Chapter 13: Part 4

Sam, his boss, Amanda, and now Skhye, what the hell else could go wrong. He'd just gotten off the phone with Baker, he wanted his flight number. Bill hadn't been able to get in a word edge wise. Baker didn't want to hear it.



He had five messages from Amanda at first she just wanted to talk. Her last was desperate, something about the face being wrong. Now Delanie Skhye was here demanding to see Sam.



"I need a few minutes to take care of some business."



"No, I've been here for long enough. I need to see Sam."



Bill held his breath, his fists clenched. This wasn't good. He needed to get control of his reactions. Usually he was totally in control. He was FBI steady through and through. No nerves, no emotions on the job, but this week had sucked. Now it was taking a toll on how he did his job.



He was glad no one else was here to witness his descent. "Ms. Skhye, why don't you come with me?" He would borrow another room from Louis. With Sam locked in one and Delanie icing in the other maybe he could find out what was so important to Amanda.



"Finally, we're getting somewhere."



"Luis, can I take room five?" It was at the other end of the building from Sam. This would keep her away from the guy for a while. He should have grabbed her at the scene but the way Sam had just showed up out of nowhere had surprised the heck out of him. Now he had her and he could question her for hours on end.



"Ms. Skhye, would you like some coffee while you wait? Maybe a bottle of water."



"Some water would be nice."



"I'll have one of the guys bring it in for you." He hated using Louis and his men like this, but what else could he do. The FBI had sent him down here as one man when they should have sent two. Really his boss had done him a favor sending him. If any other FBI agent had asked he would have been denied.



Bill asked one of the desk officers for help and promised a six pack of beer for the trouble. He then placed the call to Amanda, hoping she'd pick up. After being patched through the hospital administrator the phone rang three times. His heart sunk with the thought that they wouldn't connect. Then he heard the extension click.



"Hello."



"Amanda, it's Bill."



"Oh, thank God you called."



"The face, it was wrong."



"What do you mean?"



"The medicines, they had me confused. I remembered a man from my past, but he wasn't the guy who did this to me. The other guy looks similar."



"Wait, what do you mean? When did this happen?"



"I had a dream."



"A dream?"



"They reduced the pain killers. My mind lost the fogginess. I felt better and was able to really sleep, not some drug induced lack of consciousness."



"So you remember what he looks like now."



"Yes, poor Sam. I can't believe I thought it was him."



"You know Sam?"



"Yes, he owns the record production studio where I have a contract. I met him during negotiations."



He heard the catch in her voice, his stomach clenched. He didn't want to be runner up to Sam. What if the jerk had her before he had a chance? Fuck, what the hell am I thinking? I'm not with her.



"Listen, Amanda, I'll drop by in a few hours. Are you sure it wasn't Samuel Taylor?"



"Yes. Wait, I didn't say his last name. How did you know?"



"I've known Mr. Taylor for a few years." Bill couldn't help the bitter sound of his voice. After this case was over he really needed to reevaluate his life. He had to get away, do something different.



"Oh, that must have been hard. I'm sorry if I caused you any pain."



"Amanda, you didn't cause me any pain. Really, I'm fine. I'll see you in a few hours."



Bill put down his phone and sat at one of the open desks. He felt as thought he'd taken a hit in the gut. Samuel Taylor was innocent. The guy claimed to be wronged and he was. Damn, what if the jerk called his boss and wanted some sort of retribution?



"Everything alright, Bill?" Louis stood above him, his eyebrow cocked wildly over his left eye.



Bill stood and readjusted his tie. "Yes, everything is great. I'm going to be finished up here soon."



"Tough case?"



"Yes."



"I wish we had more men to help, but with the storm we're having trouble keeping our guys safe."



"I understand, don't worry about it. I've got this under control. I'll probably be gone by tomorrow."



"You abandoning the search or you have your guy?"



"Neither, I just don't think we're going to find him on this island. He's left and moved on to bluer waters."



"Ha, they do that often. Hard to catch a criminal when they can board a boat and sail to another country."



"Yeah, I guess I need to see what I can do with these two."



Bill walked in on Delanie pacing around the room. He was torn between wanting Sam to be the guy who had abducted Amanda and wanting to deliver good news to the famous actress.



"Ms. Skhye, would you come with me?"



"Are we going to see Sam?"



"Yes," Bill motioned for her to follow and took off across the police station. This day couldn't get any worse. He hadn't been totally humiliated, but it was close.



He opened the door to where Sam sat unshackled. If he'd left the cuffs on the guy this would have been a ton more difficult.



"Sam," Delanie rushed forward. Her arms went around Sam, hugging him tight.



"Delanie, I told you to go somewhere safe."



"What could be more safe than a police station?"



Sam's eyes cut to Bill, his stare icy. "Loads of places are safer than here."



"You're free to go." Bill hated saying those words, but what the hell else could he do. He'd eat some humble pie if it kept the big guy from suing the government.



"Oh no, not so fast. Shut the door, we need to talk."



Bill closed the door, ready to receive an ass chewing. The money buffered most of the crap he got from his boss at the FBI, but Sam didn't care about money, besides he probably did have more than Bill.



"Delanie, tell him what happened."



Her eyes went glassy as she plopped into a chair. "I don't know where to start."



"It's okay, just tell the FBI agent what happened."



"Someone was on the island with us. He attacked me." Delanie's voice caught on the last of her words.



"Could you describe him?"



"No, it was dark. I didn't get a good look. He was strong, almost too strong. He knocked Sam out."



"Really?"



"You seem pleased by that," Sam said.



Bill wanted to break into a smile but didn't. Sam already had a reason to be irritated. He didn't need the guy to get even more angry. It was perverse, and he knew it, but having Sam knocked down a peg was insanely pleasing. "I want to hear the whole story. Start from the first hint at something wrong. Don't leave anything out."

Copyright Sara Thacker 2011