Page 49 of Fearless
His face becomes tight, and his smile falters. “I really don’t want to let you go, Angel.”
I raise up on my tip toes and place my lips next to his ear. “Then don’t.”
Roger’s mouth finds mine, and he gives me one last kiss. Instead of feeling full of promise, it feels more like a goodbye.
There’s a hesitant knock on the bedroom door. Elijah says, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Harper’s ride is coming up the walkway.”
“Thank you for letting us know,” I choke out. It pains me to walk away from Roger, especially with the longing I see in the depths of his eyes.
He reaches out to stop me. “You don’t have to do this, Angel. You can give up your gun and badge, but you don’t have to go with them. They don’t have any evidence against you or any reason to detain you.”
I give him a feeble smile. “It’s just a few questions. I’ll be in and out in a jiffy. Trust that God has a plan, and this is all part of it.” Of course, “jiffy” in the FBI means 48-72 hours.
He lets go of me and steps back. “I trust Him in all things, but He also gives us free will. You have a choice here. I just want you to be sure it’s the right one.”
“It is. Deep down in my bones, I feel that I need to go; that it’s the right thing to do.” As I head to the bathroom to freshen up, I turn around and say, “It’s not like I’m going away for forever.”
Right before I close the door, I hear him mutter, “But that’s what I’m afraid of.”
Chapter twenty-six
Roger
Elijah hands me a cup of black coffee as soon as I come out of the bedroom while Jessie is sipping from her mug, snake-eyeing the two agents standing at attention by the front door. Her upper lip curls in disgust. “You should be out investigating the real threat, not one of your own,” she tells them.
The man on the left, with dark hair and a square jawline, ignores her and dips his chin once in my direction. “Agent Cavenaugh. I’m Agent Jones,” he says, then gestures to his partner with sandy-blonde hair and a narrow face. “This is Agent Smith.”
Jessie laughs bitterly. “Of course you are! How original.” She tilts her head and gives them a once-over. “Why are the two of you on babysitting duty instead of questioning Thomas Hogan? He’s the owner of the resort and the reason why you almost lost a few agents last night. He’s the one who was used to set the trap. We would do it for you, but your boss has kindly asked us to step away.”
I narrow my gaze at Jessie and give her a subtle shake of myhead. I mouth,“Cut it out,”and wait for the inevitable eye roll that will come before she relents. She doesn’t disappoint.
Agent Jones glares at her. “We would if Thomas Hogan hadn’t been found dead in his suite a few hours ago. Might I ask where you were between one and three this morning?”
“We were right here and have our camera recordings to prove it,” I tell him before Jessie can get a word in edgewise. She doesn’t take kindly to being accused of murder, even if Agent Jones was simply trying to get a reaction out of her. “How was Thomas Hogan killed?”
Agent Smith steps forward. “That’s need-to-know information, and you no longer need to know. We’ll be taking those recordings along with any other evidence you’ve collected.”
I laugh outright. “Get a warrant. The moment we were no longer allowed to investigate, our cooperation with the FBI ended. We’ve already shared any relevant information. Anything else is just an invasion of privacy.”
Agent Jones puffs up his chest. “We could take you in for questioning and make your life very difficult. You are a person of interest, Agent Cavenaugh. It would be well within our rights.”
“You can drop the ‘Agent’ from my name as it no longer applies to me. Since I am technically a civilian now, you need a warrant for my arrest or my consent to questioning; neither of which you have. Before you say anything else that could be considered a threat, I should also caution you that everything is being recorded and sent to our headquarters.”
Both agents stiffen, but neither continue their diatribe.
Harper walks out of the room in a fresh change of clothes, and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Without being asked,she sets her gun and badge on the counter, which Agent Smith takes and places in a small handheld case. “Let’s get this over with,” she says.
I place my arm in front of her to block Harper from leaving. My eyes remain focused on the pair of agents. “Agent Finnegan will join you on the front porch in one minute.”
“Why, so you can get your stories straight?” Agent Smith asks. “I don’t think so.”
The agents can wait whether they want to or not. I pull Harper back into the bedroom and close the door, giving her one last kiss without an audience. I touch the tips of her ears with my fingertips and rub my thumb gently over the diamond studs. Then I trace my finger down her collarbone and gently lift the necklace. I murmur in her ear, “Remember that I’m always a tap away.”
The door flies open, and Agent Jones barges in. “Time to go. No more stalling!”
Harper turns and throws her shoulders back, glaring at Jones as she breezes past him. “I’m not the enemy, so please stop treating me as one.”
Agent Jones sneers at Harper. “But youarethe daughter of one.”
