Hidden Agenda

“I don’t like repeating myself. Do you hear me?”

Finally, she nodded.

He leaned closer. “Don’t tell anyone about our meeting. Or that I’m here. Or that we had this conversation. Got it?”

She stared again as a million scenarios played out in her mind.

“Got it?” he demanded, his voice louder, gruffer.

She nodded. “Got it.”

“I have ears everywhere. Everywhere. I’ll hear everything you say, so be careful. Ed Carter can’t know about this. Understand?”

She nodded.

“And all of your lies just made me change my mind. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll have my men start with your sister. Then her kids. Alex and Emma.”

Bailey sucked in a deep breath at the mention of their names.

Then he raised his knife. Something hard hit her head and she passed out.

* * *

Ed checked all the rooms on the lower wing, where his dad’s office was located. He didn’t find Bailey anywhere.

He searched for footprints. For signs of a struggle. For anything that would give an indication of what had happened to the woman.

He’d found nothing.

He paused in the living room, trying to figure out his next plan of action. The footprints left earlier at the door hadn’t been disturbed.

He had a few options left. The west wing. Upstairs. The widow’s walk. Or the back of the house, where the kitchen, dining room and pantry were located.

He paused for a moment and listened for any telltale sounds. Silence answered him.

Until the wood floor creaked in the distance.

He spun and saw Bailey standing at the entrance of the west wing, a dazed expression on her face. She rubbed her head with one hand. The other arm was flung across her chest in an almost protective gesture. Her hair looked disheveled, and he thought he saw a tremble claiming all of her muscles.

“Are you okay?” He crossed the room in long strides to meet her, to begin to assess what had happened.

She nodded, a new emotion in her gaze. She almost seemed dazed. Ed had seen the stunned expression in an instant, but the next moment it disappeared. She’d blinked and her walls had gone up. Her jaw hardened and she sucked in a long, deep breath.

“Of course I’m fine. Why?”

He stared at her, dumbfounded. How could she act so calm? Just what had happened? Something was off. “You’re fine?”

She shrugged and raised her chin. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Ed didn’t miss the way her throat tightened, almost as if she was having trouble swallowing because of the tension welling inside her.

“Why wouldn’t you be fine? How about because one minute you were in the library and the next moment you were gone.” There was something she wasn’t telling him and that realization left him unsettled.

She shrugged again. “I just decided to check things out for myself.”

A smattering of rain against the window sent her clinging to the wall, her gaze swinging wildly about. She could talk tough all she wanted, but her actions told the truth.

“You decided to check things out yourself? You? The woman who walked so closely behind me that I could barely move? You suddenly got enough courage to explore this dark house on your own?” Something wasn’t adding up, and he didn’t like where all of this was going.

“I’m not as spineless as you might think I am.” She raised her chin even higher.

He still saw the tremble racing through her.

“What aren’t you saying, Bailey?” He stepped closer so he could see the truth in her eyes.

Something flashed there again. Fear? Defiance?

He wasn’t sure.

“We’re not in this together, you know,” she finally muttered. “I was doing just fine here before you showed up.”

He stepped closer. “Were you? If I hadn’t shown up and you’d run into some stranger who’d broken into the house with less than honorable intentions, I’d doubt you’d act so laid-back.”

“I’ve always done things on my own. I just decided to take matters into my own hands and see if the intruder was still here. We were wasting time sticking together.”

He didn’t buy her story for a second. “And was he?”

She swallowed so hard that her throat muscles visibly tightened. “You didn’t see him. Did you?”

He shifted, his hands going to his hips. He reminded himself that Bailey, most likely, wasn’t one of the bad guys here. He didn’t need to go into interrogation mode. “You need to tell me what kind of game you’re playing. Otherwise, we might both end up dead.”

Wrinkles appeared at the corner of her eyes. “Look, I’m sorry. I won’t wander away again. I had a moment of bad judgment.”

That little excuse wasn’t going to settle with him. But she wasn’t saying anything else right now.

He’d keep an eye on her. He didn’t trust her.

But for now, they had to work together.

He couldn’t be 100 percent sure that the intruder was gone. Whoever it had been had definitely set it up to look as if he’d left. But the person behind this vandalism wasn’t a newbie. They were experienced...and possibly working with Bailey?

He had to keep that idea at the forefront of his mind.

Trust no one.

That had been his mantra for more than a decade.

He didn’t see it changing anytime soon.

FOUR

Bailey rubbed her throat, suddenly exhausted, weary and overwhelmed. “What now?”

“Right now we secure the house and batten down the hatches, so to speak, for this storm. Until it’s daylight, there’s not much more we can do except try to stay safe and keep our eyes open.”

Bailey nodded. As she felt Ed’s gaze on her, she rubbed her throat again. He wasn’t stupid. He knew she wasn’t telling the truth. But she had no other choice at this point. She had to do whatever she had to to keep her family safe. She needed time to think, to figure things out. Her adrenaline wanted to race ahead as her mind struggled through the possibilities.

“I know where all of the entrances to the house are,” Bailey offered. “I can show you and we can make sure they’re secure.”

Ed nodded. “Good idea. We’ll stick together.”

She wouldn’t argue with that. She had no desire to wander this place by herself. “Let’s go.”

They moved throughout the house, checking windows and doors. They said very little as they worked. Bailey tried to ignore the tension between them, tried to pretend that everything was like it was before. Everything hadn’t been great earlier, but now her conscience bothered her. Now she did have a secret and, along with it, she had guilt.

Just two hours ago, things had seemed relatively simple. She’d planned on reading her novel, turning in for the night, and in the morning she’d depart this place and look for a new job. Though she’d been dreading starting over again, right now she dreaded staying here even more. Especially under these circumstances.

How could two hours turn her life upside down?

Finally, Ed checked the last window. It was latched.

“We’re secure,” he said.

But Bailey knew that nothing was really secure. Someone very likely was still in this house with them. Where? She had no idea. She hadn’t seen a sign of him as they’d moved throughout the place. Whoever this man was, he was good. He had the ability to disappear. Maybe he’d even planted cameras somewhere. That fact had her on edge.

“Let’s get back to that fire,” Ed suggested. “It’s freezing in here.”

Finally, they went down to the living room. Bailey knelt in front of the flames, absorbing the heat for a moment. She only wished the flames could warm her heart as it did her hands. Despair and panic did a tangled dance inside her.

Ed’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Any food left here?”

“I donated most of it and threw away the perishables.” She shrugged. “I was planning on leaving in the morning and I didn’t want it to be wasted.”

Except, she couldn’t now. She had to think of some way to stay. That meant that she should probably get on Ed’s good side, especially since this was his place now.

“I did save some crackers, cheese, peanut butter and a few apples to snack on until I left. I think there’s coffee and some of that fancy tea your dad liked, also. Would you like me to get them for you?”

He stared again. The man obviously didn’t trust her. He shouldn’t trust her, at this point. Bailey had always been the kind of person people could depend on, the one people told their secrets to. She didn’t even know how to be untrustworthy, which only added to this crisis of conscience.

“I’ll get the food,” Ed finally said. “Where did you leave everything?”

“The kitchen counter. Beside the refrigerator. In a basket.” She’d been planning on taking it with her on the boat. Then she’d call a taxi from the piers to take her to the rental-car agency. She’d been planning on going down to see her sister.

Ed stepped away. Being away from him both made her relax and feel tenser at the same time. She was glad to be away from his scrutiny, but she couldn’t help worry as she sat alone in the dark.

Her thoughts revolved around Ed and his credibility. Why hadn’t Mr. Carter kept any pictures of his son around the house? What kind of relationship had the two of them had? Mr. Carter had certainly spoken with pride about his only offspring, but if they had such a close relationship, why hadn’t Ed shown up for his father’s last days? Something wasn’t adding up. A lot of things, for that matter. What if Ed wasn’t who he’d claimed to be?

She shrugged it off and grabbed some blankets from the closet, leaving a few on the couch in case Ed needed them. Then she pulled the leather recliner closer to the fireplace and settled there, pulling several blankets over herself. The temperature had dropped, and the air in the house was more than chilly. It was downright uncomfortable.

As another shiver washed over her, she looked over her shoulder. Was the stranger watching her now? Was he waiting for just the right moment to flaunt his power over her? Nausea turned in her stomach at the thoughts.

Ed appeared with a tray a few minutes later. He’d scrounged up not only some crackers and apples but also a few bottles of water. He set them on the table between them. “I thought you might be hungry, as well.”

She swallowed hard. “Thank you.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, her stomach grumbled. It seemed she was hungrier than she’d thought. She leaned forward and grabbed some crackers. If anything, they might help to settle her stomach, which was twisted in knots.

Ed sat on the couch, ignoring the blankets in favor of leaning closer to the fire, and grabbed an apple. “How long did you work for my father, Bailey?”

Bailey ran a finger over her lips, hoping to dislodge any stray crumbs. “Eight months.”

“And how’d you end up on an isolated place like Smuggler’s Cove?”

She shrugged, thinking back on the broken path that had led to her decision to come here. “Long story. I needed some changes in my life. I had worked as a nurse in the ER, but I was tired of the pace, the pressure, the social scene of life back in Raleigh. I decided maybe I should be a home health nurse and applied with an agency. A day later, I got the call about your father.”

“I’m surprised you lasted more than a week around that ornery man.” He offered a wry smile.

The mystery of their relationship deepened. The way Ed said the words was with an unmistakable affection, but that didn’t add up with the facts she already knew. “Your father was a wonderful man. I mean, he was kind of gruff sometimes. But once you got past those walls, he was delightful. I loved listening to his stories.”

He took another bite of his apple and leaned back. “What kind of stories?”

“Of traveling the world. Of the people he met. Of how our country has changed since he was a boy. He took a lot of pride in the United States and the freedoms we have here.”

“My dad told you all of that?”

She nodded. “We had nothing to do but talk. I mean, sometimes we took walks outside or sat by the water or I read books to him. But mostly we talked.”

Ed’s face tightened, and Bailey wondered about his expression. What was he thinking? That she was lying and that his father couldn’t possibly be that kind? Or did he regret that he’d missed out on his father’s final days?

“Did he talk about his work very much?”

Bailey shrugged. “I don’t know. He did mention some of the senators he had to work with and some of the places he got to visit. He usually only talked about that if he had company.”

Ed raised his eyebrows. “Company?”

Bailey nodded. “He had some people from work visit him a few times.” At least someone had cared enough to. She kept that thought silent.

Ed tilted his head to the side. “I thought my father wanted to get away from everything—and everyone. Especially work. He associated it with too much pressure, pressure he didn’t need with his heart condition.”

Maybe that’s what Ed told himself to justify not coming to visit himself. Speaking of which...

She stared at Ed a moment, wondering what kind of heartless man didn’t visit his dad in his final days. Whether she liked it or not, it appeared she’d be finding out.

* * *

Ed saw the judgment in Bailey’s eyes. He wanted to pretend that he didn’t care, but he knew he did. He didn’t have to explain himself to Bailey, though. God was the only one who needed to understand, and the two of them had already had many talks about everything that had gone down.

Claire had judged him enough that he’d had his fill. The two had dated for a year and Ed had hoped to marry her one day. She was an executive assistant for a company in DC and had to travel a couple of weekends a month for work.

At least, that was her cover story.

In reality, she was working for an elite group of international spies determined to steal US secrets. Ed—and dating Ed—had been a part of the plan she’d devised to get information from him. Thankfully, Ed had seen the light, so to speak, in the nick of time. He’d been heartbroken and angry. Then he’d simply poured more of himself into his work.

“Why are you here, Ed? Why did you come now and not earlier?”

Bailey’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He turned toward the woman, ignoring the strange desire he had to trust her. Trust made people weak, and he couldn’t afford that right now. What he’d said earlier was true. Bailey had the most access to his father. She, for all intents and purposes, should be his first suspect.

“I’m here because someone murdered my father, and I intend to find out who.”

Any enemies would have been wise to hire someone with an innocent face like Bailey. She seemed so unsuspecting, and that would make her the perfect culprit. There was a part of him that wanted to believe there were good people in the world, but experience told him to remain cautious.

“I really don’t understand. Why would you think he was murdered?” She finished her cracker, leaned back in the chair and pulled her blanket to her chin.

He shrugged. “I have my reasons. Did anything out of the ordinary happen in the days leading up to his death?”

She drew in a deep breath and looked off into the distance a moment. “He did ask me to protect his things. He said something about someone coming here and destroying people. We’d just watched an action movie on TV, though. I thought maybe he was confusing TV with real life.”

Interesting. He’d continue to let her think his father’s words had been accidental. But Ed knew the truth.

Nothing was as it seemed, and Ed didn’t know who to trust—including his colleagues at the CIA. He couldn’t help but wonder if they were involved somehow. Was all of this a cover-up on their part?

“I can’t imagine why anyone would want to kill your dad,” Bailey whispered. “He said he was just a number cruncher at the State Department. Certainly that’s no reason that he’d be in danger—unless adding something up incorrectly is reason for murder.”

“Sounds like you’ve been watching too many spy movies.”

She frowned. “Yeah, maybe I have. But I’m not the one who thinks Mr. Carter was murdered.”

He bit down, knowing he couldn’t say anything and fluctuating between being amused and irritated. “Maybe you should get some rest. It’s been a long night.”

Bailey frowned and pulled the covers up around her shoulders.

Ed wouldn’t be getting any rest, not knowing the fact that someone else had been in this house. Until he knew what was going on, he’d be on the lookout.

* * *

Morning sunlight streamed through the windows as Bailey opened her eyes. It seemed against all odds she’d fallen asleep. The last thing she remembered was staring at the fire, trying to figure out the craziness that had become her life. She’d been determined to stay awake, to keep a lookout for danger. So much for that plan.

She blinked a couple of times before everything came into focus. Ed squatted by the fire, adding more logs to the flames. He looked up when he noticed her stirring.

“Morning,” he mumbled.

She pushed herself up in the recliner. “Morning.”

Thoughts of yesterday continued to swirl in her head. The man. The threat. Lauren. Ed. Mr. Carter.

She nearly groaned. She’d so desperately wanted all of this to simply be a nightmare. Reality felt like a cold slap in the face.

She needed to think of a way to convince Ed to let her stay. She needed to look for that information. She’d wasted time already. She should have started looking last night, but she knew that she was under Ed’s watchful eye and she was no good at being sneaky.

“I’m not sure when the ferry will start running again,” she began. “But I was thinking about sticking around for a little bit longer, until things settle down a bit.”

“I’m nearly certain transportation to the mainland will be back up today. Half of the island evacuated, and I’m sure residents will be interested in getting back to check out the damage.”

“Yes, and a lot of them may need help,” Bailey countered, desperate to sound natural, despite the anxiety racing through her. “I’d hate to leave everyone in their time of need.”

“That’s kind of you, but don’t feel obligated. I know you need to look for another job.”

“As a matter of fact, your father arranged to have me paid for a few weeks after his death. That was just one more reason I stuck around to help tie up loose ends. I almost feel indebted to stay here and earn my keep.” Her heart pounded. The excuse sounded believable to her. Would Ed go for it?

Ed stood. “Sounds like my father. He liked to take care of people.”

Bailey shrugged, not ready to give up quite yet on convincing Ed. “Well, the people on the island have become like family. You should be there for family when they need you.”

Ed did the stare. The look was becoming all too familiar.

Bailey grabbed an apple from the table and stood up, stretching. She immediately missed her blankets. She had to push aside any sign of weakness, though, and prove herself to Ed.

She needed to somehow earn his trust while keeping him at arm’s length. There were still so many uncertainties about him; he was hiding something.

“I almost dread seeing the damage outside. Mr. Wilkins, the groundskeeper, evacuated before the storm,” Bailey said. “I’m not sure when he’ll be back.”

Bailey strode over to the front door and pulled it open. She was expecting to survey the landscape outside. Instead, she stifled a scream at the towering figure standing there.

FIVE

“I reckon since the power’s out, the doorbell’s not working. I’ve been standing here for five minutes. I’ve got a delivery for Ed Carter.”

Bailey nearly laughed at herself. The figure wasn’t quite as towering as she’d thought.

Alvin stood there. He was the town’s “chauffeur,” which really meant that he ran people around in his golf cart. He had two suitcases at his feet and, based on his tapping foot, he was in a hurry.

Ed stepped up behind Bailey. “Thanks, Alvin. I appreciate you bringing those by.”

“No problem.”

Ed reached into his wallet, pulled out some bills and slapped them into Alvin’s hands. “How’s the water level? Is the island still flooded?” Ed asked.

“It’s down right now, but only because it’s low tide,” Alvin said. “Come high tide, the bridge leading to your property is going to be covered again. That was one nasty storm. There’s no electricity on the island right now, and I can’t remember the last time that happened.”

“Let us know if anyone needs anything,” Ed offered, sounding halfway human for a change.

“Much obliged. Thank you.” Alvin tipped his hat and hurried back to his golf cart.

Bailey enjoyed hearing the accents of the locals. The island was once known to be a hiding spot for pirates. After the place was settled, the people who lived here had been so far removed from other civilization that the accent of the original English settlers had stuck around for decades. Only in recent years had it begun to fade as TVs became more popular and travel between the island and the mainland became easier.

Ed grabbed his luggage and set the suitcases inside the door. As he moved out of the way, Bailey got her first real glimpse of the outside in the morning sunlight.

The landscape looked as if a tornado had gone through. Tree limbs and leaves were everywhere. Part of someone’s roof was strewn in the distance, as well as some pickets and a trash can.

On the shore, mounds of seaweed and other “treasures” from the bay that often got washed onto the sand with storms were visible. No doubt there were sand dollars and horseshoe crabs and shells. There would also be litter—shoes, fishing line, pieces of damaged boats and piers.

It was going to take a lot of cleaning up to get this place back in order.

Now she just had to convince Ed that he needed her help to do so and that it was going to take more than an extra day or two.

“We’ve got a big job ahead of us this week,” she told him.

“We?” He raised an eyebrow.

She crossed her arms. “You need help. Admit it. You can’t clean all of this up on your own. You’re going to need to hire someone to help. It might as well be me. All I charge is room and board.”

He stared at her, that same incredulous expression on his face. “You want to help? After everything that happened last night? Even knowing that I still suspect you could have something to do with my father’s death?”

“I’ve already told you that I loved your father like he was my own. I’d never hurt him. And, yes, I really do want to help. I’m not one to leave things unfinished.”

Finally, he shrugged. “Well, I won’t turn it down. I will need help. At least for today.”

He walked over toward the fire and picked up a mug, taking a long sip.

Bailey leaned closer. “What are you drinking?”

The electricity was out, but it almost smelled like...

“Coffee. Why?” He took another sip.

She stepped closer, trying not to salivate. “How did you make that?”

“I’ve learned a few tricks while camping over the years. I made it over the fireplace.” He pulled the mug back, his eyes sparkling. “Would you like some?”

“All I charge is room and board—and coffee. I’m revising my earlier statement.”

“That’s good, because I wasn’t going to pay you anyway.” A hint of a smile tugged at his lips.

He poured her a cup of caffeinated bliss. The man could go from irritating her to charming her in 5.2 seconds. But when he placed the mug in her hands, gratefulness was all she felt. She took a long sip, hoping the caffeine would give her the boost she needed to get through the day. She’d hardly slept at all last night, and she felt it now.

She took another sip of her coffee. She had to figure out a way to find the “information” the man had mentioned. Did Ed know what it was? Even if he did, it wasn’t likely he would tell her. She needed a plan, and she needed it now.