Midnight Flight

Chapter 11

"My name is Marcus Rhodes, I'm an FBI agent, and I'm a friend of Sam's. She sent me to get you and to keep you safe. Please, I'll answer all your questions but we need to get out of the middle of the street. This isn't safe for you," he was as clear as he could possibly be with them.

"I want to see your badge! Is Sam in danger?" Maisy asked, looking up from his badge and worried now that she had gotten some information.

"Yes, and so are you. Please, I need to get you to safety," Marcus nudged them again.

He managed to get the two women to the parking garage before he saw that they weren't alone. Quickly getting them into his car, he was about to pull out of the drive when Knox jumped into the front seat.

"Go west, you have company east. Take the freeway," he ordered. As Marcus followed his orders, Knox turned around and looked at the two women in the back seat. "Good morning, ladies."

"You! Are you the one who got our girl into trouble?" Lottie pointed her finger at Knox.

Knox couldn't help but smile when he heard Marcus chuckling next to him. "You aren't helping," he whispered. "No, I'm not."

"Might as well tell them something because they are going to keep asking until they get it out of us," Marcus told him.

"We left everything behind. Where is Sammie? What is all this about?" Lottie demanded answers.

"Sammie is fine. I saw her this morning. I'm sorry you had to leave everything so abruptly. I'm sure Sam didn't want you involved." Knox was positive about that much. Sam has gone to a great deal of trouble to make sure that her identity was kept far away from her aunts. "You know about the Graff diamond that was stolen the night Sam went to that art show on the island?"

"Yes, she looked so beautiful that night," Lottie beamed at the mention of her niece.

"Yes, she did. The woman who stole it is after Sam. She thinks Sam can help her with getting rid of the stolen stone. To sell it to a good buyer," Knox made up the lie as he went along. As he said the words though, it occurred to him that it might not be too far from the truth.

Veronica might have wanted the stone for her buyer, but to get it off her hands, to actually cut it down and make it so it can't be traced back to her, that takes a professional. That's something Veronica definitely isn't. She would need Sam's contacts to get away with this.

"Sam wouldn't know anyone like that. She works with companies and contractors who mine stones, not gems like that," Maisy explained. They obviously have no idea what their niece really does.

"We know that, but this woman doesn't. We're trying to protect Sam from her. But she is very worried that this woman is going to come after you two to get to her. We promised Sam that we would get you to safety." Knox said as his phone rang.

Looking down at the screen it was a text message from Veronica. Tell him that he was going to be at the pier at six pm with Sam in tow if he wants to keep his job. Otherwise he and Marcus can kiss their careers in the FBI goodbye.

"What is it?" Marcus asked as he made the next turn.

"We need to get them to safety," Knox thought for a moment.

They don't need to know anymore about what is going on. Looking around where they are, Knox thought it best to keep them in the busier area of town. Giving Marcus directions he got him to a downtown hotel that had plenty of people in and out of it. That would make it harder for anyone to get in without being seen.

He got the aunts checked into a nice suite under one of Sam's fake names and they escorted them up to the room. Once they were safely in the room, Knox sat down and decided he would have to lay down some rules.

"Look, you aren't on vacation here. I'm sorry but you have to stay in the room. Marcus or I will get groceries for you or pick up some takeout. But you can't leave not unless we tell you it's time to go," Knox made it perfectly clear that it wasn't safe.

"And Sammie? What about her?" Lottie asked, as the two women sat together, holding hands on the couch.

They're scared for themselves and for her. Knox understood that and he felt the same way. He didn't want anything to happen to Sam either. If it wasn't for her, he might be dead himself. He owed her.

"I saw her this morning and she was fine. I'm going out to find her now. Marcus is going to stay here with you. He'll protect you," looking at his friend, Knox nodded, getting his agreement. It was safer for all of them to stay put.

Knox moved to the door and Marcus followed him, "you got hurt." He motioned to Knox's shoulder.

Looking down Knox noticed that the wound had opened and he was bleeding again. "Damn! I caught a bullet in the shoulder at your place. It's not safe to go back there. My place is out of the question and I need to find Sam."

"You're not going to find her bleeding out. You'll only end up in the hospital. I'll find her. You know how to fix yourself up. I'll get Sam back here. Keep these ladies safe," Marcus nodded and left the room.

"Mr. Knox? Are you hurt?" Lottie came over and pointed to his shoulder. "You're bleeding."

"Yeah, I caught a bullet. I'll be okay," he assured them but Lottie looked at Maisy and jerked her head.

"Come on girl, looks like this one needs some help," she reached over and gently took his arm. "Don't worry, I was a first aid student in my younger days. Maisy and I helped plenty of the boys who came home from the war."

With that the women helped Knox off with his shirt and began working on his shoulder.

Sam had waited and watched the house for hours. The team out front had been there through the night, by midnight morning they entered the house. She heard the pops of a silencer and knew that someone had been watching through the windows. She couldn't go back in to check on Knox.

From a safe distance she watched from the roof of a building across from the entrance of the alley where she had gone to get to Knox. If he had been paying attention, he would be coming out from that direction.

Sure enough, a half hour after she got there he came out. Sam breathed a sigh of relief and followed Knox from the rooftops. He went exactly where she thought he would. As she stood on the building across from the pier, she saw her aunts greet Marcus.

The two weren't going to go with him easily but whatever he said to them he managed to convince them to go with him. When they drove out of the parking garage, Knox was in the car with them and the car that was following them had two flat tires. Sam made sure they weren't followed.

She kept her distance and she had a feeling she knew where Knox would take them. When they turned into the crowded center of town, she was grateful Knox understood what was needed to protect her aunts. She watched to see what hotel they went into and left the area. She would go back later to check on them.

Looking behind her once, she saw the tail on her and kept going. It wasn't safe for her to stop anywhere. Not until she lost tail, dark, and obvious on her tail. Walking around the corner she walked into the upscale department store and decided it was time to change her looks.

Ten minutes later she walked right past the man who was following her and he didn't recognize her. Now she could find Knox.

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