The Ideal Man

THIRTY – FOUR

Max and Ellie spent the night in a hotel close to the airport. They didn’t check into their room until late that evening because of all the commotion at the hospital. Hershey and Clark had insisted on watching the surveillance tape. Then there were hours of questions, and papers to be filled out, and by the time Max and Ellie got back on the road, it was too late to catch their scheduled flight. At the hotel, Ellie showered and fell into the king-size bed exhausted.

Max was on the phone with Ben until after midnight. They were brainstorming, wanting to make certain they had a concrete plan in place to take down the Landrys. They couldn’t afford any screwups or leaks. When he finally got into bed, Max’s mind was racing, yet, once he took Ellie into his arms, he relaxed and fell into a deep sleep. Sometime during the night Ellie woke up and reached for Max. They made love and fell back asleep with their legs entwined.

They were able to get an early flight back to St. Louis. Clark’s office had arranged the tickets and had notified the carrier that an FBI agent with a loaded weapon would be going through security. Max carried the necessary papers and badge with him.

Clark reported that Agent Hershey had a bad headache, but other than that, he was good to go. He and Clark were responsible for keeping Willis Cogburn alive and calm until the deal was done. Once his anesthetic had worn off, Cogburn had given them the time and place for what Hershey was calling the deal of the century. Since the Landrys had been in such a hurry to sneak back to Hawaii, everyone had bet that Honolulu was where the meeting would take place, and they were right. The Landrys were going to meet with the gun smugglers in a warehouse smack in the middle of the city.

Max barely said a word to Ellie the entire morning. She knew he was still upset about what she’d done in the hospital, but she wasn’t in the mood to placate him.

Both of them remained quiet on the ride to the airport, but once they had boarded the plane and had fastened their seat belts, Max decided to let her have it. He closed his eyes for a minute to gather his thoughts, and then in a low voice said, “It’s my job to protect you, not the other way around. Do you realize what could have happened in that hallway? If I had been two seconds late, you’d be dead. Patterson would have killed you. What if I had decided to go up the north staircase? I would have been too damn late, wouldn’t I? And I would have found you on the floor, bleeding out. Son of a bitch, Ellie, you scared the hell out of me.” He finally turned to look at her to see her reaction. Then he shook his head and whispered, “Son of a bitch.”

Her deep breathing and closed eyes said it all. She hadn’t heard a word.