The next morning, Catherine awoke to the sound of the doorbell. Her head was pounding from the hangover that clawed at her brain, and she winced as she sat up and rubbed her temples tenderly. The bell chimed again, and she groaned in annoyance then looked to Michael to see if he had responded. He was on his back, his mouth slightly open, with small snores escaping his lips as he slept soundly.
She gave him a shake. “Hey, doorbell. You gonna get that?”
He moaned and mumbled something unintelligible, then turned over. She glared at him, then rolled her eyes and stood up with a wince. “Fine, guess I’ll get it.”
She slowly made her way to the dresser where she grabbed her silky red robe and slipped it on. She checked the mirror and saw a mess of hair and smeared makeup. She gave herself a frightened face, but the bell rang again and she sighed.
“I’ll be there in a moment!” she called out and made her way out of the bedroom.
She strode down the hall, the late morning sunshine pouring in through the tall windows making her squint. She came to the front door, and it took more effort than usual to pull it open. Her eyes burned from the bright sun as she registered a man dressed in a black suit standing before her in the doorway. He stood tall and broad with dark brown, crew-cut hair. His eyes were hidden behind aviator glasses, and a thin mustache traced his square face. He flashed a smile at her and held up his hand; in it was an FBI badge.
“Morning miss, Agent Ricky Barber. I’m looking for Michael Francis. Would you please bring him out here for me?” His s tone was too upbeat for Catherine to deal with in the morning, but her gut twisted as she saw the badge and realized there was more going on here.
She looked past him but didn’t see a vehicle. She looked at him apprehensively. He would have needed a code to get in; otherwise, Michael would have received a call this morning about a visitor. But there hadn’t been a call, and she didn’t see a car. She felt the back of her neck tingle in suspicion. Had he climbed the fence to get in here? Or was an entire team of FBI agents waiting somewhere? She wasn’t sure how this all worked with his case, but something felt off.
“How did you get in here?” she crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, looking directly into the reflection of his sunglasses.
He gave a small chuckle. “That’s none of your concern, miss. I just need to talk to Mr. Francis, if you’d be so kind to bring him out here.”
Her eyes flicked to his fist as she saw him slightly clench it, and the action sent chills down her spine. This wasn’t right at all, she could feel it. She felt fear course through her. She needed to throw this guy off and get him out of here.
“Well, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. This is his brother Lucas’ place that you’re trespassing on.” She stared right back at him, her brow narrowed as she stood her ground.
He gave her a fake smile, then reached up and removed his glasses to reveal hard, grey eyes that narrowed as he leaned down into her face.
“I’m the law, miss, I’m just here to do my job.” His tone was low, and she could smell the coffee on his breath, but she didn’t move an inch.
She squared her shoulders and leaned in closer, “Show me your warrant, and I’ll happily let you in.” A grin spread across her face in faux friendliness.
His eyes looked away for a brief moment, and she read his bluff clear as day—this guy was up to something. She didn’t know what, but he sure as hell didn’t seem like a legit officer.
“No warrant, no bringing Lucas out here. Now I’m asking you nicely, sir, to please leave before I call security.” Her eyes burned into his as a slow sneer crept onto his thin lips.
“I’m a federal agent, ma’am, you can’t call security on me,” he growled at her and went to take a step closer.
She stepped in front of him again, and this time she raised her voice, “You might be a federal agent, Mr. Barber, but you don’t have a search warrant, or anything else for that matter. For all I know, you could be a man in a costume with a fake badge, so you either leave now and come back with a warrant, or I call security.” Her eyes looked to the red button by the doorway, and the gesture told him just how quickly she could have them over here.
He stood for a moment and studied her, then he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. “Trust me, miss. You don’t want to be involved with Mr. Francis, he’s nothing but trouble. Trouble you can avoid.”
She let out a loud, exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes. “Just how I wanted to start my day, some wannabe agent telling me how to live my life and how to make decisions. Seriously, get the hell out of here before I call security.”
With that, she stepped back and slammed the door in his face, then hit the security button. The alarm sounded, and she looked out to see the man make a quick pace back down the drive as the security vehicle drove over toward him. She watched as they stopped him and he showed them the badge. A conversation was had, and she saw his tense gaze glare back at her. After a few moments, they loaded him in the truck and escorted him out of the estate and down the road until she could no longer see the vehicle.
She let out a sigh of relief. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she turned back toward the bedroom and ran down the hall.
“Michael! Michael, wake up!” she yelled and rushed to his side, her hands shaking his sleeping body until he opened his heavy eyes.
“I’m up, I’m up, what is it?” he asked sleepily.
“There was a federal agent here, looking for you. But he didn’t have a warrant or anything, he just seemed… off. I don’t know, I had to call security to escort him out of here,” she told him quickly, the words spilling out as she gave him panicked look.
He shot up and grabbed her shoulders. His eyes were now wide and awake as the realization struck him.
“Slow down, what did he say?”
“He just wanted me to bring you out there, that was it. He wasn’t clear, he didn’t have anyone else with him and he didn’t have a vehicle. I’m not even sure he was a legit agent.” She bit nervously at her lip as she watched him begin to pace the room.
He was silent for a few moments, his eyes scanning the room as he seemed to process the events.
“Did he give you a name?”
“Ricky Barber.”
He nodded and picked up his phone. “I’m going to call my lawyer, if there were any changes to the case we would have heard about them, especially if they were here to take me in. But being that I’m exiled, they really can’t do that. It’s only if I step foot in the states again… hence the exile thing.” He shrugged as he brought the phone to his ear.
He pulled her in and kissed her head. “Try not to worry too much. Go have some breakfast, I’ll be down shortly.”
She nodded and turned to head down just as he greeted his lawyer on the other line. Her head was pounding, but the buzz of worry in her mind was too distracting for her to pay much attention to it. Who was this agent? What was he doing here in Havana? The whole reason that Michael had moved everything here was to live the life of an exile, untouchable by the federal agents so long as he stayed out of the states.
She saw a couple of security guards walking the grounds. It looked as if they had called in backup and more were arriving to patrol the premises. The feeling of anxiety grew in her gut; she just knew something wasn’t right with this guy.
She heard the pitter patter of little paws and turned to see Rascal bounding toward her. Alberto trailed behind, concern written all over his face.
“Alberto, good to see you this morning.” She tried her best to give a friendly greeting, but her breath was shaky.
“Morning, Señorita, do you know what is going on out there? Lots of security today.” He sat down at the table, and Rascal ran back to him and jumped in his lap where the man subconsciously started scratching behind his ears.
“We had an unexpected visitor today, we’re not sure what his intent was…” she paused and peered out the window, “or is.”
The older man nodded and looked around. “Where’s Mr. Francis?”
“Taking a phone call, he should be out shortly. What are you and Rascal up to today?” she asked as she sat beside him then reached over and gave the terrier a scratch on the head.
“Oh, the usual rounds to the market and post, I’m sure we’ll swing over to Lucas’ new recovery house and have lunch with him.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and she smiled back at him. “That sounds nice, the recovery house is gorgeous, be sure to check out the view from the balcony.”
While Lucas had made a full recovery, Catherine advised he stay close to the clinic over the next few months just to be safe. The estate was a good thirty minutes away, and in case of emergency, he needed to be there quick. The company had purchased a small, luxurious house that was only a few minutes away in town, and Lucas seemed more than thrilled about the freedom, even if it had one condition.
Michael stepped in the room. He was fully dressed, and he had a book bag strapped to his shoulders. His eyes met Catherine’s. “We need to go.”
His words cut the air like a blade, sending a jolt of shock through her. His tone spoke volumes, and she could sense his tense state.
Alberto gave him a look of confusion. “What is it, sir?”
Michael ran a nervous hand through his beard. “Just spoke with my lawyer. While my case hasn’t changed and there shouldn’t be a single agent after me, he has been informed by the feds that one of their agents working the case has gone missing.”
“What?” Alberto and Catherine asked in unison.
He nodded. “That was all they could say, he tried to find out if this meant someone involved in the terrorist group had got him, or he had gone rogue, or he was simply missing. But they couldn’t give him a single detail, only that a new agent had been assigned and that one had gone totally MIA.”
With a shake of his head, he turned to the window and looked out at the guards as he spoke, “My guess? He has gone rogue and come here to bring about his own form of justice.”
Catherine’s eyes went wide. “Who the hell would do that?”
“I have no idea, but that’s the only thing that makes sense right now. Otherwise, he might just be a con man after some money. Either way, we need to get out of here for a few days. Whoever he is, he found me, and that’s not ok.”
Alberto nodded. “I can take care of things here, you heading to the island?”
“Yes, that’s that plan. Thank you, Alberto, I’ve sent a message to Lucas to let him and the team know. Please keep the information about the agent to yourself, just let them know I’m taking a break. You will take Rascal as well?”
He nodded and hugged his canine companion. “Of course, I’ll keep you updated on things here.”
“Whoa! Whoa! Slow down, what’s happening?” Catherine held up her hands and looked to the men for answers.
Michael grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Congratulations, you’ve won a trip to a private island. Now, get changed and grab what you need, we’re leaving in ten.”
****
This was not how Michael or Catherine saw their morning going. A usual day at the office had turned into a boat trip, the sun shining bright overhead and the waves gently lapping at the white finish. She looked out as she listened to him speak over the roar of the motor.
“The land came with the estate, it’s a few miles off shore, but it has a full house with solar electricity. I keep it stocked, just in case. Turns out that was a good idea.” He looked at her from behind his sunglasses. “How you holding up?”
Her eyes trailed away from the waves back up to him. “This wasn’t in the plan,” she replied sharply, a hint of anger in her voice.
He shook his head. “Wasn’t in mine either, beautiful. But life’s a bitch sometimes, you just gotta go with it.”
With a quick look, her eyes returned to the vast ocean as they steered on toward the island in the distance. Before this morning, they had been living the dream, and then suddenly, everything had come crashing down. When could they return? Who was this man? What did he want? Why was Michael simply running away from all of this?
She was agitated, but she didn’t want to be angry at him. She couldn’t seem to help it, though. How had he allowed this to happen? She brushed the thought away as she argued with herself. She knew he hadn’t meant for any of this to happen—this was the cost of being an exiled billionaire. But she wasn't ready for this. A piece of her had forgotten all about his stained past until this morning. Now it was all in the light, and she wasn’t sure she could handle what was in front of her.
The island became larger and larger until the land towered before them. Thick woods of palm trees decorated the beach, but through it a cabin and beach house could be seen. The two of them looked out with their hands shielding the sun and watched as the details came into view. The structure was an A-frame with large, glass windows. The wood was painted a dark green to blend with the tropical woods, and the solar panels lined the roof and shone against the sun.
The inlet went right to the small boat house, and Michael slowed and steered the vehicle in. He hit a button below the control panel, and as they rolled past the sandy beach in the crystal clear blue water, she saw the garage door open.
He parked and hopped out onto the deck, the small structure shaded and cool despite the burning sun outside. He reached up and offered her a hand; she took it and stepped off onto the old wooden boards. They quickly grabbed the few bags and supplies they had brought and headed toward the cabin.
The stone path was only a short way from the entrance. Brown eyes swept the tropical land. If not for the circumstances, Catherine would have been reveling in every aspect of the place. Flowers bloomed everywhere one looked, in shades of fuchsia, lavender, gold, and yellow, making it feel as if she was in a whole new world. Bright and dark greens splashed across the large, leathery leaves of the jungle, and streams and waterways seemed to make their way around the structure and toward the open waters. It truly was a private paradise.
Michael pulled out the radio he had brought. He had managed to set up a satellite here for Wi-Fi and phone calls, but he had brought the radio to keep tabs with security.
“Hey Robert, give me an update,” he asked the lead as he approached the door, pulled out a key, and unlocked it.
The radio crackled to life, and a faint voice came over the speaker, “We’ve had a sighting on the south end of the property within the last thirty minutes.”
“Damn it.” Michael cursed as he pushed the door open and hit the lights.
“Alright, keep me updated if he tries to get in again. You boys stay safe out there.”
“You got it, boss.”
He set the device on a small table beside the door then gestured for Catherine to follow him. She looked up as she walked in. The ceiling towering above her was made of native, caramel-colored wood, the walls were painted bright, floral colors to match the blossoms outside, and the windows let the natural light splash across the hardwood floors and over the intricate details of the place. A second level revealed a balcony with a master bedroom, and the downstairs held a large kitchen, living room, and dining room.
“Have you stayed here much?” she asked as she set her bag on the ground.
He shook his head as he dug through his bag. “A few times when we first got here, not for quite some time though.”
“It’s beautiful.” She spoke softly as she looked around and then returned a quiet gaze to his. He caught her look and sensed her concern, prompting him to stop rummaging and walk over to her, then pulling her close and kissing her head.
“I’m sorry, I know this isn’t how we wanted it to go. But right now, our priority is to stay safe, and that guy has me worried.”
She sighed. “I know, I just wish there was more we could do.”
He nodded. “Me too, but for now…” he took her hand and led her to the balcony. The view overlooked the rolling waves and white sand beaches. He smiled at her. “We wait in paradise.”