Rogue Ghost (CIA Ghost Series Book 1) (22 page)

“They’re gonna see if they can come up with a lead on Heath.”

“What about Cole?” Turner asked.

“There’s nothing more we can do here.”

Turner drove Parker back to the apartment complex. Parker was so tired she fell asleep, her head leaning against the window. She was so exhausted there wasn’t anything that could wake her. Turns, speed bumps, music, none of it seemed to faze her. Once Turner pulled into his parking spot and turned the car off, he looked over at his passenger and couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked. Even while she was sleeping she looked gorgeous. He got out of the car and walked around to the other side and opened the door. He considered trying to wake her up but considering everything she’d been through, Turner felt she deserved to get some sleep. He put one arm under her legs and the other around her back and lifted her out of the car, closing the door with his leg.

“What are you doing?” Parker groggily asked, her eyes barely open.

“Shhh. I’ve got you. Go back to sleep,” he whispered.

Turner carried her all the way back to his apartment. He still had the keys in one of his hands and though difficult, managed to unlock the door. He carried Parker into the living room and gently placed her on the couch. He looked at her for a few minutes and started getting a little sad knowing that she’d probably be leaving soon, walking out of his life forever. He closed the door and went to his bedroom to get some sleep himself.

Parker woke up about eight o’clock when she heard her phone ringing in her pocket. She sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes and looked around to see where she was. It took a few seconds for her to realize that it was Turner’s place. She looked down at herself to make sure she still had all her clothes on. She answered the phone as she walked around the place.

“Hello?” she answered, but not focused on the call.

“Parker?” Burnett asked. “Are you there?”

“Oh. Yes. Sorry. I’m here,” she replied, looking in the bedroom and seeing Turner laying there sleeping.

“We got a hit on Davis.”

“Oh? Where is he?” Parker asked, walking out of the apartment to avoid waking Turner up.

“Your intel was correct last night. He did leave the country. He went to a private airport and flew out of the country at approximately ten o’clock.”

“Where’d he go?”

“The plane took off for Mexico. Now we’re not sure if that’s his final destination or he’s just using that as a quick getaway to cover his tracks for somewhere else,” Burnett stated.

“So what are my orders now?”

“Pack your bags today and fly down to Mexico and try to pick up his trail.”

“What about Cole?” Parker asked, concerned for her partner.

“There’s nothing more you can do for him there. We’ll see to it that he regains full health. How soon can you be in motion?” Burnett wondered.

“I can be ready to go in a few hours.”

“Excellent. Let me know when you’ve gotten to Mexico.”

“One more thing before you go,” Parker said.

“Yes?”

“About Turner.”

“What about him?” Burnett asked.

“I just wanted to make sure he’ll still be safe once I leave. You put off the order and I just wanted to see if it still stood.”

Burnett sighed and took a moment before answering. “With Davis leaving, it appears that Turner will no longer be a threat to anyone. The order is still cancelled and will not go out.”

“Thank you,” Parker said, breathing a little easier.

“However, we will still continue to keep an eye on him and monitor his situation. If I get word from any sources that it has somehow become a problem and he represents a danger and security risk, I will do what has to be done.”

“Understood.”

“Very well. Good luck in Mexico.”

Parker immediately went back to her apartment and started packing. It didn’t take that long though as she usually traveled pretty light. She was ready in about an hour. The last thing in her closet she had left was the bikinis she had bought for her beach trip with Turner. She picked them up and was about to throw them in her suitcase when she stopped and started thinking about their time on the beach. A smile came over her face and she looked back at the bikinis and instead laid them on the bed. Parker zippered up her suitcase and was about to leave when she remembered one last thing. She went over to the nightstand next to the bed and pulled out his picture. It was the picture she took of her and Turner when they were at the beach. She smiled again as she looked at it. She actually looked happy, she thought. She was about to put it back in the drawer but thought better of it and decided to keep it.

Turner had just woken up and walked out to the living room to check on Parker. Once he saw she was gone, panic started setting in. He worried that she had already left without the chance of him saying goodbye. He frantically checked the rest of the apartment just to make sure she wasn’t still there. He then rushed over to the window to see if her car was still there, which it was. It didn’t really make him feel better though, since he knew it was a rental. She could’ve just left it if she’d gotten a ride to the airport, he thought. He raced out the door and ran over to her apartment and barged in, since it wasn’t locked. He hoped he wasn’t too late.

Parker heard someone bursting through the door and grabbed her gun, putting the picture on the suitcase. She came out of the bedroom and peeked around the corner. Once she saw who it was she holstered her weapon in the back of her pants.

“Thank God you’re still here,” Turner said upon seeing her.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“I woke up and you weren’t there. I was afraid that maybe you’d left.”

Parker smiled. “I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.”

“So you are leaving then?” he asked.

Parker looked down at the floor before answering. “We both knew it was going to happen at some point.”

“I know. But…just seems so sudden.”

“That’s how it usually works,” she told him, walking back to her bedroom with Turner following.

Turner saw her bag resting on the bed and noticed the picture on top of it. He walked over to it and picked it up. He smiled as he looked at it.

“You printed it out,” Turner said.

“I, uhh, wasn’t sure if I was going to take it with me or not.”

“Why not?”

“I just thought it’d remind me of everything here…of what I was missing,” she told him.

“You’re never coming back, are you?”

Parker tried to put on a happy face, though it didn’t work very well. They both knew the answer. “You never know,” she said, trying to smile.

“I’m never gonna see you again, will I?” he persistently asked.

“Probably not,” she said, finally saying the words she didn’t want to say.

They stood there, not looking at each other, uncomfortably waiting for the other to say or do something. Turner finally put the picture in an outer pocket of the suitcase.

“Please take it,” he told her.

Parker nodded and smiled. “Well, I guess I should get going.”

A solemn expression overtook Turner’s face. He sighed, stumbling over what to say. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“Well, I think in these situations, goodbye is usually the most appropriate,” Parker smiled, hoping to lighten the mood.

“I don’t even wanna say the words,” he said, letting out a fake laugh.

“Well, I hope things with Marissa go well. You deserve it.”

“Thanks.”

“I really need to be going. Every minute I wait is an extra minute that Heath can use to get away.”

Turner nodded. Parker went up to him and gave him a hug, closing her eyes. Once they let go of their embrace she kissed him on the cheek. She stroked his cheek for a moment and then picked up her bag. She walked out of the bedroom and toward the door, turning around to look at Turner as she reached it.

“Take care of yourself,” Parker told him.

“You too.”

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Mike Ryan lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, three kids, and three dogs. He is currently working on another book. He loves country music, 80s hair bands, superhero movies, and cop shows.

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