Submerged(Bound Together Book 1)(47)
“It’s the only thing I can consistently come up with when I look at it from different angles. They never left the state. Hell, they never left town. That file says they were presumed dead after a boating accident off of the Turks and Caicos Islands during a family vacation. Roman supposedly was called back to a meeting, but insisted his wife and young daughter continue on their planned guided sailing adventure. They never returned. Why lie? Carly and Georgia are very much alive and well. It would have been too much work to change their identification, but not much work at all to change their last names and make up a phony story for the FBI file. I’m telling you, it all points to someone on the inside. It’s the only thing that makes sense,” I tell Luke.
“So that brings us to your question–why lie?”
“I don’t know. What if he got too deep? Deeper than he planned to in the beginning. What if business went bad and got a little too close to home? What if they were in danger or something? Wouldn’t he do anything he could to protect his wife and child?” My mind goes instantly to Carly and Natalia. Though she’s not my wife, I’d do anything I could to protect both of them. I’d even risk my own life.
“That makes sense. So, he has someone on the inside that alters his file. He knows we’ve got one on him, but have nothing to make anything stick. Then, when we do get close, the agents disappear.”
“Yeah, his wife and daughter are both safe, but not far enough away that he can’t keep tabs on them.”
“I agree with you, brother. This is the only thing that’s making sense. I hate to think of a dirty agent within the bureau, but maybe that was all it was. Someone was paid to alter the file to keep them safe. I mean, if they did have someone on the inside, wouldn’t that person have reported back your position?” Luke asks.
True. I don’t think Roman or Mattias has any clue that I’m an agent and have been since I walked into their repair shop two years ago. “You could be right. It makes sense that they paid someone to do this one-time task. Either that or that person is dead,” I mumble as I scan the room and all of the faces within.
“Either way, it’s time to get this shit done and get you home. Mom’s threatening me and barely lets me out of her sight without you being around. I’m surprised she doesn’t follow me into the bathroom when I go over for dinner. It’s the only place I get any damned peace,” Luke says with a shake of his head. My brother has complained on multiple occasions about how motherly our mom is to him. And with me being MIA from the family right now, her behavior has apparently been even worse.
“I’ll let you know how the meeting plays out,” I say, taking another drink of my coffee.
“Ten-four. Let’s get this shit done so I can meet my niece,” he says with a small smile. “Shit, Mom and Dad are going to have a field day when you come home,” he says through laughter. “With a baby,” he adds.
“Let’s make it soon. I’m tired of lying to Carly about who I am. I need to come clean before the guilt completely eats me alive. It’s bad enough that I can’t really tell anymore what’s fact and what’s fiction, but not being able to tell her the truth about who I really am is fucking killing me.”
“Hang in there, Blake. It’s almost over,” he says before slipping out of the booth and strolling towards the front door. I remain seated, finishing my cup of coffee and perusing the newspaper.
Waiting an extra ten minutes after Luke leaves, I slip out of the booth and head towards my apartment. It’s a beautiful mid-October Sunday morning, and I’m not meeting Carly until later in the day. Her mother arrived this morning to take her and Natalia to church. It gave me the perfect excuse to meet with Luke to discuss the latest developments in the case. Telling Carly that I had to complete some paperwork over at the repair shop, I was able to slip away from her without her being suspicious.
As I walk back towards my dingy little apartment, I take notice of an older Honda parked along the opposite side of the street. It’s the second time I’ve seen that car this morning, which doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but it definitely piques my interest. Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I pretend to check my text messages while I engage to video camera. Without pointing the small phone directly at the car, I’m able to get a wide enough picture on the video camera to be able to see the vehicle’s license plate. With a few clicks of my fingers, I send the video to Luke with a message to run the plates.