by Lisa Harris
Hearing Noreen’s name, Celestia made a face. “She’s always got it. Wish Zach would fire her and hire you, Sienna. You’re trustworthy.”
“Noreen is not?” Earl asked.
“She’s a gold digger. Doesn’t care whose husband she beds as long as she gets to the top.” Celestia’s voice turned bitter and baritone. She seemed to catch herself as her broad smile returned. “Don’t forget my dinner tomorrow night. White tie.”
White tie? Sienna hadn’t planned on wearing her gown twice this week. It had been folded up inside her carryon since the safe house. She thought she had time to get it to the resort cleaners for some quick steaming. Earl had rented a tuxedo—which he had packed away in his suitcase too.
As she walked away, she heard Celestia ask Earl what he did for a living.
“I’m in between jobs, and I’m tired of traveling the world,” Earl said. “I’m thinking I would make a great bodyguard. You know, for something to do.”
“That so?” Celestia’s voice was back to sweet and sweeter. “I could use a bodyguard. Let me feel your muscles.”
Gag.
Sienna tried not to react as she turned the corner on the path. She slowed down a little to hear what Earl had to say.
“Sorry, ma’am. That’s a privilege only Sienna has.” The wind carried his voice to Sienna.
Sienna reached a set of double doors.
A long arm reached around her and held the handle. “Allow me, ma’am.”
Earl.
Sienna turned. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing nothing by the pool?”
“Well, it’s hot out there.” Earl opened the door to let Sienna in. He walked in beside her.
“Is this ‘take your boyfriend to work’ day?”
Earl touched her jawline with the pad of his thumb. “May I have more?”
Sienna smiled and nodded.
He tilted his head and lowered his lips toward hers. He still tasted like lemonade.
The kiss was long, and time stood still all around them. Work didn’t matter. Danger didn’t matter. Nothing mattered.
Sienna wrapped her arms around Earl’s waist, and gently stroked his back. She could feel his muscles relax as he deepened his kiss.
“Oh, to be young and in love,” someone remarked nearby. “Must be on your honeymoon.”
When they came up for air, Earl whispered in her ear. “I meant that.”
For a moment, they had not been pretending. Was this how it felt to be in love? Sienna wasn’t sure. All of her past relationships had been short-lived, any passion brief and fleeting.
This time, it felt different.
There was something going on between her and Earl.
Someone tapped her on her shoulder. Sharp nails.
Sienna broke away from Earl to find Noreen shaking her head at them.
In her hands were Sienna’s clipboard and pen. “You left these in the meeting room.”
“Thank you,” Sienna said. “I’m on my way back to the meeting.”
“No need. The meeting is over,” Noreen said.
“Oh.”
“The lawyers left. I went over the speeches with Mr. Gavard. All done now,” Noreen said. “Did you get Mr. Lee and Mr. Zhou taken care of?”
Sienna nodded. “Mr. Lee is happy with the upgrade. Oceanfront suite with a butler and personal chef.”
Noreen’s eyes widened. “You’re good. I would never have thought of adding a butler and a chef.”
“Well, I’ve done that before to appease Mr. Ford’s clients. Always give them something more.”
“That’s why you get bonuses every year.”
Sienna shrugged. “Just doing my job.”
“And Mr. Zhou?”
“That took a bit of work,” Sienna said. “The physician on call here visited the translator and determined that she’s better off at the hospital. At first the translator refused to go, but I arranged with the Moss Grand Bahama to get her secure video conferencing so that she could continue to translate and interpret for Mr. Zhou.”
“So it worked out? Mr. Gavard will be happy to hear that.”
“Turned out that the translator is Mr. Zhou’s granddaughter. That would explain why he was worried,” Sienna said. “However, the good physician worked at the hospital, so he got her a private room, and now Mr. Zhou has moved his office in there. He feels useful to be taking care of his own granddaughter.”
“What does that mean?” Noreen asked.
“It means if Mr. Gavard wants to talk to Zhou, he’ll need to drive over to the hospital.”
“Okay.”
“Either that or no deals with Mr. Zhou all week,” Sienna added.
“I have to give you credit for that.” Noreen sighed. “I was having a hard time with Mr. Zhou, and it wasn’t just language barriers. You do understand people more than I do, Sienna.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Don’t do too much, hear? Pretty soon you’d be taking my position.” Noreen laughed.
“I don’t want your job,” Sienna said. “Don’t feel threatened in any way.”
“Good to know.” Noreen strutted off.
Chapter Seventeen
Earl combed his nearly-dried hair one more time, splashed on some eau de toilette, and whistled as he ambled toward the door separating his suite from Sienna’s. What a fitting end to a long Sunday.
He still couldn’t believe that she had agreed to have dinner with him tonight in the resort’s only five-star restaurant on the other side of the outdoor pool. The restaurant was booked solid, but Celestia intervened and got them a balcony table for two at eight o’clock. Earl could not believe how nice she was.
Even though the door between his room and Sienna’s was unlocked, Earl still knocked, as a courtesy to Sienna and a respect for her privacy.
No one answered.
He knocked again, placing his ear at the door. He could hear muffled sobs. Without hesitation, he flung the door open, and found Sienna sitting on the couch, and in tears.
She was trying to pull the bracelet off her wrist. “You can’t do this to me! I’m not your prisoner!”
Earl could see that her wrist was red. The other wrist was empty. She had taken off the watch that he had given her, but the bracelet was still on her right wrist.
“What’s going on?” Earl sat down next to Sienna.
Sienna lifted her wrist in the air. “I can’t take the bracelet off. Agent Kimball locked it.”
“It’s waterproof, and you only need to wear it until Thursday night.” Kimball’s voice came out of a burner phone on the coffee table in front of them.
“I wasn’t told. I didn’t give you permission.”
“It’s for your good,” Kimball added.
Earl snorted. “For her good? Or for your own purpose?”
“We all want to get to the bottom of the GOOP embezzlement. Two people have died, and there could be more,” Kimball said. “She can help us save lives, or she can let more people die.”
Earl was stunned at Kimball’s statement. “I can’t believe you said that. Sienna is not responsible for your mistakes or other people’s evil deeds.”
He held Sienna’s hand in his so that she didn’t injure her own wrist any further.
“At least let her have a break,” Earl said. “How about the night off? We’re going to dinner.”
“No.” Kimball’s voice was harsh. “She might run away.”
“To where? We’re on an island.” Earl looked over at Sienna.
Her face was red, a sharp contrast to the light green floral dress she wore. Earl hated to see her in distress.
“I can’t go out tonight,” Sienna said. “Look at my wrist.”
Earl sighed. “You ruined our dinner, Agent Kimball.”
“You’re not on vacation.” Kimball hung up.
Earl drew Sienna to his chest. He knew that whatever they said could be heard by Kimball via the bracelet.
“What do you say to ordering in?” Earl as
ked. “We can ask them to set up a table for us, with candles and all.”
Sienna nodded.
“We can watch a movie.” Earl wasn’t sure what she’d like to watch, but they could browse. That way, he could get to know more about her entertainment taste.
Sienna pulled away. She entered the bathroom and closed her doors.
Earl heard the faucet running and water splashing. She was probably washing her face.
He prayed that the operation would be over soon so that he could date Sienna properly without a sword of Damocles over their heads.
Date?
Did he hear himself say the word?
Sienna was still in the bathroom. Earl dashed back to his suite next door to get some antibiotic cream for her wrist. He returned as Sienna was coming out of the bathroom. Her face was freshly scrubbed. Her eyes were still red. The bracelet had rubbed her wrist raw.
In his hand were the cream and a menu. “I brought you some cream for your wrist.”
“You’re so kind,” Sienna said.
“Sit down and I’ll apply it.” Earl followed Sienna back to the couch. Gently, he held her wrist with one hand and smeared a thin layer of cream on her skin.
“It’s going to be all right,” Earl said. “God is with us every step of the way.”
Sienna nodded.
“If I could wear these for you, I would,” Earl added.
Sienna blinked. “This must be how it feels to wear handcuffs.”
Earl shrugged.
Sienna looked at him.
“What?” He asked.
“Nothing.”
When he finished applying cream to Sienna’s wrist, he picked up the menu he had brought from his suite.
“I have a menu too.” She pointed to the refrigerator across the suite.
“How about we share this one?”
“Okay.” She leaned closer to him.
He could smell lavender. Maybe a very light perfume. It went with her floral dress.
“What would you like to eat this evening?” he asked.
“Fish of some sort.” Sienna pointed to the seafood column. “You?”
“Steak and shrimp. I’m famished.”
They looked at the menu together. Earl put his arm over her shoulders, and kissed the top of her head. More lavender. “Did you use lavender shampoo?”
Sienna nodded. “Grilled cod. Maybe I’ll get that.”
“And let’s not forget desserts. Look at all that.” Earl pointed to a whole page of decadent desserts.
After Earl had placed their order, they moved on to selecting a movie to stream on the big television on the wall.
“The other day, you told me that your date nights were usually movie nights at home,” Earl said.
“You remembered.” Sienna pulled away from Earl. “You know, ‘the other day’ was only two days ago.”
“Is that right?” Earl shook his head. “So much has happened since then, but we’re not talking about those things tonight. Right now we’re taking a break from all that, okay?”
“Sounds good to me.”
Earl clicked through the channels. There were action-adventure movies, period drama, crime fiction, romantic comedy, and so forth. The choices ran the gamut from one genre to another.
“What shall we watch?” Sienna asked.
“How about something light?”
“Something old or classic. A period drama, perhaps, that can transport us out of our present-day strife,” Sienna said.
Earl handed her the remote. “Pick one. I don’t care.”
All he wanted was to be with her, regardless of the movie they watched.
“How about historical fiction? Do you like Jane Austen?” Sienna asked.
“I’ve heard of her, but have never read her books nor watched her movie adaptations.”
“Let’s try this.” Sienna highlighted it on screen. “Pride and Prejudice. This is one of the shorter remakes.”
“Why not? Let’s see the trailer.” Earl waited as Sienna clicked and the video loaded. As soon as he saw the trailer, he knew it was romance. He didn’t want to object to it because he was a romantic sort of guy too.
Except this evening he had forgotten to bring her flowers.
At least he was keeping her company, helping her cope with Agent Kimball’s demands.
“Let’s go with this movie,” Earl said. “If I don’t understand parts of it, you can fill in the blanks.”
The doorbell rang. Earl told Sienna to stay on the couch as he went to check. He looked through the peephole, and saw a server wearing white. He opened the door.
Two people came in, placed a table cloth on a table already in the suite. They lit candles, and served Earl and Sienna until Earl sent them away so they could eat in private.
“Too bad we couldn’t go eat in the restaurant,” Sienna said. “It’s amazing that Celestia could get us a table when we couldn’t.”
“Don’t worry about it. You can be sure that they’ll seat someone else there.”
It was a lovely dinner, but truth be told, Earl would rather sit back on the couch with Sienna. He didn’t care what movie they watched as long as he could put his arm around her shoulders.
“Let’s eat our dessert while we watch the movie,” Sienna suggested.
“Good idea.” Earl followed Sienna back to the couch.
Sienna had ordered chocolate mousse cake. “Would you like a taste?”
Earl shook his head. “I don’t share dessert forks.”
Sienna chuckled. “Use your fork and get a piece at the edge.”
Earl did so. “That is so…sweet. Try mine? Ground chicken inside.”
“How can that qualify as dessert?” Sienna pointed to the pastry on Earl’s plate. “It looks like an entire lunch.”
“It can be.” Earl yawned. What on earth? He was feeling drowsy.
“Is the movie boring?” Sienna asked.
“No. I’m just... I don’t know what overcame me. I feel very sleepy all of a sudden.”
“Ate too much?” Sienna finished her cake and put the plate down on the coffee table. She leaned back against the couch, hands on her tummy.
The movie droned on while Earl could barely keep his eyes open. He glanced over at Sienna and she was fast asleep.
“Sienna?” He tried to wake her. She did not wake up.
He took her pulse. It was within an acceptable range.
Before he could try to wake her up, Earl felt dizzy. He blinked a few times as the room spun around him. The door opened, and shadows entered the room.
Then the whole world faded to black.
When Earl came to, he was alone in Sienna’s room. Outside the windows, the sky was dark. He checked his cell phone clock. It was past two in the morning.
What happened?
He tried to get up from the couch, but his head was dizzy. It was as if he had ingested some potent sleeping pills.
The coffee table had been pushed aside, revealing an upside-down dessert plate on the carpet.
Earl got up, felt groggy, and sat back down again. “What on earth happened?”
He drew a deep breath and tried to get up again.
“Sienna?” Holding on to furniture, Earl called for Sienna as he walked from room to room, then to his own suite, and back again. “Sienna?”
She was nowhere to be found.
Using his burner phone, Earl called Kimball, but she did not pick up. He called Mr. Jones at the security office. Corazon had given him his phone number that afternoon.
“Gone. I woke up and she was gone,” Earl told Jones.
“We will search for her straight away.”
“Thank you, Mr. Jones. I think you might want to send a security team up here to gather evidence. Someone might have put sleeping pills in our food. We both passed out around the same time.”
“Will do, sir.”
“Are you going to be there all night?”
“I was leaving, but now I will stay,” Jones said.
“Give me a few minutes and I’ll be at your office.” Earl didn’t want to tell Jones on the phone that he saw shadows in the room before he passed out. He wanted to see who had entered the room.
“Anything else, sir?”
“Working on the assumption that she has been abducted, you need to call the local police for help,” Earl said. “Do they know that FBI agents are in town?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where’s Agent Kimball?” Earl asked, walking down the hallway outside the suites, his phone glued to his ear.
Jones took a while to scour the videos for him. “Their team left the resort two hours ago.”
“No kidding. The entire team?” That was odd. And it would explain why the FBI hadn’t come running to their suites.
“Nine people in two vans. Valet cameras,” Jones said. “Could they have taken Sienna?”
“I don’t know.” It wouldn’t make any sense. The FBI wanted to...
Oh.
The tracker that Kimball had put inside Sienna’s bracelet would tell them where she was. Had Kimball and her team left to follow her?
Unfortunately, Sienna wasn’t wearing the watch that Earl had given her. Now he couldn’t track her down.
Earl knocked on the security office door. Someone opened it. “I’m here to see Mr. Jones. He’s expecting me.”
“This way, Mr. Peterson.”
Earl didn’t correct him.
“The police officers are on their way.” Jones waved him over. “We’re looking at all the security cameras for the coming and going of anything from eight last night until now.”
“Thank you.” Earl sat down. He still felt a little dizzy.
“Would you like some water?” Jones asked.
“Yes, please.”
Jones waved to someone to bring Earl a glass of water. Earl thanked him and drank it up.
Earl called Kimball again.
No response.
He called Helen Hu. Told her everything.
“Let me process this,” Helen said from her home in Greece. “What kind of bracelet?”
Earl didn’t know. “I should’ve taken photos.”
“RFID? GPS? What?”
“No earthly idea.”
“So we have to find another way to get to those trackers—assuming they’re still on her.”
As Earl listened to Helen, he realized he knew how to get to Sienna.
