Kingston Kidnappings (What Happens In Vegas Book 3) by Matt Lincoln (great book club books .txt) 📗

Once I had everything packed and ready to go, I headed out toward Harry’s place. Amber wouldn’t be there today, so, unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to give her the gift in person, but at least Harry would be able to on my behalf. I was almost to Harry’s house when I noticed another large brown delivery truck like the one I’d seen the clumsy delivery man driving the previous night. I’d never paid much attention to them before the conversation I’d had with Miranda last night. Now that I thought about it, it really did seem like a difficult job. I was used to making the drive up the mountain, but I could imagine that it must be frightening for someone to make the drive up the narrow and winding roads in such a large vehicle.

The thought was quickly wiped from my mind as I crested up the final hill to Harry’s house and found Amber at the door. She was wearing a bright pink, pointed party hat and sprinted toward me as soon as I got out of the car.

“Hey, little monster,” I smiled as she ran up to me with a wide grin on her face. “I didn’t know you were going to be here today.”

“It was a surprise,” she laughed. “Are you surprised?”

“I am,” I smiled down at her. I picked her up and was almost to the door when Eliza poked her head out.

“Hey Charlie,” she grinned. “Harry called and said you wouldn’t be able to make it to Amber’s party because you were going on a mission. So, we decided to just come up here early.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” I replied awkwardly.

“I know,” Eliza chirped as she took Amber from me. “But we wanted to. It doesn’t matter what day we celebrate. The point is to have everyone together.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, feeling both grateful and guilty. “I’m glad I get to be here for it.”

“Shut that door!” Harry called from the den. “You’re letting all the cold air out!” Eliza smiled and rolled her eyes as she complied.

“Well, come on,” she commanded as she steered me further into the house. “Amber’s been bursting to open her presents and get at her cake.”

“Of course,” I smiled. “Can’t keep the birthday girl waiting.”

I felt all the residual stress from the previous day melt away as I watched Amber place a bright blue party hat on Harry while her mom started lighting candles on her cake. Not for the first time, I felt grateful that I had the opportunity to spend this time with my family before I had to leave for my mission.

15

Naomi

The stiff pages of the old photo album crackled as I turned them. I looked down at the faces of my family members as they smiled up at me, and I clenched my teeth before slamming the photo album shut.

I hadn’t seen any of my family in years. My parents, specifically, I’d been estranged from since I’d turned twenty-one. I hadn’t wanted to cut contact with the rest of my family, but their loss had been an unfortunate consequence of severing any ties I had with my parents. I’d made peace with the fact that I would never see them again, and now that I was going to be returning to the Caribbean, I was gripped by an intense, if unreasonable, fear that I might accidentally run into them.

I understood, of course, why Wallace wanted me to go with Charlie to Jamaica. Most of my childhood had been split living between India and the Caribbean. I spoke Patois, Hindu, and even a bit of French, which would be extremely beneficial to us during our investigation. Obviously, I would be the ideal agent to send. It wouldn’t make sense to send Miranda with me because although Jamaica has made a lot of strides as far as the advancement of equal rights for women, it could still be a dangerous place for women to travel alone. Not that I thought that either Miranda or I couldn’t handle ourselves against any man that tried to come up against us, but it would just make the entire mission progress more smoothly if a man were to come with me. It was an awful, unfair truth that I didn’t like to acknowledge, but I would be foolish not to recognize the reality of it.

Even knowing all that, I still didn’t want to go. I knew it was ridiculous. My parents didn’t even live in Jamaica. Last I’d heard, they were living several islands to the south in Trinidad. But after what they’d done, and what they’d tried to force me to do, the very thought of even crossing paths with them again made my stomach churn.

I shoved the photo album back into the dark corner of the storage closet I’d pulled it from, then went into my bedroom to change. I put on a tank top and a pair of soft jogging pants before pulling my hair into a ponytail. It was early enough in the morning that the temperature wouldn’t be too hot yet, and I thought that a jog might help to clear my mind.

I headed straight for Pueblo Park, which was close enough to my house to jog to. I didn’t like jogging around the neighborhood because I disliked having to breathe in the smell of car exhaust while I was running, and I honestly just didn’t like my neighbors very much. Miranda had accused me of being a snob on more than one occasion, but I at least had the credentials and skills to justify my confidence. The people who lived around me walked around as if they were better than everyone else just because they happened to have more money, and I couldn’t stand their undeserved arrogance.

The park was nearly empty this early in the morning, and I savored the solitary and peaceful run. As I rounded