A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire #1)(15)

The voice on the other end of the line made Parker realize there was no turning back now. With one phone call, she was going to irrevocably change her and Garrett's lives forever.





Chapter Four



Garrett tossed and turned all night long thinking about Parker. The look on her face before she walked away from him haunted his dreams until he finally got up out of bed and went to Base two hours before his scheduled briefing.

He picked up the phone at least thirty times during those two hours to call Parker and apologize only to hang right back up. He had no idea what the hell he would say to her, but he knew he needed to do something before he left. Garrett could never go on this mission with Parker mad at him. He hated himself for keeping her in the dark with his suspicions, but he honestly believed he was doing it for her own good.

Garrett glanced at his watch and realized he only had a few minutes until his meeting with his commanding officer, his team, and whatever Navy photographer they were able to find last minute. He just hoped this woman had experience, and he wouldn’t need to babysit her the entire time. Garrett had more important things to do than to keep an eye on a green Petty Officer and keep her head from getting blown off. She damn well better be able to keep herself out of trouble.

On his way down the hall to the conference room, Garrett called Parker’s cell phone but it went directly to voicemail. He felt like a chicken shit for leaving a message on her cell instead of talking to her in person, but maybe it would be easier that way.

“Parker, I’m sorry about what happened last night. I’m sorry I kept my suspicions from you. I should have been honest with you from the beginning. You and I both know how much of a dick I am, so do I really need to apologize for all the other things I said? You know I didn’t mean them to come out the way they did. Take care of yourself, and I’ll call you when I land.”

Garrett hung up the phone, pleased with the message he left, and walked into the conference room where his CO, Captain Matt Risner, was already waiting for him.

“Lieutenant McCarthy, have a seat. We’re just waiting on the rest of your team to get here.”

Garrett took a seat directly across from Captain Risner and a few minutes later they were joined by three men, all of whom Garrett had worked with in the past—all good men and all friends of his and Milo’s. Garrett trusted these men, and he was glad to be working with them again, even if it was under these circumstances.

“First Class Petty Officers Conrad and Vargas and Chief Marshall, you’re all acquainted with Lieutenant McCarthy so no introductions are necessary, is that correct?" the blond, middle-aged man asked as the newcomers all took a seat around the table. His hazel eyes, accented by the fine lines of aging at the corners, took each of them in.

The four men nodded and replied with a respectful, "Yes, sir.”

"In front of all of you is the dossier for this assignment. McCarthy will be the Officer in Charge as soon as you land on Dominican soil. He and his partner will be posing as a reporter slash photographer in order to gain access into the President's home. The rest of you will be there under the guise of a camera crew for Fox News,” Risner explained as he pulled his six foot, five inch frame out of his seat and walked over to the computer Smart Board hanging on the south east wall of the room. “Your passports and press clearances will be waiting for you on the plane along with your background information. I want weekly status reports on my desk every Friday. McCarthy will have all of the information in his packet to access a secure internet and telephone line that cannot be traced.”

Risner pulled a remote out of the pocket of his freshly creased khaki Service pants, aimed it at the Smart Board, and within seconds they were all looking at a map of the Dominican.

“A lot of things went wrong when Roberts was there. He was sent to the Dominican for a simple reconnaissance mission to gather intel on the President at the request of the Commander in Chief. All of the information he gathered has disappeared, and no one in the Dominican will cooperate with us. Roberts was a last minute replacement a few weeks into the mission when one of the men over there was injured and sent back home. He should have met with the team already in place in the Dominican as soon as he touched down. He never made contact with them, and we need to find out why. We need to clean up this mess and get answers before this gets out to too many people. We don't need any more negative press on the military right now."

Garrett took the pause in Captain Risner’s speech to ask the question that had been on his mind since the phone call last night.

"Sir, if I may interrupt. Who will the female be working with us in Hansen’s place?”

Garrett heard the door open and close behind him but kept his attention on his CO, awaiting his response.

"Actually, McCarthy, she just walked in. I believe you are all acquainted with Annabelle Parker, are you not?"

Parker had to swallow several times as she stood by the door behind the four men in an effort to keep from throwing up. The cat was out of the bag now, and she couldn't take back her decision.

As soon as Captain Risner, Milo's old commanding officer, said her name, all of their heads whipped around to look at her. She avoided the cold stare of Garrett’s eyes and instead concentrated on the three men that were shocked but otherwise happy to see her.

She knew Austin Conrad, Cole Vargas, and Brady Marshall from a few of the military functions she’d attended with Milo. They were all good men, and she knew Garrett thought highly of them.