Love Undercover

by Nana Prah

  She stepped into the shower, closed the curtain, and stripped naked. Thoughts of him made her glad her stall only provided cold water.

  Chapter 16

  Matt couldn’t be anywhere near Sarita’s vicinity while she showered, so he went over to the television area and stared unseeing at the screen.

  He pulled his arm away from the insistent tug on his sleeve. The image of her lathering herself up refused to leave. He knew better than to lose focus while amongst the inmates. If he’d been on the seventh floor all hell could have broken loose with his inattention.

  “Carter.”

  He looked down at the short, blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman staring up at him, batting her eyes. She clasped hands behind her and thrust out her chest.

  He had no patience with this particular inmate. “What?”

  “Are you enjoying the movie?” Her words came out breathy, accentuating the Swedish accent.

  Without answering, he returned to the guard’s desk. Greene’s eyes tracked them. Matt didn’t appreciate the shaking of his coworker’s shoulders, indicating his amusement. Jessica Pearson shadowed him. Without uttering a word, her puffed out chest and fluttering eyelashes spoke volumes.

  “What can I do for you, Pearson?”

  “Anything you want, Carter.”

  Was she for real? He inhaled and summoned a grain of patience. “What do you want?”

  Her teasing aggravated him to another level. “You, silly.”

  He had to hand it to the beautiful woman for her boldness, yet he found her behavior more embarrassing than sexy. “Go back to the television area, Pearson.”

  “I’d rather stay here.”

  Her pout, intended to entice, angered him.

  Sarita stepped out of the shower stall, sexier than ever with her wet hair hanging down her back. She observed the situation as she breezed past the desk to put her things on the floor at her door.

  Face devoid of expression, she headed to where Hana sat at a table alone.

  Matt frowned. What relationship did these two women share? More importantly, how come she had no reaction to Pearson’s flirting? Not that the silly woman meant anything to him. The petite blonde would flirt with any male guard that crossed her path. Matt wanted Sarita to show at least a little spike of jealousy.

  Something similar to what he experienced last night when he found out about her visitor would’ve been appropriate.

  Pearson chose to ignore his polite request and maintained her position.

  “Leave the desk, Pearson.”

  Within the span of a few seconds she threw a poisonous look toward Sarita, a salacious wink at him, and then sashayed away.

  Greene smacked him on the back. “Well played my friend. She can be persistent.”

  “Why don’t we transfer her to the male detainment unit so she can have more fun?”

  “I’d be afraid for those unsuspecting inmates.”

  Matt nodded and glanced over at Sarita. She sat alone while her cellmate went to shower. When Monica had been around, they’d laugh and talk while in the room, yet when they came out for rec, they went their separate ways. For some reason, Sarita had developed a tendency to stick to Rhee and no longer socialized with the other inmates.

  She hadn’t come to him once today. What had he expected from her? She couldn’t jump all over him with kisses, even though it would have been nice to have her in his arms again.

  Was she an affectionate person on the outside? He wondered a lot about her likes, dislikes, tastes, philosophies on life, and other things he’d never wanted to find out about his previous girlfriends. Not that she fell into the category of his woman, but he could wish.

  Not in this lifetime, unless he’d be willing to relocate to South America. For a fraction of a second, the thought didn’t seem impossible.

  ***

  Sarita attempted to maintain a deadpan expression. Inside she seethed after seeing that Swiss hussy coming on to her man. Whoa there, girl. He’s not your man. The thought annoyed her further.

  She once had a boyfriend who flirted with any female of legal age. Not once did she experience an ounce of jealousy, not even when she caught him kissing another woman.

  She never really cared about the cheater. As she analyzed her feelings, the realization hit her that she’d never loved anyone as much as Carter. It must be the confined surroundings.

  Her mind tried to rationalize as her heart hammered in the truth with each beat.

  Fifteen minutes remained for morning rec. She only had today with Matt and that time would be shared by thirty-nine inmates. They’d have no chance for a private talk. When she left tomorrow, he’d think she’d flown off to Columbia for a minimum of ten years. No hope of her re-entry into the US unless she created something they desperately needed, like a time-travelling machine.

  “I’ll be back.” Sarita pointed to where most of the others sat riveted to a game show. “Do you want to go watch television?”

  Hana’s downturned mouth made Sarita forget her own woes for a moment. Sarita walked up to the desk. How would he respond if she disclosed her role as a Secret Service agent on assignment to protect a foreign dignitary’s daughter? Wouldn’t do to blow her cover at this late date, would it?

  Greene leaned on the edge of the desk. “You’ve been quiet today, Cerez.”

  “You want me to start a riot?”

  “I’ll take quiet.” His head pivoted between Matt and her. “I’m going to annoy them by changing the channel.”

  “He’s right.” Matt’s voice came out low. “Is everything all right, Sarita?”

  Her heart soared at the sound of her name from his mouth. Kissing him right then would send her straight to solitary confinement. It might be worth it. “I’m all right. A lot on my mind is all.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  Why did he have to be so sweet? “I’ll be fine. Thanks.”

  His lips pressed together so tightly they became pale before he spoke again. “I heard you got a visitor last night.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Who’d you hear that from?”

  “My roommate told me. He worked in the visitation room.”

  “He wouldn’t happen to be tall, really handsome, and blond?”

  “I’ll vouch for the tall and blond, but I’m not touching handsome.”

  The glares now made sense. She’d bet money he’d thought Lombardo was her boyfriend. Should she milk it or put him out of his misery? “How did your roommate know who I was?”

  “The list. Each guard in the visitation room has a list. It’s his job to know.”

  Quick on his feet, another agent attribute. “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Who was your visitor?”

  “An old friend,” she said, content that her tone came out nonchalant.

  “Not your boyfriend?”

  The idea of Lombardo as her boyfriend made her queasy.

  “Hell, no. I told you I don’t have one. Why? Are you jealous?”

  He shrugged. “Curious.”

  “I’m curious, too. Jessica looked awfully cozy with you a little while ago.”

  “Are you jealous?”

  What was there to hide? “Yes.”

  “She’s an attention seeker.”

  “Why can’t she get it from Greene?”

  “I’m a little more patient than he is when it comes to her.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and refrained from tapping her foot. “I see.”

  “I don’t think you do.” He surveyed the room. “I don’t want what she’s trying to throw at me. I’d rather have a tough ass, funny, intelligent Columbian lady.”

  Oh. Her mouth opened, but the word didn’t come out.

  “If I had my way, you’d never go back.”

  “Where would I go?”

  His eyes remained unwavering. “Home with me.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “What are we talking about over here?”

  Sarita cle
nched her jaw at Jessica’s impeccable timing.

  “Cerez was telling me why her lawyer couldn’t get her to stay in the US.”

  Jessica stared at her. Did the chick really expect an explanation?

  “You never know what can happen,” Sarita mumbled.

  “You can say that again.” Jessica shelved a hand on her hip, swiveling toward Matt. “I’m hoping my being in the newspaper will help me stay. The people I used to babysit for are very powerful and they’re trying to get me out of here. I’ve been in the United States for seven years. I was even in the process of buying a house. I don’t know why they would want to kick me out. I’m a good person.”

  Sarita’s eye twitched. “Are you saying that the rest of us aren’t?”

  Jessica sighed. “No, but I’m--”

  Matt stopped her before she could make a bigger ass out of herself. “Rec time is over. Everyone back into your cells.”

  Sarita cut him a look. Was there a glint in his eyes? If Jessica had claimed herself as special, then Sarita might have exploded.

  The girl was being deported to Switzerland, the land of some mighty delicious chocolate.

  What if she’d run away from something bad? The thought came to Sarita unbidden, causing a sudden bout of compassion to replace the jealousy and anger. Everyone had a story, even if they never shared all of it.

  “Off to your cells Cerez and Pearson.”

  She’d never get tired of his deep voice. With her newfound revelation, she smiled at Jessica.

  After a quick glance at Matt, who had furrowed his eyebrows, Sarita met Hana and they walked to their room.

  She didn’t give Hana a chance to settle into her bed before asking who she’d been so somber with on the phone.

  The chance of getting an answer tended to be a crapshoot. “I called my mother as you suggested.”

  Shocked that she’d answered, Sarita caught herself just in time from plunking down on the toilet and moved to the window seat instead.

  “What did she say?”

  “She yelled.” Hana squished her pretty face into a grimace. “A lot.”

  A logical reaction. Hana’s mother must’ve been worried--not knowing if her daughter were dead or alive for all that time.

  “After her anger she became happy I called.” Hana lifted her head. “I told her of my love for Yong and how I desire a marriage such as theirs.”

  Sarita remained silent, even though she wanted to shout, “Spit it out already!”

  Hana’s mouth spread into a toothy grin. “She will speak to my father.”

  “That’s fantastic,” Sarita said a little too loud.

  They giggled.

  “My mother stated a condition. We will have to live in South Korea. She said my father would not allow his only daughter to move so far away from him.”

  “Will Yong leave the US?”

  Hana gnawed the inside of her cheek. “I do not know.”

  Sarita could relate to the girl’s uncertainty. Dealing with men is hard, and not just in the good way, either. Her randy thought curved her lips upward. Hana’s confused look sobered her.

  “Sorry, I just remembered something. Will you ask him?”

  “Yes. During the afternoon break.”

  “Good. I’m sure everything will work out as it’s supposed to.”

  Optimism stirred within Sarita. With the support of her mother, Hana could have Yong. Why couldn’t Sarita have Matt? He might be angry at her deception at the onset, but just like Corinth said, sooner or later he’d come to understand that she’d done her job, not played him for a fool.

  Once she finished this assignment she’d force him to understand. He’d become too important to let go without a fight. In the limited time they’d spent together, he’d snuck up and crawled into her heart. She sighed, looked out the window, and prayed.

  Chapter 17

  Sarita assessed Robbins, the ICE caseworker. A lanky, prematurely balding man in his early forties. At their initial contact, she wouldn’t have described him as handsome. As she’d gotten glimpses into his personality, his appeal shone through. Every weekday the inmates harassed him to learn when they’d be going home. She’d kept up pretenses by doing the same. Today she sat on the opposite side of his desk awaiting news of her discharge.

  “Sarita Cerez, I have the pleasure of informing you that you’ll be released from this facility tomorrow.” Robbins shuffled through a few papers. “Your plane will take off from Washington Dulles International Airport at seven-forty-four in the evening and will arrive at El Dorado Airport in Bogota, Columbia at six fifty in the morning. You are flying on Mesa Airlines.”

  Was Sarita happy to be leaving? Without a doubt. She hated prison life, hence her crime-free existence in this world to prevent any sort of incarceration.

  She nodded.

  “Do you have someone who can meet you at the airport?”

  “It will be arranged.” Immigration didn’t concern themselves about what happened to them once they reached their destination, but Robbins seemed to care. Right before her eyes he became cuter.

  “Do you have any questions?”

  “No.”

  “Have a good life in Columbia.”

  She stood. “Thanks.”

  The next inmate had no qualms about shoving her into the doorframe in her hurry to learn her fate. Sarita rubbed her sore shoulder.

  Hana sat alone at their usual table. Instead of going to the girl, some sort of magnetic force pulled Sarita to the guard’s desk.

  No sense in fighting the inevitable. Matt hitched a thumb towards the office. “Any news today?”

  “I’ve been sprung.”

  “Oh.”

  Her smile broadened when he frowned. When had she transitioned into a sadist? If only she could let him know she’d see him sooner rather than never. “I leave tomorrow. My flight takes off at seven-thirty in the evening. Are you working tomorrow?”

  He smirked. “You never stop trying, do you? You know I can’t tell you that.” He nodded his head once.

  The unexpected answer caused her heart to somersault. Oh how she loved this man. She sighed and gazed into his eyes. “Have you ever been in love?”

  They both froze. Where had that come from? She almost looked around, to see if a spirit had taken flight after inhabiting her body and releasing the question from her mouth.

  “I’m going home!” The hyper excited, jumping Berlinda drew everyone’s attention.

  Sarita would give her the candy bar of her choice for being the perfect distraction. She’d kick herself later for asking Carter such an intimate question. Slinking away from the desk she joined the other girls in extending felicitations to Berlinda. Hana still sat at the same table, now holding an animate conversation with Otoo. Sarita decided she might as well take a break from being tethered to the girl so she joined Marianna and Aba.

  She sat at an angle to keep an eye on Hana and, inadvertently, Matt who’d moved to the television area. He appeared to be more engrossed in his own thoughts than in the show.

  He veered his gaze in her direction. She averted her eyes to the game of Monopoly the two women had started. “Why do you play this game? You never get to finish.”

  “Now you want to sit with us?” Marianna sucked her teeth. “Only to pester us with questions about our entertainment activities? We play it as a distraction. We don’t hold unrealistic expectations of completing it. Why aren’t you with your little cellmate?”

  Sarita raised herself from the seat. They pulled her back down.

  “I was joking,” Marianna teased. “Jeez, chica. Why are you serious today?”

  “I’m going home tomorrow.”

  Her announcement brought forth squeals of delight from the two women. In her peripheral vision, she noticed Matt smile and shake his head.

  “I wish they’d hurry up and tell me I’ll be going back to Ghana soon,” Aba lamented. “I’ve been here for two months.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be returned
soon,” Sarita said. “Or they could keep you for a year and let you out into the US like they did for Gladys.”

  “I’m sure they’ll send you back soon,” Sarita offered. “Or they could keep you for a year and let you out into the US like they did for Gladys.”

  “No thanks. I don’t want to be here for another nine months.” Aba rolled the die. “If the US doesn’t want me in their country, then there’s no need for me to stay. I’ve lived here for five years. It’s time for me to go home to my children.”

  Sarita didn’t hide her surprise. “You have children?”

  Aba beamed. “Yes, three. The eldest is thirteen, the second is nine, and the last is six.”

  Marianna gasped. “You left your one year old child?”

  “Sometimes I wonder why. I have missed them over these years. I’ve sent a little bit of money home and paid off the loan I took to buy my plane ticket. I thought I’d be a millionaire by the time I left the US. I’m nowhere close.”

  A thoughtful Sarita peered at Aba. “At least you’ll see your kids again.”

  The beautiful woman’s smile lit up her eyes.

  Marianna moved her car piece ahead on the board. “Was it your good news that made Carter look like he’d been told he had to behead a puppy?”

  Sarita glimpsed the man who’d captured her heart. “Where do you get these crazy analogies?”

  “I’m creative.”

  “You’re nuts.”

  “That, too. Look how sad he is. Like a lost little goldfish. Is that analogy better, chica?”

  “No, but he’ll be all right.”

  “I don’t think so.” Marianna frowned. “I’m speculating that he feels as if he’s losing the love of his life.”

  Sarita sat up straight. “What are you talking about? I’m not the love of his life.”

  The woman appeared older than Sarita recalled seeing her a minute earlier. “I know more than you think I do.” She pointed to her heart. “I see from here.” Then she tapped the area in between her eyes, “And here. The man is in love with you. You are the greatest love he has or will ever know. He is the same for you.”