Chapter Eight
Jack woke in a dark, unfamiliar room and wondered where he was for about two seconds. His recent memories rushed back in. The bachelor auction. Cyberpunk Chick. Madelaine. The sixteen-hour road trip to Suspicion, Minnesota. And, finally, The Secret Keeper.
He sat up on the comfortable bed in the nice quarters the Secret Keeper had provided for them and snapped on the table lamp next to the bed. Well, really, the Secret Keeper’s assistant, Chester, had taken care of the details for their guest rooms.
It was odd that Madelaine’s meeting with the Secret Keeper, while not arranged in advance, seemed expected. Which was, well, odd. Then again, every visit he’d ever had with the Secret Keeper had been odd in some way.
He shrugged it off. Standard operating procedure for this town.
Jack grabbed his phone from the nightstand to see how long he’d slept. Four hours? Wow. That was much longer than he thought they were going to stay in Suspicion. He’d taken a quick shower before his nap to wash off the long trip.
Madelaine was in the room next door. Jack had been grateful they didn’t have to share a room or a bed because he was still too heartbroken to think in that direction, especially after the disastrous almost-kiss in Liberty.
A kiss he’d really wanted. It was likely a good thing she’d broken away from him after the horn sounded. But it didn’t feel that way.
Clearly, he needed to remain wary of his feelings.
Stretching his neck, first one way and then the other, Jack realized that he felt much better after his four-hour power nap. He hoped the sixteen-hour return trip went quickly.
But then the terrible notion that Madelaine had left him behind in Suspicion crept inside in his mind. He got off the bed, went to the adjoining bathroom to use the facilities and splash water on his face several times to ensure he was wide awake.
He exited the guest room, intending to knock on her door. To his surprise, it was open and a housekeeper was inside cleaning it. That was not at all reassuring.
Jack made a beeline for the Secret Keeper’s office and found Madelaine in the outer office, chatting with Chester.
Relief poured through him and he vowed to be more amiable on the return trip.
Amazing how a little bit of shuteye improved his attitude.
Maybe Madelaine had a lot to answer for, but his feelings for her had not changed.
He loved her. He wanted to help her in any way he could, regardless of what the future held for them.
“Hey, Jack,” she said, looking and sounding like she was glad to see him.
“Hey. Did I oversleep?”
“No. I’ve only been here a couple of minutes.” She smiled at him and he smiled back. He couldn’t seem to help himself.
“Would you like me to find the two of you something to eat?” Chester asked cheerfully. “I could order something to be delivered.”
Jack shook his head. “No, but thanks. We can get something on the road.” He looked at Madelaine for her agreement and she nodded. He suspected she didn’t want to wait any longer to get back to her errand.
He turned to Chester. “Is the Secret Keeper available for a couple of minutes? I wanted to ask him something. I’ll be quick, I promise.”
Chester perked up. “Yes. I’ll let him know you’re coming in.”
Madelaine’s eyes narrowed and he could see her wondering why he wanted a quick meeting. Her face relaxed and, without a word, she moved over to a chair along the wall to wait for him.
“Don’t worry. I won’t take long,” he told her.
She nodded and started to rifle around in her bag for he knew not what.
“Go on in,” Chester said.
Jack thanked him and strode through the door into the Secret Keeper’s office.
He’d barely closed the door behind him when the Secret Keeper said, “No. I cannot tell you what Madelaine Archer and I discussed.” He didn’t even bother looking up from the orderly piles of paper laid out on the desk before him.
“Bummer. But that isn’t what I wanted to ask you.”
The Secret Keeper straightened in his chair and pinned Jack with a calm gaze. “What can I help you with?”
“I was hoping we could keep this meeting and me being here today with Madelaine a secret from the Big Bang Truck Stop personnel and leadership.”
He said with a bit of sarcasm, “No problem. That’s what I do.”
He was the Secret Keeper. Duh. That was his life.
“Also, I wanted to know if you think I should be worried. Am I in danger now that I’m running around with the Paladin Courier?”
The Secret Keeper’s eyes narrowed. “Are you running around with her? My observation was that she brought you here to gain entrance to see me.”
Jack nodded. “Yes. I brought her to see you. That is true.”
“Is there more between the two of you that I need to know about?”
“No.” Jack felt like that was a big fat lie, but didn’t change his answer. “I hope I didn’t burn any bridges with you because I brought her here unannounced.”
The Secret Keeper abruptly stood up and came around to the front of his desk. Jack didn’t want to seem frightened, but he had to exert great effort not to take a step back as the man approached him.
“I want to be clear,” the Secret Keeper said.
“Okay. I’m listening.” Jack was not a small man. While the Secret Keeper was about his size and height, he felt small in comparison.
The Secret Keeper leaned closer, crowding Jack. In a hard, unmistakably serious voice, he said, “I expected the Paladin Courier to arrive one day. I did not know the exact means by which she would accomplish her task. You bringing her here is acceptable.
“I would not have been very happy if you’d brought just anyone to Suspicion. Am I clear?”
“Yes. You are perfectly clear.”
The Secret Keeper straightened, giving Jack some space. “You don’t have to worry about any recriminations from me regarding this visit, Jack, which I will keep secret from your family, as per your request.”
“Thank you.”
“As far as your danger level as you run around with the Paladin Courier, it’s fair to say that it is not zero percent.
I couldn’t in good conscience calculate any other percentage for you, but I don’t think you have to worry for your life at this particular juncture.
Keep in mind that may change at any time and likely unexpectedly. ”
Jack nodded as if he was super grateful for the wisdom the man had imparted, when he’d basically said absolutely nothing helpful.
“You should also keep in mind that she has a very important task with many moving parts and that greater-than-zero percentage will grow and recede with each step she takes.”
Well, that was pretty ominous.
“Thank you, Secret Keeper. I—”
“You should do whatever you can to help her, Jack,” the Secret Keeper added in a tone so low, Jack almost didn’t hear him, but figured he shouldn’t ask him to repeat it.
Jack locked gazes with him for a millisecond before the Secret Keeper broke the stare, turned away and seated himself behind his desk and the piles of paper as if he’d said nothing of import.
As much as he wanted to further discuss that low-toned message, Jack cleared his throat and left the Secret Keeper’s office without saying another word.
Madelaine was on her feet, backpack slung over one shoulder and seemingly eager to get on the road.
“Are you ready to head back to Alienn?” she asked.
“Yep.” Jack turned to Chester. “Thank you for letting us rest up.”
“Certainly. See you next time, Jack.”
Together, he and Madelaine left the municipal building the way they’d come in. Jack was discombobulated to face the sun setting on the western horizon.
Nearly twenty-four hours ago, he’d been standing on a stage at a bachelor auction, hating his life. He decided he was in, if not a better place, at least a more interesting place exactly one day later.
Madelaine and her proxy Cyberpunk Chick, Seraphina, had been the best option of those he faced on the auction block. One of these days, perhaps he’d ensure she knew he was grateful for her winning proxy bid.
He may have helped Madelaine gain entrance to the Secret Keeper, but she had definitely saved him from his rock-and-hard-place choices yesterday.
Jack decided to go with the flow regarding Madelaine and her errand. He did not want to fight with her. He did not want to have hard feelings, because they were useless.
Jack made a new personal vow—heeding the whispered message from the Secret Keeper—to do whatever he could to help Madelaine. He figured that meant there was no point asking questions she wasn’t at liberty to answer. It wasn’t helpful. He’d stop pressing and simply be available if she needed him.
He really hoped she would need him.
Madelaine and Jack headed for her rental car. Her mind was spinning about a thousand revolutions a minute.
“Want me to drive?” Jack asked. Madelaine considered his offer. He added, “I mean, you drove all the way up here. The least I can do is drive us back. Seems only fair, right?”
She nodded. “Yes. Thank you. I’d appreciate it.” All the better to let my mind spin without endangering us.
They buckled in and Jack drove the sedan out of town the same way they’d come in, briefly stopping on the outskirts to get gas and some truck stop food and drinks.
After they ate and had settled into the return trip, Madelaine silently plotted all the steps required to retrieve the key from the Tractor Beam Credit Union safety deposit box in Alienn, Arkansas.
She would have to wear a disguise so no one would recognize her. That sent her down the rabbit hole of trying to decide whether she needed to do a full-on transformation makeover, including prosthetics, or if she should simply slap on a wig, a floppy hat and some large, dark sunglasses.
She didn’t know how long she mulled over her various choices before Jack asked, “Want a sounding board?” The sound of his voice almost made her jump out of her seat. She’d forgotten he was driving. She was living in her own little world of plotting the next step for this dire mission she was on.