Page 62 of The Angel and the Agent

She had a tiny mole on the right side of her forehead. He noticed it for the first time a couple of days ago, along with a small birthmark on her right shoulder. He had never been with a woman long enough to notice details like that before. In the past he’d imagined making those types of intimate discoveries might make him feel panicked or trapped. Instead he was surprised to find it gave him a little thrill, as if he’d stumbled upon a hidden secret only he knew. It satisfied some primal urge within him, of both possession and belonging.

“You’re staring at my forehead so hard I feel like you’re trying to hypnotize me. If I start clucking like a chicken whenever anyone says the word ‘tortilla,’ I will not be pleased.”

“You have a cute little mole right there.” He pressed his finger to her mole.

“Okay,” she said, her tone uncomprehending.

“We should probably make some calls,” he said.

“About my mole? Because I’ve had it forever, so please believe me when I tell you no one’s interested.”

“I need to check in with work, and you need to check in with probably everyone you’ve ever known who is worried about you,” he clarified.

“Oh, right. That.” How could she have forgotten her family? They must be panicked by now.

Ethan went first. His conversation was odd and cryptic, a series of statements she guessed to be some kind of code. Whenhe was finished, he dialed for her because she had never made an overseas call before. Her mother picked up on the second ring.

“Hi, honey. How’s your trip?”

She frowned at Ethan in confusion, but as he couldn’t hear her mother’s side of the conversation, he had no idea why. “Good,” Amelia drawled.

“We couldn’t believe it when Maggie told us you were jaunting off to Africa, spur of the moment. I guess her love of travel is starting to rub off on you.”

“Yeah,” Amelia said. Maggie hadn’t told her parents she’d been kidnapped? She wondered why.

“You sound tired, sweetie. Are you getting enough rest?”

Amelia glanced at Ethan. The last couple of nights had been sleepless, but she wasn’t complaining. “There’s a big time difference here.”

“Which country are you in? If Maggie told me, I don’t remember.”

“Cameroon,” Amelia replied. “They speak French here.”

“Oh, that explains a lot. I’ll have to tell Darren you’re getting some use out of that minor,” her mother said, laughing.

“How’s Johnny?” Amelia asked.

“He’s doing really well. Cam put a bug in his ear about trying the Special Olympics this year, so we’re looking into which category best suits him. So far we haven’t found one for enthusiastic high fiving,” her mother said.

Amelia smiled. “Mom, it’s really great to talk to you, but I have to go.”

“Sure, honey. Thanks for calling. Maggie warned us we probably wouldn’t hear from you until you got back, so this is a nice surprise. Enjoy the rest of your trip.”

Amelia’s gaze landed on Ethan again. “I definitely will. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” They disconnected.

“All right?” Ethan asked.

“She didn’t know anything was wrong,” Amelia said.

“Is anything wrong?” he probed.

“No.”

“Well, there you go. Ready to talk to Maggie?”

“Ready,” Amelia said. He dialed for her again, and Maggie answered after one ring.

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