stolen the baby from Cash and his wife as payment for an old family debt. Cash came to Colombia to find the baby and they captured him. They know where he is. There is a plan in place to rescue him and to take the baby and Angela out of the compound. Your cousin won’t be alone in this. I promise you. We have specialized people who are trained in getting people out of…difficult situations.”
She sighed. “I won’t see her anymore, will I?”
“I can’t say that for sure. Angela will be assigned a case worker and she will be advised about the best way to proceed for her and her kids. So will you.”
“A case worker?”
“Someone who checks in from time to time. If things stay quiet, your contact with the case worker will become less and less as time goes on until you’ll be so entrenched in your new life that you won’t even think about it anymore. And if by chance you’re able to meet each other down the road—under your new identities—then you’ll see each other again. But that might not be for a while.”
“Do you know where they’re going?”
“I heard something about Iowa. But that’s not set in stone.”
“Will you tell me?”
He sat down next to Georgie and put his hand over hers. “I’m not sure they’ll tell me.
She glanced down at her hands in her lap. “Iowa is big. But it isn’t that far.”
“No, it’s not. But that all depends on whether or not they choose witness protection. Angela will have a target on her back for a long time because of her involvement in helping the FBI find Cash and the baby.”
“So will I.”
“Probably.”
“Will you know where I am?”
“That all depends.”
She glanced over at Julian, unable to keep the tears that threatened her from welling up in her eyes. “On what?”
“On where we go from here?”
“I thought I didn’t have a choice.”
He shook his head. “You do. It’s your life. No one is forcing you to go into witness protection. I’m not going to lie. It’s the smart route to go. It ensures Eduardo Sanchez won’t find you. But as far as he’s concerned, you went to Vermont. You were never in South Dakota. All he knows is someone named Abby got married. For all he knows she’s a friend of yours from college.”
Georgie’s heart skipped a beat and then sped up to a point where she wanted to jump off the bench and into Julian’s arms. But she held back, afraid to believe and to hope that things would be different this time. “Where will you be?”
“Here for now.”
“For now? You’re not staying?”
“If I stay with the FBI in my current capacity, I won’t be around much. I move around a lot. But I’ve been thinking…”
“Yes?”
“There’s not much for me to do for the FBI here in Rudolph, Georgie. Sure, I’d have my family here, but not my profession. I could work at MW Oil like Gray and Grace. But like Luke and Ian, that was never something I wanted.”
“What do you want?”
“You.”
He was serious. It had only been little over a month that they’d known each other but she could tell the difference between Julian’s teasing and when he was serious. The way he gazed directly in to her eyes, she knew that he was.
“I don’t know how we could make this work. Or even if you want to,” he said. His chest expanded with his deep intake of air and then he let the breath out slowly. “I want you to feel safe. And in witness protection, you have the best chance of feeling safe again. What do you want?”
This was a moment for truth, but she couldn’t find the words. She had no right to voice what she truly felt inside. But Julian was looking at her, his eyes pleading with her for that same truth.
“I want a normal life.”
He nodded, somehow disappointed by what she’d revealed.
“I’ve always wanted a normal life because I never really had one.”
“Well, then, this can be a fresh start for you. You can go anywhere you want to go. You’ll get a new identity. New name. New past.
She sighed. “I won’t see her anymore, will I?”
“I can’t say that for sure. Angela will be assigned a case worker and she will be advised about the best way to proceed for her and her kids. So will you.”
“A case worker?”
“Someone who checks in from time to time. If things stay quiet, your contact with the case worker will become less and less as time goes on until you’ll be so entrenched in your new life that you won’t even think about it anymore. And if by chance you’re able to meet each other down the road—under your new identities—then you’ll see each other again. But that might not be for a while.”
“Do you know where they’re going?”
“I heard something about Iowa. But that’s not set in stone.”
“Will you tell me?”
He sat down next to Georgie and put his hand over hers. “I’m not sure they’ll tell me.
She glanced down at her hands in her lap. “Iowa is big. But it isn’t that far.”
“No, it’s not. But that all depends on whether or not they choose witness protection. Angela will have a target on her back for a long time because of her involvement in helping the FBI find Cash and the baby.”
“So will I.”
“Probably.”
“Will you know where I am?”
“That all depends.”
She glanced over at Julian, unable to keep the tears that threatened her from welling up in her eyes. “On what?”
“On where we go from here?”
“I thought I didn’t have a choice.”
He shook his head. “You do. It’s your life. No one is forcing you to go into witness protection. I’m not going to lie. It’s the smart route to go. It ensures Eduardo Sanchez won’t find you. But as far as he’s concerned, you went to Vermont. You were never in South Dakota. All he knows is someone named Abby got married. For all he knows she’s a friend of yours from college.”
Georgie’s heart skipped a beat and then sped up to a point where she wanted to jump off the bench and into Julian’s arms. But she held back, afraid to believe and to hope that things would be different this time. “Where will you be?”
“Here for now.”
“For now? You’re not staying?”
“If I stay with the FBI in my current capacity, I won’t be around much. I move around a lot. But I’ve been thinking…”
“Yes?”
“There’s not much for me to do for the FBI here in Rudolph, Georgie. Sure, I’d have my family here, but not my profession. I could work at MW Oil like Gray and Grace. But like Luke and Ian, that was never something I wanted.”
“What do you want?”
“You.”
He was serious. It had only been little over a month that they’d known each other but she could tell the difference between Julian’s teasing and when he was serious. The way he gazed directly in to her eyes, she knew that he was.
“I don’t know how we could make this work. Or even if you want to,” he said. His chest expanded with his deep intake of air and then he let the breath out slowly. “I want you to feel safe. And in witness protection, you have the best chance of feeling safe again. What do you want?”
This was a moment for truth, but she couldn’t find the words. She had no right to voice what she truly felt inside. But Julian was looking at her, his eyes pleading with her for that same truth.
“I want a normal life.”
He nodded, somehow disappointed by what she’d revealed.
“I’ve always wanted a normal life because I never really had one.”
“Well, then, this can be a fresh start for you. You can go anywhere you want to go. You’ll get a new identity. New name. New past.
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