Noah and Sami met 23 days ago.

ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

Sami petted her dog. "I wipe his mouth after he eats for the same reason." She turned toward the kitchen. "I have coffee and brownies. I'll set them on the table."

Galvin walked toward the door. "I left my phone in the car."

Jose reached for the handle. "I'll open it. Thumb prints unlock it."

As Galvin walked through, he said, "Leave it cracked. I'll close it when I return."


TODAY'S POST:

Chapter 19 B

While Galvin went outside to retrieve his phone, the team checked the security tapes on the computer in the computer room.

When they heard a scream and a thud, they rushed into the kitchen with guns drawn.

On the floor, lay a male intruder. His gun laid out of his reach. Sami stood over him and held a large iron skillet, ready to strike again.

Galvin watched as Jose and Bob arrested the intruder.

When the veins in Noah's neck swelled, Sarah took Sami into the computer room.

Noah addressed Galvin, "You told my agents to leave the door cracked. They trusted that a man in your position would've kept an eye on the door."

Galvin started to speak, but Noah's voice progressively got louder. "Your incompetence allowed an armed, dangerous, illegal alien inside and threatened the safety of Ms. Martinez and my team."

By now, Noah yelled, "I'm taking this situation higher."

Galvin walked out the front door, but over his shoulder said, "I'll give you a chance to cool down."

As Noah slammed the door behind Galvin, Bob and Jose approached him. Jose said, "Boss, we're wondering why Jasper didn't protect Sami. We think Jasper escaped."

*****
Jose, Bob, and Noah wore Kevlar vests and armed went out the front door, as Noah said, "Sarah, take care of things in here."

She touched her shoulder holster. "Roger that, Boss."

He nodded acknowledgment and closed the door.

The three men went separate directions but remained a reasonable distance to ensure each other's safety.

It wasn't long before Bob signaled that he had eyes on Jasper. The other two men joined him. The large dog had cornered another illegal alien. The man faced the garage door, and Jasper stood at his back, growling.

Jose checked for weapons, confiscated them, put cuffs on the prisoner as Noah called off Jasper and phoned for an additional prisoner to pick up.

Noah hung up and then roughed up the dog's ears. "Buddy, I could get used to having you around. You silently know how to get the job done. You could teach some agents a few things."

Jose chuckled. "Hey Bob, Boss is ready to trade us in on a dog."

Noah shook his head. "I wasn't referring to my immediate team. You can guess who I'm thinking about."

Bob grinned. "Sure can, Boss."

Once the prisoner was escorted away, the three went inside.

*****
Sami met them at the door and knelt to hug her dog. "How'd Jasper get out?"

Noah went into the computer room. "I'm making a call."

"It seems when Galvin left the door open," Jose petted Jasper, "he walked out." After he exhaled, he continued, "We got to wondering why he didn't come to your aid and realized what must've happened. He caught another trespasser."

"Good for him." Sami turned and stared at Bob and Sarah's bedroom door as she heard Noah yell.

Sarah touched her arm. "Let's go into the kitchen. It might be quieter."

Noah's voice was still heard, "What were you thinking? You left the door open. The dog left. An armed alien walked in and threatened Ms. Martinez. I can't believe you're that incompetent."

After a silence, Noah said, "When I return, I'm putting in a formal complaint. This incident should never have happened."

The phone call ended, and Noah went to the kitchen. "I need coffee."

Sami filled a cup and offered it to him. "I'm sorry about Jasper's medicine. How much trouble did I cause?"

As the words, "I doubt it'd be possible to have caused any more," left Noah's mouth, Sami hurried to her room.

Sarah frowned at Noah. "You need to...."

Interrupted by Noah's set jaw and glare she quieted and left the kitchen.

*****
When the team settled around the table for lunch, Sarah walked into the kitchen, and then returned to the table. "Sami started lunch, but it's not finished."

Noah exhaled. "Sarah, would you take care of it?" He glanced at Jose and Bob. "Would you guys make sure dinner's available?"

Jose glanced toward Sami's closed door. "On it, Boss."

*****
Bob and Jose set dinner on the table, as Noah and Sarah sat. Noah studied Sami's door.

Bob released a deep breath. "Boss, it's none of my business but maybe you should make the first move and invite Sami to join us. She can't stay angry forever."

Sarah took a drink of water. "She's not angry. She's hurt."

Sarah's right. I saw the hurt in Sami's eyes as soon as the words left my mouth. Noah went over and knocked on Sami's door. "Sami, join us for dinner."

Sami cracked open the door. "Thank you. I'm not hungry." She shut the door.

"You don't have to eat, but at least join us. You're missed."

Opening the door enough to peek through she said, "I doubt that. I might cause trouble."

He slid his foot in so she couldn't close it and offered his hand. "Why don't we go to the porch and talk? I need the opportunity to apologize."

She stared at his hand. "If we go to the porch, you'll miss dinner."

"Apologizing to you is more important than eating."

Her eyes met his. "Really?"

Noah nodded. "Yes."

Sami took his hand. "Okay."

Holding hands, they walked toward the door. Noah paused at the computer room. "Just a minute." He put on his shoulder holster. "In case there are any remaining trespassers." He glanced at the other agents.

Jose lifted the iPad and nodded.

*****
On the porch, Noah pointed to one of the chairs. "Please have a seat. This may take a while."

"I can't believe you have that much to say."

"You're probably right."

They sat in silence. Finally, Noah said, "I'm sorry for my comment. There's no excuse for speaking to you like that. I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth. I could tell from your eyes I'd hurt you."

Sami glanced at him and then avoided eye contact.

"I let my temper control the situation. That was wrong."

Exhaling, Sami asked, "Why'd it happen?"

"Galvin knew better than to leave a door unsecured."

"Why'd Mr. Baldwin risk that?"

"I asked but never received an answer." Noah hesitated. "I was angry with Galvin. After talking, well yelling at him, you were the next person I saw, and I continued my rant."

After a long pause, Noah continued, "To be honest. I'm most angry with myself. I never should've left your side. I concentrated on work and forgot my main mission, keeping you safe. More importantly, I care about you and allowed work to take over. I'm sorry." His hand moved closer to hers. "I won't let it happen again. I hope you'll forgive me."

Swallowing, Sami touched his hand.

His eyes met hers as he took her hand. "Sami?" He brought it to his lips and gently kissed it.

As tears crept down Sami's cheeks, Noah exhaled. "Please don't cry." After a moment, he asked, "What do your tears mean?"

Sami dried her cheeks with the back of her hand. "They mean I need you to hold me but know you can't."

Noah stood, helped Sami stand, and drew her into a hug. "Circumstances call for a hug," he kissed her, "and a kiss."

Soon another kiss lingered.

After the third kiss ended, Noah asked. "Does this mean you've forgiven me?"

Sami kissed Noah. "It does."

~~~~~
CHARACTERS:

Sami Martinez - Twenty-five-year-old high school teacher, who's working to find a kidnapped teenage girl.

Noah Taylor. - Homeland Security team leader, who works in the Human Trafficking department. Alias - Trey Morgan

Jose, Bob, & Sarah - Agents who work under Noah. Bob and Sarah are married.

Laura Martinez - Sami's mom.

Jasper - Sami's Great Dane, a large breed dog.

Myra Rodriguez - Kidnapped teenage girl whom Sami was close to.

Julia - Teenage girl, who was friends with Myra and Sami works with.

Big T - Neighborhood pimp; not a friendly person

Numerous Team Members - They will show up periodically but not really important to the story, except they're there.

Chen - Charles Henry Edward Nichols - Human trafficker and into some really bad stuff.

Chief Galvin Baldwin - Noah's supervisor.

Ryan Brown - All around jerk. He thinks highly of himself.

Marc - Sami's old boyfriend.

Mateo Enrique Aguilar de Pereira - a very close friend of Sami's; a rich playboy

Juan Pablo Enrique Aguilar de Pereira - Mateo's father