Noble Intentions: Season Three (23 page)

Bear noticed a slight twitch in the
guy’s upper lip and dilation of the pupils.

Stinking pervert.

He restrained himself from striking
the man, but did not discount the possibility of returning at a later date to
deal with him.

“Just a thought,” the guy said.

“She’s staying with me.” Bear
repositioned himself to stand between Mandy and the guy. “Anything else?”

“Unfortunately, you’re flying out
of Raleigh, so I can’t arm you. But, I can give you the name of a guy in London
who can get you anything you need.”

“That’s OK. I’ve got my own
contacts.” He had no interest in being tied to the guy in any way.

“Suit yourself.” The man turned,
started toward the hallway. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”

“Where are you going?”

“To take a nap.”

Bear waited for the man to
disappear from view, then he walked over to the counter. A wood block sat on
the counter, next to the stove top. Four knives rested in the block. Bear
reached for the one with the largest handle. He went over to the table, sat
down, rested the knife along his thigh.

Mandy smiled at him. A small chunk
of chewed pancake fell to the table. She brought her hand to her mouth and
giggled.

Bear shook his head and chuckled.
This resulted in the girl laughing and sending most of the food in her mouth
spraying out across the table.

“Can’t take you nowhere, can I?”
Bear said.

Mandy continued laughing, uncontrollably.
He joined in. They laughed for more than three minutes. And as the tears
streamed down his face, Bear realized that it was the simple moments such as
this one that proved he was where he was meant to be and with who he was meant
to be with.

Clarissa hadn’t been entirely
surprised when Spiers told her that Jack Noble had been the man who had asked
for help. She kept her expression neutral and gave no indication to Spiers that
she knew Jack. Nothing about the way he responded told her that Spiers had been
aware of Clarissa’s on-again, off-again relationship with Jack. She had nodded
her acknowledgment and carried on with a
business as usual
attitude.

They walked through the station,
Spiers in front, the women and girl in the middle, and Clarissa in back. She
took note of every face that approached. She would have been vigilant no matter
what, but now the assignment carried extra weight.

They exited the building. The
bright sun negated the bite of the crisp breeze. She glanced around and saw a
park about a block away. Several benches lined the sidewalk. She led the women
there while Spiers placed a series of calls and arranged for a car. He had an
associate close by who agreed to meet them four blocks from the station.

A short walk later, they arrived at
the agreed upon spot. They did not have to wait long. The man pulled the car to
the curb, got out, nodded and walked away. Simple and efficient. Spiers took
the driver’s side, Clarissa sat in front next to him, and the two women and
little girl sat in the back.

This was Clarissa’s first visit to
Brussels. She hoped it wouldn’t be for long. Paris beckoned, although not for
the right reasons. They never were for Clarissa.

They passed through the city so
fast that she barely had time to register any landmarks. The city gave way to
residential areas, which in turn gave way to the countryside. The women in the
back spoke occasionally. The little girl asked several questions. Spiers said
nothing, neither did Clarissa. For most of the drive, she stared out the window
watching the sun complete its arc through the sky, her thoughts stuck on the
man she tried to leave behind in D.C. In all, the ride took forty-five minutes
and ended after they passed through a small village consisting of an intersection
with a few homes and shops. A spire with a cross affixed to the top stood off
in the distance. After they passed through the village, Clarissa saw the modest
church. She assumed by the scaffolding along the right side that the town was
making improvements or repairs.

“That’s it,” Spiers said, breaking
a ten minute stretch of nothing but wind rush and road noise.

Clarissa looked ahead as Spiers
turned onto a bumpy dirty driveway. The little house stood about a quarter-mile
off the road. It looked centuries old, made from brown and gray stone. A red
brick chimney rose from the roof, likely added sometime after the home had been
built. There were two darkened windows in front, about ten feet on either side
of the front door.

“Who’s place is this?” she said.

“A friend’s,” he said.

“Are they home?”

“Does it look like it?”

“It looks abandoned.”

“It is.”

Spiers continued past the end of
the driveway and parked the vehicle behind the house.

“We should check it out first,”
Clarissa said.

He rolled his eyes, said nothing.

“Take no chances, Spiers.”

“OK, OK.” He turned sideways in his
seat. “Ladies, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to make sure the place is safe
for you to enter.”

Clarissa stepped out of the car.
With the sun no longer visible, the air felt cold. The exposed flesh on her
arms prickled. She wished she hadn’t forgotten her coat on the train. She
waited for Spiers by the side of the house, out of the wind.

“Nice bit of drama back there,” she
said when he appeared.

He shrugged. “Someone’s gotta keep
them feeling at ease. Should be you, but it appears you’re the one with a real
penchant for drama.”

She looked over in time to catch
him grinning. “Whatever. Let’s just clear the house and get them inside.”

“OK, I’ll go in. You wait by the
door.”

“We both go in.”

“Just me, Clarissa. I don’t need an
earful from Sinclair if something happens to you.”

“What if something happens to you?”

“It won’t as long as I don’t have
to worry about you.”

“Yeah, well,” she fumbled as she
thought of an appropriate come back. Nothing came to mind, so she settled with,
“Whatever.”

She watched as he slipped around
the corner. Ten seconds later she followed, stopping by the front door. She
scanned the fields surrounding the house, the road. Her gaze drifted toward the
small village a half-mile away. A few windows were lit, the rest dark. She
doubted the kitchen would be stocked with fresh food and wondered how long the
store remained open.

“It’s clear,” Spiers said, emerging
from the darkened doorway. “Happy?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Go get those women. I’ll
wait here.”

She jogged around the side of the
house, tapped on the rear window of the car. All three occupants inside turned
their heads. She smiled. Only the little girl smiled back. The women filed out
of the car and followed Clarissa around to the front. Spiers abandoned his post
at the door when he saw them.

Clarissa found a half-stocked
pantry and empty fridge. Spiers told her that the store would likely be closed,
so if she wanted to get anything else, she’d have to wait until the morning. So
she grabbed some canned soup, fired up the gas stove, and cooked enough soup to
get them through the night. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until the
soup began to boil and filled the kitchen with the smell of tomatoes.

Spiers declined dinner, instead
telling Clarissa that he’d rest now and take the overnight watch so she could
get a full night’s rest. She didn’t mind. It would provide her the opportunity
to probe the women and find out their relationship to Jack.

Clarissa and the women gathered around
the small square table and ate in silence. Mia slurped her soup, which drew a
harsh look from her mother. The little girl smiled and made sure to open wide
for each subsequent spoonful.

Clarissa broke the silence. “So why
are you ladies on the run?”

Erin set down her spoon. She looked
shocked that the question had been asked. She wiped her mouth, cleared her
throat, said, “We’re not sure, entirely. It has something to do with the
bombings in London today.”

Clarissa had heard about the
attack, but knew little about what had occurred.

“Were you afraid of additional
attacks?” Clarissa said.

“Not me,” Erin said. “Jack. And not
more attacks, more so attacks against us. See, Jack,” she paused, looked up and
bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know how much I should tell you.”

“It’s OK, you can tell me. I work
for the U.S. government.”

“Are you a spy?” Mia asked.

“She’s fascinated with spies,”
Hannah said.

Clarissa smiled at the girl. “I
sure am.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. And I’d love to tell
you all about it, but first I need to hear what your mommy has to say.”

“OK,” Mia said.

“The bombs that went off were at
the hotel that Jack had reservations at,” Erin said.

“Do you know why he’s in London?”
Clarissa said.

Erin sat silent for a few moments.
“Yes, well, I thought I did. I’m not sure, though. I’m sorry, I really can’t
say without knowing definitively.”

“It’s OK. So Jack wasn’t in the
building when it exploded?”

“Oh, Heaven’s no. He was with us.”

“Where?”

“At Aunt Dottie’s house.”

Clarissa tried to place the name.
It didn’t register, but something else did. Mia’s eyes. She knew them the
moment she saw the girl, and now she knew from where. Mia was Jack’s daughter.
She was sure of it.

“Where’s the girl’s father?”
Clarissa asked.

Erin shifted in her seat. “I’m
sorry, I don’t see how that has anything to do with this.”

Clarissa glanced at the girl and
saw that she had cast her stare down toward the table. “I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean—”

“You really should think before you
say such things.” Erin rose. “Come with me, Mia.”

The little girl didn’t get up right
away. Erin picked her up and carried her into the other room. Clarissa felt bad
for a moment, but there were questions that she needed answered. She’d try
again after Mia fell asleep.

“She’s kinda protective,” Hannah
said.

“All mothers are,” Clarissa said.

“All?”

“Most.”

“I never knew mine.”

“I barely knew mine.”

Hannah nodded. “She’s never told me
who the father is, but I think it might be Jack.”

“How well do you know him?”

Hannah smiled. She placed her right
forearm on the table and leaned forward. “It’s a funny story. I met him on the
plane ride over here. I had been home for break. And, I guess you’d call it a
coincidence—”

“There’s no such thing as a
coincidence, Hannah. The sooner you realize that, the better off you’ll be.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Anyway, we sat
next to each other on the plane. He helped get me a ride to my flat afterward.
Then I saw him at Ms. Carlisle’s house, out of the blue. At first I was scared
he was there for me. But why? Like I’m the kind of person that someone would
follow. So, anyway, when I seen him and Mia together, it was obvious. Everyone
says she looks like her mother, and she does, for the most part. But those
eyes, the shape of those eyes, without a doubt, father and daughter.”

Clarissa forced a smile. The news
unsettled her stomach. She eased back in her chair, crossed her arms over her
chest.

“So, what’s the story with Jack and
Erin?” Clarissa said.

“What about them?”

“Are they a couple, an item,
whatever you kids call it now?”

“As far as I can tell, they aren’t.
I mean, there must have been something between them at one time. But now? I
didn’t see any sparks or hints of anything going on.”

Clarissa nodded, said nothing.

“Of course, it’s not like he was
around all that much. At least not while I was there. So, who knows?”

“Yeah,” Clarissa said. “Who knows.
So what is Ms. Carlisle like?”

“I dunno, not much to say, I guess.
She’s taken good care of me since I started school in London.”

“What do you know about her past?”

“Not much.”

“Come on, you must have heard
something.”

Hannah looked over her shoulder in
the direction that Erin had gone. “She used to work in British Intelligence.
That’s part of the reason why Mia is so interested in spies.”

Clarissa nodded. She knew who the
woman was. At one time, Jack had worked with Dottie. It all made sense. During
one of his assignments in England he’d met Erin. They’d had a relationship, and
Mia was the result. Her cheeks burned hot. She had no cause to be angry,
though. After all, this was during a time period before the two of them had
become romantic. But that didn’t stop the feelings of betrayal that surfaced.
How could Jack not have told her he had a daughter?

She looked up when she heard
someone clear their throat. Erin stood in the doorway. She glared at Clarissa.

“Hannah,” Erin said. “Leave us.”

Hannah opened her eyes wide and
forced a smile at Clarissa, then she rose and slipped past Erin.

“Let me say that I’m very sorry I
spoke out of turn,” Clarissa said.

“You should be. I try so hard to
protect that little girl. She believes her father died when she was a baby. She
has a picture and clutches to it like it’s the only thing keeping him in her
thoughts.”

“It probably is.”

“What would you know?”

“I know what it’s like to lose a
father.”

“Most everyone does, at some
point.”

Clarissa watched the woman’s angry
expression fade. “Will you ever tell her the truth?”

“What truth?”

“About her father.”

“She has all the truth she needs.”

“Erin, I need to level with you.”

“About what?”

Clarissa took a deep breath. She
placed her hands on the table to steady herself. The information she was about
to divulge could change the dynamic in the house and compromise her mission. “I
know Jack Noble. I’ve known him for years. After my father passed, he kind of
looked after me. From afar, mostly.”