Page 85 of Secrets Beneath the Waves
Mark narrowed his eyes. For a moment, she thought he might refuse to return it—or worse, turn it on her. If he were the mole, which she was convinced for the first time was possible, then he was a threat she had to take seriously.
What if she had to take it from him? She knew at least a dozen moves, but none that wouldn’t make him even more suspicious of her.
“Mark, I’m not playing. Give me my gun.”
She was seconds away from taking it from him.
That seemed to give him pause. Slowly, he stepped forward and held out the gun, grip-first.
When her fingers closed around it, relief surged through her. But the way he handed it over, expertly, deliberately, left her shaken.
She forced a smile, hoping it didn’t look as brittle as it felt.
“I don’t like to be lied to,” Mark said, his voice low and steady, but his eyes betrayed something deeper, hurt, maybe even fear. “I thought . . . I thought we were starting to trust each other, Ellie. Was that just me?”
It seemed like he was genuinely hurt, but so many red flags were going off inside of her, she couldn’t sort them all out.
“Mark,” she said softly, her voice barely audible over the sound of the waves. “I’m not lying to you.”
Of course, that’s exactly what she was doing. Ellie’s heart twisted at his words.Trust.The tone in his voice hit her like a gut punch.
How could she explain that she hadn’t lied to him out of malice, but necessity?
She watched the flicker of something raw in his eyes. Disgust at her or a flash of evil?
“Whatever,” he said.
She was the one who didn’t believe him now. His statement that his father was a policeman replayed in her mind, and it felt like a rehearsed line, not a truth. Like her fake line, working in bank security.
The rest of the walk back to the restaurant parking lot was awkward, the easy laughter and warmth from earlier gone. Ellie could hear the soft rush of waves behind them, but the sound only made the silence between them feel heavier. When they reached the parking lot, Mark hesitated, his hands in his pockets.
“Goodnight, Ellie,” he said finally, his tone distant.
She nodded and watched as he climbed into his car and drove away, the taillights disappearing into the darkness. He didn’t even hug her goodbye.
How could she have let this happen?
She’d been trained to compartmentalize, to separate work from personal entanglements, but tonight, she’d blurred the line. Worse, she’d let her guard down. For what? A charming smile, a shared laugh, the illusion of normalcy?
I let him kiss me.
Stupid, Ellie.
She could hear her father’s voice in her head, sharp and reprimanding.Feelings get you killed, Ellie. You’re being reckless.
Could Mark be the mole? That’s the question playing in her mind. Her dad had warned that she didn’t know him.
By the time she reached her house, Ellie had made a decision. Whatever this thing was with Mark, whatever fragile connection they’d started to build, was over. She had to focus, to stay sharp. One of these three men could be the mole, and she wasn’t going to let her heart cloud her judgment again.
She couldn’t trust any of them, and yet she needed to get close to all of them.
She picked up her phone and sent a text to Mark as a new idea popped into her head.
Sorry about earlier.
She stared at the screen, her emotions a tangle of frustration and longing. Waiting for a response.
The phone rang. She jumped.
