* * * *
Gabe and Logan sat in Logan?
??s car on the side of the road with their headlights off. Harrison was going to radio them as soon as the perps left the campground so they could follow them.
“Okay, boys, get ready. Two are leaving and one is staying behind,” Harrison radioed in.
Logan turned on the car but left the headlights off until they saw the beat up pickup truck coming out of the park road. They waited until it had gone a few feet before turning their lights on and following them at a safe distance.
“I’m glad Harrison agreed to help us out. Drugs are nothing but bad news,” Logan said with disgust.
Gabe agreed. “I know. Ethan said Harrison might even stick around after this case is over. He’s tired of retirement but doesn’t want the stress of being in the DEA again.”
“Maybe Ryan will talk him into it. It’d be nice to have him around. I know with Liz being pregnant and sick a lot Ethan doesn’t like being away from her so much, especially at night. He wants to cut some hours back,” Logan said letting out a dramatic sigh. “Man, you all are falling like a ton of bricks. It’s a sad situation.”
Gabe chuckled, happy to be grouped with Ryan and Ethan as taken men. “It’s not a contagious disease, it feels good Logan. Someday it’ll happen to you too and you won’t be able to ignore it.”
Logan shook his head in shock and denial. “No way, bro. Don’t get me wrong, I love Lacy and Liz like sisters and I’m glad Karissa gave your sorry butt another chance, but me—I like my woman fast and gone.”
Gabe thought about Karissa and couldn’t help but smile. The last few weeks of dating her again had been great and she’d spent so much time at his house he felt like it was theirs already. He still couldn’t wipe the grin off his face when she had surprised him by cooking dinner and wearing nothing but a hot pink teddy that hadn’t stayed on very long. He wanted to make it permanent but didn’t know how to ask her or bring it up. The last thing he wanted to do was pressure her and mess things up between them when it was going so good. His heart knew Karissa was his one and only love and he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to hold it in.
“Okay they’re slowing down.” Logan’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. Gabe got the night vision goggles out and got them ready. Logan pulled onto the side of the road and turned his lights off. They waited and saw the truck stop in an open field. The farmhouse was deep into the property and they probably never knew the men were meeting there. Gabe watched as another truck pulled up to them and one man got out. He looked out of place driving an old rusty truck yet dressed in a dark colored business suit. Logan took a few pictures of the transaction and the men.
The two men from the campground threw the duffel bag into the back of the second truck. The man unzipped it and Gabe could see blocks wrapped in brown shipping paper. He then handed the two guys a small black gym bag.
“Must be money,” Logan guessed as he took more pictures.
It didn’t take more than a few minutes for the whole exchange to be over and they were leaving. Logan waited a few minutes until they left before starting the car and heading back to Appledale where Gabe reported in to Ryan.
* * * *
The next afternoon the five of them had a meeting in Ryan’s office. “This man is Ray Cantrell,” Ryan said, pointing to a picture of the well-dressed man handing over the money for the drugs. He had placed the picture on a board in his office. “The sheriff in St. Clair identified him. The other three guys that are here in Appledale must be flunkies collecting the drugs for him. Lou Smith, Rick Riley, and Harry Riley hand over the drugs to Cantrell and get paid. They have a rap sheet a mile long for petty crimes. Maybe this is their entry into bigger crimes.”
“Shit!” Harrison huffed angrily, pacing the room. “Cantrell is a known big-time drug dealer who usually works out of Chicago. If he’s involved then this is no small-time amateur operation like we thought, boys. Cantrell has a rap sheet miles longer than the other three. The DEA has wanted his ass for a long time now but he keeps getting away with any charges by making witnesses disappear.”
The rest of them looked worried and Gabe said a silent thankful prayer that Karissa had gotten away from them that night. They would not have hesitated to kill her or Toby in a heartbeat. Suddenly all he wanted to do was hold Karissa and feel her warmth as he wrapped his arms around her. As soon as this meeting was over he’d go to Thorn’s just to satisfy his need to make sure she was okay. He was so in love with her but he could feel she still held part of herself back, probably scared he’d take off again. He was never leaving her but it would take time to convince her of that. At least she had given him a second chance and he’d do all he could to convince her to stay with him.
“I’ll call the DEA in on this one. We’ll need them,” Ryan said wearily. “If we don’t bust all of them, they’ll just move on to the next little town. Man I hate this. If he works out of Chicago, why come our way?”
“We’ll get them, Ryan. We have too many loved ones in this town and we’ll protect them, I’m not about to let down all the people of this town, including our own families.” Ethan said the words in a vow. “Thank God Karissa found Toby that night and was smart enough to get away from them. I want these assholes off the streets before it gets worse.”
“Do you think anyone from Appledale is involved?” Logan asked what they were all thinking.
It was quiet for a few minutes then Ryan answered sadly, “I’d love to say no way, but money is a powerful motivator. It’s possible someone from here gives them information for money. They know the woods pretty well so we better keep all this low-key for now, we don’t want to spook them. Let Kari know not to let the boys wander off too far without scaring her too much and Gabe you’re watching Karissa right?”
Gabe nodded, feeling anxious to go and see her. She was at work tonight and she promised to meet him at his house once her shift was over but he couldn’t wait that long. He’d be a nervous wreck worrying about her safety all night.
The meeting ended and Harrison and Ryan stayed behind to call in some of Harrison’s contacts and see what their next move would be.
Gabe had Logan drop him off at Thorn’s. Logan had a date there anyway and didn’t mind. The music was loud and it was crowded for a Thursday evening. Gabe headed straight for the bar where Karissa worked. When she waved and smiled at him with surprise he felt all the weight of the bad news lifting off his shoulders and he sighed with relief. She brought him over a beer and set it in front of him. “Off duty, deputy?”
He nodded with a flirty smile, feeling at ease flirting with her. “Needed to see my beautiful girl’s smile. I missed her.”
Karissa blushed and winked at him. “You say the sweetest things. Tom said I can leave early tonight. Seth, the other bartender, came in to work after all.” She went off to wait on other customers. He liked when she left her silky hair down her back but so did other men. He noticed a lot of them checking her out in her tight denim jeans and black tank top that said Thorn’s in silver letters. He wanted to stand up and publicly shout, “She is mine, so hands and eyes off.” Somehow he didn’t think Karissa would appreciate it, though. So he sat watching her work and counting the minutes until her shift ended and they could go home.
On the way home she noticed his quietness, not that he was all that talkative, but he was quiet, even for Gabe. “Is something wrong? Did something happen?”
He smiled at her and shook his head. “Sorry, sweetheart, things at work are heating up and my head is jumbled with so many different thoughts.”