A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire #1)(34)

“It’s not impossible. It can be done,” Parker responded nonchalantly as she typed on her laptop and never looked up.

Garrett was still having a hard time believing the things that came out of Parker’s mouth. He shook his head in wonder as he stared at her, moving closer to the bed.

“So, you’ve been here before?” Garrett asked.

The clicking of her fingers on the keys stilled, but she still didn’t look up.

“A few times, yes.”

Parker was surprised Garrett was asking her. He’d been nothing but ticked off and shocked about her job, and now all of a sudden he seemed interested. She couldn’t tell him the details of why she had been here, but now that he knew what she did for a living, she could give him a little.

“The first time was the year after you guys graduated from SEAL training,” she told him softly.

“Seriously? I remember that trip. You went to the Caribbean to take pictures of white marlin for Greenpeace. Or so you said.”

Parker finally looked up at Garrett, gauging the look on his face to see if he was being sarcastic. She was shocked to see that he wasn’t. He was smiling.

She couldn’t help but smile back. Just a few days without his friendship and support and she felt lost. That smile was like a lifeline that she desperately reached for.

“I didn’t lie about that. I really did take those marlin pictures for them. One of them is still hanging in their office in Amsterdam as a matter of fact,” she said proudly. “I just had to get the photos completed in a day so I could “borrow” something from Fernandez’s office.”

Garrett let out a little laugh, and Parker’s heart sped up at the sound. He moved forward until his legs came in contact with the edge of the bed.

“So what’s all this?” Garrett asked as he pointed to the mess all over the bed.

“I’ve been doing some research on Fernandez. Found a few surprising things.”

Garrett looked at her in confusion.

“I thought you were just going to relax by the pool today, maybe check out some of the stores and get your hair done or something,” he said.

Parker wondered if it was physically impossible for Garrett to stop being a jerk for more than ten minutes. She slammed the lid to her laptop closed and stared him down.

“I'm not just here to be your sweet little wife and look pretty. I have a job to do as well, Garrett.”

Garrett immediately started backpedaling when he saw how angry he’d made her.

“I didn't mean...I just thought you could use some down time. That’s all I meant by that.”

Parker shook her head at him and huffed in indignation.

“Down time? Garrett I've been on administrative leave for six months. I've had nothing but down time. What I need is to work. And to get some answers. So if you can stop being a chauvinistic ass for five minutes, we can talk about the things I found.”

Garrett refused to admit that his dick swelled a little as he watched her fiery attitude take control. He ignored it and concentrated on what she’d printed out.

He picked up a few pages and stared at them wide-eyed.

“Jesus Christ, Parker! This is a list of all of the shell companies that are directly associated to Fernandez,” Garrett said in amazement as he thumbed through the pages in his hand. He grabbed another piece of paper, scanning the contents. “Are these the offshore account numbers for these companies? How the f*ck did you find this? Even I couldn’t get in that deep.”

Parker shrugged, “I have my ways.”

“So what? You can tell me, but then you'd have to kill me?” Garrett joked.

The smile on Parker’s face instantly fell, and Garrett watched as something erased the light in her eyes. She looked away from him and shoved the computer off of her lap, not really caring where it landed; she just couldn’t look at him anymore.

“I could tell you, but then someone else could kill you,” she said so softly he had to strain to hear her.

These past few days Garrett had been pissed at her for not telling him the truth, and to be honest, he’d been a little jealous that she’d lived this life of excitement and espionage and all of the things movies were made about. He took his envy and anger out on her and blamed her for his insecurities about his own life. But in reality, this was the God damn CIA she had been dealing with for eight years. Who really knew what the hell they had done to her? The thought made his blood boil that they may have done something to hurt her or threatened someone she cared about. Garrett may not have the security clearance she did, but he still worked for the same government. He heard rumors; he knew the lengths they would go to get what they wanted. Garrett suddenly felt sick to his stomach, wondering what they might have done to prove a point.

Garrett swallowed thickly, still standing at the edge of the bed.

“Who?” he asked softly.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Parker immediately replied, turning her face away from him.

Garrett shoved the papers aside and sat down on the bed next to her. He tentatively reached a hand out and ran it up and down her arm.

“I’m here, Parker. I’m not going anywhere. Talk to me.”

Garrett watched a lone tear trickle down her cheek as Parker remembered her only friend from college.