Page 35

CHAPTER 35

B y the time everything wrapped up at Thomas’s house, it was past lunchtime.

The last thing Raven wanted to do was to take the time to eat. But her stomach was grumbling.

She and Jake stopped by The Crazy Chefette and found a table. The place had a cheerful yellow exterior with pink shutters. The sign above the front featured a cartoonish image of a woman in a lab coat with a beaker in one hand and spatula in the other, and the lettering underneath read “Mad food created by a crazy lady.”

The interior had an old-time diner feel, and sixties music played—“Turn! Turn! Turn!” by The Byrds right now.

But it was the smell that got to her the most. French fries, grilled meats, freshly baked bread.

Her stomach rumbled again.

Raven knew exactly what to order: a grilled cheese with peaches. Jake had been right—she was now addicted. When she eventually left this island, she was going to crave this sandwich.

Once the waitress had taken their orders, Raven turned to Jake, a moment of awkwardness shifting between them.

It wasn’t because they were uncomfortable per se. But tension had been building between them, and they both knew it.

They wouldn’t be able to avoid talking forever.

Jake finally cleared his throat. “Any leads as far as Sigma?”

She shook her head as she swirled her straw in her water. “No, nothing solid. None of my contacts have heard of them.”

“Mine either.”

“So where does this leave us?”

He let out a long breath. “We’ll keep looking. We’ll find some answers. I know we will.”

She appreciated the confidence in his voice. She prayed he was correct—and she prayed those answers came quickly.

As he shifted, his necklace caught her eye. She’d seen it before but had never seen the pendant on it. He kept the jewelry tucked into his shirt.

But this time, the chain swung like a pendulum.

On the end was . . . a wedding ring.

A wedding ring?

Shock coursed through her.

She must have made a face because Jake quickly tucked the necklace back into his shirt.

But her thoughts still raced. Had he been married?

She wasn’t sure why the thought surprised her so much. She almost felt off-balance.

Her heart pounded faster.

“What was that?” Raven’s voice was scratchier than she would like as she asked the question.

Jake swallowed hard before saying, “A wedding ring.”

“ Your wedding ring?” she clarified. “Or your grandmothers? Is it an heirloom?”

“It was mine.”

“I didn’t realize . . .” Raven had no idea Jake had gotten married. She’d assumed he was the type to avoid any type of commitment.

In her mind, she’d thought that was why he’d left her.

But now, she knew it wasn’t. He simply hadn’t wanted to be committed to her.

An ache crushed her heart.

She hadn’t expected this, and now she didn’t even know what to say.

“My wife died,” Jake explained, his voice low and gravelly.

Raven’s heart lurched into her throat. Another surprise, one that softened her hurt, morphing it into compassion. At least temporarily.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she murmured.

He only nodded slowly, an emotional storm raging in his gaze.

Thankfully, their food was delivered just then.

Good. Raven would need some time to process that information, and eating was just the distraction she needed.

After they finished eating, Jake headed back to Blackout.

The rest of his meal with Raven had felt awkward, to say the least.

He’d waited for her to ask questions about his marriage, but she didn’t. Instead, she’d talked about anything but his wedding ring. The weather. Her favorite ice cream. Sports even.

He couldn’t blame her. But he didn’t want to push either, especially not while they were in public.

The conversations they needed to have should be private.

He wanted an update on what had happened yesterday, but today’s events had delayed that.

He could have called or texted Ty or Colton also, but he’d rather have those conversations face-to-face.

He was bringing Raven with him.

She was obviously a target, though he still didn’t know why. Until he did, and until he knew she was safe, he didn’t want to let her out of his sight.

Of course, Raven had her own say in the matter. She could refuse. But thankfully, she hadn’t yet.

They arrived at Blackout, and Jake paused after he climbed out of the SUV.

He stared in the distance at the site of the bomb explosion.

A temporary fence had been constructed, and Blackout operatives stood guard, rotating shifts every few hours.

The area around the explosion was charred.

A crater stood where the grass used to grow.

Some nearby trees had been blown away. Others were left burnt, standing like blackened skeletons.

His chest tightened at the memories.

He was thankful everything had turned out okay. But the outcome could have been so much different.

He continually praised God for the fact everyone had gotten through the situation unscathed.

“Are you okay?”

Raven’s voice pulled Jake from his thoughts, and he glanced at her.

She stood beside him on the sidewalk, quietly waiting for him to process the scene.

He nodded slowly as he said, “Just reflecting on everything that’s happened.”

“It’s been crazy, hasn’t it?” She followed his gaze.

“That would be an understatement.”

“Yes, it would be.”

Jake appreciated how she didn’t try to downplay it. Even though Raven had grown up around affluence, she’d always been down to earth. He’d always appreciated that quality about her.

When he’d first received the assignment to guard her, he’d been apprehensive. Resistant even. He hadn’t wanted to guard the snooty college-aged daughter of a US ambassador.

He’d been totally wrong in his assumptions, however.

Nothing about Raven was snobbish.

She’d surprised him over and over again.

“Do you want to check it out?” Raven asked.

Jake snapped from his thoughts and nodded toward headquarters. “I want to get some updates first. Let’s get inside.”

The two of them headed to Ty’s office.

When they arrived, his door was open, and he sat at his desk, talking on the phone with someone. As soon as he spotted them, he ended the call.

He sat up straight in his chair as he addressed them. “You guys doing okay? I know yesterday was rough. I heard today wasn’t much better.”

“We’re fine.” Jake paused in front of his desk, Raven beside him. “What’s going on here?”

Ty’s expression looked tight with exhaustion. “We’re investigating. We’ve talked to everyone here under the guise of asking if they saw anything regarding the bomb. But we’re also looking for any signs of deception.”

“Do you have any idea who did this or what their motives might be?” Jake asked.

Ty ran a hand over his face before turning back to them. “At first we thought maybe they wanted to send a message. To let us know we weren’t untouchable.”

“But you don’t think so anymore?” Raven asked.

“Maybe that was part of it.” Ty paused and glanced at Raven as if trying to figure out if he could trust her or not. Finally, he said, “But the truth of the matter is that our communication systems were breached during the attack.”

Jake’s eyes widened at the revelation. “What?”

Ty nodded, his gaze somber. “It’s true. We’re unsure of the extent of what information was taken. But we believe our contacts were accessed as well as information on some classified missions we participated in.”

Jake had the impression Ty didn’t want to say anything more specific in front of Raven. He understood that. Some matters were classified.

Jake crossed his arms. “What is going on? Why would someone want that information?”

“That’s what we need to figure out.”