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I didn’t sleep well that night.
It wasn’t because of a normal sleepless night like being too hot or too cold. I couldn’t shake the sinister feeling I’d felt after Jax Daigle found us in his backyard.
We’d asked a few simple questions, trying to break the ice, but Jax politely brushed them aside. He didn’t make us feel welcome. Instead, he kept reiterating that he needed to pick up Elle from Gomer’s house. All questions could wait. He would call to schedule a time after Elle settled into the new school year.
He may have been a man running from the mob, but at one time, Jax had been a man with murderous intentions. The fact that he’d called us to assist in the final days of summer went beyond the request itself. He left us in a vulnerable state.
Even with Harrison quarterbacking our moves, I didn’t feel good about the Wasteland situation. It was the ideal place for those looking for a fresh start, but the conditions weren’t perfect.
I flipped over on my stomach and tugged the bedsheets over my head. In another hour or two, the sun would rise. Ida Belle and Gertie would arrive soon after that.
Lately, I couldn’t keep up with them. They were like two toddlers on steroids, chocolate, and caffeine. They had more energy than most women in their twenties.
Thanks to Harrison, my former partner turned CIA handler, they had a new lease on life. He’d recently sworn them to secrecy. They’d been ‘read in’ and had never been happier.
That trust came with a price.
If Ben Harrison believed Gertie and Ida Belle were in his confidences, they were also in his debt. The minute something went wrong, Harrison could throw them under the bus. I’d love to think he wouldn’t, that he would trust them as much as he trusted me, but lately I’d begun to see that the more time apart from the CIA, the more I relied on my friends, not Harrison. He likely felt the same.
I kicked away the sheets and left the bed. Sleep wouldn’t come. I was worried. Jax Daigle brought danger to the bayou and whether he lured others there or not, death would surely find him.
Realizing, I wouldn’t sleep until I exercised away some of the tension, I tugged on a pair of jeans and sweatshirt then grabbed my phone and nine. Maybe I could walk off my angst then come back and catch a nap.
As soon as I locked up, my face was hit with a gush of cool wind. I loved fall. When I lived in DC, I didn’t have time to relish in seasonal changes, but Louisiana crawled along at a leisurely pace. The CIA typically kept their newer agents on the move, but Sandy-Sue Morrow was a homebody. The contrast in her life and mine made me appreciate both sides, the high octane CIA agent’s existence and the unhurried days of small town living.
Finding a steady pace, I jogged to the opposite sidewalk and took in the autumn colors and sounds. Sinful was peaceful until around six-thirty each morning, but today seemed quieter than most mornings. It was nice to enjoy an early run, especially since I wasn’t running from something or someone.
As I picked up my pace, I thought about stopping at Gertie’s. She and Ida Belle typically arrived at my house with the unspoken intentions of waking me. I smiled at the thought of a little payback and shot across a couple of yards, but as soon as Gertie’s house was in view, I came to an abrupt stop.
“What the...” Was that Jax Daigle? I squinted and watched as he kissed Gertie’s cheek, stuffed his hands in his pocket, and made his way to the back of a dark SUV.
As the vehicle pulled away from the curb, I ducked behind a tall oak tree. My heart raced from adrenaline, but I kept my back flush against the uneven bark in case Gertie was watching as the vehicle pulled away.
No wonder she’d acted so strange about Jax and Celia meeting for breakfast. She didn’t have her flirt on. Instead, she had a full-blown crush!
Given the danger Jax represented, this visit needed to be addressed, but it needed to be handled delicately. I tugged my cell phone from my jeans and fired off a group text to Ida Belle and Gertie:
Emergency meeting. Go to Gertie’s. My house is off-limits right now.
They would assume Carter had spent the night. He was still miffed that I’d been at Jax’s home earlier and claimed he was too tired to drive over. Sometimes things worked out for the best. Gertie may have enjoyed Jax’s company, but it wasn’t safe. These secret meets needed to end. Harrison wouldn’t keep us in the loop if he found out about Gertie’s visitor.
The women fired back with a thumb’s up emoji.
A couple of minutes later, Ida Belle’s headlights were easily spotted as she pulled away from the corner stop sign. I rushed toward her, waving my arms until she came to a screeching halt.
I hopped in the passenger’s side and sighed. “We have a problem.”
“What’s going on?” she asked frantically. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“Apparently not. Do you know what time it is? What are you doing out here?” Ida Belle looked alert.
I held up my hand and steadied my labored breathing. Then, I asked, “Did you sleep last night?”
“Tell me you didn’t call me out at five in the morning to find out about my sleep schedule. I went to bed at nine. I’ve been up since four.” Ida Belle’s choppy words made me smile. She would love pulling one over on Gertie. “What’s this about?”
“We’re about to find out.” Without wasting a minute, I hurriedly rambled off what I’d witnessed. “So? What do you think?”
Ida Belle narrowed her eyes. “I think we’ll show up on Gertie’s porch and find a woman who looks like we just dragged her out of bed.”
“My thoughts too.”
She sighed. “Gertie will never see us coming.”
Minutes later, Gertie played right into our hands.
She yawned, rubbed her eyes, and straightened her rose-colored robe as if she’d thrown it on to unlock the door.
“This better be good, girls. I’ve been in bed.” She looked bewildered as she watched Ida Belle and I exchanging those ‘we know better’ looks. “What could be so important at this hour?”
I tried not to laugh at Gertie’s theatrics. Not only was she sporting a robe, but she also had the bedhead look going on. She probably brushed it that way when I called the meeting.
“We have a situation,” Ida Belle announced, pushing by her.
“It’s a dire situation,” I said, following Ida Belle.
“Oh my,” Gertie said, meeting us at her kitchen table. “I put the coffee on as soon as I got your text. Those mugs are hot.”
“I feel guilty and just hate to wake you up this early.”
“Don’t you worry, dear,” Gertie said, patting my hand. “There’s no rest for the weary.”
“And you’re weary?” Ida Belle rolled her eyes then used both hands and straightened her curlers. “Got a plastic container over there?”
Gertie reached behind her and retrieved a paper bag. “Toss them in here. You have almost all of my plastic containers over at your house.”
“I’ll get them back to you,” Ida Belle promised, taking a sip of coffee. “So why were you weary? We got sidetracked.”
Gertie sighed. “Didn’t really sleep much last night.”
“A lot on your mind?” Ida Belle asked, leading.
“You could say that,” she said, lifting her mug to her lips then setting it down again. “We’ve been through so much lately. We’re all having difficulty sleeping, right?”
“If you say so.” Ida Belle tossed a blue hair roller in the bag. “And I’m sure you tried to sleep, but just couldn’t.”
“Exactly,” Gertie said, yawning.
“Something wrong with your coffee?” I asked.
“No, nothing,” she said, forcing a grin and then a sip.
“What time did you go to bed?” Ida Belle asked. “You’re avoiding that coffee like you’ve had too much.”
Gertie opened her mouth to speak, but then paused.
Ida Belle arched a brow. I tried not to laugh.
“You snakes! You know darn well I haven’t been to bed!” She cut her gaze to me. “Couldn’t sleep, I bet. Went out for a morning run?”
I couldn’t control my laughter then. “Guilty as charged.”
“At least one of us had company,” Gertie snapped, but she smiled all the same.
Ida Belle finally asked, “What was Jax Daigle doing here? Were you even going to tell us?”
“Of course I would’ve,” she said, her eyes showing a hint of mischief. “He likes me by the way.”
“I’m sure he does,” Ida Belle said. “At his age, I’ll bet it isn’t often when he has a woman fawning all over him.”
“I wasn’t fawning,” Gertie said.
“Excuse me. I meant falling.”
“You two think you’re so funny.” Her gaze darted between us. “If you must know, I’ve been conducting counterintelligence.”
“Right,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Does this intelligence gathering include smooching?”
“Were you spying on me?” Gertie held her hand over her heart. “Remind me to call Carter and ask him if he knows he’s sleeping with a peeping Tawny.”
“At least he’s sleeping tonight,” Ida Belle said in an accusatory tone.
Gertie waved her small hand. “I know what I’m doing.”
“We don’t doubt that for a minute,” Ida Belle said, her comment loaded. “But Jax Daigle may know exactly what he’s doing, too.”
Gertie shot us a sheepish look. “Maybe, but one thing is certain. His goals won’t align with mine.”