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“Wait!” Bo calls out before Rosco gets the door open. “Where are we going? The feds know where you live, Luke. They will just show up at the house if you go back there.” Bo is right. I have the safe rooms that the feds would be hard pressed to breach, but we can’t plan on being stuck in a small room for God knows how long. We need a place that’s remote and not associated with any of us. I begin racking my brain to see if I can think of someone who might have a safe house we could stay in for a while.
“I might have a place you could go,” Ace offers. We all turn to look at him. “My C.O. has a place in Kentucky. It’s a huge farm. The house sits on top of hill. You can see someone coming for miles before they get there. The house is large, so there’d be plenty of room for all of you. I’m sure he won’t mind but give me a bit to get in touch with him.”
“Thank you Ace.” I give him a chin lift. “Let me know what you find out. We can get on the road, in the meantime. As long aswe have her away from here before the feds arrive.” A knock on the conference door has everyone on high alert. Rosco and Dalton have already pulled their weapons from their holsters. Erik pokes his head in the door.
“Mr. Anderson is here to see you, Luke,” Erik says calmly, though he is eyeing Rosco and Dalton warily.
“Send him in,” I tell him, thankful that my attorney has arrived. Simon strolls in like he owns the place. His expensive suit is crisp, not a wrinkle to be found, as if he just put it on before walking in the door. His dress shoes are shiny as if they’ve just been polished.
“Luke,” Simon greets me. “What’s so urgent? You were a little vague on the phone.” It’s true. I didn’t give him any details. I just demanded he come to Invictus immediately, and I’d pay him double or triple, if need be, to make it happen.
“The feds are on their way here,” I begin. Simon’s eyes widening in surprise at my words. “They are planning to take Marley, my fiancée, into protective custody due to a threat they’ve uncovered, but I don’t trust them to keep her safe. My team is much better suited to her protection. Do we have any legal bases to refuse them? Can they legally take her?”
“The short answer is yes; they can just take her,” Simon answers as he gives me sympathetic look. “Who are you dealing with FBI? CIA? Homeland?”
“The agent who contacted me is FBI, but I suspect Homeland is in on this as well,” I inform him. “I don’t want to fight with them, Simon, but I won’t let them take her. Is there anything you can do?”
“I’ll get right on it, Luke, but I can’t promise I can keep them from taking her,” Simon replies. “They can just say it’s a matter of national security and do whatever the fuck they want.”
“Fuck!” Rosco declares. “Let’s stop dicking around and get her out of here, before they arrive.” I agree with Rosco for once. We need to get moving.
“Let’s go, baby,” I tell Marley. She gets to her feet and heads toward the conference room door without complaint. Rosco and Dalton lead the way toward the parking lot. Ace and Daisy are trailing behind while Ace is on the phone with his C.O. Simon follows us down the hall.
“Luke, I have to inform you that by leaving with her you could be charged with obstruction,” Simon drones on. “You could be locked up. Your company’s reputation could be ruined. They could seize your assets as punishment. You need to think this through carefully.”
“Thank you for your advice, Simon,” I say over my shoulder as I’m following everyone out to where my vehicle is parked. “I appreciate you coming over so quickly. If I get arrested, you’ll be my one phone call. Now I suggest you go back to your office so you aren’t caught up in this.”
“Be careful, Luke.” Simon walks next to me as we enter the parking lot. He places his hand on my shoulder with a squeeze. “You’re a good client and friend. I don’t want to have to see you through a glass partition for the rest of our lives.”
I nod. “I don’t want that either, Simon, but I’ll take my chances if it keeps Marley safe in the process.” He squeezes my shoulder one more time.
“Good luck, I’ll let you know if I come up with anything or call me if you need me.” With that, Simon slides into the driver’s seat of his Ashton Martin and speeds from the parking lot. I shake my head as I watch him drive away. No wonder he charges so much for his services. The man loves his fancy cars. Marley is already in the passenger seat of my vehicle, waiting for me. Once I’m settled and the engine started, Marley turns to me.
“Luke, I don’t want you or your brothers to get caught up in this mess,” Marley cries, tears streaming down her beautiful face. “Please just take me home. I’ll get my car and leave the area.” I’ve already pulled out into traffic, but I glance over at her. I can seethe determination and earnestness in her posture. She really wants to leave me to protect me, but she doesn’t understand. It’s my job to protect her. Stopping at a red light, I turn to toward her.
“No, baby, that’s not happening,” I say softly, reaching out to take her hand. “I love you, Marley, and I love that you are wanting to protect me, but we are in this together. Whatever happens, we do it together, okay?” Her lips press into a tight line, but she gives me a nod. “Try not to worry, baby girl. We will get through this. I’ll keep you safe and myself out of jail.”
“Okay, Luke,” Marley concedes. “I just…I don’t want you or your brothers to be in trouble because of me.” The light changes, and I proceed on through the intersection.
“I understand how you feel, baby,” I agree. “I’m sure if things were reversed, I’d be trying to get you to let me go out on my own, too, but I swear to you that would only cause me more stress and worry.” We travel in silence for a few minutes.
“What are we going to do about our mothers?” Marley questions, worry filling her voice. “They’re both arriving today. How are we going to explain this to them? Neither one of them is going to be happy about us getting married in the first place. This whole running from the FBI is only going to give them fuel to feed their fires of doubt.” I can see where Marley is coming from. I can already hear my mother ranting about the mess I’ve let Marley drag me into, but I won’t let anything my mother says change my mind about this marriage.
“Do you have any doubts?” I ask, feeling like I know the answer, but I still need to ask.
“None,” Marley declares immediately. “You?”
“Not at all!” I reply enthusiastically. “I’m more than ready for us be husband and wife.” I steal a peek at her smiling face.
“Me too, Luke, me too.” I can’t keep the goofy smile off my face. We might be facing some tough times ahead, but I know Marley and I are destined to be together from now througheternity. We just have to take things one problem, one obstacle, one day at a time. That’s how we survive this.
“We’ll just tell them we decided on a destination wedding,” I muse. “We wanted to take our immediate families some place perfect for our special day.” Yeah, this could work. We just have to figure out where we are going and how to keep the feds and a group of terrorists from finding us.Easy as pie, right?
My phone rings through the speakers on my SUV. I answer seeing that Ace is calling. “Robertson.”
“Hey, Luke, it’s Ace. I spoke to Hawk about his place in Kentucky. He said you’re more than welcome to stay there as long as you need. I’ll send you the address. His step-son, Justin can meet you when you get there to give you a tour and the keys.” I’m impressed Ace was able to work this out so quickly.
“Thanks, Ace. I really appreciate this so much. Please convey my gratitude to Hawk. Let him know if there’s ever anything I or my company can do to help him or his teams out. I’m only a phone call away.”
