She glanced up at Sterling. "You're just gonna leave me here?"
"You'll be fine." He kissed her temple.
"Right." She stood there with her spine pressed firmly against the wall and her heart lodged in her throat. "Be careful," she whispered. "And don't lose any fingers."
"That's actually not funny." Sterling reached into Trent's back pocket, pulled out a roll of tape, and handed it to him, before he turned and made his way back to Juniper. He tugged her close and she leaned into him, one hand on his back, the other resting center chest.
Trent wound the tape around the snout. "Sorry about this. But it won't be for very long."
"He talks to them like they understand," she said.
"I think they do." Sterling squeezed her hip. "His father's the same way."
Down in the yard, a third set of headlights broke through the trees. "Who's that?"
"I texted Dawson." Sterling pointed toward the bait under the chairs. "I noticed right after we climbed up here but didn't want to freak you out."
"I smelled the rot, and it reminded me of the chicken quarters at Mallor's Landing."
"Exactly," Sterling said.
"Let's get this fella back to my place," Trent said.
"He's gonna be okay?" she asked as tears welled in her eyes and she realized she was about to cry about a damn gator.
"He's gonna be great." Trent glanced up and smiled. "He's got a nasty cut on his leg. Looks like a knife wound. But I'll get him cleaned and fed, and he can hang out at the Landing ‘tilhe's right." He shifted his gaze toward Sterling. "He didn't do anything wrong tonight. Somebody used him. That's evident by the chum that's still under the sofa."
Sterling nodded. "It's why Dawson's here."
Under the fear still draining out of her, under the gratitude so big it hurt, she knew she needed to tell Sterling the truth tonight.She might lose her job. She might lose her friends. She might lose everything.
But Sterling deserved to know why she was really in Calusa Cove.
Chapter Twelve
Sterling stood in the middle of the yard with his hands on his hips while Juniper gave her statement to Dawson near the police cruiser. It had been one hell of a night, though not the kind of night he'd expected. Glancing down, he chuckled at his misbuttoned shirt.
As he began to work the buttons, he mentally opened a file in his brain. He'd labeled it:Strange Happenings During Buddy's Vacation.
Sterling hated to admit it, but he couldn't wait for Buddy's return tomorrow. Not that Sterling wasn't capable of being a team leader. He was more than capable. He'd done it for half his career in the CIA. But truth be told, he didn’t mind taking orders. These days, he preferred it.
He flipped through the digital mind file. Nothing that had happened had been too outrageous. Doyle had come to town and was currently having the time of his life with Tara. It wasn't a coincidence, and Doyle had admitted that.
There'd been the hold-up at the Crab Shack. That was definitely out of the ordinary. Sterling couldn't remember the last time there'd been a robbery like that in Calusa Cove, if ever.
The bullshit between Cullen, his ex, and Graham.
And of course, there was the arrival of Graham's father Royce, who wanted to hire Aegis on the condition that they got rid of Cullen.
Not gonna happen.
But what bothered Sterling the most was the job Doyle wanted to hire him for and its possible connection to Shrike. When he'd called Nick to discuss, Nick told him flat out he believed Shrike had their fingers in the recent sale of two military missiles and that he believed whoever was in charge of Shrike, was not only in a position of power, but in a position inside the US government.
But how did any of these events, gator included, connect back to Sterling and possibly to Juniper and her role—whatever that might truly be?
Sterling didn't have an acceptable answer, and he'd have to table his thoughts as Dawson was headed in his direction while Juniper was being escorted into her home by Jasper, who’d arrived ten minutes ago.
"What's Juniper doing?" Sterling asked.
