Rogue Ghost (CIA Ghost Series Book 1) (15 page)

“Well, I dunno. I mean, you don’t really know them that well. Probably not a good idea for you to go out with someone you just met,” he said with a cough.

“Oh. I thought a couple of them seemed really nice. You aren’t jealous are you?”

“What?” he said with a laugh. “Me? Jealous? Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. I mean, if we were dating, maybe I would be a little bit. But we’re just friends so I’m not jealous at all. I mean, I have a date tonight anyway, so if you wanna go on one too, hey, go right ahead.”

Parker could tell by the sound of his voice that he didn’t mean a word of what he just said. He didn’t say it with any conviction or power and kind of stumbled his way through it.

“Wanna walk along the beach with me?” she asked.

“Sure.”

They grabbed their towels and went near the water, walking along the edge. After a few minutes, Parker saw a couple guys walking from the opposite direction towards them. They appeared to be looking at her so she quickly thought of a plan to seduce Turner further.

“Can you hold my hand please?” she asked, not waiting for a reply, and grabbing his hand.

“What?” he asked, as the two guys walked past them.

“Sorry. I thought those two guys might hit on me and I’ve really had enough of that for one day. So I thought if they saw us holding hands they might think you were my boyfriend and leave me alone.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s OK,” he said.

“Mind if we just keep holding hands for a while?”

“I can think of a lot worse things to do,” he joked.

They walked and talked for another hour, really enjoying themselves and each other’s company. Once they were finished, they walked back to the car and checked their phones for any messages. Parker’s phone was empty but Turner had a few messages from his sister. He called her back before they left.

“Hey Vic, what’s up?”

“Hey. Well, I just wanted to see if you wanted to go to lunch today but since you never replied back I assumed you were busy,” she answered.

“Oh. Sorry about that.”

“Busy day at work today?”

“Uhh, no. I took the day off and went to the beach,” he told her.

“You played hooky from work to go to the beach? That doesn’t sound like you at all. You never call out of work.”

“Yeah, well, I just figured I’d go to the beach today,” he happily said.

“By yourself?”

“Not quite. I went with Alex.”

Vicki was a little surprised and didn’t answer right away. “You mean beautiful, sexy, girl next door, Alex?”

“Uhh yeah.”

“You skipped work to go to the beach…with Alex,” she repeated.

“Umm yes. Is that a problem?”

“Yes! Ryan, can you not see it?”

“Uhh, I guess not,” he replied.

“We are gonna have to talk about this. You’re going on a date tonight with Marissa and you’re going to the beach with another woman.”

“Just as friends,” Turner objected.

“No no. No. Not friends. You are interested in her and I didn’t believe you the other night when you said it and I definitely don’t believe it now. You are interested in her and you can’t hide it from me anymore,” Vicki replied, talking fast.

“Vicki, I really think you’re making a lot out of nothing.”

“Are you on your way home?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Cause I’m coming over so we can talk.”

Turner hung up and looked at Parker, smiling. He wasn’t sure what exactly just happened. His sister was known to get highly emotional at a moments notice and blow things out of proportion. He assumed it was just one of those times.

“Everything OK?” Parker asked.

“Yeah. Everything’s good. My sister wants to talk about something so she’s meeting me at the house.”

“Oh. Ok.”

They talked and laughed along the way home, talking about the different things they liked and disliked. They were really enjoying being with each other. Once they finally got back home, Turner noticed his sister’s car sitting there. She wasn’t in it so he assumed she was waiting on the porch. As they walked closer to the apartment, they could see her sitting there, doing something on her phone. Vicki quickly put it away when she saw them approaching. She noticed Alex’s attire, short shorts and a bikini top, which didn’t help to dispel what she was thinking about them.

“Hi Vicki,” Alex sweetly said, waving.

“Hi,” Vicki replied, mustering a not so genuine smile.

“Wanna change in here?” Turner asked Parker.

Parker took a quick glance at his sister and thought it might not be the best idea. “Uhh…I think I’ll change at my place. Thanks though.”

“OK. See you in a little bit.”

“OK. Bye,” Parker replied, giving Vicki another wave.

Turner and his sister entered his apartment and she started grilling him before he even got the door closed.

“She certainly has a lot going on for her,” Vicki stated, noting her pretty face and curvy body.

“I guess so.”

“So what’s going on with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I finally found a nice girl for you in Marissa and now Alex comes along…,”

“Sis, relax. We’re just friends.”

“Just friends? I just saw how you two looked at each other. That was not a look of just friends,” Vicki told him.

“What do you want me to say?”

“Just tell me the truth.”

“Why is it so important?” Turner asked.

“Ryan, you’ve been a miserable person for the last five years since you and Megan split. I’ve been waiting for the day you met the right person to make you feel happy again,” she explained. “And now I feel like you’re almost there.”

“I’m still not getting where you going with this.”

“It’s not that I’m trying to steer you away from Alex toward Marissa, I’m not. I’m probably making a bigger deal out of this than it actually is and I’m trying not to be overly emotional. But I feel like one of these girls could be good for you. And if it’s Alex, that’s great. If it’s Marissa, that’s great too. I’m not trying to make the decision for you, I just don’t want you to wind up liking both of them and not knowing who to choose and somehow pissing both of them off and winding up with nobody.”

“Wow, sis, relax. You’re way over thinking everything. You do realize I’ve only been on one date with Marissa, right? And Alex, we haven’t even been on an official date. Well, I guess we did go on one.”

“I know, I know. I’m getting way ahead of myself,” she sighed. “I need to remember to take things slow.”

“Really, you need to calm down,” Turner said, sounding unconcerned about the whole matter. “It’s all a moot point anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because Alex is probably not gonna be around that much longer anyway. Her job takes her all over the place.”

“Oh. Well that’s too bad,” Vicki said.

“Too bad? You’ve just spent how many minutes telling me not to be with her?”

“Ryan, if she’s the girl for you then I’m OK with it. She seems really nice. And the sex appeal doesn’t hurt I’m sure. I just don’t want you to screw up things with both of them.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence. Really appreciate it,” he sarcastically replied.

“I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“I know. I’m gonna go get changed.”

“OK. I’m just gonna step outside for a few minutes.”

Just as Vicki stepped outside, she noticed Alex coming out of her apartment also. Alex sat down and Vicki thought it’d be nice to get to know her a little better.

“Mind if I sit?” Vicki asked.

“Sure.”

“Have fun at the beach?”

“Yeah. It was nice to relax for a change. Don’t really get to do that much with my job,” Parker said.

“Yeah. Ryan told me about it. Hey, we’re all going out tonight on a date. Maybe you’d want to come along?”

“Uhh, no, I don’t think so,” Parker laughed. “Besides, I don’t have a date so that really wouldn’t work out so well.”

“Maybe another time.”

“Maybe.”

“So Ryan tells me you move around a lot.”

“Yeah. One of the pitfalls of the job.”

“So how long are you gonna be here for?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Oh. Well, hopefully you’ll stick around for a while.”

“We’ll see. So where are you all going tonight?” Parker wondered.

“I think we’re just gonna have dinner then see a movie.”

“Sounds like a good time. Hope you all have fun.”

“I’m sure we will. It’s too bad you can’t join us. Maybe I could find someone for you? Brad has some single friends,” Vicki stated.

“Oh. No, really, I’m not interested in dating anyone right now.”

“How come? You’re so beautiful, I’m sure you could pick any guy you wanted.”

“It’s complicated,” Parker replied, not wanting to tell his sister her feelings.

“You know, the only reason I can think of you wouldn’t want to date, is that you’re into somebody who might not be available?” Vicki said, deviously trying to get her to confess she liked Ryan.

“It’s tough to date when you’re constantly moving around like I do.”

“Is that why you haven’t gone out with my brother?” she asked, trying the blunt version.

“Excuse me?”

“Well I saw the way you two looked at each other when I first saw you. And the way I saw you look at each other again today, it sure seemed like you guys were into each other.”

Parker wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “That’s pretty direct, huh?”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be nosey or anything,” Vicki said, embarrassed she was so forthcoming. “He‘s just been unhappy for a long time and I just really want him to find someone who’ll make him happy again. Sometimes I go a little overboard.”

“It’s OK.”

“I’ll shut up. I really shouldn’t have said anything. Completely not my business.”

“There you are,” Turner said, coming over to them. “I was looking for you.”

“Well here we are,” Vicki replied.

“So what are you two chatting it up about?”

“Oh nothing.”

“Just girl talk,” Parker said.

“That’s always the polite way of saying it’s none of your business,” he joked.

“Well, I’m gonna go get ready. I’ll see you kids later,” Vicki told them.

Parker and Turner continued sitting there, not talking, but comfortably sitting in silence, enjoying the nice breeze. Parker thought about just coming out and telling him how she felt so she didn’t keep it bottled in any longer. She’d never done this before though so she wasn’t quite sure how to begin.

“I was thinking about earlier,” she began. “When we were at the beach. It was pretty nice and…”

Just as she was about to reveal her feelings, Cole came rushing over. “Sorry to interrupt you ladies but something’s come up.”

“What?” Parker asked.

“I was reviewing security footage that I was able to tap into and look who popped up,” he told her, handing her a picture.

“Heath.”

“Taken two hours ago at a hotel about twenty minutes from here. Hacked into the hotel’s database and ran into the name Chase Daulton. Checked in this morning and staying in room 312.”

“That’s one of his aliases. We need to go,” Parker said.

“Want me to come?” Turner asked.

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “Just enjoy your date tonight. Don’t think about it.”

“So what’ll happen if you actually find him there?”

“Hopefully he’ll give up and turn himself in.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then we kill him,” Cole gleefully said.

“OK. Be careful,” Turner said to Parker.

“I will.”

“I’ll be careful too. Case anyone’s interested,” Cole joked.

Parker and Cole went back into their apartments to grab their weapons and emerged a couple minutes later, each carrying a black backpack slung over their shoulder. They got into Cole’s SUV and drove for the hotel.

“Kind of careless of Heath, don’t you think?” Parker asked. “Getting his picture taken like this.”

“Maybe. But that’s how most criminals are caught. Careless mistakes,” Cole replied. “If they didn’t make ‘em, we wouldn’t catch ‘em.”

“I guess so.”

“So how was the beach?”

“It was nice.”

“You look refreshed,” Cole told her. “Sorry I couldn’t give you the entire day.”

“I’m good.”

Cole floored the gas pedal and they got to the hotel in about fifteen minutes. It was a decent sized hotel, not too upscale, but it was well kept and popular among business travelers. They wanted to separate in case Davis was watching. Cole went through the front entrance while Parker came in through a back door that was open. Cole used the elevator to go up to the third floor as Parker used the steps. They met up in the hallway and swiftly moved down to room 312, guns drawn. Cole motioned that he’d kick the door in and go in first. He took a couple steps back and then unleashed a thunderous kick that swung the door open rather easily, breaking the lock. They quickly entered the room, ready to fire their weapons. Upon no gunfire being fired their way, they cleared the room, and then Cole cleared the bedroom, with Parker checking out the bathroom. Davis wasn’t there. Cole closed the door as they started looking around for leads. Parker immediately noticed a white board on the wall with a bunch of pictures on it. Each picture had a line drawn to it from another picture. Cole came over and looked at it as well, noting the pictures were of Parker, Cole, Turner, Nazarov, and three other men they didn’t recognize.

“Let’s see what else is here,” Parker stated.

They started looking around more when they heard a beeping sound. They traced the sound to the kitchen, finally realizing the sound was coming from a drawer. Cole opened the drawer to see a little black box with what appeared to be the seconds counting down. There was about fifteen seconds to go.

“Run!” Cole said.

“Wait, I need to get those pictures.”

“No time. Go!” Cole replied, grabbing Parker and shoving her forward.

Cole made sure Parker was in front of him as they ran out of the room and down the hallway. They didn’t have time to wait for the elevator and started down the stairs. They reached the bottom as the bomb exploded, destroying the room, along with the rooms on both sides of it. Parker put both hands on her head in frustration, catching her breath from running so hard.