FOURTEEN
Anton
Later that evening, after Savannah is sated, I finish shaving my hair and clean up the mess in the bathroom. We get dressed, although she's not interested in wearing anything more than the t-shirt I had on earlier. It looks good on her, although I don't have nearly enough clothes.
There's a firm knock at the door.
I glance through the peephole before unlocking the front entrance.
"It's Declan," I say to Savannah.
She hurries into the bedroom. I presume to put on pants since she's still waltzing around in only my t-shirt. I don't mind, but Declan doesn't need to see her half-naked.
Declan brings us several bags of groceries, takeout, and Chinese food for dinner. My stomach is rumbling.
Savannah returns to the kitchen, wearing a new pair of pajama shorts with hearts all over them. They look adorable, and at the same time, I want to rip them right off her. But we have company.
"There's dinner on the table," Declan says, gesturing for the takeout bag.
I shuffle as much of the groceries into the fridge as I can as he grabs plates and silverware for us, along with two glasses.
"Are you joining us?" He's only pulled out enough dishware for two.
"Not to eat," Declan says. "But I was hoping the three of us could discuss the situation in a little more detail."
"Sure," Savannah says as she pulls the food cartons from the brown paper bag. "What do you want to know?"
"I can get you both new identities. That's the easy part. Is there something else my team or I can do to help you?"
"Your team?" I ask.
Declan clears his throat. "I work for Eagle Tactical. Nikita didn't mention it?" Silence ensues. "Okay, I'm not surprised. We're an organization that helps when it comes to hostage negotiations, private security, rescue missions, that sort of thing. We work closely with the local police department."
He had mentioned that earlier. "Is your relationship with local law enforcement a problem?"
Savannah shoots me a look.
Does she think I'm going to kill the guy? He's helping us. I have no reason to harm him as long as he can keep our identity and location a secret.
"That depends. I need the truth from both of you. What the hell happened back in New York?"
We recant the story in vivid detail to Declan. He sits across from us at the kitchen table while we devour dinner. Neither of us has eaten much all day. Between traveling and our arrival, there weren't a lot of opportunities.
"I'll need to consult the team," Declan says.
"Consult? Why?" Savannah asks. Her brow is knitted, and she looks as confused and concerned as I feel.
"Is that necessary?" I ask. "The fewer people involved, the better."
"I can handle most of the documents, getting you new identities, passports, that sort of thing. But if you want the crooked FBI agent brought to justice, that can't be done in secret."
"Doesn't it have to be, or else we're risking others knowing our location?" Savannah says.
"I meant just me knowing. I trust my team with my life, and you should also."
"I don't know them," I say. Not that I know Declan, but he comes highly recommended to me. The others weren't mentioned.
"Well, you're going to have to," Declan says. He stands from the kitchen table, clearly frustrated that we didn't just agree to his plans. I'm not sure what he intends to do regarding the situation, but it's clear he's not keeping it between the three of us.
Savannah rests a hand on my arm, trying to reassure me, or maybe she's worried that I'll stop Declan and kill him before he can speak about us to his team. For all I know, he's already mentioned us to them.
"What's the plan?" Savannah asks. "After you tell your team about us?"
"We would work to uncover what we can about this dirty FBI agent. Comb through his finances along with his previous and current cases. There's almost always a paper trail; if given enough resources and time, we can find it. Unfortunately, that isn't something I can do alone."
"Even after we nail Danvers, there's no guarantee it'll clear both of our names," I say.