Page 12 of Fearless
I’m having trouble wrapping my mind around the lies and deception that have been going on in my entire life. “Why didn’t they tell me?”
“I know they had planned to at one point, and honestly, I thought they had. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have mentioned it,” Roger says, chagrined. “At this point, all I can give you is my best guess as to why they changed their minds.”
I let go of Roger’s hand and walk over to the small refrigerator to grab two bottles of water. I toss one to Roger. “You’re as close to being family as anyone can get without being blood related. Your best guess is almost as good as fact, as far as I’m concerned.”
Roger twists the lid off the bottle and chugs, quenching his parched throat. It’s either that, or he’s taking some time to formulate the words to drop yet another bomb on me. “Your decision to join the FBI could have been the reason for their change of heart. As an agent, you run the risk of being captured and interrogated for information. You can’t share what you don’t know.”
I laugh mirthlessly. “So, they lied to me for my own protection. How sweet.”
“Harper, omission is not always lying, and that omission was as much for your protection as your mother’s. Your father is an important man, and as such, both you and your mother can be used as leverage. If anyone were to know that your mother is a well-trained agent in her own right, how much more of a target would that make her, and what kind of treatment do you think she would receive?”
Before I can answer, there’s another knock at the door. Instead of a few quick raps, it’s to the rhythm of “A Shave and a Haircut.”
“Hellooo! It’s your most favorite people in the world!” Jessie shouts from the other side of the door. “Are you two decent?”
Roger sighs and lets the happy couple inside. Carter and Leanna should also be joining us shortly.
Elijah follows Jessie, and they both assess our accommodations. Jessie spins with her arms outstretched, “Wow, this place is much bigger than our one-bedroom suite. Nicer too. We aren’t in a private cabana, but we do have a large balcony that has an ocean view—room 1212.” She playfully scowls at Elijah and asks, “How come we didn’t get a kitchen?”
Elijah wraps his arms around Jessie and rests his chin on her head. “Because they know you can’t cook or reach the cabinets without a step stool,” he teases. “Besides, this place is all-inclusive, and we’re expected to eat in their fine dining establishments.”
At the mention of food, my stomach rumbles loudly enough for everyone to hear. Jessie, of course, doesn’t let the noise go without a comment from the peanut gallery and points at Roger, “You’ve been married less than 24 hours, and you’re already neglecting your husbandly duties. You need to feed your woman so that she has plenty of energy to…”
“You can stop right there,” Roger interrupts, derailing Jessie’s train of thought before it arrives at its final destination.
“…explore the resort and all its wonderful amenities,” Jessie finishes. “I see where your mind went, Roger. How shameful!” she jokes.
Elijah changes the subject. “On our way here, we saw Carter and Leanna checking in at the front desk. I’ll send them a text to meet us at the restaurant once their luggage is delivered.”
“Why can’t they just meet us here?” I ask. “It’s a nice, private place to talk.”
Elijah chuckles. “Jessie’s comment to Roger about ‘feeding his woman’ wasn’t entirely meant for him. I also got the hint that my little spitfire is teetering on the edge of becoming ‘hangry.’ Under normal circumstances, I can take Jessie and hold my own. But if I stand in the way of her and a meal, it’s a fight to the death,” he says playfully.
Roger bobs his head and grabs his bag. “It’s not pretty. Let me get a few micro cameras set up, and then we can go.” He pulls out a small case from his bag and begins sticking the devices to paintings and other objects around the suite.
I squint my eyes, barely able to make out the tiny piece of surveillance equipment. “Do you just peel and stick those? They’re so tiny?”
Jessie retrieves Roger’s laptop and starts the booting process. “Pretty cool, huh? Once we remote-activate them, they’ll begin recording and uploading to our server at HQ. Even in the event of a power loss, we’ll still have eyes and ears.”
Roger emerges from the bedroom, and my eyes widen in alarm. “Roger, please tell me that you didn’t put cameras in the bedroom or bathroom!”
He stops in his tracks and glances toward the room. “I didn’t put any in the bathroom, but why wouldn’t I put any in the bedroom? There’s a window in there where someone could break in, and I want to ensure that it’s covered.”
“Then put the cameras on the outside of the cabana! I’m not going to change clothes or sleep where people are watching me!”
“You can change clothes in the bathroom, Harper,” Roger says calmly. “The camera in the bedroom isn’t pointed at the bed; it’s on the side of the dresser, aimed directly at the window. No one will be watching you as you sleep. They might hear you if you snore, but…”
“Women don’t snore, Roger. We purr,” Jessie interjects.
Elijah snickers. “That’s true. Jessie purrs like a freight train.” Jessie smacks her husband’s abs with the back of her hand but doesn’t argue with him.
“Roger, I know you are new to this whole marriage thing, but there are certain rooms that are off-limits—Harper’s right. The cameras should be outside to cover the window,” Jessie says in my defense. I give her a grateful nod. So far, it seems like all I’ve been doing is whining, which isn’t like me at all.
Roger throws his hands up in surrender. “Fine. I’ll leave it up for now and fix it once we return from dinner.”
“Thank you,” I say, wrapping my arms around his waist and hugging him. “I know I’ve been high maintenance and not the easiest person to work with so far.”
Roger embraces me back, his chest shaking lightly from laughter. “Admitting it is half the battle.”
