Chapter 212
1015 Words
Three weeks later
Jim opened the door to the Solid Security offices for Kat. They had rushed over as soon as Dallas’ assistant had called them, and they were both slightly breathless.
“Kat? Jim?”
They turned to look at the woman speaking to them. She was beautiful, short and curvy in all the right places, her dark skin clear and soft.
“Yes.” Kat smiled, recognizing the voice from the call that evening. “Are you Cordelia?”
“I am.” She extended her hand. “I am so, so glad to meet you.”
“And you,” Kat said. “Thank you for everything you did for me…”
Cordelia waved her hands. “No problem, Kat.”
Jim shook her hand too, his eyes darting around the massive office space. “Is Dallas here?”
“In the conference room,” Cordelia said. “Come on this way, OK?”
They followed her down the hallway, and Dallas met them at the door. He ushered them in, sat them down, poured them all water. A huge man came in now and shut the door behind him. His dark eyes took them both in, and Jim for one knew that he was looking at a man who had the ability to seriously crack some heads.
“Guys, this is Hunter Sullivan,” Dallas said.
“Sully,” the giant man corrected him. “How you folks doing today?” His gaze rested mostly on Kat.
“OK,” she answered.
“So, let’s get on with it, right?” Dallas’ blue eyes were hard. “We called you in to tell you that Sully and Cordelia have found a way to make sure that Michael Ferguson goes to jail for a long, long time.”
Kat set her water glass down on the table with a crash. “They – what?”
“Uh-huh. Turns out, the sheriff is pretty heavily involved in some drug trafficking.”
Jim cursed under his breath. “God, this guy’s a dickhead.”
“Agreed,” Cordelia said, her voice cold. “And he’s managed to bribe, blackmail, and coerce two other police officers into helping him with his little pharmaceutical side-business.”
“How?” Jim said.
“By threatening their families.” Sully glanced at Dallas, not sure how much to share. At Dallas’ nod, he carried on. “Once we found out about his drug business, we followed him for a few days, took lots of pictures, and managed to figure out the other people he was meeting. After some discussion with Dallas, we approached the two men we saw in the photos most often, and they confessed. They crumbled, actually.”
“They were relieved,” Cordelia said quietly. “I mean, after they finished being scared, and we got their families somewhere safe.”
“What did he do to their families?” Kat said.
“The one man’s wife was attacked while she was in Portland doing some shopping. The day after it happened, Ferguson told the cop that it would happen again – and she’d be hurt far worse the next time – unless he helped. The guy caved right away to protect his wife.”
“I can understand that,” Jim said.
“The second guy… Ferguson threatened his kid.” Sully’s face was twisted in a grimace. “And of course, once they’d started with the drug business, he had that to hold over their heads and keep them in line. He is truly a piece of garbage, I can assure you.”
“Yeah, that’s what he does,” Kat said, her face pale. “He uses your loved ones against you, traps you in your own life.”
“Yeah, he sure does,” Sully said. “So we got everyone out, and the two men willingly – I’d even say eagerly – confessed to everything, in exchange for their families' safety. We got the cops and DA involved, and they have more than enough from the two accomplices, plus from our investigation, to send Ferguson away for at least twenty years.”
Kat heaved a sigh of relief. “Really?”
“Yep,” Dallas said. “He’s being held right now, and I’m in daily contact with Ellen. She’s reporting what’s happening at that end.”
“Did you talk to her and Nate?” Kat asked Sully.
“Sure did. Nice people, even though they flat-out refused to tell us your real name,” Sully said. “Their lips are sealed, Kat, and all they care about is keeping you safe, I swear. Anyway, we met at their house one afternoon while Ferguson was playing squash, and they told us all the local gossip about the man. Seems he’s been an abusive ass all over the place, and although Ellen didn’t have anything official or on-the-record, she was pretty certain she knew of some women he’d hurt.”
Kat closed her eyes, and Jim immediately reached for her hand.
“Hey,” he said. “You OK?”
She looked at him, managed a small smile. “I think so.”
“He’s gone,” Jim said softly. “He can’t get to you. You hear me? He can’t hurt you, not anymore.”
She nodded, and took a deep breath. “So… what now?”
“What now?” Dallas grinned. “Go live your life, Kat. The man is no longer a threat, or even an issue. It’s over, hon.”
“It’s over?” she repeated, sounding afraid to believe it.
“Over,” Jim said. “And you get to live without looking over your shoulder, not ever again.” His golden eyes glowed at her. “Kat, you can stay here with us.”
“I can?”
“Yep.”
“Yeah,” she said, realization starting to dawn. Jim watched the knowledge move over her face, and he thought he’d never seen anything so beautiful. “I can.”
- Writer
