She knew she needed to pull herself together. Where had the logical, analytical Aqua gone, anyway? Nothing had ever rocked her quite like this. Not even when random kids at school teased her about her parents’ strange ways, or when she and her family were snubbed at public events and looked at as though they were outcasts. Those moments were difficult, but none had seemed as hard as this.
One day as she worked in the backyard planting herbs her mother had dropped off to her, the words of Mr. Weiker popped into her head. She’d stayed after school one day to work on a Biology assignment, and it had been one of those days when one of the bullies in the class had made a comment or two about Aqua’s parents. It was funny how Mr. Weiker always knew the right thing to say. He was never preachy, and sometimes she found that she didn’t always fully understand what he meant, but inevitably, his wise words would dawn on her when she needed them most.
“Aqua, some day when you’re older, you’ll look back at the events in your life and the people who have taken this journey with you—the good and the bad—and you’ll see them in a new light. That doesn’t mean that what is done or said can ever be changed, or that it was justified, but when we choose to see people in the best possible light, and approach situations we don’t understand with curiosity, sometimes we find the reality is very different from what we imagined. Sometimes the only change that takes place is the change that happens within us, and often, that is enough.“
She didn’t even realize she had tears streaming down her face until she watched them falling on the leaves of the herbs, dropping her tools, she plopped her butt down on the ground, pulled her arms around her knees, put her head on her arms, and sobbed. Later she realized it was a cleansing, of sorts, and although it hadn’t changed her circumstances, releasing the sadness she felt over the loss of Blake made her feel like she could move forward with her life.
Chapter 15
Her phone vibrated on her desk, and in a glance she recognized the area code and groaned. What had they not understood about her resignation letter? She was tempted to ignore the call, but found herself wondering if there might be a drone overheard watching her and decide she had better answer it before someone showed up at her door.
“Hello?”
“Hey Aqua. It’s Lilly from the office.”
Silence. A war of silence ensued, and there was no way Aqua would be the first to give in.
“So, you’re probably wondering why I’m calling. We have a special request from the Director to bring you in on a special project. In fact, Chaz…”
Lilly’s voice was interrupted by a knock at Aqua’s door. Her stomach dropped and she immediately she knew that this could not be good. She didn’t even bother to check to see who it was before opening the door and squashing the instinct to check the sky.
“Hey, Aqua.”
The familiar, deep voice startled her. “Chaz, what the hell are you doing here?” she demanded as she stood in the doorway, undecided about whether to invite him in.
“That’s some welcome, Aqua.” Chaz Wells laughed, exposing a meticulous row of white teeth, courtesy of the office, as they fondly referred to it within their group. He brushed a wayward strand of hair from his forehead and grinned that lopsided grin that made you think he was harmless, when he was anything but, in more ways than one. It was a smile that could break a woman’s heart even before she had the chance to fall in love with him. That and his incredible looks had been what captured Aqua in the first place, regardless of the rules that you didn’t date colleagues within the CIA.
“I, I…” Aqua was confused. What was her former colleague and former secret lover doing in Burnt River? Aqua did not want to admit it, but he was one of the main reasons she had initially considered leaving the city, to begin with, and now he was on her doorstep. No, cancel that. Walking into her home.
“Missed me, or never thought you would see me again,” he said finishing her sentence. His overconfidence was irritating. It was a character trait Aqua had initially found attractive, but now, with him in her home uninvited, it grated her.
“More like I would never see you again.”
He raised his eyebrows. Was that admiration she glimpsed in those clear blue, typically unreadable eyes? She felt a momentary triumph and knew he was not expecting her to fight back. She never had, and it was probably one of the things that had attracted him to her. Until their relationship, she’d been relatively naïve when it came to men, and despite warnings from her co-workers, which she aptly ignored, she’d been trusting.
Now that she thought about it, maybe the real reason she left New York was to try to preserve what little faith in humanity she had left.
It took Aqua a moment to get her head around this new situation, and Chaz took advantage of that fact by sliding past her and the partially open door.
Her relationship with Blake appeared to have been doomed from the onset. Of course, Blake’s insults about her parents were the final straw, but it was his reluctance to contact her after, that had made Aqua’s mind up – she was certain that his parents had finally talked him around to their way of thinking. That did not mean that it hurt any less. Aqua was still in love with Blake and that was not going to change anytime soon, she could not switch it off and on. And now she had her former boyfriend, a CIA career guy, in her living room about to deliver news that she was quite certain she did not want to hear.
“Okay, okay, apart from missing that amazing ass of yours, I am here in an official capacity.” Chaz moved from the living room to her office and sat down in the chair opposite Aqua’s desk with an uncouth thump.
Aqua sucked in a quick breath. For the first time, she felt strong enough to tell him to back off, to disappear, but looking into his eyes was her undoing. They captivated her and for a moment she wondered if he had special powers of persuasion or hypnosis; his piercing green eyes encased in white had an intensity that was exclusive only to him. Chaz was a master in concealing his intelligence packaged in a surfer dude, casual sort of way, putting on the airs of a simple and superficial man who needed female conquests to complement his ego. But make no mistake about it, behind that facade was a man who knew exactly what he was doing, with the skills to accomplish whatever he wanted with whoever he wanted--a true chameleon with killer instincts, which is one of the things that had made him so successful in his career to-date. Aqua had no idea what she was getting into when she agreed to meet him that very first time outside the office. Over time, she’d actually begun to believe he cared about her, and that he might be the one.
She’d been wrong.
Forcing her eyes away from his, Aqua let out a deep breath of resignation, “Okay, spill it.” Before he could speak, she lifted her hand. “Not the crap about missing my ass, but the official capacity thing.”
He laughed. “Great. I’ll tell you over coffee.” He walked over to the window and scanned the main street in the town. “Do you have any decent coffee in this quaint little town?” he asked condescendingly.
“Chaz, please let’s not play games. Tell me here… now.”
He spun around. “No, Aqua. It was a long trip and I need a cup of decent coffee.” Chaz flashed her one of his volcanic smiles.
At this point, it didn’t seem worth a fight. Aqua walked past Chaz and out through the door.
“Hm, feisty,” he said as he smacked her on the butt on her way by.
She whirled around. “If you touch me again, it will be the last time you do, and I’m not kidding. Your charm doesn’t work with me anymore, Chaz, so cut the crap and let’s get down to business.”
She noticed resentment pass through his eyes and wondered for the second time that day how she was able to get to the “Ice Man” when even hardened criminals could not. Or was it that no one else dared to stand up to him? Either way, it didn’t matter, she had found her voice and there was no turning back now.
“Where to?” Chaz scanned the main street with distaste.
“We’ll go to Evie’s Diner.
” Seeing the surprise on Chaz’s face, she added. “Best coffee in town. Trust me. Close the door behind you.”
The place was practically empty when they stepped inside, it was mid-morning and the breakfast crowd was gone, and the lunch crowd had not yet arrived. The young waitress who had served Aqua when she had frequented the diner with Blake looked up with a surprised expression on her face when she saw them before her eyes narrowed. It was obvious that she was jealous. This was the second hot man that Aqua had been to the diner within the space of a few weeks. Chaz was a former Navy SEAL, built like a tank, tanned like a surfer, yet all tailored suits and perfection. Not a single scar or blemish marred his perfectly symmetrical face and chiseled jawline that looked as if they had been crafted that way. Who knows, maybe they had.
“Two coffees with cream and sugar,” said Chaz not looking at the waitress when she approached the table. It was another one of his signature moves. Never look at another woman, even when she was only mildly attractive, when in the presence of a woman he was trying to influence. Chaz only used other women when he wanted to make the object of his desire mad with jealousy. His roguish ways had even worked on the highly intelligent Aqua back in the day, but not anymore. “So what’s all this about?” he asked sweeping his arm around the diner dismissively.
“What do you mean? Haven’t you ever been in a diner before?”
“Now who’s playing games? Come on, Aqua, from New York City to here? he scoffed. “There are probably more cows living here than people.”
She chuckled. “You might be right on that one.” She bit her lower lip before responding. “I guess that I just wanted to be near my parents and the people I grew up with. There just wasn’t enough to keep me in New York or my job there.” Her words made her think of Blake. Searing pain shot through her chest. Despite knowing that they would never work out, it hurt her every time she thought about him, and at least for now that was often.
Chaz watched her like a hawk, and it was likely he could read between the lines. “Come on, Aqua. You belong in New York with me.” Chaz’s smile was seductive.
“Yeah, right, with how many other women?” Aqua arched her eyebrows. “Come on, Chaz. Stop this. You and I both know that you are not here for me.” Aqua lifted her hands, stopping him from protesting. “It’s okay, and I don’t hold it against you, but I would like to hear the real story of why you are here.”
They waited for the waitress to place the sugar and cream on the table and pour the coffee. She lingered for far longer than necessary clearly in the hope of catching Chaz’s attention, but she gave up in the end when her boss called her to the counter. Both Chaz and Aqua took a big portion of the cream and two teaspoons of sugar each. It always amazed Aqua how much she and Chaz had in common. Even their backgrounds were similar. Chaz also had parents who veered on the alternative side. They too believed in free love and peace for the world. Instead of organic produce and herbal medicine, they sold marihuana as the cure-all for every malady. Or at least that was what he had told her. Now she realized that everything she’d ever known about him might be a lie.
“I know that I was a shit and I am sorry.” Chaz smiled. “I guess that I just chickened out when you wanted us to become all official.” He took a sip of coffee and winced. “You call this good coffee?”
Aqua bit the inside of her mouth to stop the grin that threatened. It was never good to gloat over someone else’s discomfort, but if she was to be honest, watching his reaction gave her a fair amount of pleasure. “It’s back to the basics here, Chaz, just good, strong, authentic coffee. No lattes allowed.” She was grateful for the distraction and had no desire to flesh out their past. It was already enough having to deal with the heartbreak around Blake.
“If you like the taste of water strained through a jock strap, then it’s the best I ever tasted.”
Aqua rolled her eyes. Despite how much he had hurt her, it was good to see Chaz again. “You’re so crass, Chaz. So are you going to fill me in?”
Chaz lowered his voice. “Simmons asked me to get you back to New York as quickly as possible.”
Aqua swallowed when she heard the mention of her former boss. “Me? Why?”
“He needs your expertise on a project.” Chaz took another sip of his coffee and grimaced.
Aqua rolled her eyes. “Oh stop, Chaz. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d gone all-soft from your café coffee. What could Simmons possible need me for? He has an entire team of perfectly capable people.”
“In certain things, but your knowledge and skills on the money laundering front far surpass anyone else on our team.” Chaz moved closer to the table until his leg brushed against hers. “Simmons wants us to work together on this one. My expertise in the field combined with you crunching the numbers and tracing the paper trail will have this one in the bag in no time.” He swirled some coffee in his mouth
Aqua shifted her legs and bit back a retort. It was true that she had felt a sense of peace since her return to Burnt River, but how much of that was because of Blake. Now that they were no longer an item, it made her wonder. Maybe it would be good to get back to the city, do this one job, and then decide what she was going to do when it was done. It would be easy to do the work for her small client base here remotely, especially since she had met with newer businesses, who didn’t have the established relationships that many of the older companies in the area did.
She’d just signed a contract to handle the finances for Thorn Macklin and his custom cycle shop, and she was sure she could manage that one account from New York if needed. It hadn’t yet grown large enough to require anything more. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Do what?”
Aqua snapped her head to the left. “Blake!”
Chaz turned his head. Immediately, his eyes narrowed as he studied the new arrival.
“What’s going on, Aqua?” Blake plastered a smile on his face. “Who’s this?” he reached out to shake Chaz’s hand.
“He’s somebody I used to work with in New York. Blake, this is Chaz. Chaz, Blake.”
Chaz whistled. “Is that all? Hm. Reduced to a co-worker in the blink of an eye.” His jaw tightened as he met Blake’s handshake.
The color on Aqua’s face faded. She suddenly felt nauseous, but she couldn’t protest. Forcing a smile, she waved for Blake to take a seat with them.
Blake didn’t move. “She never mentioned you before.” His gaze shifted between the two of them. “Then again, she’s barely had time to reacquaint herself with people in town, so there are bound to be lots of surprises for everyone.” Blake’s mouth twitched, and she could tell he was furious. “I’ll be off, Aqua. Enjoy your time with your friend.” Blake turned on his heels and walked out of the diner.
“Nice guy.” Chaz’s voice was deadpan, but his nostrils flared.
“I feel like I’m back in the stone age.”
Chaz transitioned just as quickly. “So, what do you say? You’ll come back?” He took a moment to leer at the waitress’ backside. He was so engrossed that he missed the single tear making its way down Aqua’s cheek.
Chapter 16
It was Aqua’s fifth week in the city. The job was everything Chaz had promised and more.
The Office had offered to set her up in a luxury apartment on Fifth Avenue as part of her cover. Not that Aqua had much time to enjoy it. There had been so much work to do that she had been cooped up at the office day in and day out when she wasn’t out in the field. Even Chaz hadn’t found the time and energy to pursue his pastime of chasing women and frequenting trendy bars.
Despite being employed at the CIA for a number of years, they had never shared a project that involved Aqua performing fieldwork. Typically, she was office-bound and focused on the digital trail that would help them bring International criminals and money launderers to justice. To Aqua’s surprise, Chaz was a brilliant teammate. In addition to the two of them, they had a team of four junior accountants crunching numbers and two additional agents in
the field. This gave time for them to track down the electronic trail left by the money launderers and for Aqua to identify any suspicious transactions found in the hidden accounts. It was tiring, but exhilarating work. None of their work had been conducted at the regular offices. Instead, Chaz and Aqua were based in a secret location with their own secure servers and security team.
“Look at this, Aqua. I think I’ve got something.” Chaz made space for Aqua to pull up her chair next to his.
She studied the screen that shimmered on her face, aware that Chaz was studying her just as intently.
“Oh my God, I think you found it, Chaz.” Aqua’s lips trembled slightly as she connected the dots inside her head. Heads were going to roll when this information was disclosed—or would they?
More than once she had found that when the trail they uncovered led too close to home, she’d been thanked for her work, but never made aware of what was done with it—if anything.
She’d always moved on to the next case. She released a deep breath slowly through her mouth.
“Yep, this one’s big, but what I can’t find is who this account belongs to,” he said pointing to a number highlighted in red on the screen, “or how it’s connected to the whole.” Chaz held his head next to Aqua’s. She heard him inhale deeply and moved away a few inches.
“My mom makes the blend.”
“I, I…”
“It’s okay, Chaz. If you don’t want to get caught sniffing a woman, I suggest you tone it down with the deep breathing.” Aqua chuckled. “Let’s keep this professional.” Aqua enjoyed the rare discomfort that streamed across his face, regardless of how short it would be. It made her wonder if he was interested. “Now, come on. It appears that we might even be able to wrap up this job in the next few days if we stay focused,” she said, banishing the thought from her mind and getting serious again.
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