Actually, when I think about it, there are a lot of things we do together—other than the one that I probably shouldn’t have kept from him for the past year.
If I had been honest with him about my practicing at the shooting range and Paradise, the paintball training center, maybe Jayden would have more faith in my abilities.
Maybe then he wouldn’t worry about my safety as much. He would trust that I can take care of myself.
Unsurprisingly, Blake and Virginia list BDSM as the thing they enjoy doing together.
“Isn’t there anything else you two enjoying doing as a couple?” Mildred asks.
They exchange glances. “Why isn’t that enough?” Blake asks.
“Because there comes a time in a man’s life when things don’t work as well as they used to,” Keith says, a knowing, enjoy-it-while-you-still-can smile on his face.
The image of Blake and Virginia as seventy-year-olds still doing BDSM pops into my head, and I choke down a laugh.
Jayden’s phone rings. He checks the screen and pushes himself out of his chair. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he tells me. “I need to answer this.”
Mercifully, the conversation doesn’t return to the previous one about Landon being a spy.
Instead, Mildred and Keith share some hilarious stories about their marriage. Like the one when Keith was fifty-eight years old and he scaled the tree outside their bedroom window as if he were a teenager sneaking into her room at night.
“Luckily for me, the fire department also had a sense of humor,” he says as we wipe the tears from our eyes from laughing so hard. “None of the crew laughed when they rescued me, but I could tell they were fighting it.”
Jayden returns to his seat. “Sorry about that,” he says to the group. “Work emergency.”
“Didn’t you tell your job that you’re away on vacation?” Keith’s tone mimics the one teachers adopt when a student disappoints them.
“I did, and I promise it won’t happen again.” He reaches for my hand and gives it a meaningful squeeze.
Too bad it wasn’t in the spy manual as to what it means.
“Our plans have changed,” he tells me. “Looks like we’re free for dinner sooner rather than later.”
“There’s a great little restaurant not far from the resort that we’ve been dying to try,” Virginia says. “Does anyone want to join Blake and me? Especially you two.” Her gaze shifts to Mildred and Keith. “I would love to hear more about your marriage and all the tricks you’ve learned over the years to ensure it’s a long and happy one.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Mildred says. “I’ll ask Caroline and Davis if they’d like to join us.”
We agree to meet in the front lobby in twenty minutes and retire to our rooms to get ready.
As soon as the bedroom door clicks shut, I ask, “What happened to Landon? Are we still meeting up with him?”
“I already have.”
“What do you mean you already have?”
“The call I took while we were chatting with the others at the pool was Davis Bateman. He and Caroline wanted to discuss the suspected break-ins. I called Landon to join us, and he’s currently installing the cameras and security devices in their room.”
It takes a full thirty seconds for the meaning behind his words to hit. “And you didn’t bring me with you because…?”
Well, doesn’t that just fuck rotten tomatoes?He still doesn’t believe I’m capable of doing the job.
Which is rich given his arm is in a sling because he was shot while on a mission.
“Because we needed you to see what else you could learn about the group,” Jayden says. “None of them were staying here at the time of the reported incidences, but that doesn’t clear them from being linked to the potential crimes. Some of them are highly interested in Caroline, and we don’t know yet if that’s because they’re genuinely interested in what she has to say, or if there is some other ulterior motive.”
“You mean like Demek?” I frown. “You don’t think he could possibly be linked to the KGB, do you?”
“There’s always that possibility, but I doubt it. He hasn’t hidden the fact that he’s Russian born. KGB agents don’t typically broadcast that they’re from the motherland. But that doesn’t mean we can totally disregard him. No one is above suspicion until we can rule, without a doubt, they aren’t involved.”
