Hah, well, I ain't no good to no one no how, not right now
`Cause I forgot to run myself and I got run down
Do I look like something you can put in a fuckin' cage?
Rattle Snake Smile –Christian Kane
"I said I'd be there in the morning." Eliot stood in the doorway so they couldn't enter.
His friend nodded. "Yeah I know but I figured you'd want to know this as soon as I found out. I tried to call, but we got worried."
"What now?"
"I dug a little bit more into the fire. Your girl was supposedly still living at the house at the time, right? It had been sold and she was moving out, but she was supposed to be there. She got to the house after the fire started. She was with a former ranch-hand," Hardison explained.
"So?"
"So she had an alibi. A concrete one actually, until the guy suddenly went missing. I wondered why Sterling would even suspect her. It turns out that the guy's statement to the sheriff never made it into evidence. Also, her accounts weren't actually touched until the fire, man. Close to twenty million dollars was transferred into an offshore account the night of the fire."
"That's not right," he heard Katie say from her vantage point in the bedroom door. "I saw the account paperwork before the fire. I wouldn't have even had the ranch for sale, if it hadn't been for the empty account."
Since she was already dressed again, Eliot gestured for Nate and Hardison to come in.
Hardison sat down at the table and once again opened his laptop. "What paperwork did you see and who showed it to you?"
"Wait, I'll get them." She ducked back into the bedroom and came out with a laptop bag. Opening it, she grabbed the papers and handed them to Hardison before she sat down across from the two of them. Eliot went and read over the hacker's shoulder as he scanned the papers.
"Now see, this is strange. Your brother's accounts started losing money slowly but when he lost close to a million in less than a year, he closed your accounts and moved all but two million to another company. Your money was in that mutual fund account the day of the fire," Hardison clicked a few keys and showed her the screen. "This paperwork is from the bank where he had his account when he started to lose money. Her money wasn't even there at the time."
"His accountant showed her fake documents from the bank. Maybe he made bad investments," Eliot offered.
"No matter what the markets did over the last year his accounts dwindled. John made regular withdrawals for expenses at the ranch. Almost the same amount for the last few years with only a little bit variance for inflation. Occasionally he'd make a large withdrawal but it seemed to fall in the same time of year, every year," Hardison explained, pointing at the screen.
"During the winter months the costs increase while the revenue slows down, then in spring he'd buy and sell more horses," Eliot replied.
Katie furrowed her brow in confusion. "So you're saying that other than the last year he's been careful about his money. That doesn't make sense. Why would he leave his assets in an account where he lost so much money? And where is the two million you said he didn't move?"
Hardison glanced over at her, then up at Eliot. "I don't know. But if her accountant had fake documents to show her, then he probably forged documents to show John as well."
Eliot began pacing back and forth trying to process this information. It's possible that Katie could be lying about her share of the money but she seemed genuinely confused.
Nate cleared his throat. "We could have told you that tomorrow but there's more."
"What?" Eliot braced himself for more bad news.
"It appears that Sterling's investigation raised some red flags with the FBI. The money that was 'misappropriated' from her brother's account isn't unaccounted for." Eliot turned around and waited but Hardison glanced over at Nate in hesitation.
"It's been traced to the mob."
Katie jumped up and slammed her hands down on the table. "No! My brother wasn't involved with the mob!"
Nate shook his head. "No, he wasn't. But his money was."
Staring at Nate, Katie seemed in shock. Eliot knew then she was telling the truth about her money. He came up and put his hand on her arm and she glanced over at him.
"You need to calm down. We're going to find out who did this," Eliot said in the most soothing voice he could muster under the circumstances.
"We're going to have to do more than find out who did it," Nate continued. "Katie was supposed to be in the house the night of the fire."
"But I told you, I wasn't," she whispered, not catching on. "I was with Brent."
"You were supposed to be in the house. The FBI is actually trying to find you to put you into protective custody, before the mob finds you," Nate finished.
Eliot caught her in his arms as she became hysterical. He realized how deep the shit had gotten and wondered if the team could figure this out. Once again, there was a knock on the door and Katie began to freak out even worse.
Nate jumped up and said, "It's probably Sophie and Parker." Before he could get to the door, Eliot hissed at him.
"Take her into the bedroom." Pushing Katie in Hardison's direction, he waited until the door was shut before he nodded to Nate.
Nate looked through the peephole and said, "It's them." Opening the door, he let the two women in.
"Sterling's at the bar," Parker told Nate. "We had to sneak out."
"Fuck! This keeps getting better." Eliot walked to the bedroom and opened the door. Hardison was standing in front of the bathroom door holding the bat from his closet. Seeing Eliot, he lowered the bat.
Any other time, Eliot would have given him grief about it but he needed to get to Katie. Hardison joined the others and he walked into the bathroom hesitantly. Shaking and pale, she sat on the floor staring at the tiles and didn't look up when he walked in.
Realizing she was in a state of shock, Eliot crouched down and picked her up, carrying her to the bed. He tried calling her name a few times but she didn't even register she heard him.
Sophie came into the room and appraised the situation quickly. "Katie, it's Sophie. Remember me from earlier?" When she got no response, she attempted touching her. Katie jumped away from her towards Eliot.
Worried she was only making things worse, Sophie stepped back. Katie watched her like a cornered animal.
Eliot grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him. He spoke very calmly but firmly to her. "Listen to me. No one is going to hurt you. You need to trust me. I need you to calm down so we can figure out what to do but I swear to you, no one will hurt you."
It took a few moments but she finally nodded and he released her arms, saying, "Trust me, sweetheart."
"I do but…I shouldn't have gotten you involved. I don't want anything to happen to you too," she sobbed. "And now your friends are at risk too. I royally fucked up."
"Believe it or not, we've been in worse situations," Eliot replied with a slight smile.
"That's what we do." Sophie chuckled.
Parker walked in the room. "It's not all we do." Eliot watched her warily. He was surprised when she crouched down and looked Katie in the face with a little smirk. "We also make people pay for fucking with us."
Katie looked at her for a long time before answering her. "You're kinda' creepy. You know that, right?"
"She's the best at what she does but it helps if you're on the same side." Eliot chuckled.
oOooOo
Parker and Sophie returned to the living room. Eliot held onto her tightly for a few moments.
"I'm sorry," Katie whispered.
"This isn't your fault."
Sitting up, she shrugged. "I know but, I'm sorry for lying. I really wish you and your friends hadn't gotten dragged into it."
"Hey, listen, we'll work it out."
"No, if I just go to the FBI, then no one has to get hurt," she explained.
Eliot looked like she had lost her mind. "No!"
"But it makes sense. If they're protecting me…"
"Do you know how many people die in the FBI's protection? Seriously, that would be the most dangerous for everyone. We can't protect you there."
"You'd be safe and so would your friends." Katie attempted to stand up, but he jerked her back down.
He was angry again and she flinched when he started yelling at her. "You're not going to do something that stupid. We already know about the mob. What's to stop them from trying to silence us after you're already with the FBI?"
Katie chewed on her lip. Her mind was racing and she wasn't sure what to do.
Eliot turned her to face him, cupping her chin. "Do you trust me? I mean, really trust me?"
Right now that was the only thing she was sure of and she nodded. He kissed her gently. "Then trust me to protect you and do what needs to be done to help my team."
oOooOo
"We have a problem," Sophie muttered to Nate under her breath, pulling him into the kitchen.
"Only one? You haven't been paying attention," Nate opened the fridge. "And Eliot has nothing except beer and some…weird looking green stuff."
"He's sleeping with her," she said shutting the kitchen door.
Nate closed the door. "It's very possible that it could end up happening."
"It's more than possible. It's happened. Pay attention, Nate. He's half-dressed, his bedroom is a wreck, and she's just got that look about her; that 'just rolled out of bed, hair all messed up' sex look." Sophie nodded. "I think it's going to end up being a major problem."
Nate was stunned that Eliot had time, considering all of their interruptions … he was injured ... hell, that was impressive.
"Are you actually admiring the fact that he managed to get her into bed so quickly?" Sophie exclaimed in frustration. "We're about to take on the mob and the FBI, Nate! And our hitter, the one that's supposed to be watching our backs, is going to be distracted by our client."
Nate was thoughtful. "He's a professional and it's not like he's a blushing virgin. He can handle it."
She was pinching the bridge of her nose which usually meant he'd said something really stupid.
"You're blind. And a fool. She's exactly the type of woman he can't handle!"
Nate decided shutting up might be in order so he tried to appear like he was thinking hard about what she said. In essence he was, because for the life of him, he couldn't understand why she thought this was going to be a problem.
"Eliot is a tough guy, we all know that. But he has a heart, a huge heart. She comes along and needs a hero, he's going to fill that role," Sophie explained slowly. "And then she falls in love. She's not like us, she's young and fragile."
"She also managed to con us all."
"No. She conned him because he wanted to believe in her. Can Eliot be her knight in shining armor and still be our black knight?"
Nate looked up to see Eliot standing in the doorway.
"I'll take care of her. You guys need to leave town until I get this resolved," Eliot stated flatly.
Sophie turned to Nate and said, simply, "Check."
oOooOo
"It makes the most sense for all of us to scatter," Eliot said, looking around at the team. Everyone now sat in the living room, talking about the best plan.
"Eliot, we've proven that we work together better as a team than five individuals. You know that," Sophie urged.
"No. I'm not going to put everyone in jeopardy. I just bust heads. You can find another hitter."
Parker shook her head. "Not one we trust."
"Besides, you need us to help you," Hardison pointed out.
Katie listened to them all begin to argue and felt even more guilty. Eliot finally got pissed and left the room, slamming the door to the bedroom. Nate looked at Sophie and said, "I can try to talk to him alone."
"I don't think he'll listen. He's too hardheaded and independent." She sighed. Then she turned to Katie. "But he might listen to you."
"Me? I don't think I can get him to change his mind when it's set. And besides you guys have history together that I don't even understand."
"Sophie's right. You have a longer history with him. He's trying to protect you and not thinking straight," Nate insisted. He leaned forward and added, "I won't pretend to know what you're feeling right now. But after all this time, I think I know how Eliot feels. He's doing this to protect everyone, but it's not going to work out that way. He needs us to protect him as well. One or the both of you will end up getting hurt. I'll be honest. If you end up hurt or killed, he'll be even more dangerous to everyone, especially himself."
They all looked at her expectantly. Taking a deep breath, she muttered, "If I don't come back, just…run for your lives."
Coming into the bedroom, she was surprised to find him going through her bags. So far he'd thrown practically everything out of her suitcase onto the bed. She watched him for a moment before speaking.
"If you wanted to search my shit, all you had to do with ask."
Eliot picked up a dress and shook it at her. "What's with this fancy crap? Did you bring anything sensible?"
"Umm…" She paused, unsure of what the hell he was talking about.
When he threw a pair of high heeled pumps down in disgust, he finally stopped and said, "Did you expect to go dancing or something while you were in town? Before or after we figured out how to keep you alive?"
"Oh wait. You're not criticizing my fashion sense, just my sense. I get it now." She nodded. "Sorry, all my 'running from the law' clothes were at the dry cleaners."
"Look, don't start mouthing off to me. I'm not in the mood," he warned, dumping more clothes onto the bed. He picked up her birth control and she noticed relief crossing his face before he started throwing more clothes around. "Shit. Women and their clothes."
"I'm not the one freaking out about my shoes," she pointed out. Finally, she walked over and grabbed her clothes out of his hands. "What the fuck is wrong with you? I brought what I had handy. I didn't plan to be running for my life. And I really don't think the mob is going to care what I'm wearing when they come to kill me."
"They're not going to get close enough. But shit like this," He held up a revealing designer dress. "isn't very inconspicuous."
"What about this?" She showed him a bikini.
Eliot glared at her and she almost smiled. "Cute."
"Okay, I'll make a deal with you. You can pack for me next time I go on the run if you'll calm down about it now. We have more important things to talk about."
"Cash? Seriously? You don't have any cash?"
"Oh, good lord, of course I have cash. It's in my purse." She sat down on the bed, shaking her head.
Suddenly, he appeared worried. "Did you bring a cell phone?"
"Of course."
"Fuck! Why don't you just print them out a map to your location? Heard of GPS and cell phone tracking?" Grabbing her purse, he dug around and found her phone. He walked over to the door and opening it up, tossed the phone to Hardison. "Do something about her phone."
"I'm sorry. I didn't think about the phone," she began.
"That's your problem, you don't think. For such a smart woman, you do some pretty dumb things, Kate." He opened his closet and grabbed some duffle bags off the shelf, then threw them on the bed. "Parker, come here."
When Parker came in, he pointed to the ceiling of the closet and she nodded. Katie watched curiously as Eliot lifted Parker up to move the ceiling tile. After the blonde went into the ceiling, she began tossing packs of money down to him.
"Okay Eliot. I'm going to ignore that last comment because I know you're pissed. And well, you're right. But this whole running around, bitching at me because of my wardrobe and shit has to stop. In the last minute you needed both Parker and Hardison's help, right?"
Eliot once again shot her a glare. "Do you have a point or are we just going to play twenty questions?"
"Fine. You want to play smartass with me, fine. I'll just pack up my unsuitable shoes and get my ass straight to the FBI."
"Stop acting like a spoiled brat. Don't think I won't turn you across my knee." He yelled, pointing the money at her.
"Seriously? Did you seriously just threaten to spank me? Umm…okay, dad," Katie retorted as she began throwing her stuff back into the suitcase. "You've lost your damn mind."
Parker came down out of the ceiling. After glancing between the two of them, she said, "Oh, how cute. Your first fight?"
"Hardly." The two of them said at the same time.
"Can I be honest with you?" Katie began and Eliot snorted.
"I don't know, can you?"
That did it! Grabbing one of her shoes, Katie flung it at his head. He ducked and Parker left the room, chuckling under her breath.
Picking up the shoe, he stormed over and slammed it down on the bed, then proceeded to push her down beside it. "Just sit here while I pack. Don't argue. Don't talk. Don't even think."
Her mouth fell open in stunned silence. He had lost his mind! Pushing him out of her way, she stormed out of the room. She saw the others and stopped short, then went into the kitchen instead.
"Kate, damnit," he yelled, stalking her into the kitchen. "I need to focus right now, not play games with you so just come back in there and be quiet."
"Why do you only call me Kate when you're pissed off at me? And if this is what you're going to be like the whole time we're on the run, you might want to sleep with one eye open. I'm seriously likely to smother you in your damn sleep." Katie stormed back out of the kitchen.
She overheard Hardison saying, "I like her."
"Fine, you take care of her then," Eliot shot back.
"I could, you know…"
"Fine by me."
Back in the bedroom, he resumed his attempt to pack. Katie was so furious with him she couldn't even think of what to say to him that didn't involve a long string of four letter words.
"Here, repack your stuff in this." He handed her a duffle bag. "If it doesn't fit in there, leave it behind."
Katie did as he asked. When she came to the envelope full of pictures, she felt a huge lump in her throat. She had boxes in storage that contained most of the stuff she had moved out of the house before it burned, but these pictures were the ones she kept with her throughout her years away from home. Forgetting about her anger, she took out the pictures.
She missed John. Her brother had been her best friend as well. When her parents died, he'd told her flat out he wouldn't try to fill his father's shoes with her. She'd always been daddy's little girl. Her mother wanted her to be more refined and ladylike, like she was but Katie had always been the one to tag along with the boys.
Always trying to prove she could do anything they could do, Katie had been somewhat of a daredevil. There wasn't anything she wouldn't try. But she knew in the back of her mind that if she got in over her head, John would be there to help her.
"Did John ever tell you about the time I wrecked the Harley?" she asked aloud.
"Said something about you and a few friends were drunk and made some bet you could race someone near Whitehills Estates the next night. Almost got yourself killed, right?" he replied, distractedly.
"Yeah. Really messed up the bike too. He had to practically rebuild it." Katie smiled. "You know that's why he gave you the bike right? He even put it in the will that I'd end up dead if he left it to me."
The pain in his eyes made her chest feel tight. She handed him a picture and he smiled. "He thought after you won that pageant thing that you'd changed your ways, finally become more of a lady."
"I was always a lady when I needed to be. My daddy didn't raise a fool, remember?" She grinned.
"I thought your mama was going to have a stroke when you showed up at the club that time in ripped jeans, dirty face, and straw in your hair. Your dad just laughed."
"I don't remember that." She laughed. "But I can imagine mama's face."
"You were probably only seven or eight at the time. John hadn't thought it was too important to get you cleaned up since you were going riding anyway. He never got the reason for the fancy riding get-ups." Eliot shrugged.
"Not after you ruined his prep-school boy image," she snorted. "According to daddy, John was a bit of a pansy until you came along. I think that's why daddy liked you so much."
Their eyes locked and held for a few moments before he turned away. She lay the pictures down on the bed and walked around to the other side, standing before him.
"You asked me to trust you and I do. I know I've done nothing to earn it, but I want you to trust me too." Placing her hands on his face, she watched his sad eyes turn serious. "We need to stay with your friends. I think you need them to help us"
"I've been taking care of myself for longer than you've been alive."
"I don't doubt your strength or skills."
"What do you doubt then?"
"Everything, but you. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me. Seriously, I couldn't survive it if I lost you too." Katie's eyes filled with tears. "If you want me to go with you, to put all my faith and my life in your hands, I need something from you. I need you to let your friends to watch your back."
"I can handle it…"
Katie put her fingers over his mouth. "I'm serious, Eliot. I cannot let you do this alone. Either we let them help us or I go to the FBI by myself. And if you try to stop me, I'll just run the minute you let down your guard."
Furious, Eliot shoved her away. He seriously looked like he wanted to hit something but she stood her ground, knowing he wouldn't hit her. She knew this was a low way to play it, but she had to do whatever it took to convince him. Losing him would kill her.
"So do I tell your friends to pack or do I walk out that door?"
"I think you better walk your ass into that living room until I calm down, Kate." He spoke slowly through clenched teeth and she knew how seriously he was restraining himself from exploding.
When she started to walk away, he warned her, "But if you take one step near that front door, don't think I won't stop you."
Katie didn't say a word and walked into the living room.