Laurie rested her head on her palm. She didn’t want to leave the table, but she felt exhausted. Her eyelids grew heavy, while she stared out the window into the distance.
Dante tapped her elbow and she turned to him.
“Time for bed?” Dante asked with a smile. She nodded. “Come on. I’ll take our stuff upstairs.”
“Oh, Dante you can have the first room on the left as you go up the stairs. Laurie you can have the one toward the front of the house.” Emma scooped the remaining cake onto a plate to put into the refrigerator.
“Dante will need the one facing the front, Emma.” Albert waved her off.
“Albert, the young lady should have the nice view.” Emma glared at him over her shoulder.
“Tactical advantage. The boy needs to see who’s coming up the driveway.” Albert lifted his hands in frustration.
“Oh, Albert, who do you expect to be coming up the driveway?” Emma slammed the refrigerator door.
“Despite what you may wish for, our son is not here for a visit. He’s working. He needs to protect the girl. To do that properly he’ll need to have a clear view of the only road entering and exiting the property.” Albert slammed his hand on the table.
Emma threw her hands in the air.
“We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about it.” Dante held up his hands in surrender. He chuckled as he hugged his mother. “Thanks for baking the cake, Mom.”
“Thank you for coming home.” His mother took Dante into her arms.
Dante kissed her on the cheek and turned to lead Laurie into the hallway. He put his hand on the back of her shoulder, guiding her toward the stairs. He grabbed both bags, and followed her up to the landing.
“Which one?” she mumbled. He smiled, leading her in the direction of the room at the front of the house.
He flipped on the light. The bedspread was pink and floral, which matched the peeling wallpaper. The four-poster bed took up most of the room, but there was a nightstand and a small dresser. His mom definitely wanted to give her this room. He set Laurie’s bag down by the dresser. She began to dig through it to find her nightgown.
“Let me find the bathroom for you.” He smiled at her half-hearted nod, and left.
Dante discovered it was the room between his and hers. He flipped on the light for her, and Laurie quickly went through the motions of getting ready for bed.
When she returned to the room, Dante was over at the window. She quickly shut the door. They slipped into bed and Dante wrapped his arms around her as she shivered in the cold sheets.
“Are you going to tell your dad about us?” She curled up on his side.
“Don’t know yet. Haven’t quite figured out what I would say if I did.” He sighed. She nodded her understanding. Without any more words, they both fell fast asleep.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Dante
Dante awoke early. He could feel the morning chill hovering just above the covers. He pulled Laurie closer to keep her warm, and give himself the selfish pleasure of enjoying her pressed against him. He knew he had nowhere to go, no shift to take. The thought felt foreign to him. He had his fair share of days off, but to be on assignment and sleep in—well, that was an oxymoron.
He knew he needed to make a plan. He wouldn’t be able to bring Laurie back to Hawaii unless the mole was caught. Yet he wouldn’t know it was safe unless he kept tabs on the entire operation. He hated the thought, but he had to ask his father for help. His father might be retired, but Dante knew he still had contacts at the agency. His father was still friends with Hilton. At the very least, his father could use that connection to help him by playing the bereaved parent that wanted answers for his son’s disappearance. Dante would have to ask him.
Laurie began to stir as the sunlight streaming through the window grew brighter. Dante heard his parents on the stairs, and he knew he should get up before they went looking for him. However, he had a lot of trouble dragging himself out of bed these days. It was another half an hour before he finally made himself get up. Laurie was still asleep, so he kissed her forehead and crept to the bathroom. He changed clothes and went downstairs.
“Good morning!” His mother’s smile was so radiant. She looked like Christmas had come early, and she got the biggest gift.
“Morning.” He went straight for the coffee maker.
“I hope we didn’t wake you.” She disappeared into the pantry. “We get up pretty early to get a jump on the weeding.”
Dante smiled at the notion of his CIA father plucking weeds all day.
“No, I was up when I heard you come downstairs.” He joined his father at the kitchen table. Albert was reading a paper, his empty breakfast plate beside him. Dante’s coffee warmed him as he wrapped both hands around it, drinking deeply.
“What would you like for breakfast?” Emma asked him from the stove.
“Oh, whatever you two have is fine by me,” he said.
“How about some eggs and toast? I can make some sausage too.” Emma picked up a frying pan. “Is Laurie awake?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I don’t think so.”
Emma turned back to the stove, humming.
Dante smiled. He had never seen his mother so happy. Made him feel guilty for being away so long. He started thinking about the last time he had seen his parents. He was so lost in thought he didn’t notice his father studying him. Dante got to the bottom of his coffee mug, and looked up into his father’s eyes.
“What?” Dante felt his shoulders stiffen.
“Just wondering what’s on your mind, son.” Albert folded his newspaper.
Dante knit his brows together. He didn’t want to talk about what was really on his mind, so he got another cup of coffee instead.
“Nothing.” Dante sat back down. “I’ve just been thinking about how I can keep tabs on what’s going on in my department from here. I can’t bring Laurie back until it’s safe. I left them a note saying I would bring her back when the mole is caught. But I won’t know when that happens. I can’t keep track of whether Kaimi is caught, or whether they find the kidnapping victims. I can’t do much of anything here.”
His father nodded, taking a sip of his own coffee.
“Well, I don’t think you have to worry about all of that right now.” Emma glanced at him over her shoulder.
“I have to worry about it, Mom. Laurie and I won’t be safe until Kaimi and his mole are caught.” Dante looked from her to his father.
“You’ll be safe here. Don’t even think about it.” A hard edge entered her tone. “Now, sit back down. Your breakfast is ready.”
Dante nodded, deciding to drop the subject. He sat back down at the table and looked at his father, but Albert resumed reading the paper. Dante thanked his mom for breakfast. Then he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
Dante turned to smile at Laurie as she walked in. She wore a sweatshirt and jeans. She looked like she had just come down from the shower. She went straight for the coffee. There was a chorus of good mornings all around.
“It’s cold here.” Laurie shivered as she sat down beside him, her hands buried in the sleeves of her sweatshirt.
“Oh, well the cold’s just getting started.” Emma set Laurie’s breakfast down in front of her. “I hope you have something warmer than that.”
“I don’t.” Laurie shook her head.
“We’ll pick you up some winter clothes. I’ll need some too. We’ll need some toiletries. I’ll have to pick them up the next time you go get groceries.” Dante got Laurie the milk and handed it to her.
“We don’t get groceries but once a month at most, so if you need something before that, we’ll have to make a special trip.” Albert folded his newspaper and set it down beside him.
“You don’t buy groceries?” Confusion passed over Laurie’s features.
“Don’t need to. We have plenty of vegetables from the farm, fruit from the orchard. The Kinney’s down the road raise and slaughter their own animals. They sell milk and eggs, too. We have to go into town to get flour and sugar and maybe a few other things, but that’s about it.” Albert looked quite pleased with the arrangement, and Dante saw his first genuine smile in years.