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The doors to the elevator opened, and we were smacked in the face with hot, salty air as it blew through the open doors of the lobby.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She leaned on her tippy toes and grabbed my jaw. Then she planted a sexy kiss on my lips and released me. God, I was going to fall hard for this woman, and then she was going to leave me. It wasn’t fair. I was reminded again of another saying: it was better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. The jury was still out on that one…
We exited the hotel, and I started sweating the moment we walked outside.
“Here, we are taking the rental,” I said and then led her to the parking lot of the resort. Garcia had rented the car so that we could get around the island quickly if need be. We realized we fucked that up when we went running after the women to save them in the market. All of us guys running across the bridge had definitely attracted some attention. A car would have been preferable.
She stopped in the parking lot after I hit the unlock button on the key fob. “A van, really?”
“There are a lot of us, and we didn’t want to spring for multiple cars,” I said with a shrug. She was rubbing off on me, the queen of the shoulder shrug.
“Isn’t Christine’s family filthy rich, and isn’t Jones an ex-NFL player? What do you mean you didn’t want to pay for another vehicle?” Abby asked with a gobsmacked expression.
“Hey, finances are not something I have any part in. I’m sure in your extensive research of us, you know I am far from wealthy,” I said.
“You’re right, and money isn’t everything. Most of the guys I help put away have way too much of it,” she said earnestly.
We were halfway across the bridge when I asked, “What are you going to say to this Jeremiah guy?”
“I was thinking of leading with,I’m glad to see you alive. How’s that?” she asked with a smirk.
I snorted in response.
“Perfect, hopefully he finds that funny. Comedy breaks the ice and fixes most things,” she said.
“Then what?”
“I’m going to ask him if he knows who shot him and why,” she said, shooting me a look that said,Are you fucking stupid?
“I know, but you are going to go right into questioning?” I asked.
“Right into questioning. There’s no time for games with him. Who knows if someone will sneak into the hospital tonight and kill him when they learn he survived?”
“Damn, that’s dark,” I mumbled, but she was absolutely right.
“Yeah, well, I’ve lived in a world of darkness for a long time. That’s my MO now.”
“I think all of us have lived in darkness in some form. If you ever need someone to talk to about it, just pick one of us,” I said.
“I know, thank you,” she said quietly. She shrank in her seat, as if to avoid the topic completely. It made me want to reach out and drag her across the center console so she could sit in my lap and I could hold her face to my chest. I wanted her to find the light in life, not just the small spotlight she found from her work. I wanted her to feel the sun.
Instead I did nothing of the sort. “Of course. Get your questions ready, Nancy Drew. We’re about here.”
I pulled the van into the hospital parking lot, and Abby looked at me as she unbuckled. “Let’s hope he has something good to share.”
CHAPTERNINETEEN
abby
The day was eventful—to put it nicely. If I was being honest, I’d admit that it was a clusterfuck of epic proportions. My friend died, and I couldn’t save her; my new friends forced me to do something other than work to distract myself, and I couldn’t even do that right. Don’t get me wrong, I went snorkeling and it was peaceful, but Lilith wasn’t with me. I saw a beautiful array of fish, gorgeous coral reefs, and swam with large sea turtles, but I was alone. It was everything I would have expected from a private snorkeling tour, but it was very different from how I imagined it. I spent the hour in the water reminding myself I was experiencing something that Lilith never would. I finished the excursion for her, and later I would tell her family all about it, once I returned home.
After we docked, I took advantage of the time I had alone without the group. No one tailed me, and there was no drone flying overhead. I was completely alone. Who knew when I’d get the opportunity to secretly work on my mission again? I’d been neglecting it, and Lilith’s death only made it worse. So instead of walking back to the resort, I walked right up to the field office and checked out the building. Before I knew it, I stood in the office of an agent that looked bored, and I concocted a new cover.
“Look, I took this vacation because what college student doesn’t need a break? The professor surprised us with this assignment, and I need to interview someone from law enforcement ASAP. Do you have thirty minutes to spare?”
He glared at my lack of clothing and all of my tattoos with a form of disgust. He wasn’t so great to look at either. He was balding, and he had a patch of dry skin on his forehead. His nose was pointed too sharp, and his eyes were dark and calculating. He hid all of that behind a pair of glasses that seemed to age him ten years. “So you didn’t bother to even change before leaving the beach?”
“The paper is due tomorrow and I need time to write it,” I said, ignoring his comments completely.
