Love Me Last

by Rhea Wilde

  “I hired you for a reason. I’m not taking it lightly. You’ll get your money if you complete your investigation.”

  “Yeah,” I said with a nod. “I should probably get going now.”

  I glanced at Agent Neville and he stared back at me, a polite smile on his face. I quickly turned away from him and started walking out of Lee’s office.

  As I headed toward the exit, the loud sound of my shoes clicking against the marble floor rang in my ears. It wasn’t enough to distract me from all of the new thoughts now running through my mind.

  Chapter 15

  EVA

  Ten years earlier…

  It was strange to be out here by myself. Everybody around me was someone I’d never seen before in my life. I guess I could run into someone new in my old town but over here, everybody was new. It was an odd feeling to be alone out here. Even the scenery looked different.

  I chose a small coffee shop because I figured nobody would bother me. I didn’t want anybody to think I was a lost new girl trying to find her place in a new city. I just wanted to blend in with everybody else.

  The place was cozy and comforting. The lights were bright but the wood paneling on the walls and floors gave the place a darker atmosphere. The coffee aroma in the air was pleasant. The people having conversations were polite enough to keep their voices down. On one side of the coffee shop, there were people sitting at their tables, browsing their laptops as they got to work. Some of them had massive textbooks out, undoubtedly studying for some college exam coming up.

  Seeing students made me anxious about my future. It was still up in the air and nothing had been decided for me yet. I wanted more time just to be free and have a moment to myself, even if it were only for a day.

  I observed everybody in the shop, doing my best not to stare for too long. A few sips of coffee kept me warm and made me forget about the cold outside. I wasn’t doing anything and I was perfectly happy with it. I just wanted to relax.

  I was looking out the window, watching the people on the streets in the middle of a sunny day. I closed my eyes for just a second and let another sip of coffee warm my insides.

  “Hello.”

  My eyes opened wide when I heard the voice. I turned my head up and saw a man standing across from me.

  I didn’t know why I didn’t notice him before. He didn’t look like anybody else in the coffee shop. Youthful bronze skin and perfectly groomed brown hair on top of his head. His gray suit appeared to be a little lose but underneath, I could tell his figure was hard just from how rigid his posture was.

  “Is this seat taken?”

  He held his hand out to the chair on the other side of my small table. His smile seemed friendly. I could barely see the gleam of his white teeth. His eyebrows were raised at me. Underneath them, blue eyes staring back at me with a curiousness that gave me a strange feeling I couldn’t describe.

  “N-no,” I replied.

  “I’m sorry,” he said as he took a seat in front of me. “You’ll have to excuse me for being so forward. You don’t look like you’re from around here.”

  “What gives you that idea?”

  “Look at everybody else,” he said as he turned to the rest of the coffee shop. “Everybody else is going about their business. Students studying. Friends having conversations. Even the employees are chatting with one another. But you… you’re alone. Just sitting here staring at everybody else.”

  “Just because I’m alone doesn’t mean I’m new around here.”

  “You’re right. But you are staring. More than anybody else is.”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  He had a half-smile on his face. I hid the blushing on my cheeks behind my coffee and shifted my eyes to the sunny day outside.

  “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” he said.

  “Yes, it is. The weather is much better than it is back home.”

  “Back home? How is the weather back home?”

  “Around this time of year, it’s usually cloudy. There are these annoying windstorms I could never get used to. There were bright and sunny days like most places. But they didn’t come around very often.”

  “Is that why you came here? For the weather?”

  “No, not the weather. It doesn’t hurt but that’s not why I came here.”

  “So, you are from out of town.”

  “Yeah,” I said, turning back to him with a smile. “I am.”

  “And you decided to come to a coffee shop and stare at people.”

  “Well… That’s not why I came here.”

  “Then what are you up to?”

  “I just… I wanted to have a moment to myself, that’s all.”

  “I’m sorry. Would you like me to leave?”

  Who is this guy?

  He seemed sincere enough, more harmless than anything else. The way he looked at me made me feel like I already knew him even though I’d never seen him before in my life.

  “No,” I said as I shook my head. “Just as long as you play fair.”

  “Play fair?”

  “Sure. You’re asking me so many questions, curious about what I’m doing. What about you? What are you doing here?”

  “Fair enough,” he said with a laugh.

  He straightened his tie and sat up in his seat then placed his hands on the table in front of him.

  “I was just here for a cup of coffee,” he said.

  “Hmm, I don’t see any coffee,” I said as I glanced down at the table. “It sounds like you’re lying to me.”

  “Hold on. I didn’t finish. I don’t usually enjoy drinking coffee alone. A lot of the time I offer to buy someone a cup of coffee. In exchange, they give me a moment of their time. We talk, chat, get to know each other. That sort of thing.”

  “Well, as you can see, I’m already drinking,” I said, holding up my cup of coffee near my face.

  “Yes, it’s a shame I didn’t get here earlier. I would have bought that for you. But it seems you don’t mind.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Because you’re already chatting with me.”

  “You’ve got a point.”

  I took a sip from my cup and turned back toward the window next to me, watching the new city I was in go by. His eyes were on me. From the corner of my eye, I could see him sitting there calmly.

  “Sean,” he said. “Sean Reese.”

  I turned back to him and he was smiling.

  “I think it’s only appropriate I introduce myself,” he continued. “Since we’re not complete strangers any longer.”

  “Makes sense,” I said with a nod. “Eva. Eva Lynch.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Eva.”

  “So, Sean, what are you up to? You’re not here for just coffee.”

  “I assure you my intentions are nothing but pure.”

  “Right,” I said with a giggle. “I may be young but I know guys always have an ulterior motive. They’re always up to something. And it’s always the same thing.”

  “True. You can’t really blame me in this case.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I can’t help myself. You are the prettiest girl in the room…”

  He grinned at me and I had to bite down on my lips to avoid returning the favor. He was definitely attractive. There was a youthful exuberance about him. Even if I hadn’t spoken to him, he had an indescribable appeal that was magnetic. I wasn’t about to admit it though.

  “Flattery will get you nowhere,” I said, taking another sip of coffee to avoid smiling back at him.

  “Maybe nowhere is where I want to be,” he said. “There are a lot of places in the world I’ve never been to. You and I are a lot alike in that way.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “You’re in a new city you’ve never been to. I’m in a new city I’ve never been to. We should get lost in it together.”

  “I don’t know,” I said, closing one eye and grimacing at him. “Would it be such a good idea t
o trust a stranger?”

  “I’m not a stranger. You know my name and I know yours.”

  “And not much else.”

  “Then we should fix that. We should get to know each other better.”

  “I…”

  I looked down at the table and shook my head. I struggled to find what to say next. I only just now realized how quickly he was moving. A complete stranger with obvious intentions wasn’t someone I ever imagined I would be talking to for more than a few minutes.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  “No, nothing’s wrong. It’s just…”

  I’ve never met anybody like you.

  He had a friendly smile on his face. The same smile he’d had this entire time. There was something in the way he looked at me. The familiarity I felt when he first sat down hadn’t gone away. I was having trouble wrapping my mind around it.

  “I don’t know what I was expecting when I came out here,” I said. “I guess you could say I wasn’t expecting anything at all. But you… You were the last thing I would have expected.”

  “If you were expecting anything.”

  “Yeah.”

  We both shared a laugh. It felt like there was nobody else in the coffee shop. The only sound I heard was just the two of us.

  “I came out here just to find myself,” I said. “I just wanted to see what was out there.”

  “Are you here for school?” he asked.

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “University seems like the option everybody takes. Most of my former classmates took that route.”

  “How about work? Do you have a job?”

  “No, I’m not working either. I have a little money saved up that will last me for a bit. Why? Are you hiring?”

  “Maybe. I think you’ve got the right idea about life. Everybody is so caught up on what to do next and how they’re supposed to live life, they never stop to consider that maybe things would be best if they did things differently.”

  “Hmm,” I mumbled, taking a quick sip of coffee. “You’re getting a little philosophical with me. It was never my strong suit.”

  “All right,” he said as he cleared his throat. “I’ll just give it to you straight then. I think you and I should go exploring together. We should see what this city is all about.”

  “That’s quite an idea.”

  “It is, isn’t it? And you know what the best part about it is?”

  “What’s that?”

  “If we don’t like what we find, we can always just move on to the next city. We can keep going until we find what we’re looking for. And we’ll do it together. What do you think?”

  He grinned at me. He had intentions with me. That much was obvious. But I couldn’t deny him. Not when everything he offered me had a certain appeal to it.

  “There’s just one problem,” I said.

  “And that is?”

  I moved forward slightly across the table toward him, my eyes locked on the table.

  “I only know your name,” I explained. “Why should I trust you?”

  I leaned back in my seat and raised an eyebrow at him while I waited for his response. He held his hands out to me and shrugged.

  “You came out to this city for a reason,” he said. “From what I gather, you’re a young woman who just finished high school and you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. Stop me if I’m wrong.”

  “Keep going.”

  “Now you’re alone in a new city, far away from home, all by yourself. You’re not searching for what’s next. You’re letting whatever’s out there come to you. Now…”

  He moved forward across the table and whispered to me.

  “I’m not saying I’m exactly what you’re looking for,” he continued. “But if trusting a stranger isn’t something you’re willing to do, then that makes you just like everybody else.”

  He stayed leaning against the table, one forearm resting on it and his fingers tapping on the wood. He raised his eyebrows at me and I started to giggle at him.

  “You’re crazy,” I said as I shook my head.

  “Maybe. But that’s what makes thing so interesting. So… Listen… I’ve got a business I run. I’m making some decent money. I think you should work for me.”

  “A business? What kind of business?”

  “Buying and selling stuff. Electronics. Tablets. Laptops. Cameras. That sort of thing. It’s good money but it’s a lot of work. You wanna help me out?”

  “Sorry,” I said. “That doesn’t sound like my kind of work. Not that there’s anything wrong with what you do. No offense.”

  “None taken. It’s for the best.”

  “In what way?”

  “Now that you’re not my employee, it won’t be as awkward when I take you out to dinner. You’ve already wasted enough time staring at the people here. Isn’t it about time you started getting to know one of them?”

  I wanted to accept his offer. The only thing stopping me was how strange it felt. It wasn’t like me. But there was another part of me. Something in my head was telling me it didn’t make sense but to go for it anyway.

  “What do you say, Eva?”

  “…Okay,” I said with a nod. “But dinner should wait.”

  “Oh?”

  “You still haven’t had your coffee.”

  I finished the rest of my cup and winked at him. Sean smirked at me then got up from his seat.

  “You’re right,” he said as he straightened his red tie. “I suppose I’ll need the energy. You and I have lot to talk about if we’re going to get to know each other.”

  “Am I really gonna learn everything about you?”

  “You can trust me, Eva. I only have the best intentions. For the both of us.”

  “You keep mentioning your intentions. You know you’ll have to prove it eventually.”

  “I’ve been nothing but honest with you so far.”

  “All you told me was your name.”

  “It takes a lot of trust to tell someone your name. I think there’s no better place to start a relationship than from there.”

  He winked at me before heading to the counter to get himself a cup of coffee. I watched him for a second, feeling a strange comfort in choosing to trust him.

  I didn’t know where my life would take me at this point. Everything was a question. Maybe Sean Reese was an answer.

  Chapter 16

  JOHN

  “You have to watch over him… Keep him safe… For me…”

  The clock was ticking. Reese was out there in the city somewhere. His men were looking for us. And whatever he was planning was moving forward. Then there was Brandon.

  It wasn’t delicate work but I’d never been in this situation before. I had to stay focused. There was too much at stake.

  I got back to the hotel later that day but Eva was nowhere to be found. I lost myself in my work.

  It wasn’t until late in the evening when I heard the door open. I looked up for a moment, relieved to see Eva standing there. I gave her a quick smile before turning my attention back to my work.

  “You’re back,” I said.

  “I’m back…”

  “I don’t have all the equipment,” I explained. “It might take a day or two. But I’m getting started. Once this gets set up, we’ll know exactly where Reese is hiding.”

  She didn’t say anything. With everything going on, I assumed her thoughts were scattered.

  It wasn’t until a few seconds later that I knew something was wrong. I looked up and saw her staring at me, a look on her face I couldn’t figure out.

  “What did he say?” I asked. “Did something happen?”

  “Something happened, all right…”

  Her words trailed off as she looked at the ground.

  “…We have to talk,” she said.

  “Eva…”

  I got up and walked toward her.

  “Eva—”

  “I want you to tell me something,” she said, pointing an index finger at me
. “And I want you to tell me the truth, okay? No more bullshit. I don’t care who you’re working for or if this is some secret mission. I just want the truth.”

  She stared at me harder than she ever had before.

  “Okay,” I said with a nod.

  I didn’t know what she was getting at. All I could do was wait and listen.

  “Tell me who John Sabin is,” she said.

  I didn’t respond. I just stared at her, trying to figure out the hurt I saw in her eyes.

  “Who is John Sabin?” she repeated.

  “What are you talking about—”

  “John Sabin died in a car accident four years ago.”

  Eva reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. I took it from her and started reading it. A quick glance and I already knew what it was.

  John…

  “I stopped by the library,” she said. “I looked him up.”

  I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to lie to her. Not anymore.

  “If you’re John Sabin, then who is Derek Jacobs?”

  “Where is this coming from?” I asked.

  “When I got to Lee Taurus’s office, he was speaking to someone. He said he was CID. His name was Michael Neville. Does that ring a bell?”

  I kept staring at her. The hurt in her eyes was growing. I wanted to say something, to do something. But what could I do?

  “He said you refused orders,” she said. “He’s trying to track you down. What’s this all about?”

  The remorse I felt was worse than anything I could remember.

  I thought it was the right decision but now… Now I knew it was a mistake.

  “All I want is the truth,” she sighed. “After everything we’ve been through so far, I deserve that.”

  I clenched my jaw and nodded. I took a seat on the edge of the desk as I read the article in my hands.

  “I met John Sabin when I first enlisted. We were both just a couple of ordinary guys trying to make it through basic. We became friends.

  “We just so happened to get put in the same unit right after. Some people say that’s a good thing, to have a friend with you when you’re out there. Some people say that’s a bad thing, because it affects your judgment.

  “We made it though. We were just some grunts not unlike the rest of them but we got through it together.”