Worth the Risk_ A Contemporary - Megan Hart Page 0,233
the touchy-feely school of psychiatry. She rounded the table to pat Kendall’s shoulder. “I just asked you to introduce yourself to the group.”
Heat burned her cheeks. “Kendall Frasier. I’m with a special DEA sub-unit that’s been focusing on rousting dealers from nontraditional profiles.”
“You got the horse-and-buggy freaks,” spoke up one man.
The rest of the room murmured.
Kendall lifted her chin, thinking of the Yoder brothers, who’d never imagined what trouble they were getting themselves into. She and her partner, Dan Whitney, had been undercover for more than six months on the case. At sixteen and eighteen, Amish brothers Amos and Samuel Yoder had been the age at which their community allowed them to test the outside world before committing themselves to the church. They’d done a little too much experimenting, in Kendall’s opinion. The brothers had been linked to a well-known but third-rate biker gang, the Scorpions of Satan. The Scorpions were suspected of supplying methamphetamine at wholesale rates to the brothers, who then turned around and sold it to local high school and college students. The Yoders had the perfect cover in their religious affiliation. It had taken over six months, but by working closely with their local contacts in the college, Kendall and Dan finally negotiated a deal and began to close them down.
Dr. Marge gave another chuckle and patted Kendall again. “Your case was big news for quite a while, Kendall. I’m sure we’ll be talking a lot about it. Agent Vincent was also involved with that case, I believe.”
Before the day her partner died, Kendall had seen Vincent around at conventions, training sessions and staff meetings. He was hard to forget with his muscular build, shaved head and striking, full features. He fit right in with the Scorpions, whose trust he’d earned while undercover. Too bad he’d underestimated the lengths they’d go to escape being caught.
The showdown had occurred on a frigid January afternoon in a barn larger than Kendall’s house. They’d gotten word Amos and Samuel were supposed to be meeting some of the “English” in the barn. A team of fourteen agents had been strung out over the entire Yoder family farm. Amos and Samuel had appeared on schedule between the barn’s big double doors. A few minutes later, Vincent and the three members of the Scorpions who’d ridden up from Philadelphia for the deal arrived on their sputtering, roaring motorcycles.
Nobody was expecting resistance from the Yoder brothers, but the Scorpions had taken the authorities by surprise. They’d all opened fire, killing their Amish contacts and three DEA agents.
Vincent, in an attempt to bring the situation under control, had fired a warning shot at his biker buddies. Despite Kendall’s warnings to stay down, Dan kept trying to get closer to the leader of the gang. He’d stepped in the way of Vincent’s bullet and gone down.
They called it friendly fire. Kendall called it stupid.
Everyone was looking at her. Almost everyone. Kendall cleared her throat. “Yeah. You could say that.”
Thankfully, the woman moved back to the front of the room. Kendall felt as though all eyes were upon her…all but one set. A deep chocolate-brown pair of eyes that were studiously looking everywhere else but at her.
Chapter 2
Dinner was delicious and brief. Kendall managed to find a table with another agent and his wife. Kevin Messersmith didn’t volunteer why he’d been chosen to come to the island, but the way he and his wife clutched hands and the look of strain in both their eyes told Kendall all she needed to know. Her suspicions were confirmed when Kevin got up from the table and walked away with a limp so bad he nearly listed to the side. He’d come close to death by the looks of it.
“The walking wounded,” she murmured aloud, then turned a stunned and embarrassed look toward Kevin’s wife, Jean. “Oh, boy, I’m sorry. That was stupid.”
Jean smiled. “Don’t worry about it. It’s true. Kevin was undercover at a rave when a boy had a bad reaction to something that had been slipped into his drink. He tried to jump out a third-story window in the warehouse. Kevin ended up going through a glass window and hitting the ground.”
“And the boy?”
Jean licked her lips before answering. “He died.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jean shrugged and looked across the room to where Kevin had paused to say something to Vincent. She sighed and plucked at her napkin. “He’s been having nightmares about falling. His boss thought coming here would help him recover.”