Long Way Home by Ann Vaughn Page A

grabbed his shirt to cover herself while she paced.  “I’ve read
up on them.  I spoke with Laura Burney, the one woman who did manage to
get out.”
             “I
know Laura well.  She and I have talked extensively about her time there.
 We could arrest them on her testimony alone but she’s too terrified of
the Heltons to press charges.”
             “I
know.  She’s willing to help as much as she can behind the scenes but her
fear of them is too strong for much else.”
             He
sat up, leaning back against the headboard, sheet draped over his midsection.
 “Then you know what she says they do to women.  They aren’t just
some religious cult, Tess.  It’s all a front for their sexual
perversions.”
             “I
know that…but if there’s a way I can help those women then I’ve got to try.”
             “Why
you?  How did you go from the Army to the FBI anyway?”
             She
raked her hands through her hair and reached for the room service menu.
             “I’m
starving, you want anything?”
             “In
a minute.  Talk to me, Tess.”
             With
a sigh she put the menu down and resumed pacing.  “I’ve told you some of
this before.  Gibson was CO of the Ranger battalion I was assigned to. I’d
been with him ever since leaving Basics.  His secretary retired a few
months after I was assigned to his office.  She liked me, thought I had a
good work ethic and would be suited to his personality.  We clicked. 
He took me under his wing and led me safely through nearly 8 years of service.
 It was a little over a month after he left to join the FBI that my convoy
was hit by an IED.  He came to see me in the hospital and offered me the
position once I recovered from my injuries.  He said he always thought my
talents were wasted just doing technical support.  That was two years
ago.”
             “Two
years?  Why didn’t you tell me?  All this time I thought you were
still in the Army.”
             She
shrugged.  “I honestly don’t know.  I just…we never really talked
about our careers.  Whenever I talked to you I just wanted to hear your
voice and hear about you…and it’s not like you ever really talked about your
job.”
             “No,
but you knew what my job was, where I was living.  I wasn’t off being a
fireman when you thought I was a cop.”
             She
stopped pacing and leaned against the credenza across from him.  “I
just….I didn’t want to get into deep dark discussions with you the few times we
got to talk.  Those precious few conversations carried me through all the
crap I was dealing with.  Can you understand that?”
             He
got to his feet, uncaring of his nudity and came to her.  He took her
hands into his and raised hers to his lips. 
             “Yeah,
I do understand…and I know you aren’t the same person you were, but that
doesn’t mean I don’t still feel protective of you. The thought of you going
undercover and putting yourself in the path of those psychopaths terrifies me.”
             She
closed her eyes when his arms enveloped her, allowing herself to feel soft and
feminine for the first time in a long, long time.  
             “Is
there anything I can say to talk you out of this?” he asked, his voice thick
with emotion.
             “Not
really.  Those women, girls really…they need help.”
             “Have
you done undercover work before?  Deep cover like this?”
             “Not
this deep, no, but I have done short undercover stints.”
             “Damn,”
he breathed, kissing her brow.  “This kind of work, going in that deep and
living a lie…it changes you, Tess…please, don’t do it.  Let someone else
go.”
             She
drew back and looked up into his eyes, touched at his concern for her.