Kelly waved a hand like it was no big deal. “I don’t really talk to anyone back home. Two months after graduation, I still hadn’t found a teaching job when I replied to an ad in the Times looking for Americans to teach English here in Colombia.”
Maggie lifted her brows in surprise. She hadn’t thought of Kelly as the adventurous type.
“All I heard from my family and friends was that it was too dangerous, and I’d be back in a month. Once I moved here, I wrote letters, but nobody wrote back, so I just stopped communicating and told myself this was home now.” She looked out over the ocean. “I get to work my dream job in paradise.”
Maggie nodded. It did seem like paradise compared to Bogota.
“Looks like neither one of us ended up where we planned,” Kelly said.
Falling in love with a criminal was never what Maggie planned. But Ricardo was so much more than that. He’d proven he was willing to sacrifice his life for hers. Even after all her CIA training, she never felt as safe as she did when she was by Ricardo’s side. She glanced up at the man that stood beside her, and his lips curved into a smile that said all kinds of things Kelly would never understand.
Maggie nodded. “Isn’t this so much better, though?” She gestured to the sparkling teal water and the white sand framed by the lush emerald green of trees and vegetation.
“Yeah, it is.” Kelly gazed out over the ocean as if in a trance.
“It was nice seeing you again. Let’s keep in touch,” Maggie said. She meant it, which was rare. Something about starting over in Cartagena made her crave friendship.
Kelly nodded, still looking out over the ocean. She snapped her attention back to Maggie and Ricardo. “I have an apartment in Old Town, a pastel pink building. You can’t miss it. My name’s on the buzzer.”
“Perfect.” Maggie hugged Kelly. If it wasn’t for that day at Georgetown when Kelly had dragged her to the career fair, Maggie would never have applied to the CIA. She would never have met Ricardo and fallen in love. “Thanks,” she whispered as she ended the hug.
“Of course,” Kelly said, a confused expression crossed her face like she didn’t know what Maggie was thanking her for.
“Kell, are you coming?” A man said in Spanish. He looked like a native Cartagenan. There was something about the people of Cartagena—like they knew how to enjoy life and go with the flow.
Kelly looked over her shoulder. “I better get going, but let’s get together soon.”
“For sure,” said Maggie.
Kelly touched Ricardo’s arm. “It was nice to meet you, Ricardo.”
“The pleasure was all mine,” Ricardo said.
Kelly waved as she ran down the beach to join her boyfriend and his friends.
Ricardo interlaced his fingers with Maggie’s. “Shall we check out the gazebo,” he said, nodding in the direction of an overwater structure about twenty feet off the shore. Maggie raised her eyebrows and they started in that direction.
A wooden dock led them from the sand to the gazebo. It was narrow, but sturdy. Ricardo led the way. When they reached the gazebo, Maggie gasped at the bright turquoise sea.
“You okay?” Ricardo asked again.
She smiled to herself. It was sweet how often he asked her that. Every little sound she made was met with this question.
“Yeah. It’s so beautiful, it just takes my breath away,” she said.
“Ah,” he said, gently turning her face toward his. “I know this beauty.” His eyes met hers and her stomach went queasy. He placed his lips on hers, and she closed her eyes, forgetting everything that had happened in the last week. Right now, they were just Ricardo and Maggie. Their past was forgotten, and their future was limitless.
Ricardo stroked Maggie’s temple as he deepened the kiss. Her temperature rose and she pulled him closer. She would never let him go.
He broke the kiss and pulled away from her but held both her hands in his. “Marry me?” Then he quickly added, “I know a guy. We can do it right here on the beach,” as if he thought she might object.
She jumped into his arms. “Ow.” She winced at the pain from her sore ribs. He hooked his arms under her ass and held her up. She snugged her legs around his waist. “Of course, I’ll marry you. Anywhere, anytime.”
He kissed her then suddenly stopped. “Maggie, look.” He pointed to the sky.
“Is that . . . No, it couldn’t be.” she blinked hard a couple times to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.
“Yes,” said Ricardo. “It’s an indigo-winged parrot.”
She squeezed Ricardo tight, mesmerized as she watched the bird—a sign of the good things to come.
Author’s Note
I have no idea what possessed me to write about a cartel in Colombia when I’m living in a small town in Canada! The idea of good versus evil and the people you thought were good turning out to be bad and vice versa sure is a lot of fun to explore though.
While Ronald Reagan was president during the time this story was set, and William Webster was taking over from William Casey as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the rest of the characters, as well as the story, is complete fiction.
My own naivety became apparent to me as I began researching the CIA before starting to write this book. If you’re curious, and you enjoy nonfiction, Legacy of Ashes by Pulitzer-Prize-winner Tim Weiner gives a particularly interesting history of the CIA, including its failures and scandals. I had assumed the corrupt government agencies you see in the movies were completely made up. If you read Tim’s book, you’ll see that’s not the case.
Although The Unexpected Spy by Tracy Walder is about a woman working in the CIA (and the FBI) in the 21st Century, it provided a lot of insight as to how women in the CIA are treated even though it’s not an account of the same time period Maggie would have worked for the CIA. I was shocked to learn about some of Tracy’s experiences. Again, I feel like my naivety was shining brightly. It’s another great read if you’re fascinated by spies and government secrets.
I hope you enjoyed Maggie’s Mark. For more from the Ceiba Cartel series, check out Reyna’s Revenge where we meet Maggie and Ricardo’s daughter who is all grown up in Cartagena, Colombia and dealing with many of the same issues her mother had to deal with.
Here is Chapter One from Reyna’s Revenge:
Reyna
I wake in my dark, humid room and my throat is scorching. I need water, but if Madre sees me, she’ll be angry. But I can’t sleep like this, so I toss my sheet aside and tiptoe to the hall. The tile is cool and welcome on my feet. The moist air is warm and smells of the carnations growing outside.
I step gingerly down the hallway, like a cat on a fence, and pause when I hear voices in the kitchen. I’ll have to get my drink from the bathroom. Can I pass the kitchen without them seeing me?
“How could you do this?” I hear a man’s voice as I approach the kitchen. I stop before the entry. Will they see me if I keep going? I peer into the kitchen while remaining as concealed by the wall as possible. The kitchen is dark, lit only by the light above the stove, and the fan is vibrating audibly overhead.
I see a man then pull back tight against the wall before he can see me. My heart races and my throat is so dry I can barely swallow. Uncle Carlos. Why is he here so late? Who is he talking to?
“Answer me,” he says, rage taking hold of his voice.
“I was never going to hurt him,” Madre says. “Please, you have to believe me.” Madre cries as she speaks. Why is she crying? Madre never cries.
“Horse shit,” Uncle Carlos says. “I told Ricardo to stay away from you years ago. Why he’d want to marry a gringa is beyond me.”
I peek around the wall again, hoping to see Madre, but the back of Uncle Carlos is blocking my view.
“Come on Carlos. You’ve been drinking,” Madre says. “Let’s talk about this tomorrow.” Why did Padre have to work tonight? He’d know what to do. Uncle Carlos always listens to him.
Uncle Carlos raises
his hand above his head. I lose my breath and cover my mouth with my hand. He’s holding a gun.
“Puta!” he shouts as he brings the gun down. There’s a loud cracking sound and I scream for Madre as she lets out a yelp. I cover my mouth and run back to my room as fast as I can.
“No, no,” I say in barely a whisper, tears already running down my cheeks. Madre’s okay, she has to be okay. I climb back into bed and pull the sheet up over my head, trying to calm my sobs. I freeze when a stream of light lands on my bed. Someone’s at the door, but I don’t dare move.
“Reyna?” I hold my breath at the sound of Uncle Carlos’s voice and lie as still as possible, pretending to be asleep. “Reyna?” There’s a long pause then the light from the doorway disappears and the door clicks.
“Reeeeeeyna.” Something’s not right. Uncle Carlos sounds funny, like a woman. “Reyna, wake up.” There’s a hand on my shoulder. It jiggles me back and forth. “Reyna!” The voice snaps, and I crack my eyes a little. It’s bright. It’s morning. “Your alarm didn’t go off,” Jessie says.
“Holy shit,” I say, sitting up in my bed in the apartment Jessie and I rent together. My heart is thumping like it’s trying to jump out of my chest.
“Come on, woman! You’re going to make us both late.”
“Thanks, Jess,” I say, jumping out of bed. “I owe you one.” I search my room for some clean clothes and Jess hands me a shirt from my closet. She makes work at the TC—La Tinto Café—a little more bearable.
“More like twenty-two, but who’s counting?” Jess says.
“Apparently you are,” I say, punching her in the arm as I toss my wallet into my backpack. My heart is finally slowing to a more normal speed.
“Don’t forget your bus pass,” she says, pointing to my nightstand.
“Right.” I grab my pass and the phone that lays beside it.
“You had that nightmare again, didn’t you?” she asks. That’s my Jess—straight to the point, as always.
I freeze then look at her. She knows I don’t like talking about the night my mother died. “How did you know?” I ask, without making eye contact.
“You were trembling and mumbling when I came in.”
I look at the ground, not sure how it’s possible that I can love and hate that she knows so much about me.
“Her birthday’s in a few days,” I say, finally.
“I’m sorry,” Jess says and gives me a quick squeeze.
“Thanks,” I say, flinging my backpack over my shoulder as I walk past her out of my room and down the hall to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
“It’s okay to miss her,” Jess says, following me. She always says these mushy things when my mouth is full, and I can’t argue. I raise my eyebrows and nod at her with my toothbrush in my mouth then spit and rinse.
“Let’s go,” I say, hoping we’re done talking about my mother. “Are we going to make it?”
Jess checks her phone for the time. “We will if we run for it.”
I groan as I lock the apartment door. I’d rather be late but run to catch up to Jessie anyway.
About the Author
After spending almost twenty years as an accountant, Michelle realized her true passion was writing when she published Keep More Money to help small business owners find an accountant they can trust. She has since moved on to thrillers, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy and enjoys writing children's books with her kids as AJ Kormon. Join her email list at https://www.subscribepage.com/michellecornish or follow her on BookBub to be notified about new releases.
More from Michelle:
Cynthia Webber (Crime Thrillers)
Murder Audit
Auditing Jane Doe
Unaudited
A Taxing Affair
Seasonal Singles (Sweet Romcoms)
Warming My Winter Heart
Saving My Spring Fling
Snagging My Summer Love
Faking My Fall Crush
Non-fiction
Keep More Money
Freeing the Butterfly
Prosperity Planner
The Prosperous Authorpreneur
Maggie's Mark (Ceiba Cartel Book 1) Page 12