Torn (Deep 8, #5)

42. Harlow

FORTY-TWO

Harlow

We’re pulled in different directions, the strategy meant to disorient us. It’s working. Now is the time to dig deep and find our last bit of reserve to push through whatever lies ahead.

I’ve come to the realization I may not get the answers to my father’s murder, but it will be good for Roger to get his father back and safe.

"Deep 8 contacted us. You’ve been instructed to go to Perth and walk around the Westfield shopping mall. They want you to bring Nick and the two pieces." Pippa’s face is grim as we sit in silence, contemplating how to navigate our current dilemma.

I break the tension to ask the question on all our minds. "Did you tell them about Nick?"

Peter glances at Pippa. "No. If they have anyone on the inside, they already know Nick is dead. If not, it will be a surprise we can capitalize on. They might be testing us."

"What time?" Roger asks.

"Seventeen hundred hours," Pippa replies, biting her lip.

"Busy time for the mall on a weekend," I add, trying to process the implications.

"I don’t know how this will play out but put on the tape trackers before you leave. We’ll be able to track your movement for the next two days. If they move you after that, you’re on your own," Peter says without his usual sass.

"Got it," Roger responds.

"You mean Roger that." Peter has a faint grin. Anything jovial to break the tension has evaporated as this mission bears down on us.

"Yeah, something like that. We’ll see you on the other side." Roger forces a smile.

The screen goes black as we sit here hoping we make it to the other side alive. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else. He tucks his hand under mine and squeezes.

"Baby, we got this. You and I have come this far, and our story isn’t over." His eyes blaze, confident he can predict what’s coming, but we know the future is a mercurial bitch.

We spend the rest of the day at the beach, bundled up with our faces toward the sun. If they wanted to grab us, they would have done it long before now. This is a game of cat and mouse where the cat pulls the string, and we leap at it. They want everything on their terms, but we have some tricks up our sleeve too.

The beach is a brief escape from our reality. My life has been anything but normal since I was born. I wasn’t aware of how off things were until I was a teenager.

Being thrown into this job has insulated me from my former life and has given me a different feeling of uncertainty. I’ve perpetuated my isolation and instability. Roger has broken my mold of isolation. Work needs to be done on my stability.

As the sun heats us, we strip down to our T-shirts. Roger lies on his back with his face to the sun. He seems so certain about his choices when it comes to us. I reach out to him and rub his arm. "You need some sunscreen. You’re burning."

"Are you sure it’s the sun? You tend to make me hot." His smile would melt anyone’s panties.

"I do have that effect on men," I sigh. "Not many can withstand the heat."

He rolls over on top of me and I laugh, but his face remains serious. "I’m the only man to take the heat." He kisses me, nibbles on my lower lip, and trails kisses down my neck.

"This is a public beach." My eyes close, savoring his touch.

"It’s a reminder I can have you anytime, anywhere." His ocean-blue eyes pierce my soul, daring me to disagree.

"We’ll see about that." I push him off me and run for the water, standing where the small white-capped waves crash against my knees.

He follows me in, and his energy feels like a calming wave washing over me. We’ve spent so much time together that I’m acutely aware of his presence, unnerved when I can’t sense him near me.

As the time to leave approaches, we grow quieter, lost in our thoughts. I drink his tincture of optimism and share my dreams of our future. "I can’t wait to meet your mom in Texas. She sounds like a lovely person. Isn’t Texas the state of ‘go big or go home’?"

His smile lights up his face. "She will be thrilled to meet you. Everything is big in Texas." He uses a heavy Texas accent. He squeezes my hand and laughs.

As the sun goes down, we’re in our heads with the scenarios of what could happen this evening. We dress in casual clothes to blend in with everyone else. Our tracking tape is hidden where they won’t think to search. Besides, they don’t know what to look for.

The cab drops us off at the mall’s main entrance, and we mingle with the crowd of residents and tourists. Up ahead is one of my favorite stores to shop for clothes. We enter as a lovely saleswoman greets us.

"Can I help you find something today?" She smiles with her hands folded in front of her.

"No, thank you. I’m just looking," I reply as I sift through the rack.

A sleek white dress perfect for every occasion catches my eye on the wall. Roger moves around me, glancing at the glass front doors. The saleswoman returns and lifts it off the wall in my size.

"Please follow me. Your husband can come too." She smiles.

"I’ll stay out here for now," he responds. She gives him a curt nod and her lips tighten.

She pulls back the curtain to a dressing room and waves me in. "Let me know if you need another size or anything else."

The face in the mirror stares back at me. My cheeks are rosy, and my eyes are bright, even though I’m in a dangerous situation. The glow indicates a happiness I haven’t seen or felt in many years. My eyes close as I remember my time with Roger and the calm he brings me.

Without warning, a bag comes over my head. I try to yell out Roger’s name, but a hand clamps over my mouth.

"Say another word and Lucas dies." A man with a heavy Australian accent grunts from behind me.

I nod my head in understanding. He grabs my arm as someone grabs my other arm. The bottom of the bag is open, and I can see where I’m walking, so I know we are heading out the back. A vehicle door creaks open, and I’m told to step up. Instead of being thrown, they carefully place me in the back.

We didn’t account for being split up because we thought they would want us together with Nick and the pieces. My stomach turns. I have no way to warn Roger. They tie my hands behind my back, and I calm myself during another unexpected twist.