FORTY
Jessie awoke in a tangle of arms and legs, Bran still sleeping soundly beside her. Lying there in his big king-size bed, her mind went back to the events of the night before, the terrible danger and heart-stopping fear, the pent-up emotions that had led to hours of wild, passionate lovemaking. A night free from any taint of the past.
Jessie smiled and closed her eyes, snuggled a little closer to Bran, dozed again, and didn’t stir until just before noon when her cell phone started ringing. She grabbed it off the nightstand, looked down and recognized the caller ID, sat up on the edge of the bed.
“Special Agent Tripp,” she said, her voice still a little thick with sleep.
“I’ve got news you’ll want to hear,” Tripp said.
Bran sat up yawning, rubbing his bare chest as he swung his legs to the bedside next to her.
“Bran’s here. I’m putting you on speaker.” She hit the button and Tripp’s voice came through loud and clear.
“I heard what you did at the airport, Captain. Off the record, of course.” Bran had insisted on remaining anonymous, and so far the army had managed to keep it that way. “Thanks for your help.”
“I just did what I was trained for.”
“A lot of us consider it far more than that.”
Bran said nothing.
“I called to let you know General Samuel Holloway has officially been arrested. He’s been charged with treason, larceny, espionage, and a long list of crimes that include conspiracy to commit murder.”
“He confessed?” Jessie asked.
“In a manner of speaking. Presented with the evidence and facing the possibility of life in prison without parole, Holloway rolled on Edgar Weaver. He pointed to Weaver as the man who arranged the hits on Wayne Coffman and Colonel James Kegan. He confessed to conspiring with Weaver in an attempt to murder Jessica Kegan and Captain Brandon Garrett.”
“That’s good work,” Bran said.
“From what Holloway told us, he was okay with selling the chemical weapons out of the country. As far as he was concerned, it was just one terrorist killing another. He didn’t know about the smaller sale of weapons or the attack planned on the Denver airport.”
“Holloway was a well-respected general,” Bran said. “Why did he do it? I realize his share of twenty-five mil is a shit ton of money, but still...”
“Apparently, the general wasn’t happy with the progress of his career. He was still a lowly brigadier, not the two-or three-star general he was convinced he deserved to be. His wife had left him, his kids were overindulged pains in the ass. His personal life had turned to worms, and he wanted payback for all of it. This way he became a wealthy man, as well as secretly giving the army the middle finger. Just didn’t work out the way he planned.”
“What about Weaver?” Bran asked.
“Weaver is headed back to the maximum security side of ADMAX—where he’ll be locked up twenty-three hours a day for the rest of his worthless life.”
Jessie’s eyes filled. Bran reached over and laced his fingers with hers. “I hope he and Weaver both rot in hell,” he said.
Tripp made a sound of agreement. “Jessie?”
“I’m here.”
“I want you to know your father’s name has officially been cleared. The army thanks Colonel Kegan for his many years of outstanding service and regrets the loss of such a fine officer.”
Her throat ached. “Thank you.”
“One more thing,” Tripp said. “Last night the police arrested Andrew Horton as he tried to leave the country. He was caught at the El Paso International Airport, trying to board a connecting flight to Guadalajara, Mexico. He won’t be seeing the light of day for a long, long time.”
Bran squeezed her fingers. “It’s over, Jess.”
“That’s right,” Tripp said. “Just let me know if there’s anything I can ever do for either one of you.”
When the call ended, Bran pulled Jessie into his arms. “Thanks to you, your dad’s name has been cleared. He can rest easy now.”
And knowing she hadn’t failed him, Jessie felt lighter, as if the burden she had been carrying had finally been lifted.
She wiped a tear from her cheek, looked up at Bran, and smiled. “So...after all the excitement, are you sure life with me won’t seem boring?”
Bran just laughed. “Not a chance.”
