Chapter Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Eight
Meanwhile, in the underground safe room…
“We should have married five years ago,” Deke said.
“It would not have worked out well for either of us.” Bea walked across the floor of the cave and sat down on a chair-sized boulder at the edge of the narrow, crystal clear underground river.
“You were still blaming yourself for Irene’s death and you were still hooked on the adrenaline rush you got from your Agency assignments. ”
The cave was a prepper’s dream home, she thought.
The use-by dates on the MREs and canned goods were far into the future, so she and Deke assumed the previous owner was the one who had discovered the old safe room and stocked it.
Theoretically, thanks to the food and the endless supply of fresh water, she and Deke could survive for months or even years, depending on how long it took them to go mad from the effects of living in a cave. Probably weeks, at most.
But they did not have weeks or months, let alone years.
They had a couple of days, if that. The disaster, when it happened, would devastate the entire compound and bury the secrets hidden under it.
Their safe room was also their prison. If Sophy and Luke Wells did not find them and free them, it would become their crypt.
“When I think of all the time we wasted—” Deke shook his head. “I was an idiot.”
“I believe I mentioned that a few times.”
He groaned. “You told me to get therapy. I should have listened.”
“I was wrong. If you had talked to a therapist you would have had to explain what really happened that day in Gilmartin’s house. You could not take that risk. Even if you had been in a position to talk to a professional, I’m not sure you would have been open to change.”
“So I talked to you instead.”
“I’ll keep your secrets,” she said.
“I know.”
“You needed time to accept that you were not responsible for what happened to Irene. She cheated on you. She had an affair with a very dangerous man who used her to get access to those files. When he had what he wanted, he killed her. She’s the one who made the poor decisions, not you.”
She did not add the rest out loud, but they both knew what she had left unsaid.
Joel Gilmartin had been in his mansion on his private island, protected by state-of-the-art security and armed guards, when Deke had tracked him down.
The two men had confronted each other in Gilmartin’s study.
Deke had walked out alive. Gilmartin had died at his desk.
Natural causes, according to the authorities.
No one had seen Deke arrive and no one had seen him leave.
He’d had his revenge, she thought, but it had exacted a heavy psychic toll.
“I didn’t really come to terms with things until I realized that Luke was going down a similar road,” Deke said. “That shook me. Gave me a different perspective.”
“He’ll either accept that he will make mistakes and learn to deal with those mistakes or he won’t,” Bea said. “And if he doesn’t learn, then he isn’t qualified to become the next CEO of Wells, Inc.”
Deke snorted. “That would be really bad news for the family, because we don’t have a backup. The Boss says we’re going to need a very special kind of talent to take the company into the future.”
“What kind of talent?”
“Whatever it is that Luke’s got, according to the Boss. No one knows how he does what he does. It’s a little scary, to tell you the truth.” Deke glanced at his mechanical watch and pushed himself to his feet. “I’m hungry. How about you?”
“Can’t wait,” she said. “I’m starving.”
Deke contemplated the MREs stacked on the racks. “Chef’s choice tonight is chicken and noodles or tuna and noodles.”
“Are we out of the cheese tortellini?”
“No, but I’ve decided to ration it because you’ve been eating it for breakfast as well as dinner.”
“I can’t help it if I happen to like cheese tortellini.”
“You need more protein.”
“I’ll take the tuna and noodles. Don’t forget the extra veggies. MREs are not known for their fiber content.”
He selected two MRE kits and moved to the rack of canned goods. “Green beans or asparagus?”
“Asparagus. I’m tired of green beans.”
“Aren’t we all?”
He added the asparagus to his collection and joined her at the edge of the underground river.
She watched him open the pop-top can. He moved with a masculine grace and coordination that made everything he did look easy. But under the surface things got complicated, because he never went easy on himself.
“I would like to clarify one point,” she said.
“The past five years were not entirely wasted, at least not as far as I’m concerned.
The ten days we spent in that little Mediterranean village were incredible.
And I loved the South Pacific cruise. I’ll never forget the week in that hotel in the Alps. We hardly left the room.”
“Fair point. We’ve had some good times. But I want the regular, routine things of life. I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up with you every morning. Eat breakfast together. I want evenings in front of the fire. I want to hear about your weird clients.”
“That sounds lovely, but we both know you need a job.”
He opened one of the boxes of MREs. “I’ll figure it out. I want a normal life.”
“Neither of us is normal,” she said. “Actually, I don’t think anyone qualifies as normal, but that’s another conversation. I repeat, now that you’re retired, you need to find something that amounts to more than a hobby. As it happens, I’ve been thinking about that. I have an idea.”
“Yeah?” He opened the heater bag and slipped the packet of tuna and noodles inside. “What’s that?”
“It has occurred to me that my consulting business could use the services of a talent who knows how to take photographs that can pick up paranormal radiation.”
“Huh.” Deke dipped his hand into the river, scooped up a palmful of water, and dumped it into the bag. “You’re talking about me going to work for you?”
“It’s just an idea.”
He smiled. “I like it.” He folded the top of the heater bag and slid the bag back into the cardboard box. “I like it a lot.”
He propped the box against a nearby chunk of stone to let the meal heat and went to work on the second MRE.
She smiled. For the first time in the five years they had known each other she could see a future with Deke Wells. Assuming they survived.