All Kinds of Tied Down (Marshals 1)

He always had been.

“You’re very well suited.”

“Thank you,” I said honestly, because I would take that observation all day long. “You should try and sleep too.”

“Thank you for saving my life, Marshal.”

“Sorry to have dragged you and your men into our mess.”

“It’s Mr. Jenner’s mess, Marshal, and everyone will know that come morning.”

When Holley, too, was asleep, I put some more wood on the fire to make sure we all stayed warm and toasty throughout the cold, dark night. I tried not to get used to having my partner sleeping on me, but I had a sneaking suspicion the damage was already done.

Chapter 15

THE SOUND of thunder woke me the following morning, and when I lifted up, I realized I had been sleeping in Ian’s arms. We had switched places in the early morning hours, and I had lain beside him, next to the fire. But when my eyes opened to the gray day, I saw I had used his chest for a pillow.

There was no time to say anything, though. What I had thought was thunder was actually a helicopter that landed in the clearing a hundred yards away. First one off was Kage, and Ian and I got to our feet to greet him.

“Who’s that?” Cabot asked as he and Drake moved up beside me.

“Our boss,” I answered, watching Kage stride toward us.

“He’s big,” he remarked.

“And kinda scary looking,” Drake continued.

“Yeah,” I agreed, smiling suddenly. “I’m really happy to see him.”

“Me too,” Cabot sighed.

Sam Kage reached the stairs and climbed up, stopping in front of us.

“Sir, I—”

“Good job, Marshals,” he said, turning to lift a walkie-talkie to tell the others to bring a fire extinguisher.

He turned then and gestured us all down toward the helicopter. Inside, even the small change in temperature was comforting.

“Are you their boss?” Jenner snarled at Kage, the night not having mellowed him even a bit.

“I am,” Kage answered flatly, scowling.

“Well, I want them both in jail for kidnapping my son and—”

“Actually, it’s you who’ll be going there, sir,” Kage returned tersely. “Your actions led to the deaths of ten men, you kidnapped Drake Ford from federal custody, placed your own son in jeopardy, as well as an officer of the law—Chief Holley—and two of my marshals. You’ll be lucky to be back outside. Ever.”

“No, you—”

“I would take a moment and breathe the fresh air.”

Holley, Drake, and Cabot all looked to me with wide eyes.

Well, yeah, my boss was all kinds of scary.

IT WAS a blur. We went first by helicopter to the chief’s car and collected our bags, then to Drake’s trailer, where he and Cabot hurriedly packed one bag of clothes and Drake’s most prized possessions, including a sketch Cabot had done of him. We were then flown to Wellmont Hancock County Hospital.

All of us suffered from a bit of hypothermia, but once we had fluids and glucose, we were ready to eat. Kage culled the pack, putting Jenner in federal custody, turning him over to the FBI agents. They took kidnapping very seriously. It was sad that even then, Jenner had to spit some more poison at his son, calling him a disappointment and an abomination. Drake folded his boyfriend in his arms as the agents, more than a little disgusted by Jenner’s vitriol, if the looks on their faces were any indication, took his father away.

We said good-bye to Holley, who thanked Ian and me for saving his life and hugged Drake and Cabot and wished them well. Two large Chevy Suburbans were parked at the entrance of the hospital, and Kage gave one set of keys to Ian and four plane tickets to me.

“You’re all flying back to Chicago tomorrow.”

“And you?” Ian asked.

“I have to fly to Arlington to bring charges against Mr. Jenner. I need your full reports no later than 0600 tomorrow morning. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yessir,” I said.

“Yes sir,” Ian echoed.

“And the rental car that you drove to the police station in Bowman is being returned as we speak.”

Big or small, my boss never missed anything. “Thank you, sir.”

Kage gave me a pat on the arm. “Good job, gentlemen.”

FBI agents accompanied him, and one held the door open so he could get into the SUV. They drove away quickly through the lightly falling snow.

“Who wants food?” Ian asked.

I raised my hand, with Drake and Cabot following.

“When does a shower happen?” Cabot wanted to know.

“You want that first?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head at the same time his stomach growled. “Food is definitely number one on my list.”

It was the same for all of us.

“After we eat,” Ian said, gesturing at the car. “We’ll all get nice hot showers.”

It sounded heavenly.

I called shotgun, and everyone thought that was funny, because really, who else would it have been with Ian driving?

“We should eat on the way,” Drake suggested. “It’s like an hour and a half to the Tri-Cities airport. That’s Blountville, right? Tennessee?”