Page 60 of Forged Forever

Zander steps back, pushing me behind him, gun at the ready by his side.

Troy and baseball cap exchange words, then the FBI agent checks the pocket of Eddie, pulling out Troy’s phone. He ushers two more FBI people over, and they escort Eddie away. He then turns his attention to us. “Special Agent Kinsley. I assume you are Zander and Summer?” He asks, offering his hand for Dad to shake.

“We are,” Dad replies, not taking his hand. “What assurance do I have that there are no other crooked agents here and that my daughter is safe?”

“Except for the man you shot, Eddie, I chose everyone who is left. Troy tipped me off that his phone was missing, and he suspected that agent of taking it. He was also being too helpful, as Troy put it. I sent all the other agents away. There are local police officers here helping with cleanup that I can’t vouch for, though.”

“Sean’s here,” Troy tells us.

Nodding, Dad looks around. “Summer stays with me, no exceptions.”

“Agreed,” Agent Kinsley replies. “We need your statements, and then you can get some rest. We’re using the local police station until we sweep the FBI office in Columbia. If you’ll follow me, I’ll have you three ride with me.”

Zander pulls me into his side as Troy comes up opposite, and we walk towards the vehicles. Dad and Troy both still have their guns out and eyes scanning. I can feel my body trembling, and I'm unsure if it's adrenaline or nerves.

Kinsley leads us to a black SUV, asking us to get in. After Dad looks around, he nods to me. I open the door and climb in as Dad walks around the back to get in on the other side. As I’m closing my door, it’s pulled out of my grip, leaving me off balance. I fall forward as familiar tattooed arms I haven’t seen in so long stop me.

My body seems to register who they belong to before my brain catches up, and I’m leaping forward into his arms. “Grumpy,” I cry, squeezing the life out of him.

“Shortie,” comes a grunt and rumble, as Nick buries his face in my neck, pulling me completely out of the vehicle.

My legs automatically wrap around his waist as we cling to each other, wetness trickling down my cheeks. Nick is here! He’s real and in my arms. I can’t believe it!

He loosens his grip, pulling back slightly, and kisses my hair. A huge smile takes over my face as I lean back to see him, but my smile quickly dies away when I see his black eye. “Nick?” I question.

“Glad you’re safe. Talk later,” he says before lowering me to the ground.

In the time we were hugging, Dad and Troy have come over, so I reluctantly step back so they can greet him. Kinsley is also standing near the driver’s door watching. Once Troy lets Nick out of his bear hug, he turns to the FBI agent.

“This is Nick Bouras,” Troy introduces. “The one who got you the evidence.”

Nick shakes hands with Kinsley quickly before stepping back beside me. “I’ve got 2 people with me you need to meet. Cash and Amy. He gathered evidence for me, but his sister has PTSD. No men allowed near her.”

“I can make that happen,” Kinsley agrees, questions in his eyes, but thankfully he seems to realize now isn’t the time to ask. “Agent Martin can accompany them to the station.”

“They’re with Sean. She can ride with him,” Nick replies, no room for argument.

Kinsley arranges for agent Martin to go with Sean as Nick hops in the back with Dad and me, and we’re quickly off. I wrap my arm through his, threading our fingers together. From a nightmare to a dream in one day. The guys and Gabby are gonna to be so damn excited he’s home.

There’s crime scene tape near the end of the driveway, but no crowds. One cop car is ahead of us with its lights flashing, but no siren. I’m guessing Sean. I lean my head on Nick’s shoulder, exhaustion warring with adrenaline.

The police station is loud and crowded when we arrive, between the local police and the FBI sharing space. Sean meets us near the back door with a female FBI agent, a man, and a girl. This must be Cash and Amy. He leads us through the crowd with Nick, Troy, and Dad surrounding me.

We are separated into two rooms, with Cash and Amy moved to their own room. Kinsley gives us a minute to call our lawyer before Nick is sent to a separate room to be questioned along with Troy. I protest our being separated, but Troy assures me it’s standard procedure and he won’t leave Nick alone.

While we wait for Mr. Macleod, Zander asks questions. “What is your role in this mess?” He asks.

Kinsley takes a seat opposite us with a weary sigh, running his hand down over his face. “I was brought in two months ago, with my team, to investigate corruption in Tennessee. This,” he waves his hand around, “was unexpected. I knew another team was sent to Columbia to investigate corruption, so when I received the intel last night, I decided to take this on myself. I wasn’t far enough along to trust anyone else in the office.”

“Where is the Columbia investigation team?”

“Some of them were at your residence earlier, but I sent them away along with everyone else. They landed in Columbia a few weeks ago. Not enough time to accomplish much. Since this is an ongoing investigation separate from this case, I can’t disclose information, but, as you figured out with Eddie, there are issues here too.”

“Was everyone captured who broke into our home tonight?”

“We have 5 in custody, including Mr. Fitzgerald, the boss of the drug, weapons, and trafficking trade in Tennessee. It was a very lucky capture, considering he is rarely seen in public,” Kinsley replies, looking curiously between Zander and me, suspicion clouding his eyes as he taps his finger on the table in front of him.

Zander doesn’t respond, so he gets up, offering coffee and tea before leaving the room. I raise my eyebrows at Zander once we’re alone, asking what the heck that was without speaking aloud. Despite our being the victims here, I’ve seen a lot of television, so I assume, rightly or not, we are being recorded.