Page 37 of Fearless
Once the sun sets, Jessie and Elijah leave to go and get some sleep while Roger and I watchIt’s a Wonderful Lifeon the Hallmark Channel.Somewhere along the way, we both fall asleep on the couch. Again, I wake up to arms circling my waist and a soft snore in my ear. It’s a feeling that a girl could get used to, but my bladder is screaming at me to empty it.
As gently as I can, I move Roger’s hand so that it rests at his side, and I slip from his grasp. He shifts and rolls to his side. I can’t help but touch him, running a finger down the side of his cheek and admiring his sleeping form. I smile when he hums softly in contentment.
Letting him get a few more winks in, I head to the bathroom and freshen up. I must have been in there longer than I thought because when I return to the living room, Roger is in the small kitchen brewing a pot of coffee.
“Do you want to go to breakfast or order room service,” he asks, leaning casually against the counter with his ankles crossed.
“I’d love to go out for breakfast and get some fresh air, but do you think it’s safe enough to do so?”
“No, but I also can’t keep you cooped up inside just to appease my need to keep you from harm. Part of working for Shining Knight is protection, which means we often have to go out in public with our clients regardless of the threats against them. The same could apply here, but unlike most of our clients, you’re perfectly capable of handling yourself. Despite knowing that, it doesn’t stop me from wanting to cover you up in bubble wrap and hide you from the rest of the world,” he tells me.
I wrap my arms around his middle and rest my cheek on his chest. “You’re right. I am capable of handling myself, but it’s a nice feeling to know you have my back. I have yours, too. Why don’t we stay in all day and snuggle up on the sofa, and tomorrow we’ll venture outside.”
Roger kisses the top of my head and hugs me a bit tighter. “I want nothing more than to binge-watch movies with you and cozy up together, but I have to go to the coordinates that were sent to me, which happen to be two miles from shore.” He glances at his watch. “I have to leave in about two hours if I’m going to make it in time.”
I take a step back and glare at him. “I’m coming with you.”
“No. You can monitor with an earpiece, but you’ll remain here with Jessie and Elijah.”
“They aren’t going to let you go alone, and neither am I. I’ll rent another boat and follow you if I have to,” I say stubbornly.
Roger cups my cheek and touches his lips to mine with tender affection. “I need you to stay here, Harper. I need you to trust me to know what I’m doing.”
“What if they kill you?” I whisper.
“They won’t. I may have spent two decades with the FBIand have some decent skills, but I wasn’t prior military. I’m not a Navy Seal, Delta Force, Ranger, or any other type of secret squirrel operative like these guys. They could have killed me ten times over if they had wanted to.”
“I don’t like it,” I relent.
“Neither do I, but this might be the only opportunity to get some answers.” Roger kisses the side of my temple and goes over to the landline, effectively ending the conversation. Changing the subject, he asks, “What do you want for breakfast?”
“Surprise me,” I say and walk toward the closet with our equipment. I want to see what other goodies he has and if anything can be useful for his upcoming outing. The floorboard audibly squeaks under my foot, and I stare down at my feet in irritation. I rock back and forth and feel the wood bow slightly under my weight.Squeak. Squeak.
Bending down, I run my fingers over the plank embedded in the floor and notice that it’s loose. Using my fingernail, I wedge it underneath the edges, and it easily comes free. “Roger, this board isn’t tacked in properly. Can you call maint…Oh, wow!”
“Wow, what?” he asks, hanging up the phone and coming to squat down beside me.
“There’s something down there. Can you grab a flashlight?”
Roger removes his phone from the back pocket of his cargo shorts and turns on the flashlight application. Holding it over the hole, he peers inside. “It’s a crawlspace underneath. The base of the cabana breaks away in case of flooding, but there’s something down there.”
He reaches down, and his arm disappears, but when he pulls it back, he’s holding a shipping tube. He sets it down and thendoes another scan of the area underneath the floor to ensure that nothing else is hidden below.
I replace the panel as Roger pries open the plastic seal of the tube. When he shakes it, a tightly rolled set of papers slides out. “Is it a map to buried treasure?” I ask.
He removes the rubber band and unrolls the documents. “No, it’s a schematic for a nuclear bomb.”
Chapter twenty
Roger
My mind cannot comprehend what I’m seeing in front of me. Why would schematics for a nuclear bomb be stashed underneath the floor of the cabana? The only conclusion I can come to doesn’t bode well for my friends, and their innocence becomes a fleeting notion in the recesses of my mind. Robert and Eloise must have hidden this here before getting attacked and fleeing the area, but there’s no reason I can think of as to why they should have left the plans behind unless they’re directly involved.
Harper chokes back a sob as the evidence mounts against her parents. “Why would they have this?” she asks rhetorically.
“I don’t know, but there’s one way to find out,” I reply. I snap some pictures and then roll up the papers, stuffing them back in the tube. “I need to call Ethan and Ben and find out how they want to proceed. Harper, I need you to get ahold of Jessie and Elijah and have them meet here ASAP. Afterward, I’ll depart for the rendezvous point.”
Harper doesn’t hesitate despite her despair, and 15 minuteslater, there’s a knock at the door. I have the laptop cued up to connect with Ethan and Ben and wait for them to log on.
