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“Why not explain it and give us the chance to believe it, Natches,” Crista retorted with mocking sweetness as she edged away from Cranston and moved closer to Dawg.
It was the first move she had made toward him since their time in the clearing. Crossing the last few feet to her, Dawg wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, ignoring Cranston’s sardonic look and Natches’s quiet reflection.
He could feel Crista’s fear in the face of Cranston, though. She knew who he was; she knew the danger he could represent to her. A danger Dawg swore he was never going to let touch her.
“Does this have anything to do with Agent Dane attempting to follow us earlier?” Dawg asked.
“Plenty. ” Cranston’s bright brown eyes gleamed merrily as he ran his fingers over his short gray hair and flashed them a victorious smile.
Victorious. As though a battle had just been won.
“You going to explain it to us anytime soon?” Evidently, there wasn’t a pending arrest in the works. Cranston wouldn’t have made the mistake of trying to bring in Dawg’s woman without help.
Timothy grinned cheerfully. “You know, my wife, Angie, she’s always telling me I need to get to the point faster. But sometimes…” He stared back at them with a scary sort of playfulness. “Sometimes, you just have to have fun getting there, don’t you Dawg?”
Dawg glanced at Natches. His cousin had lowered his head and was shaking it pitifully at Cranston’s theatrics.
“Dawg, who is this person?” Crista finally asked.
She should have stayed quiet, he thought with a silent groan.
“That’s right. ” Timothy stepped forward, his palm outstretched. “We haven’t met, have we, Miss Jansen. I’m Timothy Cranston, Special Agent Timothy Cranston, with the Office of Homeland Security. I
’m Mr. Mackay’s boss. ”
“Homeland Security?” She looked up at Dawg, moving slightly away from him. “I thought you were with the DEA. ”
Cranston chuckled at that. “Oh, my, no. Your friend Dawg is with the ATF, though attached temporarily to OHS. He didn’t tell you that?”
Crista let Timothy shake her hand, but she was watching Dawg, her expression tightening in anger.
“He didn’t mention that. ”
“That’s Dawg for you. ” Timothy nodded as he stepped back. “He’s good at keeping secrets, aren
’t you, Dawg?”
Dawg sighed. “Get to the point, Timothy. ”
Cranston rubbed his hands together in anticipation once again.
“Now, what Dawg probably didn’t tell you as well was that the night he broke several federal laws and dragged your pretty butt out of that warehouse, we were in the process of arresting a small team of former military assholes who thought they could hijack several experimental missiles while en route to Fort Knox before continuing on their way to a storage site. We managed to round up the thieves as well as one very sly little mercenary middleman who was buying those missiles for a high-level terrorist. ” He looked at Crista with sudden sharp curiosity. “He didn’t tell you that, did he?”
“He didn’t. ” Crista moved farther away from Dawg.
Timothy nodded in satisfaction as he flashed Dawg an approving look. “I’m disappointed in you, son, but glad to see you still know how to keep your mouth shut. ”
“Timothy. ” Dawg wasn’t happy, and he wasn’t pretending.
Crista had put several feet between them and was now watching Dawg and Timothy as though they had sprouted horns and fangs.
“Okay, here we go then. ” Dawg watched as Timothy tossed his briefcase to the table and rubbed his hands in that gleeful manner he had. The man was positively bubbling with satisfaction. It was enough to send a chill racing down Dawg’s spine.
Timothy was no one’s vision of a special agent in charge of any investigation, but that was exactly what he was, and he was damned good at his job.
“Yesterday afternoon, after your good friend and cousin here was regaling the customers in that little diner in town about how your girlfriend stalked out on you, and possibly was on her way to Virginia, she supposedly walked into the detention center where our hijackers are being held and requested a visit with the leader of our merry little bunch of thieves, Camden Cole. Our boy Camden lives just outside Fort Knox. Someone checking in as Miss Jansen here met with Mr. Cole, discussed friends and family for a few minutes, gave Mr. Cole her love, then left. ”
Timothy opened the briefcase and began pulling photos free.
