Meant to Be (6 page)

“
Hey, what’s up?” Lauren
held her one ear closed so she could hear the voice on the other
end of the line over the noise of the amusement park.

“
You’re all set.” The
voice sounded low and steady but conveyed a sense of concern. “The
details aren’t worked out, but as soon as you get confirmation it’s
him, they’ll be ready to move. They’ve already activated an elite
group to handle the mission.”

“
Wow.” The breath rushed
out of Lauren. She backed up to a bench behind her and mechanically
sat down.

“
You still there? You can
still change your mind, you know. That’s why I sent you there—to
think about it.”

“
Are you kidding me?” She
forced a laugh. “This is the best news I could get.”

“
Look, Lauren. No one will
think any less of you if you decide to call it quits, but you need
to do it now. Once we set this thing in motion, it will be too
late.”

“
No way.” She stood and
paced as she talked. “This makes all the time spent living in that
hell-hole worth it.”

There was silence for a moment.
“That’s what I told them you’d say, but they wanted me to
ask.”

“
Tell
them I have my
Koran
to protect me,” she said, trying to make a joke.
The comment drew nothing but a long pause.

“
I know you know what
you’re doing—but this is Non-Official Cover. We’ve bypassed
standard operating procedures so there’ll be no diplomatic
protection.”

Lauren understood completely. She
would not be a coddled diplomat in the safety of an American
Embassy. She would have no official ties to the United States
government if caught.

“
I know. I’m going to be
on my own. No room for error. And no cavalry coming to rescue
me.”

“
You got it.”

“
I prefer it that way. I
don’t want anyone risking their lives to save me if things go
south.”

Lauren waited, but heard nothing
except static from the phone and silence on the other end. “You
still there? Did you hear me?”

“
Yes, I heard.”

“
I mean it, Hank. Promise
me.”

She heard him swallow loudly on the
other end. “I’m not in the habit of making promises, but I can tell
you I intend to respect your wishes.”

“
No extractions in
Pakistan. No matter what. I know how fast things can get screwy.
Put it in my file.”

“
You should never say
never,” he argued. “And anyway, no one’s going to do an extraction.
The United States is going to deny they even know who you are or
that you ever existed.”

“
Okay, but put it in my
file and make me feel better.”

Again an awkward pause. “I penciled it
in. It’s there.”

“
Good. Thanks for that. So
I’ll be flying out of Dover, I hope.”

“
Yeah. A regular military
transport to Bagram as part of one of the cooperating relief NGOs,
which fits your profile. From there you’ll go to Kabul. I haven’t
quite worked out the details on the final leg yet, but it’ll be a
quick skip back into Pakistan.”

“
Sounds
good,” is what she said.
A quick
skip to hell,
is what she
thought.

“
This is probably the last
time I’ll talk to you… until it’s over… so good luck.”

“
Yep. Don’t worry. I’ll be
talking to you again before you know it. Get some Champagne, and
we’ll celebrate long distance.”

“
Deal. Be careful,
Lauren.”

“
You mean,
Aminah.”

“
Yeah, be careful Aminah.
Do what you gotta do, but be careful.”

“
Roger that. See
ya.”

Click
.

“
Sorry about that.” Lauren
strolled up beside Rad who was leaning over the railing of the
pier, staring down at the waves splashing against the pylons. “My
travel agent wanted to go over my itinerary.”

He glanced at her sideways. “Really?
Looked a little more serious than that.”

His manly intuition took Lauren by
surprise, scattered her thoughts, and melted away her composure.
“Yeah, well, um, I have a lot of layovers and ahh,
stuff.”

Rad studied her intently,
his steady gaze piercing through her in silent concern. “You
could
just say it’s none
of my business.”

Lauren found it somehow comforting he
knew she was lying, yet also disconcerting that after all the years
she had worked alone, someone knew her that well—cared to know her
that well. Yet how could he, dammit? She had just met him. Her
emotions were suddenly all knotted up and strained almost to a
breaking point. Under his unyielding scrutiny, she could not
think.

“
There you go
again.”

She started to walk away, but he
pulled her to a stop. “What do you mean?”

“
Trying to read my
mind.”

“
I’m not reading your
mind, Lauren.” He had a tight grasp on her wrist. “It doesn’t take
a rocket scientist to see the strain on your face. Look, you’re
practically shaking.”

“
It’s adrenaline, that’s
all.” Lauren pulled her hand away. She wished she could explain to
him that everything she had been working for over the past five
years was finally paying off. The end game was near, and she could
hardly wait. But it was all so complicated, that even if she could
divulge the information, she wouldn’t know where to
begin.

Lauren knew one thing. She didn’t want
to lie. Not to this man. Not with those sincerely concerned eyes
staring down at her.

She masked her inner turmoil with
deceptive calmness and told him the truth—a slice of it anyway.
“The thing is, I have a really important meeting as soon as I get
back. I get shaky thinking about it.”

“
Okay, just so it’s not
fear.” His face appeared troubled and tense.

“
No, it’s not fear.
Believe me, I’m not afraid.” Lauren took a deep breath and stared
out over his shoulder, irritated at herself. She had to conquer
this involuntary reaction to that tender, worried look of his. What
had happened to the level-headed, independent, young woman of
yesterday?

Rad walked in silence for a moment as
they headed around the outside of the park toward the Boardwalk,
but there was an almost imperceptible note of anguish on his face.
“I get the feeling you’re not afraid of much of anything. That can
be dangerous.”

“
You have a short memory,”
Lauren said. “Remember the Mirror Maze?”

That brought a smile to his face—but
it was short-lived as he seemed to continue to dwell on the
topic.

“
I guess I should be
flattered you’re worried about me, but there’s no need. I’m a big
girl.”

“
I know.” He slid his hand
around her waist and pulled her into him protectively. “Even so, I
kind of wish I could go with you.”

No you
don’t
. She gave him a solemn smile.
Believe me. You don’t.

Chapter 5

Lauren noticed Rad was so
deep in thought he didn’t argue about not getting to try his hand
at the games he’d wanted to play on the way into the amusement
park. His brow was creased as he stared straight ahead, his jaw was
set, and his expressive face now seemed somber.

She wondered what to say or do to get
him to smile again when a booming voice with a strange accent broke
the silence. “Stop. Let me tell your fortune.”

They both turned around at the same
time and stared at the turban-headed mechanical man inside an
ornate fortune-telling booth. “Your fortune is mine for the telling
and yours for the hearing.”

Rad nudged her. “You game?”

Lauren didn’t want to have anything to
do with a fortune teller, but since Rad was almost smiling again,
she consented and stepped closer.

“
I can see your future.”
The fortune-teller wore a bright yellow silk shirt with a black
vest and numerous jeweled necklaces. “Step closer and you shall see
it too.”

“
Okay.” Lauren pulled a
bill out of her pocket and stuck it in the slot. “I’ll give it a
shot.”

“
Zoltar the Gypsy, at your
service.” The supposed fortune-teller inside the booth came alive,
waving his jeweled hand back and forth over a crystal ball. “Today
is your lucky day, my friend.”

Rad stepped closer, smiling broadly
now.

“
Never
forget that you can tell a wise person by what they
don’t
say as much as by
what they say. Sometimes it is wiser to say little rather than
much.”

They looked at each other with
quizzical expressions.

“
Give me your treasure,”
Zoltar continued. “I have much wisdom to share.”

“
What’s that supposed to
mean?”

“
It means he wants another
dollar. Let’s go.”

Before they turned around, a ticket
popped out of the machine that said, “Your Fortune.”

Lauren tried to grab it,
but Rad had it in his hand and was reading out loud before she had
time to react. “Okay, this is more like it. It says:
When you pull a card and receive a heart, you and
your beloved will never part
.”

He held up the piece of paper for her
to see. “Look, you got a heart.” He showed her the artwork of an
Ace of Hearts.

Lauren attempted to grab the ticket,
but he deftly avoided her and began reading again. “Hold on.
There’s more.” He cleared his throat. “‘You are a strong believer
in fate. You feel you have no control over your
destiny.’”

He raised his gaze to hers.
“True?”

Before she had time to answer, he
continued, “Fortunately, you are destined to be very happy
indeed.”

“
Wow,” Lauren said, making
one last attempt to snatch the paper from his grasp. “I feel better
already.”

“
But wait, there’s more.
It says down here at the bottom you have a graceful walk and a
determined step.” Rad smiled reflectively. “I can vouch for
that.”

“
Now you’re just making
things up.” Lauren crossed her arms and stared at him.

“
No, I’m not.” He pointed
to the paper. “It says, ‘you always walk as though you know exactly
where you’re going.’” He nodded. “Um hmm. Right again. Now, let’s
see here.”

The next words made Lauren’s heart
pick up its pace.

“‘
You will endure a great
hardship in the near future, but everything will turn out for the
best, and unending happiness will be yours.’”

Lauren wrinkled up her nose and
pretended to be unaffected. “That’s silly. You don’t believe in
that stuff, do you?”

“
Seemed to be right on
target until the end.” He stared at her thoughtfully. “By great
hardship, it’s probably talking about a late flight or
something.”

“
Geez.
Hope
that
doesn’t happen.” Lauren pretended a long layover would be the
worst thing in the world that could happen, even though she knew
she faced hardships of far greater consequence. “Good to know
everything will turn out in the end.”

Amusement flickered in the
eyes that met hers. “See? You do believe.” He took her hand and
started walking. “You got this little obstacle coming, this little
hardship, and then,
bam
—unending happiness is all yours, baby.” He squeezed her hand.
“Zoltar has spoken.”

Lauren laughed, partly because of his
words and the optimistic way in which they were spoken, and partly
because of the sensation of her hand in his. The contact had
produced an unexpected jolt that was almost electric, but Rad just
whistled as if he didn’t have a care in the world—as if it was
perfectly natural for him to be walking hand in hand with a girl
he’d just met.

He nodded toward the far end of the
Boardwalk. “Think we can make it all the way to the
end?”

“
If you’re up to it.”
Lauren said the words jokingly as she ran her gaze over him.
Frankly, he looked like he could walk to the Pacific Ocean with her
on his back if the need arose.

“
Let’s give it a
whirl.”

Lauren tried to keep her mood light
and imitate his carefree demeanor, but she didn’t have much
practice in the art of cheerfulness, especially over the past five
years. She found her thoughts drifting to what tomorrow would bring
and the endless and difficult tasks that needed to be accomplished
once she landed. When Rad’s protective hand tightened and pulled
her closer, she knew he was reading her mind again and drawing her
back to the present moment. She smiled up at him, thanking him
wordlessly as a warm glow flowed through her.

The silent conversation they shared
was not without its effect on Lauren. Something in this man’s
manner soothed and calmed her, and left her feeling blissfully
happy and fully alive. She felt a strange, numbed comfort as she
focused on the feel of her hand in his, a hand that was strong,
firm, supportive and kind.