Accepted the glass from Duncan, Erin took a sip and set it aside. “If I can handle the three of you, I can certainly handle Wes.” She looked up at the agents. “Are you sure you’re not going to lose him this time?”
Her husbands chuckled at the question that had the FBI agents stiffening.
Agent Price smiled coldly. “No. We won’t lose him again. We’ve got a GPS tracker on his car, and we’ve doubled the number of agents on him.”
Looking down at her phone, she smiled and tucked her phone into her pocket. “Cramer just got to his office, and all of our agents are in place.”
Lowering himself to the other chair, Ace eyed the recording equipment. “Just stay calm, Erin. Once you make him wonder if his money’s still where he put it, he’ll be dying to go check for himself. Once he does, all of this’ll be over.”
Duncan rubbed her back. “And then you’re going to rest.”
“There’s a lot riding on this.”
Jared, Duncan, Reese, and Ace all turned to Agent Price, her impatient tone drawing frowns from each of them.
Ace rose to his full height, his eyes cold. “If you people hadn’t lost Cramer when he took the money from Stark’s hiding place, we wouldn’t be in this predicament and Mrs. Preston wouldn’t have gotten hurt. We certainly wouldn’t have had to kill Stark. Mrs. Preston’s doing you a favor here. Don’t even think about blaming her if something goes wrong with your plan.”
Erin picked up her glass and took another sip of water to hide her smile, amused that Ace’s cold stare had all three FBI agents stiffening, eyeing him with renewed respect.
Agent Price lifted her chin, making Jared’s lips twitch as he turned his head, giving Erin a smoldering look. “You’re right, of course. We appreciate Mrs. Preston’s help.”
Wondering what she’d done to earn such a look from her husband, Erin took another sip of water to ease her dry throat. “He’s had time to get to his office where he’ll be able to talk freely. I’m calling him now.”
Setting her glass aside, she picked up the phone, playing the upcoming conversation in her head.
Ace touched her arm. “It would be better if you moved to the other side of the room when you call him. The volume on the recording equipment is turned down, but we don’t want to take a chance that Cramer might hear it.”
Agent Price smiled at Ace. “I was just about to tell her that. You seem pretty knowledgeable about surveillance equipment.”
Ace’s eyes narrowed, his smile cool. “For a small-town sheriff, right? Erin, make the call. The sooner we get these strangers out of town, the better.”
* * * *
Jared crossed to her, wrapping an arm around her and guiding her to the window seat they’d built for her. “Come on, baby. I can see that you’re favoring your ribs even more than you did earlier.” Lifting her chin, he stared into her eyes, seeing the headache she probably thought she could hide. “Your headache is getting worse. Duncan was right. As soon as these people leave, you’re gonna take a pain pill and go lie down.”
“You’re babying me again.”
His wife’s pout, seldom seen, proved irresistible.
After kissing her lightly, he straightened. “I’ll make it up to you by giving you a massage.” He knew her body needed to rest, and a massage would have her falling asleep within minutes.
A sense of satisfaction that he’d learned his wife so well made his chest swell.
She lifted the phone, pressing the button to talk, eyeing him. “Why did you give me that look?”
Pleased that he knew her well enough to know exactly what she was talking about, Jared ignored Agent Price’s glare of impatience. “Agent Price was feeling a little defensive when she spoke to Ace. She lifted her chin the way you do when you know you’ve lost an argument or when you’re feeling particularly vulnerable.”
“I don’t do that.”
“Of course you do, and it’s adorable.” He dropped a kiss on her nose, earning the blush he’d expected.
“Stop that. We have an audience.”
With a sigh, Jared allowed her to put a few inches of space between them, taking her free hand in his. “Yeah. Make the call so we can get them the hell out of here.”
“When I’m finished, I want to go get William.”
Lifting her chin, Jared shook his head, releasing her hand so she could dial. “Not until you’ve rested. Besides, our parents are having a ball with him. They took him to their grocery store and are showing him off to everyone. You’re stalling. That’s not like you. Are you okay?”