“Okay.” I pull a small bag out of my closet and throw in two work outfits, my pajamas, a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and some toiletries. I add a pair of flats I often wear to work and zip up the bag. I’m probably forgetting something, but there’s nothing I can do about that now. I’m anxious to get out of here because my apartment feels tainted.
“You okay?” Ace’s voice is soft, and I nod, though I can’t look at him. I’m still embarrassed about my behavior and unsure what to say.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he says, lifting my chin and looking into my eyes.
“I don’t even understand what you’re doing here,” I say after a moment.
“I know, and we’ll talk about everything once we’re at the hotel.”
I take a moment to water my plants since I might be gone a few days, and he fiddles with the nanny cam after asking me where it was.
“What are you doing?” I ask him.
He puts a finger to his lips, so I wait until we’re out on the street.
“The intruder might have left a bug, so I didn’t want to say too much. I’ll come back and do a thorough search tomorrow while you’re at work, but until then, be very careful what you say. I’m going to check your phone too.”
I shudder slightly, even though I’m not cold.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I’m right here.”
“I know, but…” I glance over at him. “Why are you here?”
“I told you, your mom called me and?—”
“Yes, but why you? Why would she think of you to help with this?”
He looks confused. “Didn’t she tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“What I do for a living.”
I shake my head. “Our conversation was very brief.”
“Honey, when we met ten years ago, I was getting ready for a mission in the Middle East.”
“I know. You told me.”
“Not for a deployment.”
I blink. “I’m confused. You mean…” I stop walking and cock my head. “What are you saying? Are you…”
“Intelligence.”
“CIA.”
“Yes.”
I close my eyes. So many things make sense now. Things I didn’t even articulate in my head but confused me, nonetheless. The fact that he didn’t have a social media presence. Not coming to my father’s funeral. The way he all but dropped off the face of the earth after our evening together. When he said he might not be coming back from the Middle East I assumed he was being deployed by the military.
Good grief, was I naïve or what?
“By the look on your face, I see this surprises you,” he says as we get to his hotel and walk inside.
“A little,” I admit. “I guess I thought you’d just moved on with your life and didn’t care enough about my dad, or me, to be at his funeral.”
He shakes his head. “You have no idea how much I hated missing it. But I was in the middle of something I couldn’t just walk away from.”
