“Oh no, honey. It means you’ll have to do one for me.”
Kissing her softly, he pressed his forehead against hers. “My lady, that’s the best offer I’ve had since I left Canada.”
Carlie pulled him in for another kiss as sirens sounded in the distance and emergency lights flashed across the horizon. “All strippers require a lacy thong, though,” she murmured. “I’ll have to order one in your size.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
A week later, Carlie sat in the Blue Room of the White House, awaiting President Sharp. Nick sat next to her, and Shelley and Agent Jenessa Jones took up the chairs across from them. Nick held her hand and gave her an encouraging smile, but it was hard not to feel overwhelmed by the opulence of the room. Not to mention the fact that they were about to meet the President of the United States.
Gold and blue curtains flanked the full-length windows, complimenting the blue and gold rug in the center of the circular room. Pictures of past Presidents hung at intervals on the white and cream walls, and a beautiful chandelier with false candles commanded her attention, hanging in the center of the room.
Carlie closed her eyes and took some calming breaths. She never expected to tour the White House, let alone pay a visit in the evening at President Sharp’s request.
“Excuse me?”
They all turned their heads to the doorway where an intern stood, cell phone in hand.
“Is one of you...?” The man looked at the phone, shaking his head, and then looked back up. “Is someone here Princess Stephanie?”
“Who’s asking?” Nick said, before Carlie could answer.
The man seemed to shrink in on himself at Nick’s glare. “She has a phone call.”
“Don’t scare the poor guy.” Carlie stood from her chair. She smiled at the intern, though anxiety fluttered beneath her breastbone. “The call’s for me.”
He scuttled forward and thrust the phone at her. “I’ll wait in the hallway. Take your time.”
Carlie sighed, wondering how many people Nick would intimidate for speaking to her today. She wouldn’t be surprised if he stared down the President himself. While in the hospital to take care of the bullet wound that grazed her leg, Nick had made it known to all the staff if she didn’t get top priority, there’d be hell to pay.
It was nice, actually, knowing he cared so much. Now that their secrets were all out in the open, Carlie looked forward to their future.
She just didn’t look forward to this phone call.
Clearing her throat, she put the phone to her ear. “This is Stephanie.”
“Sister-in-law, I cannot tell you how happy I was to learn you survived the car accident six years ago.”
The heavily accented English brought a smile to her face.
“Prince Ehud? I never imagined I’d talk to you again.” She paused, uncertain what emotion to express. Though she didn’t feel grief at Ryan’s death, condolences were in order. “Sorry about your brother.”
“Rayhan made his choices and paid for them,” Ehud said. “I will be confirmed as heir in three weeks, and you will no longer be princess. Are you okay with that?”
Relief flooded through her. “I never wanted to be a princess in the first place. I’m happy for the people of Maharla. When your uncle passes, they’ll be blessed to have you as king.”
“I am glad you feel that way, sister, because I have a favor to ask.”
That figured. She wondered if she’d ever be rid of the royals of Maharla. At least they weren’t trying to kill her anymore. “What do you need?”
“I want you to come to the ceremony. The people look for happiness after the death of Rayhan. The ones terrorized by him also want to thank their savior and the lady who will always be their princess.”
Carlie shook her head. “I’m supposed to be dead. How will that work?”
“I have said there was a mistake and another woman is buried in your grave. They want to see you. My mother told me what she and Rayhan did to you. This is my way to make it right.”
“You’re a good man, Prince Ehud.”
“Also,” he continued, “you could visit the grave of Princess Gabriela.”
Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. “I’ve wanted that for a long time.”
“Then it is settled. I will make travel arrangements for you and one guest. Thank you, my sister. This country owes you a lot.”
She was a little afraid to ask, but she had to know. “Ryan mentioned people he had trapped, planning to torture them if I didn’t cooperate. Have they been found and released?”
“Yes, and their captors have been dealt with.”
Carlie shuddered, deciding not to ask how he dealt with them. Ehud was a good man, but Maharlans were more bloodthirsty than Americans. The captors’ punishment couldn’t have been easy. “Thank you. I’m glad they’re safe. I’d hate if innocents suffered because of me.”
She gave him a number where he could contact her directly before hanging up. After that, she walked swiftly to the doorway and returned the cell to the intern. His relieved eyes told her he was grateful to deal with her, not Nick. She offered him a smile before making her way back to their group.
Nick stood. “What was that about?”
“How do you feel about a trip to Maharla?”
“Definitely up for that.” He gathered her in his arms and kissed her softly. “You’ll finally get to say goodbye to your daughter.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “I’m ready to move forward with our life together, but Gabi will always be an important part of me. I’d like to take her the bracelet.”
Nick glanced at Jenessa. “Can you work on getting that back for us?”
She nodded. “I don’t think it’s really needed as evidence, considering Ryan died. I’ll ask about it as soon as we’re done here.”
“Sounds like you guys are off for another adventure.” Shelley sighed and then grimaced, pressing her hand into her chest.
“Are you okay?” Carlie dropped to her knees in front of Shelley, looking into her drawn face. “I wish they’d hurry up already.”
Shelley chuckled. “One doesn’t just tell the President it’s an inconvenience to meet him, Carlie. I’m fine.”
Although the doctors released Shelley from the hospital yesterday, confident she’d make a full recovery, Carlie didn’t think it was right to have her out of bed yet. She needed to rest, not sit on uncomfortable blue chairs for hours on end.
“I don’t care if he is the president. The king of Maharla never kept me waiting so long, and you’re injured.”
Deep laughter came from the doorway and they all looked up. The man held a hand up to the secret service agents following him, indicating they should wait at the doorway. He stepped into the room, a wide smile still lighting his face. “I’m afraid you’re right,” he said. “I was tied up in a meeting with homeland security since we had a bomb scare at the Lincoln Memorial today, but I shouldn’t keep a gunshot victim waiting.”
Warmth crept over Carlie’s neck and cheeks. While she did think Shelley should be in bed, President Sharp’s job was much more important than anything Carlie could ever imagine. She hadn’t meant for him to hear her.
She stood, uncertain whether she should apologize or bow or what exactly one did when meeting the President. “Sir, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to sound disrespectful. I know you are a busy man with a stressful and important position. It’s just that Shelley’s in pain and I worry about her.” She settled on giving a half-curtsy instead of bowing.
The gray in Sharp’s temples gave him a distinguished look, and he was taller than she imagined from seeing him on television. His green eyes met and held hers for a few seconds. “Please don’t apologize for worrying after your friend. I’ve been very impressed with you, Carlie Hollis.” He reached forward and grabbed her hand in a firm shake. “Not only did you help disrupt Paul Billings’ compound and put a stop to that, you saved the country of Maharla, from what King Zerach tells me, from
would have been a horrible leader. Nice work.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, staring at the floor to cover her confusion. None of them had dared speculate why they were summoned to the White House, but she hadn’t expected praise from the country’s leader.
Nick stepped forward, extending his hand and shaking Sharp’s. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir. We’ve been anxious to find out what you need from us.”
Carlie breathed a sigh of relief, grateful Nick took the attention off her. One of the many reasons she loved him—he made her life better, even in simple ways.
She just hoped President Sharp didn’t have something bad in store for them. They’d been through enough already.
***
What a relief that President Sharp had a sense of humor and seemed to understand the stress Carlie was under. Nick knew she didn’t mean to offend him, after all. She hadn’t left Shelley’s bedside for longer than necessary the entire past week after the doctors finished stitching up her own wound.
“Why don’t we sit down?” Sharp asked. He grabbed one of the blue chairs from the opposite side of the room and dragged it to the cluster of four.
Nick reclaimed Carlie’s hand and they sat, looking at the President expectantly.
The man looked around, meeting all their eyes before zeroing in on Jenessa. “Agent, I know you’re new to the FBI and worked mostly in the tech department before this mission, but all the men accompanying you said you were poised and in control.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said softly. “I was just happy we all survived. It was a tense situation.”
Nick wasn’t sure he was impressed with Jenessa, but he wouldn’t badmouth her to Sharp. The facts were, the FBI fired at Paul on her say so, and that was why Carlie was shot. Luckily, the wound was superficial, but in the darkness Jenessa had no way to know what her orders could have done. She had a lot to learn.
Nick wondered why he even cared. It wasn’t his job to train her. Someone else had that problem.
“And Shelley Daniels,” the President continued, “or should I say Felicia Marks? That’s you real name, right?”
“Yes.” Shelley nodded. “Either name is fine, sir. I kind of like Shelley.”
“I know you were new to S.A.T.O. this past year, and you believed S.A.T.O. was still run by my office.”
“Yes. I thought we investigated terrorists.” She grimaced and leaned forward, glancing at Carlie. “I nearly got my best friend killed.”
“But you made up for that by rescuing her,” Sharp pointed out. “You almost paid for that mistake with your life.”
Shelley shrugged. “I don’t have much to look forward to anyway, sir. Well, besides telling you what I can to help catch Paul and Stephen.”
“The information you provided on the compound has already helped a lot. We’ve arrested many of the men and women there, but that’s where you all come in.”
Nick wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that. “What do you need from us, Mr. President?”
“I need to reform S.A.T.O.,” Sharp said. “I need a new tech administrator.” He nodded at Jenessa. “An agent who will do the honorable thing no matter what.” Another nod at Shelley. “And a leader.” He looked at Nick, eyebrows raised. “What do you think?”
Carlie’s hand spasmed in his, and Nick glanced at her. “What is it, my lady?”
“I thought we’d be done with all this spy stuff.” She shook her head and shrugged. “Open a new shop together, maybe think about tying the—” She broke off abruptly and looked away.
Nick couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face. Ever since the ambulance came, they hadn’t talked again about marriage, but he knew Carlie was about to say tying the knot. There was nothing he wanted more. However, he still needed some adventure in his life.
He turned to Sharp. “Can I do both? I mean, run S.A.T.O. and build my life with Carlie? I know in the past it was required agents remain single, but that isn’t an option for me.”
“It’s not?” Carlie breathed.
With extreme effort, he didn’t reply, waiting for Sharp’s decision.
“I think the old rules of S.A.T.O. made for unhappy people and created a super-terrorist who knows many government secrets,” Sharp said. “Perhaps it’s time we changed the rules.”
Nick looked across at Shelley and Jenessa. “What do you ladies think?”
“I’m in,” Jenessa said immediately.
Shelley shook her head. “I didn’t know that would be an option. I’ll have to think about it.” She looked at her hands, showing the first sign of uncertainty Nick had ever seen in her. “I don’t know if the spy life is for me.”
“That’s fair,” Nick agreed. After all, he knew Shelley would give them all the information she could on Paul. If she didn’t want to stay in the organization that was fine. He wouldn’t be the kind of leader who killed people wanting a different sort of life.
That just left one obstacle. He turned to Carlie, caressing her cheek and staring into her beautiful eyes. “What about you? Can we do both your adventure and mine? I’d have to leave sometimes while you took care of the shop, but you once told me you didn’t want me to give up my dreams. Being an agent is something I love.”
“And you were willing to sacrifice that for me before.” She ran her fingers through his hair and smiled. “We can make it so we both get what we want. Everything will work out, as long as I have you.”
He kissed her softly and Shelley muttered, “Just propose already.”
Sharp shifted in his chair, and Nick broke away from Carlie self-consciously. It might not be the best idea to kiss in front of the President—his new boss.
“That settles it then,” Sharp said. “You’ll be in charge of interrogating the old agents, figuring out which ones are innocent, hiring new recruits, and our ultimate goal is to catch Paul. He has to be stopped, because I’m sure he won’t stop on his own.”
“Wait!” Carlie held her hand up in a stop motion. “I don’t want to butt in, but I have a question.”
Sharp tilted his head, though an amused grin flitted across his face. Nick guess no one interrupted him very often. “What is it?” he asked.
“You know Muhammad Khan isn’t a terrorist, right? I know he’s Muslim, but that’s just stupid to believe that every single person who’s different—”
“Muhammad Khan?” Sharp asked, doing some interrupting of his own. “I don’t even know who that is.”
Nick glanced quickly at Carlie, noting the blush creeping over her face. He’d have to take the lead again. “He’s Aamir Abdul’s nephew, sir. Paul told me we suspected he was a terrorist leader.”
Comprehension dawned in the man’s green eyes. “Oh, that Khan.” He shook his head. “Carlie, he’s a good person. We did investigate him last year, but he has a charitable heart and just wants to help others.”
“Thank you,” Carlie whispered, sounding mollified. Then again, she always knew Muhammad was innocent.
“So?” Sharp looked again at each of them. “Everything all cleared up? Ready to rebuild S.A.T.O.?”
Nick took in a deep breath. “I have a few conditions, before I say yes.”
Sharp raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. “What are they?”
“I want to be by Carlie’s side while she undergoes plastic surgery operations in a few months. Before that, we have to leave the country for a few weeks. Carlie needs to visit her daughter’s grave, and then we have plans to see her parents in South Africa.”
“We’re still going?” Carlie asked.
“Of course we are. How else can I make your fairytale dream come true?”
She narrowed her eyes and shook her head slightly. “I don’t understand.”
“No knight ever asks for his lady’s hand without first speaking to her father.”
Moisture made her eyes shiny. “That’s why you haven’t asked me? I thought...”
Nick lifted his thumb to her lips, stroking their softness. “All you ne
ed to think about is where we’ll build our home and your new business. Well, maybe you could tell me a secret way to make your father like me.”
She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Don’t worry. My folks will love you.”
“Looks like we have an agreement then,” Sharp said. “I look forward to working with you all.”
Nick pulled Carlie in for a kiss, stroking her back and not caring who watched. His pulse jumped higher when her fingers caressed his cheek. Life was good. Nick had everything he ever wanted. “Maybe,” he whispered against her mouth, “you should take control of things again later today. I know how you like that.”
Carlie giggled, but didn’t stop kissing him.
Shelley sighed. “Awe. That’s cute. You know what the fairytales always say?”
“What’s that?” Jenessa asked.
“And they lived happily ever after.”
Nick pulled away and stared at Carlie, hoping she could see the love in his eyes. “And we certainly will.”
Chapter Extras - Author’s Note
I hope you enjoyed the beginning of my Agents in Love Series. Nick and Carlie’s story had a few false starts, and I didn’t at first understand what their tale was about. I thought this was a story about the different ways people view government, stereotypes, and they ways in which people judge others. To some extent, the story followed that original idea, touching on Muhammad’s life and S.A.T.O.’s accusations against him, but the story strayed from that and became about another issue close to my heart.
Carlie’s wish to help others and see the best in people is a trait I share with her. I think the world would be a better place if people worked harder to help each other and pay forward any good they receive to someone less fortunate. Carlie’s views of this went even deeper than my own, and took over much of the tale. In the process, she and I both discovered that not everyone is who they claim to be. Sometimes that hurts, but sometimes it works out for the best.
A part of Carlie’s story did focus on rape, and her coming to terms with that and facing her attacker. While I didn’t want to make abuse a large part of this book since I’ve already visited that issue, I am, as always, very invested in making sure suffers of domestic violence or any other attack find the support and help they need. If you or someone you know have been affected by rape, there is help available. For more information, visit RAINN’s website - http://www.rainn.org/ They also have international links if you are outside the United States of America. For resources in other countries visit here - http://www.rainn.org/get-help/sexual-assault-and-rape-international-resources
Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) Page 37
