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She nodded her head. “Yep. I kind of thought it was weird he was coming here to Austin for training since there is no Marine Corps base, but from the little he has told me, I guess Lark is one of the best Expert Rifleman in the Marine Corps.”
My heart dropped. Lark’s not in the Marines anymore.
I flashed back to the picture in Lark’s office, the one with his boss. Lark was wearing a uniform and the guy had a badge on. A CIA badge.
I shook my head and let out a small laugh. Geesh, Azurdee, stop overthinking. They must have met when Lark was in the Marines.
I glanced up to see Jason staring at me as Lark talked to him off to the side. I didn’t like the way he looked at me. Jason looked back at Lark and then down to his watch. He did something on his watch, nodded his head and they both turned and walked away from each other. Lark made his way back to me and grinned as he got closer.
“Ready for dinner?” he asked. I laughed and nodded my head. I looked at Lisa and said, “It was a pleasure to meet you.”
She smiled and said, “You too!”
Lark was taking me out to the Salt Lick for barbecue after he bragged about how it was the best around. The whole ride there, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling I had about Lark and his job.
Sharp shooter. Marines. Secrets.
I parked the motorcycle and Azurdee got off and handed me her helmet. She had been really quiet ever since we left Zilker Park, when I stopped to talk to Jason about our meeting at the Pentagon in two days. I wasn’t sure what was up and Skip was being really silent on the whole matter.
When we got off the elevator, I followed Azurdee into the kitchen. She stopped at the bar and turned to face me. She was chewing on her lower lip, which I already knew was a nervous habit that showed she was either scared or nervous.
“Can I stay here again tonight?”
I smiled and walked up to her. “Of course you can. I was hoping you would.”
She ran her hand down the side of my face and whispered, “Make love to me.”
I reached down and picked her up and carried her to my room. We spent most of the night tangled in each other’s arms. Azurdee fell asleep earlier after we made love the first time. I didn’t want to have to say good-bye to her in the morning, so I woke her up around two in the morning and made love to her again. Once she drifted back off to sleep, I got up and began packing for my short trip to D.C. I made a call and within ten minutes I got a text that my item was waiting down in the lobby for me. I checked on Azurdee one more time before heading down there. When I walked up to the desk, Rich was working. He handed me the single red rose and said, “There ya go, Mr. Williams.”
I smiled and said, “Have a good night, Rich.”
“You too, sir.”
Twenty minutes later, I was setting the note on my pillow and laying the rose on top of it. I wanted to kiss her good-bye but didn’t want to risk her waking up. I grabbed my bag and turned to walk away, but not before I slipped the key card to my place into her purse.
One last look and I was gone.
After meeting with Colonel Walker, Skip, and a few other intelligence people, I made my way out of the conference room.
“Lieutenant. A word,” I heard Skip say as I walked away. I closed my eyes and turned around.
“Yes, sir.” I followed Skip and Jason into another conference room. I shut the door and Skip was standing there looking out the window holding a file.
He slowly turned and walked toward the table and threw the file down.
When I glanced down, I saw the word classified in red letters and the name…Azurdee Marie Emerson.
What in the fuck? I reached down and picked it up. When I opened it, there were pictures of Azurdee, all taken today. In one of the pictures, she was leaving my condo and getting into someone’s car. There were three pictures of her in the coffee shop and one leaving the coffee shop. The last picture was of her standing outside her new restaurant space talking to what looked like the contractors.
I looked up and before I could even say anything, Skip said, “What in the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Excuse me?”
He pointed to the pictures, and when I looked at the rest of the file it was information about Azurdee, her parents, their bank accounts, anything and everything on both her and her parents were in this file. I closed it and tossed it onto the table.
“I knew something was up with you in Venezuela. How long have you been seeing her?”
I looked at Jason. “You couldn’t wait to run and tell him, huh? You fucking bastard.”
I went to go after him, and Skip stepped in front of us and grabbed me.
“I asked, how long have you been seeing her?”
I pushed myself away from Skip and said, “Not long. I’ve known her almost a year. We were friends first.”
“What are your plans with this girl, Lark? I can’t afford to have you anything but one hundred percent clear-minded. A girl is going to fuck that up.”
I shook my head, “I won’t let it, Skip.”
He let out a sigh and dropped his head back before looking at me again. “This is why I picked you. No strings. No ties. Lived life on the edge. Pussy just messes with your head, Lark. You say it won’t, but pretty soon you’re going to be wondering what she’s doing while you’re gone for days, sometimes weeks, at a time. What happens when you get hurt, how many excuses are you going to be able to give her?”
I just looked at him. “That’s funny, Skip. I thought you picked me because I’m the best goddamn sniper in the country.”
He just stood there and looked at me. “Sergeant Philips, will you please excuse us. Lieutenant Williams, you will refrain from saying anything else until the Sergeant has left the room.”
Jason left the room and Skip glared at me. “Don’t you ever call me Skip in front of another Marine or agent again—do you understand me, Lieutenant? Don’t ever question my motives again either. Now I want to know why I had to have some flunky come tell me that you had a girlfriend. Why didn’t you just tell me yourself?”
I pushed my hands through my hair. “Skip, I just started dating her. It’s not like I’m marrying her for Christ’s sake. She knows I don’t talk about my job and she doesn’t ask. We’ve been friends for awhile so I trust her with my life.”
He shook his head and said, “Jesus Christ, Lark. This is going to end badly. Either for you or for her.”
I looked down and then back up at him. “I won’t let it. I’ve got this. I can handle it.”
He turned and looked out the window. “The moment I even suspect it’s affecting your work, I’m pulling you. You can finish out the rest of your career stationed in some remote-ass Marine Corps base.”
I nodded my head. I only had six months left in active duty and I had already decided after last night I was not re-enlisting or joining the CIA. I didn’t want to have to keep lying to Azurdee and sneaking away in the middle of the night to leave her.
“So let me ask you. This trip to Israel, what are you going to tell her?”
I shrugged my shoulders and said, “That I’m going out of town. That’s what I’ve always said and no one has yet to question me.”
He gave me a weak smile and said, “I’m pretty damn sure that the person who loves you and worries about you is going to start asking questions about where you’re going.”
Loves me? Does Azurdee love me? I knew I was falling in love with her and I was pretty sure she wanted to tell me she loved me the other night, but she didn’t. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
“Skip, I know how to block shit from my head. I won’t let my relationship with Azurdee jeopardize my job.”
He gave me a weak nod and said, “We’ll see.”
“So three weeks in Israel. Is Ricker coming with Philips?” I asked.
Skip smiled and asked, “Do you want him or you want a SEAL?”
I didn’t even have to think about it. “A SEAL. Ricker always has his head up his
ass.”
“All right. Let’s hope this mission runs smoothly. I have a feeling they’re going to be expecting trouble, so it’s fast in…fast out.”
I nodded my head and said, “If that’s all, I’m going to be heading back home.”
He laughed. “No you’re not, soldier. You’re heading out tonight to Afghanistan. You’ll meet up with your SEAL partner and then head out the next morning. Sorry buddy, there is no going home.”
I nodded my head and turned to walk out the door. “Lark?”
I stopped and turned around, “Yes, sir?”
“I really hope you meant what you said earlier. I’d hate to have you or a team member get hurt because your head isn’t in the game.”
I nodded. “I promise, Skip. I’ve got this.”
I opened the door and made my way outside. I got in the rental car and pulled away. Once I was off the base and a few blocks away I pulled over, got out of the car and started yelling.
“Motherfucking son of a bitch!” I put my hands on my knees and took in a few deep breaths. I stood up and began pacing. I ran my hand through my hair and tried to calm my beating heart.
“I didn’t kiss her good-bye. I didn’t fucking kiss her good-bye!” I yelled out. I got back into the car and by the time I got to my hotel I was calmer. I told the front desk I would be staying another night and after the clerk flirted for a bit, she finally had me booked for another night. I smiled politely and made my way to my room. I got out of my uniform and pulled on a T-shirt. I picked up my cell phone and hit Azurdee’s number.
“Hello handsome. You snuck away again last night.”
I smiled when I heard her voice. “Yeah, I’m not really good at saying good-bye.”
There was silence for a few seconds before she said, “Thank you for the rose, and my note.”
I closed my eyes and tried to picture her smelling the rose. What her face looked like while reading the note.
“I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up before I left.”
“It’s okay. I understand. Are you still coming back tonight?”
