And forcing them to yell at him wouldn’t? Sara thought wryly. “I said, I’m great, thanks!” she shouted into the phone.
“Don’t lie to me, princess. Your father told me you have a busted knee. But we’ll discuss your future another time. Your message said you needed my help.”
“I do. I mean, I do!” She remembered to speak louder.
She had to raise her voice and repeat herself until Uncle Jack heard her, but eventually, she’d explained Pirro’s situation and the sting idea she and Rafe had come up with as a solution.
Uncle Jack promised to have a DEA agent contact her as soon as possible, and in return she promised to visit him when she returned to the city so they could catch up.
She disconnected the call and returned to the two men in the family room.
“He’s on it,” Sara said to Rafe.
Coop stepped toward her. “Let me get this straight. Rafe’s uncle is being threatened by drug dealers, and you two plan to get a DEA agent in here to pretend to sell them drugs?” he asked excitedly as his reporter’s instincts took over and he smelled a big story.
He’d miss this when he retired. She hoped he could find another way to get the excitement and adrenaline rush when he left his job behind. Almost immediately, she realized she might as well be talking about herself.
She shivered and pushed the thought away. She had more important things to concentrate on now.
“That’s right,” Sara told Coop. “And as far as you’re concerned, it’s off the record,” she informed him, wagging her finger in front of his face for emphasis.
Coop folded his arms across his chest. “Come on, Sara. That’s a huge story you’re asking me to suppress. Give me some incentive beyond our friendship to keep quiet.”
Sara knew he was only partially kidding. The journalist who knew a good scoop when he heard one wanted in.
She glanced at Rafe, whose expression had darkened. He looked ready to strangle Sara’s best friend. She placed a calming hand on Rafe’s arm, silently asking him to relax. From the minute she’d had to start yelling in order for her uncle to hear, she’d known she would be letting Coop in on what was going down. But Sara would trust Coop with her life. Or in this case, Rafe’s uncle’s life.
She felt certain the feds would give Pirro immunity in exchange for his help capturing the higher-ups in a New York City drug ring, but they hadn’t even met with the DEA yet. There were no guarantees. And Rafe didn’t want his uncle’s dealing in drugs exposed to the world.
She pivoted and faced Coop. “When the sting is over, we’ll give you an exclusive. You’ll be the first to run the story that includes interviews with all parties, and you’ll see that Pirro is just a man who tried to help out his friends and ended up caught in an impossible situation.”
Coop narrowed his gaze. “I tell the truth in my reporting,” he warned Sara.
“I knew this was a bad idea as soon as you said it,” Rafe muttered.
Sara shook her head. “No, it’s fine. Because when Pirro tells his story to Coop, he’ll get that truth.”
“I still don’t know about this,” Rafe said, his defenses understandably high.
“Well, I do.”
Rafe didn’t know Coop as well as she did. “Trust me, this is a win-win situation for all of us. Coop gets the exclusive and puts out the information by which all other reporters will get their content. It will work in Pirro’s favor, I promise.”
Rafe turned toward Coop. “If you meet Pirro and agree with how naive he really is, do you promise not to portray him as some upstate drug dealer with no conscience? I admit I’m biased, but I’m also a cop, and the man was supplying Viagra to his friends so they could enjoy their…uh…l-love lives,” Rafe stammered, searching a tasteful way to explain.
Sara willed Coop to agree. “Well?”
He strode over to Rafe. “Deal,” he said, extending his hand.
Rafe’s gaze darted from Coop to Sara, and though she knew Rafe was wary, he finally inclined his head and grasped Coop’s hand. “Deal.”
A wary truce had been declared.
By giving Coop a dream story, Sara had gotten them a modicum of control over how Pirro was portrayed in the news. Something they’d lose if another paper reported the story first. And she knew as well as Rafe did that a drug bust like this would be big news.
Now all that remained was for them to meet the DEA agent sent by her uncle Jack and hope all went as smoothly with the government agent.
It would also help their cause if Pirro proved capable of handling an undercover sting operation without panicking, or they were all in deep trouble.
RAFE DROVE TO ANGEL’S. He didn’t know much about the man in the backseat except that Sam Cooper was involved with a woman Sara liked a lot, and that Sara trusted him implicitly.
Sara didn’t extend her faith in people easily, so if she believed in him, Rafe would do his best to do the same. He had no choice. His uncle’s future—his entire family’s future—was at stake.
“So, Coop, where are you staying?”
“I was hoping to get a room at Angel’s.”
Sara turned and faced Coop in the back. “Those rooms will be occupied by Amanda Stevens and her photographer. But if you could get a room at the Hilton where Biff and Todd are staying, maybe you could keep a subtle eye on them?”
“Works for me.” Coop pulled out his phone, called information and was soon confirming a reservation with the concierge at the hotel. “All set,” Coop said as he disconnected the call.
Rafe nodded. “Good. After we’re finished at Angel’s, I’ll take you back to my place for your car and you can follow me to the hotel.”
“Thanks,” Coop said.
“This is it.” Rafe parked on the street in front of the bed-and-breakfast and they all climbed out.
Nick’s car was in the driveway.
They reached the front door, which as usual during the day was unlocked. Rafe rang the bell and let them all inside. He was about to call for Angel when he heard arguing in the kitchen.
He met Sara’s concerned gaze. “You and Coop stay here. I’ll let them know we have company.”
Rafe headed for the kitchen and entered without knocking first. “Hey, are you two looking to scare away guests?”
Angel turned his way, hands perched on her hips, fire in her dark eyes. “Would you please tell your brother that he no longer needs to stay here? Biff and Todd have moved into a hotel, and the only guests here will be from the newspaper in New York. Not someone who was here during the festival. I’m perfectly safe.”