In Too Deep: A Romantic Suspense Novel

by Landish, Lauren

  "That's probably who signs his paycheck, for sure," I said. "However, I can guarantee you that he isn't getting forty thousand dollars a year like this file says. Give Albertine a bit more time to track Pinzetti down, and we’ll know more.”

  "Is that the next step?" Melina asked. "Turn Albertine loose on him?"

  "Not exactly, but track him, yes. Now that we have something to go on, we can really go much faster. By dinner time we should have every bit of financial and electronic information on him, and we can make our plans for what to do next. In the meantime, let's see how those bikes are coming along."

  * * *

  "Good morning everyone, for those who didn't have me last year, I'm Mr. Swagger. Welcome to College Prep English Two. Let's get started."

  The assortment in front of me was your typical group of students. While technically in the college preparation track, when the school had four different tracks (remedial, general, college prep, and honors), the simple fact was, most of the kids in this class weren't the best and brightest. Then again, they hadn’t given up on school either, so they had potential.

  "Hey, Mr. Swagger?"

  I checked my seating chart, double checking the name. "Yes, Yvonne?"

  "So like, how much homework are you going to be asking of us? An hour a week? Two?"

  I shook my head. "I assign to standard, not to time. I passed out a syllabus to everyone who was in the course last year, but if you missed it or forgot it, I'll be passing out another copy today.

  Yvonne nodded, reassured. I had her last year, and while she was a good student, she was one of those types who were trying to do everything at once and often had a problem with the amount of stuff she had going on at one time. Cheerleader, college prep and some honors classes, music, and from what I knew she was one of the more popular girls in the sophomore class. Add in that the rumor mill was that she was dating one of the starting linebackers for the football team, and she had quite a lot to handle.

  "Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let's get books handed out. We'll be using a few different books this semester, but in order to not blow out your lockers I've decided to spread them out," I said to some light laughter. "So first things first, the state book. These need to be turned in at the end of the semester, so I'd prefer if you all put covers on them, no tape on them, please. You guys have been doing this for years, I don't need to give you the whole rundown. If you need covers, I have a bunch left over from last year's drug awareness campaign that you can use."

  Class continued, most of it boring, but I kept notes in my head. It's the most important thing a teacher can do. Every year there were new faces to learn, and new information to process. You had to know how to handle each class, and see how the particular mix of students would work together. You even have to keep your ear to the ground around the rumor mill and social scene, just to try and head off problems before they could blow up in your class. And of course, you had to know how to get the best out of each student. This could change over time too. Forget grading papers, motivating students is the hardest thing I did on the job.

  Lunch period rolled around and I went out to the cafeteria, drawing lunch monitor duty first day. The school had an outside eating area, which was popular during good weather. For a late August day it was actually unexpectedly cool, so there were quite a few students sitting and hanging out while either eating their lunch line food or brown bag lunches. I actually had the unexpected pleasure of a good packed lunch myself. Melina, after our workout the night before, made me tuna salad, a nice blend of mustard and mayonnaise. I smeared spoonfuls onto whole grain crackers and enjoyed my meal.

  I’d just chewed up my last cracker, washing it down with ice water when I saw something that caught my attention. While Truth or Consequences is small, there are still problems. I saw two groups of students coming closer, and I repositioned myself. These fights tended to be fast and vicious. The fighters knew that they had only seconds to cause damage before getting broken up. Thankfully, there was seldom any weapons involved.

  The situation was still at the level of words when I stepped close. "Don't you boys have somewhere else to go?" I asked, looking between the two in front. I was disappointed to note that one of the basketball players was involved in one of the groups. I'd have to address that later. "Carlos? Hank? Any reason you guys are hanging out around here?"

  Carlos' eyes didn't even move from Hank's face, and he had that sort of quiet look that lit up my warning board. Carlos was the sort of kid who would talk and yammer and yell, and you didn't have to worry about it. But if he got quiet, the talking was finished, he was ready to fight.

  I stepped in between them, turning my back to Hank who I knew was still a little bit away from swinging. I leaned in close to Carlos, whispering in his ear. "Come on, it ain't worth it. Not on the first day of school."

  He eyes pulled away from Hank for an instant, which I wanted. He looked me in the eye, and I looked back at him. It was a sensitive balance. I had to be strong enough that he would listen to me, without being threatening enough that he had to snap at me or risk losing face with his crew. "You know what he said about my sister?”

  I shook my head. "Nope. But I know what your sister would say about you catching another assault charge on the first day of school. You know you would, too. You don't want to be wishing her Merry Christmas from the Roswell Juvenile Center, do you?"

  Carlos thought about it for a second, then nodded. "All right, for now. But this ain't over."

  The two groups broke apart, and I had just enough time to get my water bottle from where I'd left it before the bell rang, and I went inside. I needed to tell the office about what went down, and I only had fifteen minutes to do it before next period began.

  Chapter 25

  Melina

  I was jittery with nervous energy when Cam came in the door. "How was your day?"

  "Broke up a fight before it could start, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary," he said, slinging his backpack onto the couch. "Come here, you."

  It was nice to feel missed, and being with Cam was like that every day. Even the few hours that we were apart while at work felt like forever, and coming together like we did in the living room was completion. He wrapped his arms around my waist, a smile on his lips before he kissed me softly. "That's the way to not worry about the day."

  "I bet," I replied, my arms around his neck. "So how were classes themselves?"

  “As I expected. What about your day? It's not that I don't want to share, but the first day is so boring there’s almost nothing to talk about.”

  I laughed. "I got to play the housewife, if you can imagine that," I said. "I did laundry, cleaned up the place, and did that workout you showed me the other day."

  "Housewife, huh?" Cam asked with a grin. "That sounds kind of presumptuous."

  I shrugged, smiling as he didn't let me go. "Maybe the idea sounds like a good one. But we do have a few steps to go first."

  "We do," Cam said. "So if I wanted to take that next step, I wonder what would happen?"

  "You have access to the most powerful computer system in the world, an IQ double the average man, and yet you want a hint in figuring that out?" I teased him, letting go of his neck and stepping back. "Sometimes Cam, you've just got to take a chance."

  I walked away, smiling slightly as I gave him a nice little hip wiggle. I knew I was asking a lot, but I also knew how I felt about him. The secrets of his past, the world threatening laptop in his spare bedroom, the super secret agents coming after him, they didn't really matter to me. What mattered was the way he held me in the morning or the way he looked me in the eyes, and the way he talked with me. He never talked down to me, even though he was smarter than all but a handful of people on the planet. Best of all, Cam accepted me without judgment.

  I waited in the office bedroom, hoping that my instincts about Cam were correct. I was just about to give up and go back to see what he might like for dinner when he came in, his e
yes twinkling. "I see you’ve made decisions about us that are pretty long term."

  "I have," I said, strangely not concerned at all. The time for being afraid or worrying about things was over. "And you?"

  "I have," Cam said quietly. “But I tell you what, go get dressed. Nothing fancy, I'm leaving my work clothes on. Let's go out to dinner."

  It felt strange, getting dressed for dinner. In my mind, I knew what we were going to do. Yet, it didn't take away from the anticipation nor the romance. If anything, it added to the whole experience, as I had the chance to actually appreciate each little thing more.

  It took me nearly a half hour to get ready, putting on my second best dress. I took a little bit of time to style my hair and put in my best earrings, diamond chips that I'd gotten from my grandmother when she passed away. Looking at myself in the mirror, I was surprised at the woman looking back at me. I looked... elegant?

  Cam was appreciative when I came out. He'd gotten a sport coat from his closet that went well with his shirt and khakis, and even produced a tie from somewhere. While it wasn't the suit from the island, he still looked like a million bucks. "Shall we?"

  The drive to the restaurant was nearly silent, both of us not needing words. Cam took me to the best restaurant in town, which honestly wasn't anything Michelin starred but was a decent little steakhouse. Taking our seats, his eyes still were still twinkling. "Aren't you worried about our search?"

  He shook his head. "No. If we get anything, I'll get a ping on my phone. But that's not what's important right now."

  I flushed, my eyes going to the table in front of us. "Cam, you don't know how crazy this all seems."

  "Which part?" he asked with a laugh in his voice. "The meeting on a tropical island, falling in love, and uprooting your life to chase a dream or the stuff that's happened since?"

  “All of the above,” I answered, looking up at him. "I didn't think any of this would ever happen to someone like me."

  Our appetizers came, and we took a break to enjoy the shared dish, stuffed potato skins. "You know, these things have enough calories and fat to negate any workout I did today."

  "We'll make it up tomorrow," Cam said casually, stuffing a whole skin complete with bacon, cheese, and sour cream into his mouth. "These are a guilty pleasure, but they’re not the best I've ever had. There's a place up in Taos that puts pulled pork barbecue on top of them instead of chili. Sometime we should go."

  Our steaks came, interrupting our conversation. I was overcome with the strangeness of it all again because I knew what was coming. The only unknown factor was when Cam was going to steer the conversation towards what we were both thinking about. But, leave it to a former intelligence operative with a one ninety something IQ to just sit there with a sanguine smile on his face, enjoying his steak and carrying on a casual conversation.

  I was becoming increasingly flustered, and Cam could tell. A small little smile spread across his face as he savored every bite of his steak, and when he was done, he wiped his lips with his napkin and set it aside like there was nothing wrong at all. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

  My hand was shaking in anticipatory frustration when Cam came back just a minute or two later, still with that little smile on his face. "Ready for dessert?"

  "I guess," I said, despondency dropping over me. A wild hope had flared inside me that Cam had used his excuse of a trip to the bathroom to do a last minute arrangement for a cheesy proposal. However, even someone as well organized as Cam couldn’t have gotten it done in two minutes, regardless of how fast he talked. "So what is it supposed to be?"

  "Just this," he said, pointing. A server walked up as I turned, my mouth dropping open in shock as a chocolate cheesecake with a diamond ring embedded on top winked back at me. "You like it?"

  The server set it down, a big grin on his face as I stared silently at the cake. "How did you?"

  "I bought the ring last week," Cam said. "I had to hide it, so I ordered it online and had it sent to the school. I taught the owner's daughter last year, so he's nice to me, he just asked me to give the ring over at the right time."

  Cam got out of his chair, everyone in the restaurant stopping what they were doing to watch. I’d never been the center of so much attention, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

  "Melina, I know we've only been together a short time. But in that time, you've intertwined yourself into my heart and soul so much that I can’t bear the thought of being without you. You bring a light to my darkness. Would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

  I don't think anyone in the entire restaurant was breathing as they waited for me to answer. Thankfully, I didn't make them wait too long. "Of course I will, you fool!"

  There were at least fifty people in the restaurant, but to me, the applause and cheers were as large as if Cam had proposed to me in the middle of the Super Bowl. He plucked the ring from the top of the cake and gestured for my hand, taking it and sliding the ring on. It was a perfect fit, and the stone on top glistened in the light of the restaurant. The owner came over and clapped Cam on the back while another server came out with a bottle of champagne. "On the house," the owner said. "If it wasn't for your tutoring Jenny last year, she'd never have gotten into UNM."

  Cam stood, pulling me up with him into a warm embrace and a hot kiss that earned more than a few hoots from the crowd. There were even a few more cheers when I lifted my foot up, his kiss literally curling my toes. He set me down, grinning. "I had you so fooled, don't say I didn't."

  "You pull a stunt like that with our wedding, and you'll find that I become a widow the same day I become a bride," I warned him kissing his nose before sitting down to finish our meal. I’d just dug my fork through the outer layers of the rich chocolate when Cam's phone beeped, a sound I'd never heard it make before. "What's that?"

  Cam pulled out his phone and looked at the screen. "Albertine," he said. "It has a hit.”

  "Do we have to go?" I asked, pushing my fork the rest of the way through my dessert. If I had to do it, I was pretty sure I could down the whole thing in four bites, but I'd prefer to take my time and savor the experience.

  "It can wait," Cam said. "He's not showing near here."

  Even with the comment, I ate faster than I would’ve normally, anxiety working its way into my gut. It was still great, but I quickly wiped my lips and stood up. "Let's get out of here."

  Cam paid the bill and we went out to the truck. Sitting down, my hands were shaking so badly it took me three tries to get my seatbelt done. Cam buckled his own belt, then looked at me. "What's up? I figured you'd take ten minutes with that dessert.”

  I laughed, looking at the ring on my finger. "Cam, this is beautiful."

  "Well, I should hope so. It's not like I plan on ever giving one of these out again."

  I laughed and leaned over, giving him a quick kiss. "I know, but I was thinking, instead of just the ring, I want something else for an engagement gift."

  "What's that?"

  "I want to feel safe."

  Chapter 26

  Cam

  I knew I was grinning, I'd had a grin on my face for the past two hours. Since hearing Melina's request, I was filled with a new purpose and felt a bit like my old self.

  But I don't regret walking away from the intelligence community. And while I chose the gig to keep a low profile, I enjoyed being a basketball coach and English teacher. It was a lot more meaningful to me than what I had been doing. I got to guide kids and to help them make more of themselves. In the intelligence community, most of the time was about damage. Damaging your enemies, decreasing their financial or military might, and taking things away from them.

  Still, there was a certain primal thrill to being able to use all of my skills and intelligence again. I'd picked up a lot more than just what my degrees said I knew, and a lot of those skills had sat in my brain for years, dust and rust gathering in those shut off mental rooms.

  But now, though, Melina's words filled me wi
th an energy and motivation I hadn't felt in a very long time. It was even sweeter this time because not only was I getting to use my abilities again, but I was doing it with the full knowledge and blessing of the most important woman in the world to me. It added a certain electric edge to my work.

  I sat in front of Albertine, typing away furiously as I went through the trail that it had found on Victor Pinzetti.

  "All right Vic, let's get nasty," I said. First to go was his bank accounts, which while not wiped out, was frozen by a non-existent court order. Next were the credit cards, each of which were frozen due to sudden charges that maxed out each of them. Financially paralyzed, Pinzetti would have to depend on his governmental resources.

  Thankfully, working within the government's bureaucracy was a painstaking and tracked process. I connected Victor to the car with Faraday glass that he'd been assigned, along with his governmental credit cards, spending accounts, and even his government phone number and the specs on his phone.

  "So what's your plan?" Melina said, sitting on my right and looking over my shoulder. "What's next?"

  "First, I'm going to put out an APB on his car," I said, tapping away, "so that should give him a few issues. Of course, if the cops aren't looking actively they won't stop him, but it should give him some headaches. Even better, though, I have his aliases and those I can go to town on."

  "The only thing he's really got left is his phone, which we've slipped an active tracer into. We'll know his location as well as being able to listen in on any conversations he has on it. I doubt he'd be stupid enough to do that, but you never know."

  "Why would him using the phone be stupid, I mean besides the obvious?" Melina asked. "He wouldn't know about it."

  "If he's been assigned to come after Albertine, then he should know the capabilities it has. For sure he should know what I can do. As soon as he starts to run into problems with his credit cards, his bank cards, or anything like that, he should assume that his phone is compromised as well. If I were him, I'd have paid cash and gotten a cloned or pre-paid phone for just such situations. But still, he may screw up or his supervisor may have screwed up. In any case, I can GPS track that phone as long as it’s turned on. Even hitting the switch won't work any longer, he'll have to remove the battery to keep it off the grid."