Chapter 9

"You want to tell me what that was all about?" Myles cornered Annie in the kitchen. His instincts as an agent told him that something was wrong, and with Tara hurt, he had to protect her.

"What?" Annie responded, working hard to avoid his eyes. She should have known that an F.B.I. agent would have noticed something when the deputy showed, but she didn't expect to happen so quickly.

"Craig and Hank are going to see if they can help get the roads cleared so the two of you can get out of here tonight," she tried, hoping to change the subject since she knew how much he wanted to get Tara to the hospital.

"Trying to get rid of us already," Myles questioned, with an arrogant raise of his eyebrows. "Look Annie, I'm paid to be observant, so why don't you tell me what's going on?" Taking her arm when she tried to turn away, he snapped angrily, "Why are you afraid of that deputy?"

"I'm not afraid of him," Annie retorted as Myles saw the fury in her eyes. However, mixed with that rage was an element of fear that she tried to hide unsuccessfully.

Myles gripped her arm tighter as she struggled to get away. With a determined glare, he propelled her toward the kitchen, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder to assure himself that Tara was still asleep. The last thing he needed was for Tara to find out something was wrong before he had time to assess the situation.

"If you're in trouble, Annie, I want to help," Myles insisted, after they entered the kitchen. He released her arm but stood in front of the doorway to prevent her escape.

"I can't tell you," Annie cried spinning around to the sink. Staring through the glass into the back yard, she fought an inner conflict. Part of her wanted to tell him; since as a F.B.I. agent, he might be able to make things right again. Then again, if I tell him, I might just be getting the two of them into more danger, Annie thought to herself.

"Annie," Myles stated softly, coming up behind her and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I need to know so I can protect my…uh…Tara," Myles shook his head to clear his wayward thoughts. My, what? he reflected. Did I almost call Tara my partner? he wondered.

He'd been assigned to work with several different people over the course of his F.B.I. career, including Tara. However, he couldn't remember ever calling anyone 'his partner'. So why now, and why her? he thought, chancing a brief look back towards the living room where the petite agent slept.

"Are you in trouble?" Myles asked, turning Annie to face him. Lifting her chin with his hand, he was met by sad eyes. "Talk to me, please," he quietly requested.

Myles wasn't used to being the compassionate one. Jack and Bobby normally handled these types of situations. However, he had to find out was going on, so he could be prepared if there was a threat against him or Tara.

"Um, Deputy Webster uses his influence to, er, intimidate some of the farmers around here," Annie said finally. If she was going to trust anyone, it might as well be a federal agent.

"Intimidate, how?" Myles questioned leading her to the table to sit.

"If we don't pay him a 'protection fee'," she rolled her eyes at the statement, "different mysterious 'accidents' happen." She looked up to see Myles reaction, continuing, "The Pearman's down in the valley lost their barn in a fire. Mark Davis was run off the road in his truck." She shrugged wearily. "Deputy Webster ruled them all accidents, but we've come to know better."

"Has he ever hurt you?" Myles could feel the wrath building inside of him as he thought of someone sworn to uphold the law doing something like this. "Are you sure it's him?"

"EVERY TIME SOMEONE SAYS NO TO HIM THEY END UP GETTING HURT," she cried bolting from the chair. "OF COURSE IT'S HIM!"

Myles caught her before she could escape into the other room. Turning her around, he saw the tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she ducked her head away from him. He didn't know were it came from, but he ached for her and for what she had to go through. Pulling her to him, Myles embraced her tightly, feeling her tense body relax against him as she succumbed to the emotions she'd been holding in for so long.

"Did he ever hurt you?" Myles asked into her hair as he held her. Thankful when he felt her shake her head NO, he vowed to himself that he would make this deputy pay.