Matt was up earlier than usual and already at his workout. After driving at the track the day before, he and Sarah had made a quick dinner together and spent some time relaxing on the couch before making an early night of it. Matt grinned ruefully to himself. Relaxing might not be the right word. They had kept their hands in the usual proper places, but the kissing was another story. As Matt had found his lips wandering along her jawline and eventually to her neck, Sarah's response had told him that she had enjoyed it. They had both felt a passion that he was fairly certain neither of them had experienced before. Granger, you're a fool if you think you have things under control. He decided it was a good thing they would not see each other until lunch on Tuesday. At least we're both too proper to make out in public. You made a promise to Sarah to wait—and you know you've always said you'd wait until marriage. You're going to have to set some limits for yourself—and think seriously about marrying the girl.
Matt frowned. This commitment to wait had seemed so easy when he was surrounded by his church friends in high school and college. Even Sarah, who had only recently begun attending church seriously and committing to her faith, was determined to wait. In his heart he knew it was the best thing for the both of them. Why did it have to be so hard now? Because you're crazy in love with the girl, she's got a beautiful body, and you enjoy being physical with her. You're just going to have to get a grip and set some limits. And do some more praying.
Realizing he was taking out his frustrations too loudly on the weight equipment and probably annoying his neighbors, Matt tried to think of something else.
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As he arrived in the bullpen, Matt realized he was the only person in the room. The agents on call overnight were either still out on surveillance or had already left. Hoping to corner Wong or Francine about why he was possibly being kept out of the loop on the follow up to Sarah's run-in with the cartel, he was disappointed to find them already involved in an intense meeting with Lee and Amanda. It did not help when they closed the blinds after spotting him in the bullpen at his desk. After catching up on the chatter and his emails, he was relieved to see Lee and Amanda come out of Francine's office and make a beeline for his desk.
"Amanda. Lee. You're here early."
Lee was all business. "Hi, Matt. Could you walk with us?"
Concerned, Matt followed them into another conference room, where Lee shut the blinds and motioned for him to sit down. After scanning the room for bugs, Amanda joined them.
"We need to keep this brief, so I'm going to be blunt and to the point. The cartel is going to make another run at Sarah."
Matt felt like he had been punched in the gut. Trying to recover, he forced himself to speak. "When? How?"
"We don't know how, yet, but we are guessing in a few weeks."
"How do you know all this?"
"We have two agents running surveillance on the men who tried to take Sarah. They are definitely the same men who ran the arms deal with the Kazakhs, and the same ones who attacked you on the roof."
"That's no surprise…"
"But they have intel on Sarah—they have targeted her as the daughter of two high-ranking Agency employees. And they've mentioned you."
"How did they get the intel?"
"We have a mole. I'll be honest. Amanda and I were working to prove your innocence until they got a hold of the surveillance recordings…"
"Working to prove my innocence? What the?" Matt pushed back his chair and stood up, his grey eyes flashing.
Amanda gave Lee a look and took over. "Francine wasn't taking any chances. She knows how you feel about Sarah, but as Chief, she is responsible for the Field Section. After what happened at Homeland..."
Matt cut her off. They could probably see the hurt in his eyes, but he did not care. "I'm in love with your daughter. I'd give my life for her. What else is there to prove?"
"Nothing, Matt. You've saved all of our lives at one time or another. This is no way to pay you back. That's why Lee and I were fighting to get you in on the investigation—and you are, now."
Matt's posture, stiff and defensive, relaxed somewhat. "Thanks, I guess."
"You have every right to be angry with us. Believe me, I—we—were angry about you having to become a suspect along with every other agent in that bullpen who has worked to keep our family safe at one time or another. But you need to know why there is now no doubt about your loyalty, Matt."
Matt did his best let his anger dissipate. He was in on the investigation to protect Sarah. Being defensive would not keep him there. "What was it?"
"Those recordings proved that these men have no high opinion of you. They are willing to kill you to get to Sarah."
"They will kill me, or they might kill me?"
Lee finally spoke up again. "It doesn't matter, Matt. Once they get back into town, you are both in a safe house. We have to assume they will kill anyone who gets in the way of grabbing Sarah. They want to impress Juan Gutierrez—you've probably heard of him—and they figure delivering Sarah to him is the best way to do that." He looked over at Amanda, who had wrapped her arms around herself. Standing, Lee went to pull her into an embrace.
Matt watched them. "Does Sarah know?"
"No. We're keeping a close eye on the men—we've sent additional agents to Monterrey—so we know you both are safe for now. Once she knows, she'll be living in fear, and we're just dreading that."
Matt sank into a chair. As the full meaning of the threat against Sarah finally sank in, he felt his throat constricting and his stomach tightening into a knot. "Why can't we just have a team go in and take them out? I'd volunteer."
"Because we don't have enough on them to justify such a move—and the international incident it might provoke. I don't like this any more than you do, Matt." Lee's expression was cold as he began pacing. "We need to lure them back here. Hopefully capture them all, if not take some of them out."
"When will this hell end? What if we don't catch them?" Matt choked out.
Amanda went to him. She lowered herself into the chair next to his and put a hand on his shoulder. "We can't think that way, Matt. We will catch them."
"But what if we don't?"
Lee and Amanda did not answer, because they knew that Matt did not need one. Witness protection would be the only means of offering any kind of safety for both Sarah and Matt. They could be together, but they could not see their families.
Amanda put a hand on each of Matt's shoulders and swiveled him in his chair towards her. "Matt, we can't afford to think that way. You owe it to Sarah and to yourself to put everything you have into breaking up this little ring and making these animals go away. And when we tell Sarah, which will be soon, you will have to be strong for her."
"I won't lie to her, so it will be soon." Matt was quiet for a few moments. "I have one possible lead. Cheryl Collins. I'm to go to her house tonight to fix a porch light." Suddenly Matt had an inkling of what it must have been like for Lee and Amanda to investigate him. He had been hurt and angry at the supposed betrayal, but now he was turning around and investigating a kind woman from his church.
Lee considered his comment. "That's a good start, Matt. She is one of the few people outside the family besides the agents who knows Amanda's and my connection to the Agency."
"I assume Rene is suspect."
"Actually, no. It was pretty obvious from their conversation that he isn't the mole. However, you two are the only agents who are not suspect at this point. If you want to bring Rene in on this, do it offsite."
"So how exactly were you 'working to prove my innocence,' anyway?"
Lee cleared his throat. "We ran your financials, going back to Afghanistan."
Matt's eyebrows went up. "That's all? If you were having trouble sleeping, I'm sure that took care of it."
Lee could not help grinning over at Matt. "Actually, we were impressed." Lee listened at the door for a moment. "Look, people are beginning to arrive. We need to break up this meeting. You will report to us unless you have an opportunity to talk with Francine or Wong without it looking suspicious—and they said to tell you that your meeting with them is cancelled. You are meeting with us, Francine, Wong, Jamie, and Phillip at eleven. Hopefully we will all know more at that point. We'll text you when we get the conference room arranged."
Matt grimaced. "I figure that meeting alone with Francine and Wong had something to do with me being a suspected mole." When Lee and Amanda did not argue, Matt continued. "I know Francine has a longstanding friendship with you. But how has Wong proven he can be trusted?" Matt did not like to be uncharitable, but Richard Wong was a less-than-friendly member of the field section.
"Good question. He set up the surveillance and obtained the recording. It's highly unlikely a mole would give up critical information to cover for himself."
"Maybe…or he could be playing some kind of sick game to cover his tracks."
Lee considered this for a moment. "Okay, let's leave him out of the loop as much as we can without making him suspicious as well. We'll get word to the others to be careful at the meeting."
"Lee, we need to get to our meeting with Gil."
Matt remembered his conversation with Sarah of Saturday night. "Wait." Matt spoke quickly. "Amanda, Lee, I've been pretty concerned about Sarah's reaction to that car chase. I noticed that she lost weight while we were gone, and she admitted that she hasn't been sleeping well. She agreed to see Kirby, but I don't have clearance to get that approved. I was wondering if you would be willing…"
Lee looked at Amanda, who smiled a small smile. "We were thinking the same thing. I'll make the arrangements after we leave here." Amanda moved to put her arm around Matt. "There is one good thing in all of this, Matt."
At Matt's questioning look, she continued. "She has you. We're very glad about that."
Matt swallowed hard. He couldn't trust his voice, so he nodded and as she gave his shoulders a squeeze.
Amanda grabbed cups and quickly poured into each one a little stale coffee from the machine in the corner. She handed two of the cups to the men and kept one for herself as she offered them a knowing look. "We need some kind of excuse for this meeting—we've become friends, Kazakhstan…"
Matt followed Lee and Amanda out of the conference room as all three appeared to be chuckling over some private joke. They tossed their cups into the trash nearby and went their separate ways, but they were not unobserved.
As Matt approached his desk to grab his suit jacket, he spotted Rene walking into the bullpen.
"Matt, my man!" Rene strode up to Matt and gave him a slap on the back. "Congratulations. I heard things went well."
"Yeah. You're looking good, Rene."
"Thanks. I'm feeling almost as good as new. Just don't make me laugh too hard." Rene pretended to hold his ribs in pain and chuckled.
"Hey, Man. Thanks for looking out for Sarah." Matt spoke quietly, letting the hustle and bustle of the early morning activity cover his words.
Rene matched his voice to Matt's. "I'm glad I could help. Your instincts were dead on. I'm just sorry we didn't get those jerks. If only I had stayed with her on Sunday instead of sleeping in…"
"Rene, you needed a break. I've heard and seen all the different angles. No one was prepared for these guys." Matt looked at his watch. "I have to get to my debriefing. Let's at least do lunch at twelve o'clock—if I don't see you sooner. We need to catch up." Matt gave Rene a meaningful look.
Rene understood. Whatever Matt needed to discuss was for his ears only. "I've got a quick milk run this morning, but I'll be sitting here, waiting for you."
Matt shot Rene a look of thanks as he headed towards the bullpen doors.
A pair of eyes watched him from a desk across the room.
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Sitting on the metro, Sarah glanced down at her phone. Except for his "Good morning, Beautiful. Thinking of you," Matt had not texted her all morning. The text had come through during her shower, and he had not replied to her brief, but affectionate response.
Come on, girl. He's probably having a crazy day. He may have been in on that early meeting that Mom and Daddy went to… Sarah had been surprised to see her parents getting in her father's car when she left for her six-thirty run that morning. Despite her rationalizing, Sarah could not keep the nagging doubts away. Maybe Matt feels awkward about what happened last night. He did leave kind of early. Because he had an early meeting. And we were both tired.
Sarah wondered if they had taken things a little farther because they were tired and not thinking straight. Talk about not thinking straight. Sarah had had trouble collecting herself once they had come up for air. We've got to set some guidelines for ourselves or we can just give up any pretense of waiting. Or we could get married. Sarah felt her breath catch in her throat. When Matt had asked her to go to Texas with him, she was relieved he had not been proposing marriage. And the trip sounded like so much fun. She would get to meet his family. But she could not help wondering if a marriage proposal was somehow tied up in those plans. Well, you might as well learn some patience, Sarah Stetson. You've got almost three months to wait before you'll find out. She wondered if she would be ready by then for such a permanent step. Who are you fooling, girl? You know he's the One. In three months you might be ready to think about marrying him.
Sarah realized with a start that her stop was up next. Since the placards for the Cold War exhibit were not due in until later in the week, the director had asked her to start research on the next project. With steam punk being a recent craze, the director wanted to create a special exhibit for the Christmas season on nineteenth century intelligence "gadgets." Many of the items would be fanciful—most likely never used—but it promised to be entertaining and educational, so Sarah was on her way to the Georgetown University library to gather books she had reserved on the subject.
After checking through her selections, Sarah was creating a stack of books to take back to the museum when she felt a hand on her arm. She whipped her head around.
"I'm sorry for startling you, Sarah." Jeff stood there, a smile on his face.
Sarah was surprised at his friendly demeanor. He had been angry when she had last seen him. She managed a brief, "Hello, Jeff," and stood there, cautious.
"You look good." Sarah knew that Jeff was merely being polite. He was eyeing her critically. She knew that Matt had been right about her losing weight, and despite the makeup, it had been hard to cover up the circles under her eyes that morning.
"How have you been, Jeff?"
"I've been great. I heard you have a new boyfriend."
Sarah found the color rising in her cheeks. What is Jeff up to? He usually doesn't play games with people. But maybe he is still angry with me.
"Oh? Where did you hear that?"
"We have a mutual acquaintance. Don't worry, I'm happy for you. I started dating Liz a few weeks ago, so I'm not pining away. In fact, she and I have really hit it off." He smiled knowingly.
Sarah remembered the books in her arms when they grew suddenly heavy. She put them down on the table. Liz had been her roommate at one time. Sarah had confided in Jeff that they had different views about relationships, as there had been many nights when Liz had not come home from dates. Jeff's message was all too clear.
"I hope things work out for you two."
"I think things already have. You were right to break off our relationship. I think we're both happier now."
Sarah had difficulty staying calm. Jeff had been so kind to her when they dated, and so patient about waiting. The anger and resentment coming from him now was palpable, despite what he had said. "Jeff, you keep talking as if you know something about me and someone else. What are you talking about?"
"Oh, Liz and I met someone in the cafeteria one day. We got to talking, and the guy figured out that you and Liz had been roommates and you and I had been in a relationship. He mentioned that you had been seeing a friend of his, and he asked a few questions about you."
Sarah badly wanted to sit down. The hair on the back of her neck stood out, and her stomach had grown queasy. Matt had no friends on the Georgetown campus. At least none that she knew about. Something was not right. She decided to play along with Jeff.
"What's this friend's name?"
"Jorge. He's here from another school on a short-term project. He met your friend at a gym or something a while back. But that doesn't matter. He said you and his friend had grown very close in a short time. He was a little concerned about things, so he asked us about your family."
"What did he want to know?"
"Liz told him how you were virtually an only child, since your parents married late and your mom's sons were much older. She told him that she always suspected that your parents worked for the government. And I honestly couldn't argue with her."
Sarah was alarmed. She was fairly certain Jeff knew her parents worked in intelligence, despite everyone's attempts to hide the information. She hoped that Liz had not figured it out. "Jeff, I know you're angry with me, but I'm surprised you and Liz would gossip about me and my parents like that."
Jeff was defensive, but Sarah knew he had taken her words to heart. "Look, the guy was friendly. We had lunch a couple of times before he asked about you. We thought he seemed sincere. At least I'm telling you so you'll know. In fact, Liz thought I should tell you about it. She's left town to go on that dig in the Saharan desert."
Sarah decided to give Jeff and Liz the benefit of the doubt—to a certain degree. At least he told me about the conversation—this person could be fishing for background information on Matt or Mom and Daddy. "Thanks, I guess. Look, Jeff. You need to know that I never wanted to hurt you. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you sooner how I felt. I was afraid of hurting you, but I only made it worse."
Jeff looked at Sarah for a long moment, his expression transforming from anger to sorrow as she watched him. "And of course, all I've done is rub it in your face today, while you've tried to be kind. Don't think I haven't noticed that you never once acknowledged you have a lover." Jeff reached out and tentatively placed a hand on Sarah's cheek. "I still love you, you know.
But I need to let you go." Jeff dropped his hand to his side. "I'm sorry for hurting you just now."
He could still read her, despite her attempts to cover the pain she had felt at his words. "He's not my lover. He's a gentleman, just like you."
"But he's captured your heart in a way I never could. I saw you once. Eating lunch together in the park. I was walking to the museum, hoping to give us one last try, but I knew I was too late—if I'd ever even had a chance. You looked so happy, Sarah. I think I also caught you together that day when you refused my marriage proposal." Jeff's expression was pained.
Sarah thought for a moment about that day. Matt had been following Sarah around the campus. It could hardly be said that she had feelings for Matt when Jeff had met him. "We had barely met. To be honest, since I wasn't interested in him at the time, I was actually relieved you came up when you did. Please believe me when I say that we never dated until after you and I were apart."
Watching her for a moment, Jeff finally answered. "I believe you. I think that's what made me so angry. I thought you had been seeing someone else while we were still together."
"I wouldn't have done that to you. You were always so good to me. I'm so sorry I hurt you, Jeff." Sarah offered her hand. "Can we at least be friends?"
"I'd like that. I know I was the one who always wanted to force the romantic side of the relationship. We should have just left things as friends in the beginning."
Sarah had spent many nights thinking those same thoughts, but she only said, "I really hope you and Liz are happy. Will she be out of the country for a long time?"
Jeff looked down. "I sort of exaggerated that bit about Liz and I being 'together' just to be spiteful. We dated a couple of times, but to be honest, she's not my type. You and I had a lot more in common. Besides, she may be gone for months."
Sarah nodded. Jeff might have had her fooled at first, but he could never mislead anyone for long. "You're a good person, Jeff. I hope you find your soul mate."
"Like you have?"
Sarah smiled. Jeff could probably read her expression, but she would not rub it in by saying the words out loud. She was grateful they were friends once again, even if perhaps they did not have as much in common as Jeff thought.
The buzzing phone in Sarah's purse gave her an excuse to head to the checkout counter. "I had better get back to the museum. My director was expecting to see me before lunch."
"You'll just make it. It was good to see you Sarah. I'm glad we could talk."
"Me, too."
Jeff leaned in to give Sarah a kiss on the cheek before he walked away.
As Sarah carted the stack of books to the counter, she fished her phone out of her purse with her free hand. Smiling, she texted her reply. "Love you, too. Can you talk in fifteen? It's pretty urgent about your work."
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As Matt looked down at his lunch of fried chicken and French fries, he was wishing he had taken the time the night before to make a few things to bring with him to work. He sat down at the table outside the fast food restaurant. "Rene, how can you eat this stuff all the time? Everything is fried at this place." Matt made a mental note to replenish the snack supply in his desk. And buy myself an apple on the way back to the Agency.
"Oh, you and your training diet. Give it a break for once. This is the best fried chicken in D.C. Speaking of breaks, Patti has been bugging me to ask you and Sarah over for dinner. What are you two doing Saturday night?"
"That would be great, but we're going out to ride the horses that day. Is Friday okay?"
"Probably. We should check with our bosses and get back to each other."
Matt looked at Rene and laughed.
"What? Don't tell me she lets you make all the social decisions on your own."
"I don't know." Matt shrugged. "We always decide together."
"Well, Sarah isn't here right now, so text her or something and let me know."
Matt sent a message Sarah. Taking another suspicious look at his food, he tore the batter off the chicken and attempted to eat just the meat.
Rene watched him for a minute while he ate his own lunch. "So, what's up? What couldn't you talk about in the bullpen?"
Matt shared the information that Lee and Amanda had given him about the mole at their impromptu meeting.
"Are you kidding me? I wonder who would stoop that low."
"That's not all. While I was meeting with everyone, I got a call from Sarah. Someone has been milking her old boyfriend and her old roommate for information. This guy, supposedly an international student, claims he is a friend of mine—that we met at the gym. Managed to get into the Georgetown University cafeteria. Sarah ran into her old boyfriend—he told her about it."
"Are you talking about Jeff? I met him a couple of times. He's an idiot. I don't know what she saw in him. I hope he and the old roommate aren't big mouths."
Matt felt the same pang of jealousy combined with some other undefined feeling—was it insecurity?—that had come over him when he had spoken with Sarah earlier. "Look, I'd rather not get into details right now. But the guy did call himself Jorge. Original, huh?"
"For Georgetown?" Rene smirked. "Any plans on how to shut Jeff up so he doesn't share any information if he runs into Jorge?"
"Efraim is going to keep an eye on him. Efraim's actually some kind of history nerd, so he's going to be there to supposedly interview department members for a book he's writing."
Just then Matt's phone buzzed. He gingerly unlocked the screen, cursing his greasy fingers. "Friday it is."
"Great. I'll let you know the time when I talk with Patti. What came out at the meeting?"
"I wish you could have been there. Francine said she'd talk with you this afternoon about joining the investigation. We mostly went over stuff we already knew. Jamie is running a search on phone records—he's trying to find any calls from Mexico to anyone at the Agency. Phillip is going to check camera footage from the Georgetown campus for suspicious activity. He could use our help—it's going to take a few days even then. Tonight I'm going to do a soft interrogation on Cheryl Collins, the woman from our church. I already had plans to help her out with a repair job at her house this evening."
"She was the one who was in the car with Sarah. Does she know you're Agency?"
"No. I'm not sure she even thinks I know that Lee and Amanda are Agency. I'm supposed to figure out how much she knows about these guys that chased Sarah. And why she wasn't asking questions at church yesterday."
Rene popped the last of his fries in his mouth and looked at Matt's basket of food. "It looks like you left most of your meal in the basket, Granger. How about I buy you a protein smoothie at that juice bar near the Agency?"
"Add a couple of their cookies and an apple to the order, and you have a deal."
"What is it with you? You can eat dessert, but not fried chicken?"
Matt did not answer as he grabbed his phone and took his basket to the trash.
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Sarah's eyes glazed over as she visited yet another website, looking for multimedia presentations on steam punk. Her phone buzzed. She hoped it was Matt. Their conversation at lunch had been too brief. He had seemed distant when she told him about her conversation with Jeff. I hope he isn't hurt. Jealous I can handle…
It was Amanda. "Hi, Mom."
"Hello Sweetheart. Are you busy tonight?"
"Um, not really. I have some laundry, but it can wait until tomorrow night. I'm probably not going to the gym with Christina—she's busy and I'm still sore from working with the weights that Matt lent to me."
"It seems like you have your own personal trainer now."
"Yes. It's pretty nice, most of the time." Sarah laughed ruefully. "So what's up?"
"I was just taking a look at the websites for a few of the stores that offer formal dresses. Two of them have sales right now. Would you like to go shopping? We could have dinner first."
"Oh, for the opening. That's sweet of you, Mom, but you don't have to go with me. In fact, I can pull something from the closet."
"Well, I need something, too. And you should get a new dress. This is a big deal."
"What do you need a dress for?"
"For the opening."
"I didn't think you and Daddy were going."
"Of course we are."
"But Mom, it isn't…safe for you and Daddy." Sarah whispered the last words into the phone. No one at the museum knew what her parents truly did for a living.
"Let us worry about that. In the meantime, you and I need to go dress shopping. The event is in a little over two weeks. Does Matt have a tuxedo?"
"Yes. I haven't seen it, but he always has nice suits, so I'm sure his tuxedo will be nice, too."
Amanda laughed softly. "He reminds me of your father sometimes. Except your father was very aware of how dashing he looked."
"Well, Matt isn't one to accept compliments very easily."
"No, he isn't. Listen, I should let you get back to work. You'll be home around six? Can you leave soon after that?"
"Sure. See you then. Thanks, Mom. Love you."
"Love you, too, Sweetheart."
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Matt sighed in frustration. It had been a long day, followed by a busy evening. After a quick dinner at his apartment, he had hurried over to Cheryl's. Since the front porch light had required a trip to the hardware store before it could be fixed, Matt had been forced to stay longer than he had intended so he could "chat" with Cheryl. The soft interrogation had proven fruitless for their investigation. Either she's a well-trained operative in deep cover or she's simply who she says she is. My instincts tell me she's sincere. His mind went back to their conversation.
"So, Matt. I hope your trip went well."
He sat next to her on the couch, a plate of cookies on the table nearby. He helped himself, replying to Cheryl before taking a bite. "Yes, it did. I need to thank you for helping Sarah. I know she was scared. I can imagine how you must have felt."
"I was more worried about how Sarah was taking things. Call it motherly instincts or something. I guess I feel a bond with her. She's so much like both of her parents."
"I'm interested in hearing what you see. I've made a few of my own observations." Matt offered a conspiratorial smile and let his eyes twinkle. He felt a twinge of guilt when Cheryl bought into his charming act.
"Oh, I've seen you 'observe' your Sarah." Cheryl chuckled. "I knew her parents when they were still fairly young. About ten or fifteen years older than Sarah is now. She has her father's determination and her mother's way with people. It's a nice combination. Sometimes her father used to rub people the wrong way. Amanda had to learn about the technical side of the business from Lee, but she taught him much more about people."
"Sounds like you are pretty fond of the Stetsons."
"I'll admit that I was attracted to Lee before he and Amanda became an item. But he had already met her, so I didn't stand a chance. She was so sweet, I forgot about feeling jealous and enjoyed being her friend. It was such a delight when Sarah came along. Lee was so thrilled."
Matt could not help but smile at the thought of Lee doting on Sarah when she was a baby. "How did you meet, exactly?"
Cheryl regarded Matt for a moment. "Before I answer that, I think you should know that I recognize a class C interrogation when I see one, Matt Granger. I suspected you were Agency, but I'm certain of it now."
Matt let a mask fall over his eyes, but he knew it was probably futile to continue his charade. He tried one last time. "What are you talking about? What do you mean by Agency?"
"They asked you to feel me out and see if I knew anything about those men that came after Sarah, didn't they?"
Matt looked at Cheryl sharply. "What do you know about those men?"
"I don't know anything, except that the Agency was happy to arrest the one that didn't get away. They were after Sarah because of her parents, weren't they?"
Matt stood up and ran a hand through his hair. "I can't answer that. But I do know you've kept a lot from me, Cheryl."
"I'm going to save you the trouble of asking. No, I don't know a thing about those men. I'm not even sure I can guess who they are with. Perhaps they are mixed up in the drug violence, but we are a long way from Mexico. I know more about eastern Europeans and former Soviet republics. To answer your question about the Stetsons, I met Lee at an embassy event. He was checking me out as a source, but I thought he had other intentions at first. He didn't introduce me to Amanda until he knew he could trust me. He was keeping his cards close to his chest, and Amanda was his ace of spades. He didn't want to risk losing her to some kind of Soviet agent—or whoever I might have been."
"About last Sunday. You were pretty cool under pressure, Cheryl. I was impressed."
"I got to see the Stetsons in action a few times—and helped them out of a few sticky situations, thanks to the friends I had made at embassies around town. It was as if I'd gone back twenty years when I saw the trouble Sarah was in. I guess it's like getting back on a bicycle."
Matt had no proof, but somehow he knew that Cheryl was someone he could trust—and that she had been forthright in her concern for Sarah. "Well, as I said, thank you for being there for Sarah."
"I could do no less for the Stetsons' daughter. Just do your best to help capture the ones that got away, Matt."
Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Matt pulled on a t-shirt and pajama bottoms and climbed into bed. He stared at the phone for a moment, thinking about his conversation with Sarah from earlier that day. He had tried to cover his feelings. I'm pretty sure she knows I'm jealous, or insecure, or whatever. And there was something she wasn't telling me, which didn't help things.
Matt sighed. He knew that Sarah was waiting for his call. He knew he was being unfair to her. He had no right to be jealous and she had given him no reason to be insecure. If anything, he was the one in the wrong, having all but ignored her for most of the day. He quickly unlocked his phone and called her.
Sarah felt herself nodding off for the fourth time. She had woken up with nightmares several times in the last week; she was sleepy. She sat up in bed once again and checked her phone. Nine-thirty. She was beginning to doubt that Matt would call. Sighing unhappily, she tried to concentrate on her book so she would not replay her conversation with Jeff as she had done over and over again all afternoon.
Unable to focus on the book, her eyes wandered to the powder blue dress that hung on the closet door. Chiffon that had been draped across one shoulder and the strapless bodice added a softness to the watered silk. Where the chiffon ended, the silk fitted to her torso until it flowed out into a slightly full skirt. Perfect for dancing, but also nicely suited to her figure, as her mother had said. Sarah had insisted upon paying for the dress herself. Of course the money from the sale of her wrecked Corolla had helped to cover it. She smiled as she thought of how her father had slipped the cash into her purse, hoping she would not notice.
The phone ringing on her nightstand startled her.
Matt noticed that the phone had rung only once before Sarah answered it. He knew she had been waiting.
"Hi, Matt."
"Hi, Sarah. I'm sorry to call so late."
"You sound tired. It must have been crazy at work after coming back from being out of the country."
"Yeah. Did you have a good time with your mom?"
Sarah sat up in bed again. "Yes! We were both successful."
"Both?"
"Yes. My mom got a dress for the opening, too."
"Oh Sarah, I'm so glad they're coming. Are you going to tell me what your dress looks like?"
"Nope."
Matt chuckled. "I guess it's good I like mysteries."
Sarah could hear Matt shifting. "Are you in bed?"
"Yeah. I'm beat. And I thought it would be nice to have our call be the last thing I did before I went to sleep." Matt heard Sarah sigh. It was a special sound she made only when they were feeling particularly affectionate. He smiled to himself.
"I'm in bed, too. I was thinking the same thing." Suddenly self-conscious, she pulled at her tank top and adjusted her pajama bottoms before crossing her arms over her chest. You are so silly, girl. He can't see you.
"Good. You need to catch up on your sleep." Matt paused for a beat. "Did you get a call from Dr. Kirby's office today?"
"Yes. I made an appointment for eleven o'clock tomorrow."
"Great! We can go to lunch right after."
"That's what I was hoping." Sarah sighed again. This time it was not that special sigh.
"You okay?"
"Yes. Matt, we should talk about the library."
"You ran into Jeff. I guess that was bound to happen at some point, right?"
"He actually found me. I was preoccupied and he came up to me." Sarah hesitated. "He seemed to be fishing for information about you at first."
"What did you say?"
"I avoided the question, I guess. You and I are none of his business."
Matt smiled to himself. "What else did he say?"
Sarah didn't answer at first. "Umm, he told me about his new girlfriend—made it sound pretty intimate. Kind of rubbing my face in it. I guess because he thought you and I were doing the same thing."
"Oh."
"Except it was an old roommate of mine and he made it sound like she was everything I wasn't."
"Oh, Sarah. He's just angry and hurt."
"I guessed that, so I apologized again for breaking things off. Then he backtracked and admitted they weren't actually—well, whatever. He said he wants to be friends. I don't really want to pursue a friendship with him, but I'm glad he's not angry with me."
"I guess he realized he'd gone too far."
Sarah grew quiet, hesitating before she spoke again. "Matt, do you get angry at me sometimes because we aren't…well…sleeping together?"
Matt sat up, crossed his legs, and put his elbows on his knees. He had not expected this. Leaning his forehead on one hand, he could only say, "Oh, Sarah. No."
"I know it was hard for you last night. Please tell me if it becomes too much. I need to know if you're frustrated with me."
"The only person I'm frustrated with is myself, Sarah. I'm twenty-five, not some hormonal teenager. But I'm also crazy in love with you, and it's hard not to show it to you physically sometimes. I guess we'll have to set some boundaries."
"Yes, because I'm crazy in love with you, too, and sometimes I feel the same way."
"Yeah—well you have more self-control than I do, and I respect you for that."
Sarah was not sure how she had exercised self-control the night before. She countered, "Thanks. But remember, you're the one who stopped. I appreciate that." She yawned and felt as if her face would split in two.
Matt must have heard the yawn. "Listen, we both need to get some sleep. I'm praying for you, sweetie."
Sarah blushed at the term of endearment. "And I'm praying for you. And don't sell yourself short. You have more self-control than most other guys. I love you."
"I love you, too—and thanks. I'll work on showing more of that self-control from now on. I'll see you tomorrow after your appointment. Good night."
Sarah wanted to say something else to reassure Matt, but she decided to let things go. He might not be so hard on himself after a good night's sleep. "See you then. Good night."
Matt looked at the phone a minute before setting the alarm. He still sat cross-legged, his head on his hand. He thought of Jeff, who had exaggerated his own love life and then thrown Sarah's scruples back in her face. His insecurity and jealousy had vanished during his conversation with her. He decided that his first prayer before going to sleep would have to be for forgiveness over his newfound anger at Jeff.
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Amanda turned off the light in the bathroom, walked over to the bed, and sat down. Lee put down his book and looked over his glasses at her. "A penny for your thoughts, Mrs. Stetson."
"We need to tell Sarah what's going on. Who knows what this 'Jorge' person might do?"
"And at some point we need to debrief Jeff and tell him to keep his trap shut about us."
Amanda regarded Lee. "I think Francine has that covered, Lee. Let's worry about Sarah."
Lee took off his glasses. "You're right. We do need to tell her. But I don't think you're going to like what I'm thinking."
"Oh?"
"If we hide her and Matt in a safe house, we'll never find these jerks."
"What do you propose? They didn't hesitate to attack Matt and Rene. They almost had Sarah."
Lee was grateful that Amanda had listened with an open mind. "I don't know what we'll do, yet. I just know that you can never get rid of a terrorist by giving in to them. These people are terrorists. At least as far as my family is concerned."
Amanda kicked off her slippers and slid under the covers. "I couldn't agree more."
Lee watched her face as she climbed into bed. He put his glasses and his book away, and turned off the light. As he settled under the covers, he reached out and pulled Amanda to him.