Page 62 of Four Cards Exposed

And then Lorraine was there.

“Good job, Susan, James.”

“Good?” Shame made it hard to speak.

We broke our cover.

James broke our cover to save me.

“You did a good job,” Lorraine repeated. She listened to something somebody said on her ear-piece. “We’ve got Moore as well.” She handed James and Susan two dark blue T-shirts with the words FBI stenciled in yellow on the back. James quickly pulled his on, wincing as he did so. Susan did the same, pulling as the large T-shirt snagged on her crop top.

Lorraine handed James a black weapon.

“Here you go, partner.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask where her gun was, but of course she knew exactly where it was—locked in a gun safe at the Sharp’s Cove Sheriff’s Station.

A wave of homesickness, so strong it threatened to overwhelm her, hit her then. These weren’t her people. James was Lorraine’s partner. Not hers. She wasn’t a federal agent.

Lorraine nodded at James and Susan as she stepped away. “You two get out of here. The helicopter’s waiting for you. We’ve got this.”

Susan’s stomach heaved as the boat leaned sideways.

“Shit,” James said. He reached out an arm to steady her. “The storm’s getting worse. We need to get out of here.”

Susan straightened up with effort.

“Are you okay, Susan?” James asked through gritted teeth. His left hand pressed against his right shoulder. In the flickering light, Susan could see the blood. He needed to put a lot more pressure on that if he wanted to stop the bleeding.

Her eyes moved to the bar area. There was a pile of clean kitchen rags behind the bar. Maybe they could—

A flash of color caught her attention. The lounge had almost emptied out by now. The few remaining people crowded around the main door. But her eyes didn’t lie. A slim figure was sneaking out the small back doorway behind the bar.

Pia.

Susan ran after her.

20

* * *

James

"Susan! Where the hell are you going?”

Shit.

Grabbing onto his shoulder with one hand, he raced after her. He wasn’t going to leave her alone for an instant.

His heart had almost stopped when he’d seen his colleagues pointing a gun at her. He closed his eyes and saw it again—a moment that would stay with him forever.

Fear, like he’d never felt it before.

So thick he could taste it.

A dark gun. The edge of disaster.

The knowledge that, had one of the agents taken the shot, everything would have ended. His dreams. Dreams he hadn’t, until now, been able to admit to himself that he had.