Page 23 of Fearless
Harper chews on her lower lip as she stares longingly at the tiny ice cream stand. It’s the same look she had when she eyed my lunch. “Maybe another time. Dinner is only a few hours away, and I don’t want to ruin my appetite.”
It’s an excuse, and I know it. She wants a scoop of the sweet treat, but for some reason, she won’t allow herself to indulge. “Harper, why do you deprive yourself? You ordered a salad for lunch when you wanted something else. You’re denying a small scoop of ice cream when it’s evident that you really want one.”
“It’s called ‘restraint,’ Roger,” she says almost harshly. “You’ve called me ‘beautiful’ on several occasions, but would you really think that if I had an extra 20 pounds on my hips?”
“Yes, I would. Harper, you’re beautiful because you radiate when you smile and because of what is in your heart. It shines through in everything you do. A small indulgence here and there will not change that. And trust me, Harper, I know a thing or two about restraint.”
She scoffs and waves her hand up and down my body. “You can eat whatever you want and burn the calories like a prairie fire on a hot summer day, so what could you possibly know about restraint?”
Now, it’s my turn to scoff. I step close to her so that our bodies are almost touching and cup her cheek. “Restraint isn’t just about food, Harper. It’s about keeping oneself in check when it comes to one’s desires. Like right now, I really want to kiss you and not the simple peck on the lips we agreed upon. I could turn my back and ignore the yearning, which is what I should do. I could give into my whims and devour you, which wouldn’t be appropriate either.” With a husky tone, I lower my voice and add, “Or, I can seek your permission for just a taste of those sweet, plump lips, which would be enough to satisfy the craving without getting carried away.”
Harper’s eyes widen, and she licks her lips. “That’s the thing. I’m afraid that with one taste, I’ll want more.”
The corner of my mouth lifts in a lop-sided grin. “Are you referring to ice cream or me wanting to kiss you?”
“Both,” she says honestly.
“How about we start with ice cream and go from there?” I move my hand from her cheek to her waist, turning her in thedirection of the shop. I know that if I kiss her right now, I won’t want to stop. A scoop of ice cream is the perfect way to cool my wayward thoughts.
Harper mumbles, “Tease,” but doesn’t balk any further. She ends up ordering a scoop of raspberry sherbert in a bowl while I opt for a single serving of salted caramel praline in a waffle cone.
The shuttle pulls up to the drop-off/pick-up location just as we’re finishing up. We catch a ride back to the main lobby of the resort, and I make sure to mount a camera before we disembark. Harper and I enjoy a leisurely pace as we take the long route through the tropical gardens to our cabana. On our way, I use the opportunity to put Harper’s investigative skills to the test.
“What’s your take on everything that Mike told us? I’m impressed with how well you kept it together with the new information coming to light. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought you weren’t even listening.”
Harper gestures in the direction of our temporary abode, which is still quite a distance away and not yet in sight. “I heard everything, and I’m itching to talk about it, but discussing it with other people around us didn’t seem wise. Now that we’re alone, there’s no point in holding back. Based on what Mike said—which is third hand mind you—I have hope that my parents are in hiding and not being held captive.”
I motion for her to keep going. “I suspect that the boat was my parents’ escape plan. It’s not as if there is parking close by or time to wait for a valet should they have needed to make a hasty retreat. It’s likely why they didn’t bother with a rental car in the first place. Now that I know what my mother really does for a living, it makes sense that they would haveformulated a plan together if they were here on an assignment.
“The boat was ditched in Key Largo, the largest key nearest the mainland. The other four agents may have been waiting for them and whisked them away somewhere safe, or they had a vehicle prepositioned to make an escape. But who were they running from, and why? Maybe they got caught, and I’m wrong about all of this.”
I agree with everything she’s saying, but I continue to prod her with questions. “Which direction do you think they went, assuming they weren’t captured?”
“My brain says that they would have tried to hide in a large metropolitan city like Miami, but my gut says they went south and are somewhere close by. Marathon is an hour away, and that’s where the last login to my dad’s computer occurred. Either Whitman knows all this and is keeping it from us, or he’s an imbecile who’s forgotten how to investigate.”
I lead her to a bench on the side of the path that’s covered in shade by the palm trees overhead. With the “jungle” now predominately to our left, we can get a glimpse of the ocean through the shorter shrubbery up to our right. We can hear the waves crashing in the distance. The beach is less than a block away, but it feels like it’s close enough that you can reach out and touch it.
“Harper, Whitman hasn’t been in the field for more than a decade. Unlike your father, Whitman is quite comfortable with sitting behind a desk. It’s not that he doesn’t know how to investigate, it’s just that Whitman has a credible lead and is focusing all his attention on that. He may not even be aware that your parents rented a boat or that it was found in Key Largo. Wedidn’t know until half an hour ago. Nothing in their financial records indicated a transaction of that magnitude.”
She tilts her head back and rubs her temples. “I’m afraid if we share what we found with Whitman, he’ll send his agents back here. They’ll end up getting in our way and mucking this all up for us. I know we have to share information, but I’m inclined to wait as long as possible.”
“As Ethan said earlier, we don’t share anything until we have something concrete. We’ll share what we know with Ethan and Ben during our debrief and let them make the call. I know Ethan. He’ll only share information that’s specifically asked for and nothing more.”
“I hope you’re right.” Harper stands up and stretches out her hands, inviting me to join her. No sooner than I accept the offer, her eyes roll in the back of her head, and her knees buckle beneath her. I catch her and quickly discern the cause of her sudden unconsciousness. There is a tranquilizer dart protruding from her shoulder, which I remove from her body without a second of hesitation.
As I drop to the ground to cover Harper’s body with my own, another dart whizzes past me and misses by mere inches. I scan the area of foliage where the shooter has to be hiding, drawing my gun and looking for the source. The plants shake and tremble when the person takes off running.
I scream in frustration because I can’t run after the person and leave Harper unattended. The shooter may not be alone.
“Get her to safety, Agent Cavenaugh. I’ve got this,” says a man wearing woodland fatigues and a face coated in camouflage paint. He doesn’t wait for me to comply and takes off runningafter the attacker.
I lift Harper into my arms and do precisely as the man says, beelining it for the cabana since it’s the most secure place in the vicinity. A few minutes later and out of breath, I’m laying my wife down on the bed and checking her for further injuries. Thankfully, there’s nothing other than the tiny dot of blood from where the dart penetrated the skin, and all I can do is wait until she wakes up.
It’s going to be a while. Harper may be out cold, but my blood is boiling.
Jessie and Elijah come over as soon as I let them know what happened. They hadn’t been back from their excursion long, but long enough that they were able to get cleaned up and changed. Carter and Leanna are still on their outing, but as soon as they are back in range, they’ll get the heads up to come directly here.
“Who do you think the mystery soldier is?” Jessie asks.
