Touch of Betrayal, A (30 page)
Read Touch of Betrayal, A Online
Authors: L. J Charles
“Do any of you know the connection between the rogue agent and Xifeng?” Whitney asked.
We all shook our heads. “It’s at the top of my to-find-out list, just as soon as I take care of Mitch and get moved.” My heart stuttered. Would it ever beat steady and strong again?
“There were others working with, ah, Chad the Demon, and they still want to tap your gifts, Belisama.”
“Do we know for sure if C the D killed my parents?” It was a change of topic, but I wanted the answer.
Pierce held my gaze. “When I have the intel on that, you’ll be the first to know.”
Annie patted my knee. “No chasing after rogue agents for a bit, hmm? You’re a hot commodity right now, which is why I think you should move in with us. I’ll teach you all I know about handling knives.” She nodded at Whitney. “I’m not in Boulay’s class, but I’m not bad. And even though Pierce and I can rig your new condo with the best security system out there, we’re both better in person than any alarm will ever be.”
“I know, and thanks for the offer. It’ll be at least a week before things are settled in North Carolina, so—”
“So you’re gonna have me for a shadow.” Pierce shot me a wicked grin.
I fought for a breath, panic stealing the oxygen from my lungs. “No. Oh, bloody hell, no. I can’t deal with being protected. When I get a new phone you can put trackers on it and monitor my location, but personally shadowing me. Nope. Not gonna happen.”
Pierce grunted—a new one that I hadn’t heard before. My right eye twitched.
No way would I survive losing Pierce like I’d lost Mitch. “The protective detail stops here. This instant. What we have to do is take care of Millie. She created the formula that saved Maddie, and to use Annie’s words, that makes her a hotter commodity than I am.”
“We’re on it,” Adam said, standing, “Unfortunately, Kahuna Aukele has a way of disappearing people that makes it difficult to protect them. I’m out of here. You want a ride, Boulay?”
“Yes. I’m rather caught without wheels at the moment,” she said, joining Adam.
Annie handed Maddie to me, stood, and hugged Whitney. “Thank you. Just, thanks.”
Adam leaned down to hug his niece and me. “I’m a phone call away if you need me.”
“I know, Adam. Thanks. About Millie…Grandfather will check on me, and I’ll ask him to work with you. He’s in the middle of teaching me some things, and he always pops in when I have questions.” Like what he meant about only being a single thought away from me, and how to reconcile death as a path to healing.
Annie’s house settled into an easy silence after Adam and Whitney left. Pierce had sprawled in a chair, arms crossed behind his head, legs stretched out, feet resting on a hassock. Was that a snore?
I blinked at Annie. She nodded. “He sleeps every so often.”
Maddie yawned, kicking her blanket off, and I cuddled her tight to my chest. For the first time in hours, maybe days, my heart slipped into an even rhythm. Mitch had been right. Someday I would have a child, but until then Maddie was enough.
Her tiny fist closed around my finger, and held on tight.
Sometime later…
I finished my daily two-mile run,
kicked off my sneakers, dropped my shorts and t-shirt on the bathroom floor, and stepped under the shower spray. Time for my daily meditation. I’d clung to the same routine since the day I moved into my condo, and for the past eight months had used my running and shower time to meditate and heal.
The first few months I couldn’t get beyond the guilt—for being so angry with Mitch, for pushing him out of my life, for not stopping him before he stepped in front of a crazy man with a gun. Nowadays, I worked through those emotions more quickly, and had moved on to
not
feeling guilty about killing two people. I was beginning to understand the relationship between death and healing. Well, sort of, on my good days. But I still wore my wedding ring. And I still touched the pillow next to me every evening when I whispered
good night
to Mitch. Had he found healing in death?
Time. It was a good thing to take it in manageable increments, days, hours, sometimes minutes. I’d started to really believe that time could heal. And my new skills provided a hefty dose of confidence. Annie had been training me in knife work three days a week, and since I’d purchased a legitimate Sig .380, I met Adam at the police firing range a few times every month.
When the water ran cold, I towel dried and slathered on some Pikake lotion. The scent permeated the moist air in the bathroom, and when I stretched my legs out, my muscles breathed contentment from the early morning beach run. Life was good in the islands, and today was a Maddie sleepover, so it was especially good.
I wound my hair into a loose knot, secured the towel under my arms, and checked my schedule for the day. Three clients. A full day. I’d started to build a local base for my coaching business a month after I moved, and still handled a dozen phone sessions a week with my North Carolina clients.
Intent on chugging a large bottle of water, I strolled into my great room and stopped cold.
Tynan Pierce stood in front of my sofa. “I know who killed your parents, Belisama.”
A note from L. j.
Thank you for reading A TOUCH OF BETRAYAL. I hope you enjoyed it. You can reach me…
Website:
http://www.ljcharles.com/
Blog:
http://ljcharles.blogspot.com/
On Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ljwrites
On Twitter: @luciejcharles
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