Covert Affairs

by Rhonda Laurel

  “He may have mentioned something.” Rick shrugged. “We’ve all had the ‘I’ve had enough’ conversation with the big man. It happens when you work too hard too long.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “They were spotted in Argentina.”

  “Well, at least they’re a blip on the map again.”

  “Yeah. I think we can salvage the op.”

  “You’ve been drinking too much of this island’s rum.”

  “Look, there’s been word that Paolo has a stash of girls somewhere, ready to sell them off. I thought you’d want to get back in the game and help disband the operation once and for all.”

  “Since when does Rutledge care about lives instead of weapons? He’s trying to dangle a carrot in front of me.”

  “It’s still not his main objective. But if we get them one way or another, it’s fine by me. We have to keep ruthless assholes like Paolo and his brother off the streets of all continents.”

  “What makes you think being bait is appealing in any way to me?”

  “Take some time. Think about it. I can stall Rutledge for another week or so.”

  Trevor ignored the statement. A trio of guys following a couple had captured his attention. He’d first noticed them when their group entered the market. They were doing a lot of lingering, but they weren’t looking at the merchandise on the tables. They looked tense instead of happy and carefree like most of the browsers there. He shook it off as his trade craft paranoia, but he felt in his gut that they were up to no good. One of the guys started following an oblivious couple whose hands were full of shopping bags and the other two fanned about a bit. The guy in the tank top following the couple had a bulge in one of his pockets. He was pretty sure it was a weapon.

  “You see that?” Trevor drawled.

  “Yep.”

  “Let’s do a simple bear trap so I can get on with my vacation and you can get back to your tan.”

  “You do know how to wreck a vacation,” Rick huffed.

  Trevor looked at his watch. He had fifteen minutes to get back to the bus or he’d risk being left behind and having Theresa think he’d flaked on her again.

  He flanked left and quickly rounded some of the market tables to get ahead of the couple and the criminals while Rick followed behind them. The couple, cuddled together and still oblivious, was reaching the end of the market row of tables and were headed for the parking lot. The three men picked up speed behind them too.

  Trevor put his bags down by a fence and picked up his pace until he was coming toward the tourists and the men. He nodded at the couple, then swiftly moved around them, bumping into the men.

  “Sorry about that!” He’d made sure to bump all three of them.

  “Watch where you’re going!” One of the men said while keeping his eye on the couple.

  “Hey.” Trevor pulled a map out of his back pocket and unfurled it. “Can any of you guys tell me how to get to the Cathedral in the center of town?”

  “Get out of the way.” The guy in the tank top pulled a switchblade out of his pocket.

  The third guy advanced around him and attempted to grab the woman’s purse, but Trevor was able to shove him back. It startled the couple, but it finally made them aware of what was going on. The third guy yanked his arm away and tried to throw a punch, but Trevor blocked it and clocked him square in the nose. The switchblade guy advanced, waving the knife erratically and moved in to stab at his torso. Trevor scooted back, grabbed his wrist, and twisted the weapon out of his hand. Rick had subdued the first guy who’d been barking the orders. Knowing they were defeated, the three men took off.

  “Dank je! Dank je!” the couple said repeatedly.

  Ah, they were Dutch. “Wees voorzichtig op de open markten. Criminelen zoeken naar afgeleide toeristen in de liefde om te beroven.”

  “Wij zullen.” The guy put his arm around his girlfriend.

  He looked at his watch. He’d have to sprint across the parking lot if he was going to make the bus. He turned to Rick, who was now accompanied by the man he’d seen spending too much time near the hats. “I have a tour bus to catch.”

  Rick nodded. “What do you want me to tell Rutledge?”

  “Tell him I’m still on home leave, so leave me alone.” Trevor picked up his bags and sprinted back toward the direction of the tour bus.

  * * *

  Theresa did a head count again but only to stave her nerves. Everyone in her group was accounted for except Trevor and two women she knew were at a jewelry stand. She tried not to get nervous when everyone headed to the bus and he was nowhere in sight. Had he taken off again? No, she pushed that thought out of her mind. He wouldn’t pull a tropical disappearing act on his grandmother. She’d panic and worry and threaten to take him over her knee the next time she saw him. A few minutes later, the two ladies arrived, but still no Trevor.

  “Ms. Theresa, we really should be going,” the bus driver said. “We need to get back to the ship.”

  “There’s one straggler. Can you give my missing passenger just one more minute?”

  “OK. But traffic is getting heavy on the main road.”

  She looked out the window. Trevor was sprinting toward the bus. “Never mind. Here he comes. Open the door please.”

  “My apologies,” Trevor panted as he hopped up the bus stairs and held up a bag. “I got carried away with the shopping.”

  “No problem.” She nodded to the bus driver. “Thank you for waiting. Let’s go.”

  Theresa took her seat, and Trevor scooted in next to her as the bus pulled off.

  “Did you find anything good?” she asked.

  “I found these for you.” He dug into a bag and handed her a box.

  Theresa opened it to find a pair of earrings. “They’re perfect. I can wear these with the outfit I’m wearing to dinner tonight.”

  “If you haven’t made any arrangements, I’d love to take you to dinner tonight. Just us. No group.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Other arrangements?”

  “I was gone for a little while. I thought Mr. Stewart might have made another play.”

  She giggled. “No, you snagging the seat next to me on the way here pretty much thwarted any more attempts.”

  Trevor looked back at Mr. Stewart, who was sending death rays his way, but his grandmother was sending the older man a more menacing stare. “Yeah, I think I just killed that love connection.”

  “I’d love to go to dinner with you. Your grandma and her friends are seeing a movie on the deck and will have dinner there.”

  “It’s a date.” He nudged her gently. “Admit it. For a moment you thought I wasn’t going to make it to the bus.”

  “Oh, you’re sure of that, are you?” she said. “Maybe this time I had faith you’d stick around.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Theresa looked at herself in the mirror as she put on the earrings Trevor had bought for her at the market. They were the perfect complement to the jumper she’d be wearing to dinner. Fine dining on a cruise ship always added something special to the occasion. She and Trevor would be dining alone. No seniors to keep her busy while she tried to process that he was there with her. It partly felt like a dream, seeing him here, but if she were dreaming, that meant Mrs. Reed would have been dreaming too. It was too cute to see the feisty older woman melt at the sight of her globe-trotting grandson.

  The knock on her cabin door brought her back to the present. She opened it to find Trevor looking dapper in a tailored tux.

  His eyes widened when he saw her. “Reese. You look. Wow.”

  “Thanks.” She touched his bowtie. “You clean up pretty good too.”

  “Shall we go?”

  “Yes.”

  “We’re eating at seven o’clock in the evening. We’re the trailblazers of our group.”

  “Stop it.” She giggled.

  They continued down the hall, got on the elevator, and took the short ride to the dining deck. They made their way to the dining room and w
ere about to approach the maitre d’ when someone called out to her.

  “Hi, Theresa.”

  Theresa turned to see Regina, a perky, chatty woman she’d met at the spa the other day. She’d seen Regina and her husband Rod around the boat since their initial chat. They were a cute couple, wearing matching shirts everywhere they went.

  “Hi, Regina. Are you enjoying the cruise so far?”

  “It’s been fabulous. Rod and I are really enjoying ourselves.”

  “This is my friend Trevor.”

  “Nice to meet you, Trevor.”

  “It’s a pleasure Regina. Rod.” Trevor nodded.

  “Regina. Rod. Theresa. Trevor.” Regina laughed. “Someone’s going to arrest us for being too cute.”

  “There are worse things to be jailed over.” Theresa laughed too, but tried to step away so they could get to the maitre d’.

  “Speaking of jailed, did you hear about that awful incident that happened at the market?”

  Theresa frowned. “No. What?”

  “Some guy stopped a couple from being robbed. He took down three guys by himself. It was all very dramatic. One of them had a knife.”

  “Oh my gosh. We didn’t see anything like that.” Theresa tugged on Trevor’s arm. “We must have missed it.”

  “I guess so.” He shrugged.

  “Your table is ready.” The maitre d’ approached.

  “It was nice seeing you and thanks for the info,” she barely had time to say before Trevor whisked her in the direction of their seats. Once seated, they were given their menus and a list of the specials.

  “Can you imagine that?” Theresa said.

  “No, I can’t. It’s important to be aware of your surroundings when you’re traveling. Hopefully that couple will have learned a valuable lesson. What are you in the mood for?” He tapped on her menu.

  The conversation quickly changed from robbers to the multitude of things to do on the floating city. Soon they were eating dinner while the jazz quartet on stage did a medley of greatest hits from notable jazz musicians. She remembered how easy it was to talk to Trevor. There was never an awkward pause or gap in their communication. They both just knew when it was time to chatter on endlessly, and there were times when their silence was comfortable like an old married couple.

  “Why don’t we go out for a night stroll?” he asked after they were finishing up.

  “I’d love to.”

  Soon they left the dining deck and made their way outside. The shining stars illuminated the night sky as they strolled around the deck. He took off his tuxedo jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

  “The sky is so clear and bright tonight,” she said.

  “But it’s only half as bright as your smile.”

  “Why is it that with most guys that would sound super cheesy and transparent, but with you, it almost sounds like a compliment?”

  “We have the luxury of having grown up together. I can’t shine you on because you could see through that. You could always tell when I wasn’t being honest.”

  It was the look in his eyes. The cheerful gleam that was always present faded a bit when he was doing something he wasn’t supposed to or trying to avoid saying something he didn’t want to.

  She caressed his cheek. “I told you a long time ago that you never had to hide anything from me.”

  “I know.” He took her hand in his and kissed her palm. “If I don’t tell you something, it’s to keep you safe.”

  She tried to make things light again. “Even though you did hide the fact in high school that you got the lead in the school play, but you turned it down because Bernadette got the lead opposite you.”

  “No, I turned down that role for pure preservation reasons. Being in drama club was one thing, but I didn’t want to get ridiculed and beat up every day on the way home from school. Mostly by my cousins. The tier for extracurricular activities in our family went football, basketball, baseball, and soccer. Flouncing around in tights would’ve been problematic.”

  “You were going to be Danny in the musical Grease. No tights required.” She gave him a nudge.

  “OK, I knew Bernadette was kind of your arch enemy, and I didn’t want you to feel jealous if she laid on her performance of Sandy really thick to get back at you.”

  “You could have told me.” She gripped his arm tighter. “At sixteen I wouldn’t have understood, but you could have told me.”

  “Besides, Bernadette always wore a ton of perfume. You remember that scent that was a big seller when we were kids? What is it called? Attraction?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “It was more like Repellent.”

  “It smelled like cotton candy, musk, and bubble gum had a fight in a beaker glass. The school was filled with that stench.” He laughed. “Every time Bernadette came near me, my gag reflexes would ramp up.”

  “Estas loco.” She let out a hearty laugh.

  “Solo loco port ti.”

  “Ah.” She sighed. “My mom loved the way you spoke Spanish. She said she didn’t have to go from Spanish to English back to Spanish for you to follow the conversation.”

  “I liked talking to her. She was so worldly and wise.”

  “I miss her so much,” she said, trying not to let the emotions carry her away.

  “I know you do. I’m so sorry she was taken from you so soon.”

  “Who would have thought, after all the living she’d done, she’d be cut down by leukemia.” She sighed. “Toward the end, she was doing and saying unusual things. She thought she saw one of her deceased brothers. She even told me one night when I called to check up on her that you’d visited her that day.”

  Trevor remained silent.

  Theresa searched his face. “Were you there?”

  “I visited your mom on a few occasions in the hospital.”

  She gasped. “I thought she was out of her mind from the pain meds. You never told me.”

  “I’d done so much damage popping in and out of your life, I didn’t want to do any more. And I knew I couldn’t stay long. I didn’t want to disrupt your life.”

  “What did the two of you talk about?”

  “Lots of things. She talked about her childhood in the Dominican Republic. Sometimes she’d ask me to read bible passages to her. And sometimes I just held her hand.”

  Trevor is going to watch over you. He promised me. The words echoed in her mind. Her mother had told her that a couple of days before she died.

  “Did you make any declarations to her?”

  “I did. I promised I’d watch over you for the rest of my life.”

  “That’s a bold statement to make to a dying woman.”

  “I meant every word.” He stared into her eyes. “I apologize for missing the funeral. By the time Charisma was able to get in touch with me, it was too late. I have flowers placed on her grave every month.”

  “I had a feeling that might have been you.”

  “It wasn’t enough. I should have been there for you.”

  “I may not have much family left, but the Reeds made up for that. They were there to support me. All five hundred of them.” Although she was devastated about her mom’s surprise passing, her heart swelled with love when the Reeds had comforted her in her time of need. In a way it made her feel like Trevor was there.

  “There are times when I like being part of a big, loving family. They come through, big time when you need them.”

  “I know you would’ve attended if you could. She loved you. She hated Tony. She didn’t want me to marry him.”

  “I didn’t like Tony either.”

  “You didn’t know him.”

  “I knew he was going to marry my girl. That’s all the reason I needed.”

  “I hadn’t been your girl in quite a while.”

  “You will always be mine.” Trevor pulled her close and kissed her.

  Theresa opened up as he parted her lips with his tongue. They'd just shared a kiss in her office, but it felt like it had been so lo
ng since she felt his soft lips and the stubble of his five o’clock shadow. The smoldering, sensual energy that had already been between them came alive again as he delved deeper into her mouth. When she pulled back because she wanted to get some answers, he deepened the kiss and caressed the small of her back. He knew the right places to touch and how to make her forget to ask him the tough questions.

  “Why is that every time we kiss it feels like the first time?” she asked softly.

  “I know the feeling.”

  She looked up at the stars. “Do you remember that night?”

  “How could I forget the first time we made love?”

  “I was so nervous.” She shook her head. “I didn’t know what to do, but you were so patient and loving with me.”

  “I didn’t have a clue what to do either.” He smiled. “Well, I knew the mechanics of what went where, but I also didn’t want to look like some awkward, horny idiot. I just wanted to be with you.”

  “You could have fooled me. I felt like such a clumsy, unsophisticated virgin.”

  “I just wanted to be with you. I want to be with you now.” He kissed her again. “Let’s go back to my cabin.”

  “Yes.”

  Theresa felt good as they made their way below deck and back to his cabin. He closed the door and took her into his arms. His kisses, his touch, everything was as she remembered, but with more confidence and the passion of a skilled lover. The adult Trevor had perfected his technique, and she loved it.

  There it was again. The old spark of the Trevor she loved. This Trevor was open, loving and warm like she remembered. It was easy to be with him. He had a great sense of humor and he was handsome but he didn’t let it go to his head but he was self-aware enough to love fine clothes and meticulous grooming.

  She looked at him for what seemed like forever. “Who are you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Exactly what I said. You’re not the Trevor Reed I grew up with and loved with all my heart. The guy who wanted to be a lawyer and have a practice in the city. Where do you go when you’re away from home so long?”

  “Reese.” He caressed her arms. “I’m the same man I’ve always been. Sure, I made a drastic career change, but I always had a love of photography. We always talked about traveling the world together.”