Unconditional Love (18 page)

I smiled and felt the butterflies go off in my stomach. The elevator opened and Lark motioned for me to go first. “Turn to the right.” I headed to the doors and opened them. It was the gym.

“I know how much you like to workout and run so I wanted to show you the gym. The other side is the yoga and workout room.”

“Wow. This is amazing.” All the exercise equipment faced the windows. “Who wouldn’t want to work out with this view? I swear.”

Lark laughed and said, “Come on, two more floors to visit.”

Lark hit the tenth floor and within seconds the door was opening and he was showing me a theater room, a game room, a spa, and the pool.

“Maybe when I get back we can barbecue down here by the pool.”

I nodded my head and said, “Or my place.” His smile faded for a brief second and then it was replaced by a wider smile.

“Or my ranch between Johnson City and Marble Falls. I meet with the architect in a few weeks to talk about the house.”

“I forgot you owned land out that way.” I looked out over the city and thought about each of our futures.

“I’d love to show it to you,” he said as he took my hand in his. I knew that was huge for him. I smiled and said, “I’d love that. Maybe when you come back I can show you my new restaurant.”

His smile grew wider and he said, “I’d love to see your new place.”

We walked back to the elevator and made our way to the fourth floor. As we walked into the parking garage, I glanced at the yellow bike. My heart did a little drop. I wasn’t sure why I thought motorcycles were sexy as hell. This one was beyond sexy. I made my way to the truck as Lark made his way to the bike. I stopped and just looked at him.

He looked at me and winked. He lifted the back seat and pulled out a helmet and walked up to me and handed it to me.

I just stood there staring at him and his drop dead gorgeous smile of his.
Oh. My. Word. This is his bike. I think I just had a mini orgasm at the idea of being on that thing with him.

“You said you wanted to go for a ride,
mi amor
. You still up for it?”

I took the helmet and let out a laugh. “You’re kidding. This is your bike, Lark?”

He looked back at it and said, “Yes ma’am, it is. I love the feel of being free and just going as fast as I can on her.”

I snapped my head over and looked at him. I shouldn’t be surprised. I’d heard Scott talk about how Lark lived life on the edge with the partying and fast living.

“Um…”

He laughed and pulled me over to the bike. “I promise not to go too fast. I have precious cargo.”

I put the helmet on and my heart began pounding with excitement. Lark got on and started the motorcycle. Eminem’s “Berzerk” began playing and Lark yelled, “Fuck yeah.”

I wrapped my arms around him and smiled. I closed my eyes when he started going and he yelled for me to hold on. “Here we go,
mi amor
.”

As we rode around Austin, something in me changed. It felt like it was a new me. I’d never done anything like this before, but with Lark, he made you want to live life to the fullest.

For lunch we went to Home Slice pizza. Then we hit Amy’s for ice cream before we were back on the bike and heading to the hike-and-bike trail. We walked for a bit and then I sat and watched Lark play a quick game of sand volleyball. A group of guys he knew were playing, and though he had just come down to watch, he somehow got talked into playing. I saw Jason, Lark’s friend who he said he worked with, playing. I tried not to make eye contact with him, but when I did, he politely smiled and waved. I gave him a quick wave back.

A blonde was sitting next to me and smiled at me when I sat down. We sat in silence for a few minutes as we both watched the game. I finally asked, “Is one of them yours?”

She laughed and said, “Yep.” She pointed to the only other guy who looked like he might have been in the military. “That’s my Ron. He’s normally stationed in California, but we’ve been here for the last two weeks. Some kind of training.”

I nodded my head and said, “Do you know what the training is for?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Nope. Ron is a sniper in the Marines. I think Lark and Jason are training him for something.”

I turned and looked at Lark. I knew he could shoot well because I’d heard Scott talk about it.
Why would Lark be training him?

“Is Ron going out of town tomorrow?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, I think he is in some kind of meeting all day.”

I smiled at her and looked back at Lark. His eye was still really black and blue from where he fell.

I didn’t take my eyes off of Lark when I asked, “Did Ron go out of town a few days back?”

“Yeah, he did. Said he had a training mission to go on. He just got back…um…the day before yesterday, I think it was. Yeah.”

I turned and stuck my hand out and smiled. “I’m sorry, how rude of me. Azurdee Emerson.”

She reached for my hand and said, “Lisa Kentwood.”

“So Ron is active duty Marines?”

She nodded her head. “Yep. I kind of thought it was weird he was coming here to Austin for training since there is no Marine Corps base, but from the little he has told me, I guess Lark is one of the best Expert Rifleman in the Marine Corps.”

My heart dropped.
Lark’s not in the Marines anymore.

I flashed back to the picture in Lark’s office, the one with his boss. Lark was wearing a uniform and the guy had a badge on.
A CIA badge.

I shook my head and let out a small laugh.
Geesh, Azurdee, stop overthinking.
They must have met when Lark was in the Marines.

I glanced up to see Jason staring at me as Lark talked to him off to the side. I didn’t like the way he looked at me. Jason looked back at Lark and then down to his watch. He did something on his watch, nodded his head and they both turned and walked away from each other. Lark made his way back to me and grinned as he got closer.

“Ready for dinner?” he asked. I laughed and nodded my head. I looked at Lisa and said, “It was a pleasure to meet you.”

She smiled and said, “You too!”

Lark was taking me out to the Salt Lick for barbecue after he bragged about how it was the best around. The whole ride there, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling I had about Lark and his job.

Sharp shooter. Marines. Secrets.

I parked the motorcycle and Azurdee got off and handed me her helmet. She had been really quiet ever since we left Zilker Park, when I stopped to talk to Jason about our meeting at the Pentagon in two days. I wasn’t sure what was up and Skip was being really silent on the whole matter.

When we got off the elevator, I followed Azurdee into the kitchen. She stopped at the bar and turned to face me. She was chewing on her lower lip, which I already knew was a nervous habit that showed she was either scared or nervous.

“Can I stay here again tonight?”

I smiled and walked up to her. “Of course you can. I was hoping you would.”

She ran her hand down the side of my face and whispered, “Make love to me.”

I reached down and picked her up and carried her to my room. We spent most of the night tangled in each other’s arms. Azurdee fell asleep earlier after we made love the first time. I didn’t want to have to say good-bye to her in the morning, so I woke her up around two in the morning and made love to her again. Once she drifted back off to sleep, I got up and began packing for my short trip to D.C. I made a call and within ten minutes I got a text that my item was waiting down in the lobby for me. I checked on Azurdee one more time before heading down there. When I walked up to the desk, Rich was working. He handed me the single red rose and said, “There ya go, Mr. Williams.”

I smiled and said, “Have a good night, Rich.”

“You too, sir.”

Twenty minutes later, I was setting the note on my pillow and laying the rose on top of it. I wanted to kiss her good-bye but didn’t want to risk her waking up. I grabbed my bag and turned to walk away, but not before I slipped the key card to my place into her purse.

One last look and I was gone.

After meeting with Colonel Walker, Skip, and a few other intelligence people, I made my way out of the conference room.

“Lieutenant. A word,” I heard Skip say as I walked away. I closed my eyes and turned around.

“Yes, sir.” I followed Skip and Jason into another conference room. I shut the door and Skip was standing there looking out the window holding a file.

He slowly turned and walked toward the table and threw the file down.

When I glanced down, I saw the word
classified
in red letters and the name…Azurdee Marie Emerson.

What in the fuck?
I reached down and picked it up. When I opened it, there were pictures of Azurdee, all taken today. In one of the pictures, she was leaving my condo and getting into someone’s car. There were three pictures of her in the coffee shop and one leaving the coffee shop. The last picture was of her standing outside her new restaurant space talking to what looked like the contractors.

I looked up and before I could even say anything, Skip said, “What in the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Excuse me?”

He pointed to the pictures, and when I looked at the rest of the file it was information about Azurdee, her parents, their bank accounts, anything and everything on both her and her parents were in this file. I closed it and tossed it onto the table.

“I knew something was up with you in Venezuela. How long have you been seeing her?”

I looked at Jason. “You couldn’t wait to run and tell him, huh? You fucking bastard.”

I went to go after him, and Skip stepped in front of us and grabbed me.

“I asked, how long have you been seeing her?”

I pushed myself away from Skip and said, “Not long. I’ve known her almost a year. We were friends first.”

“What are your plans with this girl, Lark? I can’t afford to have you anything but one hundred percent clear-minded. A girl is going to fuck that up.”

I shook my head, “I won’t let it, Skip.”

He let out a sigh and dropped his head back before looking at me again. “This is why I picked you. No strings. No ties. Lived life on the edge. Pussy just messes with your head, Lark. You say it won’t, but pretty soon you’re going to be wondering what she’s doing while you’re gone for days, sometimes weeks, at a time. What happens when you get hurt, how many excuses are you going to be able to give her?”

I just looked at him. “That’s funny, Skip. I thought you picked me because I’m the best goddamn sniper in the country.”

He just stood there and looked at me. “Sergeant Philips, will you please excuse us. Lieutenant Williams, you will refrain from saying anything else until the Sergeant has left the room.”

Jason left the room and Skip glared at me. “Don’t you ever call me Skip in front of another Marine or agent again—do you understand me, Lieutenant? Don’t ever question my motives again either. Now I want to know why I had to have some flunky come tell me that you had a girlfriend. Why didn’t you just tell me yourself?”

I pushed my hands through my hair. “Skip, I just started dating her. It’s not like I’m marrying her for Christ’s sake. She knows I don’t talk about my job and she doesn’t ask. We’ve been friends for awhile so I trust her with my life.”

He shook his head and said, “Jesus Christ, Lark. This is going to end badly. Either for you or for her.”

I looked down and then back up at him. “I won’t let it. I’ve got this. I can handle it.”

He turned and looked out the window. “The moment I even suspect it’s affecting your work, I’m pulling you. You can finish out the rest of your career stationed in some remote-ass Marine Corps base.”

I nodded my head. I only had six months left in active duty and I had already decided after last night I was not re-enlisting or joining the CIA. I didn’t want to have to keep lying to Azurdee and sneaking away in the middle of the night to leave her.

“So let me ask you. This trip to Israel, what are you going to tell her?”

I shrugged my shoulders and said, “That I’m going out of town. That’s what I’ve always said and no one has yet to question me.”