"I...have a...soul." He tried to touch something only he could see, then his hand fell back to his side. Awareness faded from his eyes.

Men and woman in black swarmed into the room like flies. Bryn approached Dewey.

"Where's your weapon?"

"What?"

She unlocked one set of cuffs, so he could lower his arms, but not the other set securing him. Smart lady. "Your gun. You had a gun."

"Oh. That." He looked around. "It's there. On the floor by that plant."

An agent closer to it picked it up and handed it to Bryn. She hefted it, examined it, then looked at Dewey. "A water gun? You took on these guys with a water gun?"

His grin came slow, a little ragged around the edges. "I'm not into violence. Besides, a gun can add a nickel or more to your time in stir."

Tension rushed out of Phoebe, replaced by giggles bubbling up from inside. They were alive. It was over. Jake crouched in front of her, launching a different kind of tension.

"You took your sweet time getting here," she said.

Jake's chest heaved with the breath he was still trying to catch. They'd been at the warehouse when the call came. Bryn and Alice had been subduing Lily, a sight he wouldn't soon forget, mostly because he'd never seen breasts that large. It had been an education to see the two women take down and cuff the wildly squirming, completely naked woman. The funny part, though large breasted, she was otherwise small and wiry. He could still hear the shock in Sebastian's voice when the security monitors from TelTech suddenly overrode his game, could still hear his play-by-play of the action coming at him through his earpiece as they rushed across the city.

"Some things-" His breathing was starting to slow, but looking at her his heart but looking at her sent his heart into overdrive. "-Take a little longer than others. How the hell did you manage to stay alive?" When he'd seen her shoes lying on that tray next to a row of scalpels-

"Magic." She grinned. It was crooked and slightly puffy, but most definitely a grin.

Chapter 21.

"I don't think Phagan's Fibbie trusts us," Phoebe said, holding an ice pack to her sore mouth. She had good reason for her belief. Before bustling off to manage the crime scene, Bryn had attached them to the van like a couple of lost dogs on a short leash. To add insult to injury, the handcuffs, which looked suspiciously like some she'd seen in Harding's creep show, were of the bondage variety with long thin chains between the steel bracelets. Bryn also didn't appear to trust the hordes of armed police milling around. Or she was seriously over estimating Phoebe and Dewey. Phoebe rattled the chain looped through the door handle. "Does she think we're a couple of Houdinis? I really don't know what Phagan sees in her."

Not that Phoebe had spent any time looking at Bryn. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off Jake. It was interesting to see him in this light, even if it was waning with the day. Black was definitely his color, she decided with a sigh, right up there with tight jeans, tees and soft flannel. The Fibbie didn't realize Phoebe didn't want to run away. Life was going to separate her from Jake soon enough. Jake would go back to catching bad guys, and Phoebe would go to jail without passing Go or collecting any money. Probably minus the harmonica, too.

"She's not so bad," Dewey said, interrupting her descent into the angst zone. "Not her fault she has to do her job."

Something in his voice, an odd note of defensiveness, distracted her attention from Jake. She looked at him and found him gazing at Bryn in a decidedly wistful way. A decidedly lustful way. Surely he didn't have the hots for her, too...

It was as if someone took the blinders off her brain and let her see the years, not the way Phagan had wanted her to see it, but the way they were. Phagan was Dewey. Or Dewey was Phagan.

Her first reaction was to be pissed. Didn't he trust her? She ought to kick his ass, except it looked like Bryn was going to do it for her. Anger faded. They were both going to be thoroughly punished by the Feds for their sins. They didn't need to punish each other. Not that she was going to pass up the opportunity to yank his chain a bit.

"I guess she's not so bad."

Dewey twitched, then looked at her, wariness replacing sick-puppy in his eyes. "Phagan seems to think so." He shuffled his feet like a small boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"To each his own." Phoebe gave him a bland smile, but it didn't last. It seemed neither one of them was going to get what they wanted. "Sorry about all this. Not my best plan."

With a jangle of chains, Dewey crossed his arms and leaned against the side of the van. "I figure the worst we'll get is a couple million hours of community service."

"In what reality?" She frowned. "You weren't planning to put Phagan on the table to save my ass, were you? Because I won't let you."

"Oh, ye of little faith." His chains rattled as he adjusted his tie. "Here they come. Let me do the talking."

"Dewey..."

"Trust me." His eyes reminded her they'd done this same scene all those years ago. "Full circle, girl. Let me close the last, little bit."

"Dewey, I can't-"

"Just...trust me. I promise, it will be all right. For you. For Kerry Anne. Even for me. Promise you'll let me handle this?"

The last thing she meant to do was nod, but she did. She'd been giving in to Dewey for a long time. She was going to stop now?

Long gold rays from the setting sun stretched across the parking lot to light Jake and Bryn's way toward Phoebe and Dewey Hyatt. It wasn't over, Jake knew, not by a long shot. Phoebe was up to her beautiful eyes in deep shit, and as far as he could tell, the only way out was over Phagan's hide'something she'd already made very clear wouldn't happen.

The light was wrong to see their faces, but their body language was serious. When Hyatt put his arm around Phoebe, Jake's gut clenched. What if he had imagined the attraction? Or she'd been playing him for a fool? What if-

Jake stepped into partial shadow and saw Phoebe's eyes. He felt her gaze pierce his soul and he knew she hadn't been playing him-but she hadn't any more hope of a happy ending than he did.

Bryn halted in front of them, her hands on her hips. "Are you ready to play -Let's-Make-A-Deal', kids?"

Dewey could have been uncomfortable. Bryn sat on one side of him. Jake Kirby was on the other. They were both looking at him as if they thought they could cut their way into his head just by staring. He could have been freaked by it, but truth was, he was happy to have Bryn looking at him, happy to be in the same room with her under any circumstances.

She looked damn cute in her little black jump suit. He'd follow her to hell and back, and not just because she had a great ass. Too bad she wanted to kick his to hell and leave him there. After he gave her Phagan.

It was an interesting problem. He could easily give her Phagan, and he'd do it in a heartbeat if he thought it would get him what he wanted. Dewey Hyatt had room to negotiate. Phagan-well she'd put him in a box and throw the key into the middle of the ocean. Then do the dance of joy.

It might, he admitted, have been a bad idea to kick her anthill so repeatedly. She was at full swarm right now. Cute, but definitely ready to bite.

He saw her and Kirby look at each other. Saw her give him a slight nod. So Kirby was taking the lead. That was probably good. Bryn had a hasty temper. The marshal seemed able to keep his cool-when Phoebe wasn't around.

The marshal looked at him, his gaze almost penetrating enough to make him squirm.

"You're in serious need of a deal, Hyatt," he said. "Problem is, you've only got one thing we want."

"Phagan," Bryn said, an odd note to her voice Dewey hadn't heard before.

"You don't want RABBIT?" He feigned surprise.

"We know it's crap. Phoebe told me," Jake said.

"Well, it was crap when we took it," Dewey admitted. "A serious setback at first. But you can't keep a good thief down." He gave Bryn a cheeky grin and watched color run up her face.

"Are you saying..." Jake pulled his attention away from Bryn.

With a sigh, Dewey let him.

"I got it working?" Dewey leaned back in his chair. "Yes, sir. And I figure, if you won't deal, the military will. It's a truly sweet little item."