by Nana Prah
She chanced a glance at Carter. Had he noticed the exchange? His scrunched eyebrows revealed a resounding, yes. At that point, Sarita knew without a doubt that he’d make a fantastic agent. Her attention returned to Hana. “You can put your things by our room door. They don’t open them until rec is over.”
When Hana came back, she sat down at the table. Otoo joined them. “Ready to talk yet?” she asked Hana.
Hana’s expression turned venomous. Otoo’s jovial laughter filled the air. “I’ll take that as a no. Getting mean won’t help.”
Otoo’s sudden turn caught Sarita staring at the Nigerian’s unique light-copper-colored hair. “It’s mine. No dye for me.” She ran a hand through the strands.
Sarita refrained from reaching out to touch it. “I’m sure you get asked about it a lot.”
“After ‘How are you?’ it is my most-asked question. Now tell me what happed last night.”
“What do you mean?”
“You were out here all alone with two fine men all night long. Tell me what happened.”
“What do you think happened?” If Sarita admitted to experiencing a kiss so intense she’d nearly slunk to the floor from the pleasure of it, the news would be all over the jail within an hour.
Otoo rolled her eyes. “If I had a clue, I wouldn’t be asking you.”
Hana did a poor job of trying not to pay attention to the conversation.
Marianna came over. “What happened last night, chica?”
Amazing how Sarita could distinguish one Spanish accent from another. Marianna’s Venezuelan accent was distinctly different from her own Columbian one.
She shouldn’t betray the land of her birth, but her favorite one had to be from Spain. Those people knew how to use true inflection.
“Nothing.”
Marianna’s forehead crinkled. “Nada?”
“Watched TV and chatted a little,” Sarita confirmed.
Marianna leaned in and looked into Sarita’s eyes. “That’s all? Are you sure?”
Absolutely. Other than learning she’d fallen in love with a man lingering under the false impression she’d be shipped off to Columbia any day now. His integrity would probably never forgive her for telling him bald face lies because she had to protect her cover. Other than that. Nope, nothing.
“I’m sure.”
***
Why had he allowed her refusal to take the job as a unit worker to sideswipe him? Hadn’t he anticipated it? He’ cussed himself out for not being able to hide his reaction and spent the rest of the evening rec keeping an eye on the unit while sneaking surveillance glances at her.
Her treatment of the new girl didn’t make sense. If he hadn’t known better, he’d think they knew each other. Were they acquainted before coming here?
What did he know about Sarita anyway? Maybe Hana and Sarita were bosom buddies. Except that when Sarita tried to involve Hana in conversation, the girl clammed up. Yet she never left Sarita’s side.
Hana’s expression had screamed panic when she stepped out of the shower and relaxed once she’d found Sarita. An odd reaction.
No doubt Sarita’s charismatic and optimistic personality made her easy to be around. He could attest to that. The connection between her and Hana baffled him.
The link he and Sarita shared, mystified him even more. His gaze once again wandered over to where she sat. Her gorgeous profile angled toward him.
She must have felt him drinking her in because she met his gaze head on with a slight pivot of her head. His heart slammed into his ribs. Time stopped. He heard someone clear their throat to his left.
Spencer clapped him on the shoulder and chuckled. “Who owes who?”
“That’s whom and I’m going to enjoy some free wings.” Matt kept the disappointment out of his voice.
“Thanks for the correction, Mr. English professor. She declined?”
“You can ask her yourself if you don’t believe me.”
“I do. I’m just surprised.”
You and me both. The wall clock read nine o’clock signaling the end of the evening recreation and the termination of his being anywhere near Sarita again without a locked door between them.
“Rec time’s over,” Carter shouted.
The women wandered to their rooms, Sarita being the slowest of all. By the time she got to her cell, he’d reached her door.
“No library tonight?” he asked.
“No.”
He nodded, unsure of what else to say. He looked past her and saw Hana staring at them. “How’s the new cellmate situation. Do you need an intervention?”
He caught her smile before she dipped her head. “I think we’ll both be all right.”
“She’s quiet.”
Sarita nodded. He backed away from the door so he wouldn’t slam her against his chest losing his job in the process.
“Goodnight.”
She stepped into her room. “Night.”
Neither of them moved until Spencer terminated their contact. “Close the door, Cerez.”
She waved and pushed it closed.
As Spencer did the count, Matt stared at the locked door. She hadn’t moved away from the glass pane. A heavy sense of sadness claimed him, clutching his throat with no mercy.
How could the woman he’d been waiting for all of his life be right in front of him and yet so far away?
He’d never asked for life to be fair, but he’d never asked to be kicked in the face by an inaccessible love either.
Chapter 14
Sarita whipped her head around from the door toward Hana. “What did you say?”
The girl’s sudden confidence had come out of nowhere. The previous demeanor of desperation had disappeared like fog in the presence of the sun. “I said you are in love with him.”
The first words she spoke voluntarily exposed Sarita’s raw feelings for an unattainable man. She stalked to the window, giving Hana the same treatment of uncommunicativeness she’d received all evening. Hana’s hair hid her face when she bowed her head. “You look at the guard the way I know I look at the man of my heart.”
Now things were getting interesting.
“You are in love with him.” Hana stated the words as a fact and smiled.
“Who is your man?”
Hana looked out into the nothingness of the world outside the window. “His name is Choe Yong and I love him.” Her gaze shifted to Sarita. “He is kind, generous, and brave.”
For a second Sarita thought the girl would flop onto the bed from the force of her sigh. “He is why I am here.”
“He made you overstay our visa?” Forcing me to join you in this little jailhouse jaunt? Her joy at meeting Matt overshadowed any annoyance she might have initially had towards Hana’s unwise lifestyle decision.
“No. Yes. No, he did not make me. I chose too. We wanted to be together, forever.”
“I’m confused. Tell me what happened from the beginning.” Sarita no longer acted in the capacity of an agent trying to comfort her charge at this point. The romance voyeur in her sought appeasement.
Hana’s little body released a huge breath. “It is always love that causes women to begin to talk.”
“Men, hair, clothes, and shoes.” Sarita ticked the items off on her fingers.
“As children we attended the same school. We became the best of friends. In high school, I knew he was the one I would marry. He knew it, too. In the middle of our final year, his parents moved to the United States. We vowed to be together again one day.
“We wrote and called. Our love did not decrease. My father is strict and traditional. He wants me to marry a man of his choosing and did not approve of the friendship between Yong and myself.”
It didn’t escape Sarita’s notice that Hana never mentioned that her father ruled a whole country. Smart girl.
“What happened?”
“My father eventually arranged a marriage. I was determined not to marry anyone but Yong so no matter how many seon meetings--”
“I believe you would call them matchmaking, done by professionals. No matter how many my father organized, I refused them all. I pleaded with him to let me choose the man I would marry, but he refused and decided for me.
“For an early wedding gift, I requested a journey to the United States for a visit. I chose a state far from Yong so my father would not become suspicious. He allowed me to travel. When I reached New York, Yong met me and I was happy.”
Her face glowed with the remembered joy.
“We spent many days together. My companion for the journey was a second mother to me. She knew how I felt about Yong and supported the relationship. She did not appreciate that in this day and age my father arranged my marriage, but he is her boss and she is powerless to defend me.”
Boss and leader. Hana never mentioned the Secret Service or her own bodyguards and Sarita couldn’t bring it up without revealing her own identity and role. This would defeat the purpose of this ridiculous punishment.
“For months Yong and I were inseparable as we toured the country. I lived upon the clouds.” Hana smiled. “All too soon the time came for me to go. While together, we planned my escape. When the moment availed itself, we disappeared.”
Sarita stood, walked to the door, and looked out. Matt sat on the couch watching television.
He turned his head toward her door as if sensing her gaze on him. She placed a hand over her heart to stop it from leaping out. If only she could disappear with him.
She backed away. “Where did you go?”
Hana made a wild gesture with one hand. “All over.”
A dense cloud of jealousy settled on Sarita. She wished she were young and free, able to be dragged around God’s creation by the man she loved. “How did you pay for this all over journey?”
Hana shrugged “He is rich so money was no problem.”
“He’s rich or his parents are rich.”
“Both.”
Sarita couldn’t resist looking out the door’s window again. Once more he caught her and their gazes locked.
How does he do that? The whole thing freaked her out.
In order to ensure that Hana kept telling her story, Sarita pouted as she shuffled to the window seat. “How did they catch you?”
“He was driving on the highway very fast. The police officer attempted to pull him over, but Yong refused to stop and went faster. He feared they would take me away. The police chased us even when he exited the highway.”
The responsible agent in Sarita shook her head with disappointed at the young man. As a story enthusiast she became enthralled. “And then what happened?”
“He regained his common sense, pulled over, and the police officer arrested him. They found out about me because they were looking for both of us and arrested me, too.”
“Wow.” Sarita couldn’t imagine the daughter of a president participating in a high speed chase, but then again one of the former US president’s daughters came to mind with their public mishaps. “Where is he now?”
“At home. I spoke to him this evening.”
“How did he get out of jail so quickly?”
“His father is influential.”
“But not influential enough to get you out of here?”
“I do not know.”
“What are you going to do when you get back to--” Sarita hesitated. Had the girl mentioned where she came from? She’d barely spoken to anyone, never mind volunteered information about herself. “Where are you from?”
“South Korea.” Hana’s little fingers barely covered her yawn “I will sleep now.”
“Goodnight.”
“Sleep well.”
Sarita needed to see him one more time before climbing into bed. Since the guards worked two night shifts in a row, he wouldn’t be on duty tomorrow. She switched off the light and peeked into the rec area.
He hadn’t moved. Her finger outlined her lips as remembering the pleasure of his searing kiss.
Within seconds he looked up at her. He stood and moved toward her room. Changing directions at the last second, he headed to the first door and looked inside with his flashlight at the ready. Her heart plummeted. Room checks. Her hungry eyes captured his every move.
At her door he turned off the flashlight. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, overwhelmed by her love for him. The lump at her throat prevented her from speaking. What was wrong with the timing in the universe?
But as soon as the thought had run its course, she revoked it, well aware that everything happened for a reason.
If they were meant to be together, then they would be. Her betrayal would be hard for him to accept, if he ever did.
“I wish you’d said yes.”
She strained to hear his low spoken words through the door. “Me too.
She pushed the regret away. Duty took first priority. Didn’t she have an obligation to her own heart? Not at the cost of another person’s life. Her eyes were drawn to a point behind him and to the left. One of the inmates watched them. “You’d better move along. Prying eyes and all.”
“Have a good night.”
“You, too.”
The words “I love you” longed to slip out of her mouth, but she caged them in. What kind of stupid romantic comedy would she make, professing her emotions while locked inside a jail cell? She moaned.
The softness of his gaze melted her heart when he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Life.”
He nodded prior to moving away.
“I love you, Matthew Carter,” she whispered to the empty space on the other side of the locked door.
***
Another damn day in jail. Sarita would become a lunatic if she were a criminal forced to spend years in this place. Monotony was the culprit. Each day like the previous one.
Well, mostly. This evening she waited in line at the door ready to head out to the visitor’s lounge, where she’d never ventured. Thanks to Hana’s guest she’d get the opportunity to speak to someone outside of these restrictive cement walls.
Marianna’s red tainted mouth caught her attention. “How did you get lipstick? It’s not on the canteen list.” Sarita’s gaze moved up to the woman’s eyes. “Are you wearing eyeliner?”
Marianna puffed out her lips. “You like, chica? Crushed red M&M shells for my luscious lips. I experimented with mixing a little bit of brown to darken it so it didn’t look like I was wearing candy.” She waved her hands with flamboyance at her eyes. “Crushed paint chips.”
“I can understand the M&M’s, but paint chips? Aren’t you afraid of getting lead poisoning or going blind?”
The vain woman hitched her shoulders. “Eh. Beauty is pain. Sometimes you have to do what you must. My man is waiting for me and I want to look good for him.”
Sarita shook her head. “Paint chips. Dangerous.”
Berlinda came over, looking beautiful with her thick black hair done up in a French braid. “What’s crazy?”
Sarita filled her in. “Using paint chips for eyeliner.”
Berlinda studied Marianna. “You have to do what you have do.”
“You see? Who’s coming to visit you, Sarita? You never get visitors.”
Sarita pulled her shoulders back. “I know people, too.”
“Is it your boyfriend?” Marianna teased.
“It can’t be,” Berlinda mocked. “She’s dating Carter.”
Sarita rolled her eyes as Hana joined in with a nod. “How can you date someone while in jail?”
Marianna frowned. “Believe me, it happens all the time in here.”
Donnelly opened the door for the two guards who would escort them to the visitor’s room.
Downstairs, they were sent to a room where a female guard patted them down before sending them out to meet their guests.
Sarita kept an eye on Hana as the girl walked out and looked around. When her gaze fell on a young Asian man, her smile shone so bright it c
ould have competed with the sun. She ran to the handsome man and flung her arms around him.
He must have had the rules drilled into him because he kept the hug brief before letting her go. They held hands and gazed at each other as if the rest of the room had disappeared.
A deep masculine voice shook Sarita out of her romantic reverie. “Should I scoop you up and twirl you around, too?”
“Only if you want to end up on the floor.”
Lombardo held both hands up in front of him. “How about a small hug to keep up appearances?”
“Don’t try anything that will get your ass kicked later.”
“I promise.” His body encompassed her in huge bear hug.
Though it felt good to be with someone familiar again, she poked him in the ribs. “That’s enough.”
He stepped back, leading her to a table close to Hana and Yong. The couple spoke without a second of silence between words. Sarita couldn’t be sure either one listened to the other.
“How’s life in the big house?”
“It bites.”
“Doing time hasn’t changed you at all has it?” His mouth curled. “Still telling it like it is.”
She pounded her chest twice and held up a deuce sign. “It’s made me harder. You have to be tough to survive.”
“Tough. With illegal immigrants who wouldn’t be able to kill a mouse, never mind hurting another human being? Please.”
She tilted her head toward Hana. “She’s a good kid who did something stupid for love. But then again, don’t we all?”
He quirked one of his eyebrows. “You’ve been in love?”
“Shut up, Lombardo.”
He leaned forward and whispered, “We’ve worked together for years. Why don’t you call me Vince like everyone else?” His gorgeous amber eyes, framed by thick dark eyelashes, sparkled.
“Save it. You know exactly why I call you by your last name. It’s to keep you at a safe distance. You’re too much man for me to handle.”
“Really?”
Her robust laughter caused the guards to scowl at her.
“No. Having built it to such substantial levels, you’re aware of your reputation. And besides, I don’t think you could handle me.”
