by Jan Thompson
It was astounding to her that the FBI could not find any way to charge Flavian before. Granted, he had been on their radar only for four years.
Whoever they were after must be worse than Flavian.
Was it Oscar? Or was Oscar yet another little fish?
Flavian was all bruised and bandaged. He had an oxygen mask on his face, machines all around him.
Gently, Corinne squeezed Flavian’s hand—on the arm that wasn’t bandaged.
No response.
Corinne held his hand. “Flavian?”
No reply.
“Flavian, I have something important to tell you.” Corinne gathered her thoughts. She leaned against his ear. “I know you can’t speak right now, and you’re not awake, but I hope you can hear me.”
Flavian didn’t move from his position.
“Jesus died for us, for all our sins.” Corinne’s voice started to crack. “He saved me. He can save you too. It’s not too late.”
No movement.
“Jesus carried our sins—all of them—at the cross over two thousand years ago. He knew what you would do, what I would do.” Corinne began to weep softly. “Ask Him to forgive you of your sins. He is ready to redeem your soul right now. No matter what you have done in your entire life, He can still save your soul.”
Corinne patted his arm. “God loves you, Flavian. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to save you from your sins. Believe in Jesus now—”
Beeeep! Beeeeeep!
Corinne looked up. There was a long horizontal line on one of the monitors. She heard alarms outside the intensive care unit. Nurses rushed in.
“Ma’am, you have to leave now!” They ushered her away from Flavian.
Outside, Corinne watched in horror through the glass window as nurses and doctors surrounded Flavian, trying to revive him.
Again and again and again.
To no avail.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
From Pilar, Martin found out that Flavian had passed away at the hospital. Martin wanted to be there for Corinne, but Agent Tanaka said she wasn’t available. The only way Martin could see her was if Corinne herself asked for him.
He prayed that she would.
Her job done, Pilar had driven back to Key Largo to pack up her things and check out of her hotel. Before she left Florida for good, she wanted to have coffee with Martin.
Martin was in no mood for coffee, but he met her anyway at a beach restaurant near their hotel. He had returned to Key Largo with Pete and Angelina.
It was Saturday afternoon, hot as can be, and yet there were sunbathers on the beach, roasting their skin—and their children’s skin.
Speaking of children, Martin wondered how Dahlia was doing. The poor child was now fatherless, although something else could be said about having a criminal for a father. A father was a father, regardless.
Thoughts of Dahlia led Martin back to Corinne.
And he lost his appetite for the soup in front of him.
Across their outdoor table, Pilar seemed to be studying him. “I talked to Tanaka. Corinne is grieving. Give her time.”
“She said, ‘You never lost me.’ I thought she was talking to me, but now I wonder if she meant Flavian.” Martin turned away from Pilar, embarrassed at having spoken his mind.
“Fog of battle.” Pilar finished her salad. “The next time you see Corinne, ask her to clarify her statement.”
“I wanted it to be me, but…”
“It must be awful to be in such a circumstance.” Pilar asked the server for a refill of her lemon water.
“Have you ever been in love?” Martin asked, trying to take his own mind off Corinne.
“Well…” Pilar seemed to be thinking about the question. “Yes and no. Yes, when I was sure he was the one, but no, when he was clearly not the one.”
“Are we talking about the same person here?” Martin chuckled.
“Yes, unfortunately.”
“How long ago was it?”
“Six months ago.”
“I’m sorry. Must have hurt.”
“Worse than a gunshot wound, I can tell you.”
“That bad?” Martin had no idea what that meant since he had never been shot before.
The last time they tried to shoot Martin, Flavian had taken the bullets in his spine, and lost his life the next day.
“I tell myself that God is sovereign,” Martin said. “I couldn’t leave Flavian behind. I had to carry him out. His legs were broken, you know? I couldn’t leave him behind.”
“You said that twice.”
“I know, but I couldn’t leave him behind.” Martin blinked. “The only way to get him out of there was to put him on my back.”
“He became a shield for you.” Pilar leaned back in her chair. “Like you said, God is sovereign. When God protects you—or provides for you—in unexpected ways, don’t question it. Accept that God is sovereign over life on earth. It is His to give life and take away life.”
“But Flavian might not be saved.”
“I would caution you not to say but. That could mean that somewhere in your heart, you’re judging what God allows.”
“He allowed it. I agree with that.”
“It might not have been His perfect will, but He allowed it for a reason that we may never know while we’re on earth.”
Martin nodded. He recalled witnessing to Flavian while they were in the cell together. God had allowed that too, hadn’t He? Perhaps that was the last time Flavian ever heard the Gospel.
Then again, surely Corinne would have also witnessed to him.
Flavian had plenty of opportunities to get saved.
“Look,” Pilar said. “I can’t promise anything, but since Tanaka and I are sort of friends now, I will ask her again to let you have a few minutes with Corinne.”
“What can’t they let me speak with her? She needs me now.” Even as he said it, Martin wasn’t sure if Corinne needed him. Of course, she needed God more. Besides, their island experience proved that Corinne could hold her own.
No, she doesn’t need me.
On the other hand, I need her. I need her badly.
“I didn’t want to let her go four years ago,” Martin said. “She left without saying goodbye. Now she might leave again.”
“Although if she does, you’ll know that it’s most likely for her own safety—and that of her child.”
Martin nodded. They were in an open air restaurant, a public place of sorts, and he could not mention names. That much, he knew from Tanaka’s debriefing.
In fact, Tanaka had given him strict rules about his time on the island. He couldn’t talk about it to his sister or his parents. He couldn’t talk about it to Pete or Angelina. Or Ming, for that matter.
The only person who knew a little bit of what he went through was Pilar, and she wasn’t much help in the emotional support department.
Pilar’s phone rang. She checked the message, and stood up. “I have to take this call in my car.”
“I’ll take the bill,” Martin said as Pilar left him.
He waved to the server, refused dessert, and paid for everything in cash.
Suddenly paranoid, Martin wasn’t about to use his credit card which might put him…
What am I talking about?
He felt a heaviness in his heart.
As hot as it might be out there in the sun, Martin felt that he had to walk off his stress. He put on his sunglasses, and walked across the hot sand.
He was ankle-deep in the Atlantic Ocean, walking without a thought in his head, when he realized someone was walking next to him.
“Keep looking ahead.” The whisper was soft.
Corinne.
“Isn’t it unsafe for you to be here?” Martin whispered back, but he didn’t look at her.
“Yes and no. Don’t look now, but I’m wearing a wig.”
“I recognized your voice.”
“I know.”
“I have so many questions.”
“I
don’t have time to answer them.” Corinne sighed. “I can’t be at Wanda’s funeral. Or in public as myself.”
“That’s tough. I don’t know what’s going on but I need to know if we can see each other again.”
“Maybe never. All our lives are in danger.”
Martin stopped walking. “That serious?”
“Keep walking,” Corinne said.
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who will be a father to your children?” Martin asked.
“God the Father takes care of widows and single mothers.”
“Let me help.”
“I don’t need help. I can fend for myself. I’ve been fending for myself since I was a teenager.”
“I’m sorry.” Martin choked up. “I didn’t mean that way. I don’t want to let you go, and I’m trying to find a reason for us to be together.”
“Pray that this situation is only temporary. You know they’re looking for the third person. Until then, they’re putting Dahlia and me in a safe house.” Corinne drew a deep breath. “I can’t even attend Wanda’s funeral.”
“Too public.” Martin nodded. Flavian and Nikos were both dead, but Oscar was still at large. Somewhere in their lunch conversation, Pilar had said that the INTERPOL was after Oscar. Drug and diamond smuggling, plus human trafficking.
“Until they find him, my daughter and I have to disappear again,” Corinne said quietly.
“I want to go with you,” Martin said suddenly.
Corinne was speechless.
“Let me go with you.”
“No, Martin.” It was a firm response. “Go home to Savannah. Your family’s probably worried about you by now. Get on with your life.”
“I found you again.”
“You never lost me, Martin.”
Martin stopped. Tears pooled in his eyes. Man tears, he told himself. Man tears. “I thought you meant that for…”
“For my ex?” Corinne held Martin’s hand. “You never lost me. You never left my mind. He never had me.”
“Wow. So it was meant for me, after all.”
“Yes. If you must know, I had to sell my body to survive, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t concerned about his salvation.”
Martin flinched. Oh, how he wished he had somehow prevented Corinne from leaving Savannah four years ago. Then she wouldn’t have—
No. In fact, because he loved her, he had to let her go. She had to make her own choices. If she wanted to be with Martin, she had to decide to do so. He couldn’t make her or force her to do anything. It wouldn’t be love.
“I’m a survivor, Martin. I’m not a victim,” Corinne stated.
“I’m glad.”
“It was the darkest time of my life,” Corinne explained. “God used it to bring me here, where I got saved—the brightest time of my life. Key Largo will always be a special place to me because this is where I met Jesus.”
“God worked it all out for your good,” Martin said.
“Yes, He did. And for Dahlia too. I wouldn’t raise her anywhere outside the church, to be honest. That has been my sanctuary.”
“Your sanctuary is Jesus.” Martin didn’t mean to correct her, but there it was. “A person, not a place.”
“Of course. Jesus is my sanctuary. I have a lot to learn yet as a Christian.”
“We’re all learning.” Martin swallowed. “I’m learning right now that I’m dying at the thought that I can’t be with you any more.”
“That’s why I came. I knew you needed closure.”
“Closure? No.” Martin stopped walking. He faced Corinne and realized not only was she wearing a wig, she was also wearing makeup that made her look like someone else. The oversized tee-shirt with a vest on top covered her baby bump. “Are you really Corinne?”
Corinne barely nodded.
“I loved you once and I love you still. Marry me, Corinne.” He was on his knees.
“Get up get up get up.” Corinne sighed. “I should never have come.”
“No, I’m glad you did.” Martin brushed off the sand stuck on his knee caps. “Sorry, that was a knee-jerk reaction—literally.”
Corinne chuckled. Then her voice sounded more serious than before. “Both of us are Christians, right?”
“Yes.”
“Our lives belong to God. We are in Christ, our life and hope. We don’t have to worry about each other. Remember that.”
Martin nodded.
“If you must know, I never stopped loving you. Often, I wondered what it would have been like if we had married four years ago. If I hadn’t run away. If I hadn’t…”
Martin stopped her with a kiss on her lips, soft and warm—but it could be the Key Largo sunshine.
Now her lips tasted like salt…
Martin opened his eyes. Tears were flowing in rivulets down Corinne’s cheeks. “Shhhh.”
Corinne wrapped her arms around his neck and drew his head toward her.
“Finish the kiss,” she whispered through her sobs.
They walked a little further before Corinne spoke again. “God will keep us safe in the shadow of His wings.”
“Amen.”
“Look it up. I think it’s mentioned in both Psalm 57:1 and Psalm 17:18.”
“Right now?” Martin didn’t want to let go of her hand.
“Uh-huh. God’s Word cleanses our soul.”
Reluctantly, Martin let go of Corinne’s hand. He dug for his phone and started swiping. Looked for his Bible app. “What were the verses again?”
No answer.
He lifted his head.
He was standing alone.
Around him, families and other beachgoers were either packing up or already walking toward the stairs leading to their vehicles or hotels, driven away by the hot sun.
He didn’t see Corinne anywhere.
She was gone.
Chapter Thirty
Four long months had passed since Martin returned to Savannah, back to work. Dad questioned how his Shelby was messed up, and all Martin could say was he had been in a fender bender outside Key Largo. Everything else had to be kept a secret.
“Did you see Corinne?” Everyone asked, from Dad to his wife to Tina to her husband. “Where is she now? Has she ghosted you again?”
“Stop asking me about her.” And that was the end of it.
He didn’t want to think about Key Largo, about the love lost, love found, and love lost again.
Yet he knew now, more than ever, that he loved Corinne. No matter what she had gone through, the blood of Christ had cleansed her sins from her—past, present, and future.
He would have to surrender her to God. There was no other way.
He couldn’t call up the FBI hotline and ask for Agent Tanaka.
The only hotline he had was to God’s ears. He prayed in the Name of Jesus Christ that God would protect Corinne, Dahlia, and the new baby.
He prayed that God would bless them and keep them safe and draw them close to His heart.
He prayed that God would fill Corinne’s heart with eternal love, endless peace, and everlasting joy—all found in Jesus Christ.
Still, Martin wondered how she was doing. She was probably three months along now. Six more months and the baby would be born.
Martin decided that he would sell his 1966 Shelby to Dad, and put the money aside for Corinne and her children. If she didn’t need it now, she could keep it for their college funding in the future. He had no idea how he was going to let her know or give the money to her, but maybe Pete and Angelina could help later on.
He wondered what else he could do. He would give up his career if it meant he could see Corinne again. He would give up the whole world for her.
Then again, he had no idea what was happening with Corinne now. Was she still in hiding? In a safe house somewhere? In WITSEC? Helping Agent Tanaka?
Or perhaps, had she married and moved on?
Maybe she could if she didn’t love him as much. However,
Martin knew he couldn’t move on.
He would be a bachelor for the rest of his life.
Thanksgiving at Mendenhall Retreat was quiet as there weren’t many small children around. In fact, Dahlia was only one of a few children there at their hiding place because they were in danger.
Larina Brannigan, the director of the facility, kept the kids occupied during the week with Bible studies and classes at their grade level. Dahlia was the only three-year-old, but in four months, she was reading books meant for four-year-olds. Needless to say, Corinne was delighted at the progress and forever grateful to Larina.
Every little bit helped. Corinne did some work for the retreat center, helping Larina and her office manager, Phoebe O’Tierney, with some office work. After all, Corinne had been trained as an office manager herself in her previous line of work—back in Savannah when she worked for Martin’s sister at her pottery studio.
By November, Larina increased Corinne’s pay as she filled in for Phoebe, who took two months off to take her children to see her husband’s family in Ireland.
Phoebe had better come home by the end of December because Corinne wouldn’t be able to cover for her any later than that. Baby Liam was due at the end of January.
Corinne didn’t mind working there, but the uncertainty of her future was another reason not to get attached to the place and atmosphere.
The four months of hiding away in this place, without being able to visit the nearby mountain town, was making her feel claustrophobic. She didn’t know how much longer she could take it.
Still, it kept her alive.
Here, nobody would come for her. According to FBI Special Agent Tanaka, she and Dahlia would be safest here.
When pressed, Tanaka divulged that there was a mole inside the FBI that had compromised their informants’ whereabouts, including their transfers to the WITSEC program. Without authority, Tanaka took Corinne off the grid and brought her and Dahlia here, a remote secret retreat on the top of the Great Smoky Mountains at the border of Tennessee and North Carolina.
Dahlia had been confused at first, but her nightmares about her dying father subsided in November when snow fell, blanketing the log cabins and walkways.