Chapter Fourteen

MY FACE HURTS

Patrick and Millie went to some big wigs’ wedding at Mount Vernon with George and El in early November. It was painful; El was wearing the tightest dress he’d ever seen in his life. Her curves were on display like he’d never seen them before; she had perfect breasts and the curve of her ass was what wet dreams were made of. Patrick’s resolve to not touch her was beginning to fade. He needed out of this entire situation he’d created for himself.
Impossible situations.