Chapter Thirteen
Cole
I change out of my business attire and into the standard resort wear as quickly as possible, grab my laptop, and head back to the pool.
I order a drink from the bar and place it on the table next to me, trying to set up a space that sends the message that I want to be left alone. I figure if I have a drink beside me, it ’ ll keep the staff members at bay, and the laptop, earbuds, baseball cap, and dark sunglasses hopefully convey to other guests that I'm not interested in socializing.
I carefully set up the wire in Bella ’s beach bag to be connected to the program on my computer as the OIJ guys instructed. As soon as I open my laptop and log in, I can hear exactly what she ’ s saying and what ’ s being said around her. I don ’ t know if she knows where I am, but she ’ s playing the part of the bored, neglected wife perfectly.
She was discouraged yesterday after our efforts didn ’ t lead to anything, but I have hope that today will be different. With the data we have on human trafficking steadily ticking up in the area, I know it ’ s becoming a very real problem here. As I explained to Bella, Costa Rica is a Tier 2 watch list location, according to our data, which means the government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for cracking down on it.
Sure enough, it doesn ’ t take long before Bella is approached by a good-looking guy who has the tan and features of a local. I fully expected her to be hit on by someone good-looking, but I ’ m a little taken aback with just how good-looking this predator is, and when I see the telltale “ Bella flush ,” as I used to call it – she always blushes when someone pays her a compliment – I ’ m filled with jealousy.
I try to focus on what they ’ re saying, but admittedly, it ’ s difficult for me to hear him smooth-talking her. It doesn ’ t help that I know what his motives are, and the protector in me wants to walk over and punch him in his perfect teeth.
When he takes a call and walks away to talk privately, I ’ m shocked to see Bella grab the phone that he left on the table and start typing on it.
I can ’ t communicate with her, and I ’ m silently praying she ’ s not trying to find Harley through the phone. She doesn ’ t have a lot of time, and it won’t lead to anything. But, as soon as she puts the phone back down on the table and I hear her telling the perp that she put in her contact info, I ’ m c onfident she has a plan.
Brilliant. Risky but brilliant.
She ’ s always been so smart and a quick thinker, too. I can ’ t wait to hear what she did with his phone.
It’s agonizing to watch her flirting so heavily with this dirtbag. I know I told her to sell it, and I know it’s all an act, so why am I so annoyed?Watching the two together has riled me up, but thankfully, Bella ’s wrapping things up. I hear her give him the excuse that she ’ d better get back to the room and get ready for dinner before her husband comes back, and it ’ s quickly evident Mr. Suave isn ’ t going to let her go so easily.
“ I thought you said that he wouldn’t be back for dinner,” he says.
“ He might not,” she replies with the same playful giggle she ’ s been using all afternoon. “ But if he does and I ’ m not ready, he ’ s going to be mad.”
“ I guess this is goodbye, then?”
“ I hope not,” she says. “ I was thinking tomorrow we could meet up here again – same time, same place?”
I don ’ t know if it ’ s an impulse or if she ’ s been planning it, but she leans over and wraps her hand around the back of his neck, pulling him in for a deep and lingering kiss.
I ’ m seething with jealousy inside, and I have to look away. I ’ ve never been the jealous type, and I can ’ t make sense of the reaction I ’ m having. Yes, we slept together last night and the night before, but we ’ re not back together. She ’ s not mine any more than she has been for the past twelve years.
But given how much I’m reacting to that kiss, I’m wondering if things could be different. My brain is trying to ignore what my heart is telling me, but it ’ s not working.
The truth is… I want her back.
Bella and I meet up back in our decoy hotel room to debrief how the day played out.
“ That was sheer brilliance, Bella,” I say with a shake of my head as I pop us both a cold beer, and she explains what she did with the phone.
“ I knew it was a little risky in the sense that he could check to see whether we ’ re sharing locations. But he doesn ’ t have any reason to suspect that, so I felt like it was worth the risk,” she explains.
“ And it was genius,” I add. “ There ’ s a reason they say there ’ s reward with risk, and I ’ ll admit, I didn ’ t even think to suggest it.”
“ Well, it was pure spontaneity. And luck,” she laughs humbly. Bella has never been one to boast and has always been humble. I see that has not changed about her.
“ I think you missed your calling as an actress,” I tease her, knowing that would be the furthest thing from her mind in terms of careers.
“ Pfft, ” she scoffs, reacting the exact way I expected she would. “ To be honest, it wasn ’ t as difficult as I expected it would be, and I ’ ll admit, the tropical cocktail I had was strong and definitely gave me looser lips!”
“ Um, yeah… I noticed,” I say with an eye roll and a chuckle.
“ Oh my, is someone a little jealous of this actress ’ kissing scene?” Bella asks with such a sexy smirk I can hardly contain myself.
I keep my response light even though I would much rather discuss our relationship status right now and decide whether we should give each other another chance at romance.
“ Yeah, not gonna lie… It may have bruised my ego a bit. I ’ m not too proud to admit that,” I shrug.
“ Awe, maybe a consolation kiss will help ease the sting a little,” she says flirtatiously as I grin and raise my eyebrows. She closes the gap between us, wraps her arms around my neck, and pulls me to her full, soft lips. The kiss deepens, and I feel my body reacting. Though I try to resist it, it ’ s impossible, considering that my attraction to Bella is firing on all cylinders.
Physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually… There ’ s no denying the feelings I ’ ve been pushing to the back of my mind since I arrived in Costa Rica. And right now, she ’ s making it even harder to resist her when she ’ s standing there looking incredible in her bikini with just a sarong covering up her bottom half.
We ’ ve naturally just fallen back into our dating behavior. It ’ s almost as though we picked up right where we left off and didn ’ t miss a beat.
But I know better than to assume anything, and I know Bella is dealing with an extremely traumatic situation right now, so she’s vulnerable. I don’t want things to heat up between us temporarily only because she needs comfort. I want to know that what we have is real, so I ’ m going to be wise about how and when I bring it up.
I reluctantly break off the kiss before it turns into a full-scale makeout session and gets us off task with our surveillance. That needs to take priority at the moment. Bella reads my mind, and I hear what sounds like a mix of a heavy sigh with a groan.
I chuckle and say, “ I ’ m not sure if that was a moan or a groan, and ditto for me, but I guess we need to get back on track with our debriefing of this dirtbag.”
Clearing her throat and straightening her bikini top, she nods and says, “ Yep, yep, let ’ s see where he ’ s headed.”
She pulls up the information on her phone, and my smile fades when she shows it to me.
“ Does this mean what I think it means?” she asks, looking at me with concern.
The location sharing shows that “Carlos” did not leave the hotel in a vehicle but rather by boat. Things just got interesting.
“ Yeah, it looks like our target is traveling by water,” I say as I pull out my laptop and prepare to link his location to the commander and the rest of the team. “ This is an unexpected twist, and I need to get on the phone with Mason and Commander Merrick. Do me a favor and screenshot that in case we lose him. Then zoom out and get a screenshot that shows the proximity to shore where our hotel is.”
Bella nods , and I shoot Mason a text asking him to link up with Merrick and get us on a three-way call.
“ Is this a bad thing or a good thing, Cole?” she asks nervously.
She looks back at her phone, and the expression on her face makes me think she ’ s both confused and frightened. I know from my own experience that the fear of the unknown can mess with your mind, and I want to reassure her. There ’ s a fine line between giving someone hope and false hope, so I ’ m treading cautiously here.
“ First of all, Bella, what you did out there when you took a chance and managed to get us linked to his phone was not only smart but very brave,” I start. “ Had you not done that, we ’ d be in an entirely different situation right now and severely handicapped. But thanks to your quick thinking, we ’ re way ahead of the power curve.”
She looks slightly relieved and asks, “ So, do you honestly think we have hope of locating Harley?”
“ I do, Bella. I really do, so try to think positive and don ’ t give up hope,” I say sincerely as I take her hand and squeeze it. “ Right now, I need to coordinate with the team to get surveillance going, and maybe we ’ ll get some answers.”
“ Okay, since we brought some of our things, I ’ m thinking we should just stay here tonight and order in-room service,” she suggests. “ What do you think?”
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I also think now is the time to fill in your mom and your aunt, don’t you? I feel confident that this is a positive development, and we can convey some good news to help balance out the bad,” I say, and she agrees.
"I’m glad I have you here to help me explain everything to them," she says. “I’m super nervous about this, so maybe we can just go ahead and get it over with now. What do you think?”
“Of course, let’s do it. I imagine the fact that I’m here will also come as a shock to your mom, so prepare yourself for that, too.”
She laughs and shakes her head, “Well, I guess we can play it as a ‘good news - bad news’ sort of thing. Wish me luck and stay close in case I need a lifeline!”
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Thirty minutes later, we’re relieved to have gotten the complicated conversation over. Thankfully, Bella’s mom did not make a big deal about the fact that I’m here. She was actually very grateful for my rushing to Bella’s aid.
Though she was a little upset that Bella had not told her right when Harley went missing, she also knew where Bella was coming from and understood that she was trying to prevent hysteria and panic. Of course, she’s terribly worried about Harley, but we told her that we have the cavalry waiting in the wings to get this rescue operation underway. She was planning to call her sister – Harley’s mom – and break the news. (Thankfully, she took that load off of us.)
She plans to book tickets immediately and let us know as soon as she has an arrival time. All in all, the conversation went pretty well.
“Hopefully, if all goes according to plan tomorrow, they’ll arrive just in time to see Harley’s smiling face,” I say. “You did really well, Bella.”
“Thanks. And thanks for your support through that,” she replies. “I actually think Mom was secretly thrilled that you were here for me but didn’t feel it appropriate to say that right now, considering the circumstances. She always did love you, Cole. She was almost as heartbroken as I was when we broke up.”
“I can relate. Same for my mom,” I say with a smile.
It was then I realized I needed to get on the horn with Mason and Commander Merrick to start putting this rough plan into a solid mission.
“I'll probably be tied up for a while working through logistics for the next steps. Why don ’ t you take a shower and try to relax,” I suggest. “ I need to coordinate with Mason and Commander Merrick to set up a Skype meeting. While you ’ re in the shower, I ’ ll order up some dinner for us.”
“ Sounds good to me,” she forces a weak smile even though I know she ’ s worried. She turns to head to the bathroom but hesitates and turns back toward me. “ And Cole… thank you. Thank you for being here and for everything you ’ re doing to help Harley. I really –” her voice trails off, and she puts her hand on my cheek, her beautiful blue eyes threatening tears, and then leans in to kiss me.
And I swear I feel it in my soul.