No Way Out by Fern Michaels (great books for teens .TXT) 📗

the backyard. It was a half-acre of beautifully manicured shrubs, dogwoods, silver maples, an eastern redbud, and a magnolia that was on the verge of blooming. Toward the back of the property was a garden of azalea bushes and peonies, with a small fountain. A swing bench with a canopy was on one side of the fountain, and two Adirondack chairs were on the other. No wonder Jackson loved to come by every day. It was an oasis compared to their scraggly yard with the rusty swing set. Colleen couldn’t help but wonder why Ellie wouldn’t want to spend time in such a lovely place. Hector had certainly done a marvelous job. Buddy had already raised his head when he heard the buzzer at the gate. He wagged his tail, but remained on guard. Colleen was slowly approaching the swing when Jackson sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Mom. What are you doing here?” Buddy got up and greeted Colleen with one of his soft woofs.

“I came to get you for lunch.” Colleen looked around.

“I can see why you like to come here. It’s beautiful. And peaceful.” She sat down on the bench next to Jackson. “How are you doing, kiddo?”

“I’m good.” He stretched his arms over his head. “I guess I conked out.” He rubbed his eyes.

“You certainly did.” She put her arm around him and rocked the swing. Jackson put his head on her shoulder. “You ready for some lunch? You hardly had any breakfast.”

“Yes! I’m starved!” Jackson was surely ready for something to eat. “Tuna fish?”

“Coming right up. Let’s go.” Colleen took him by the hand, and Buddy followed them to the gate.

“Thanks, Buddy.” Jackson patted him on the head and pushed the buzzer for Ellie to release the gate. “Thanks, Ms. Bowman,” Jackson said to the air around him.

“You’re welcome.” Ellie’s voice came from the speaker next to the gate.

“See you tomorrow.” Ellie realized the irony in what she had just said. Or was it a dichotomy? She could see them, but they couldn’t see her. She had almost forgotten the dynamics. Seeing Jackson sleeping so peacefully with Buddy had helped to ease her mind after the nightmare that had wakened her that morning. She finally made up her mind. She would invite Colleen over. But first, she had to invite Hector into her house. That would only be right. After all, he was the reason she was there. She owed him that much. That is, assuming he cared. She thought about it again. Of course he cared.

Lunch had sounded like a good idea, so she went to the refrigerator and peeked inside. Time to make a shopping list. She took out a few eggs, some milk, cheddar cheese, bacon, and butter. There was a package of crescent dinner rolls in the refrigerator door. She checked the expiration date. There were still a few days left.

Sunday brunch sounded like a good idea. She looked for a split of champagne in the wine refrigerator and some pear nectar. Perfect. She’d make herself a Bellini.

That was something she missed—Sunday brunch with Kara. They would go to a restaurant, have a leisurely brunch, then go to an art exhibit. In the summer months, they would go to the park and listen to live music, usually a jazz combo or an ethnic band from the Caribbean. Once, there was an accordion player with a real monkey. The accordion player wasn’t all that great, but the monkey provided plenty of entertainment. He was a feisty little thing, trying to look up the ladies’ dresses. They wondered who the bigger pervert was, the player or the monkey. Someone must have taught that monkey his tricks. One of his favorites was picking a man’s wallet out of his pocket. But the player would never let the monkey keep the wallet, although once it was returned to its rightful owner, most owners felt compelled to give the monkey a reward. Seemed odd and contradictory, getting a reward for returning something that you had stolen. But it was all in good fun. Those were happier days, for sure. Maybe one day she would have happy days again. Baby steps.

She took her Bellini and one of the burner phones into her walk-in closet and made her weekly calls to her mother and Kara. Mom was first.

“Hey, Mom! How are you?” Ellie was feeling pretty chipper.

“Hey, sweetie. I’m doing fine. How’s my super-spy daughter doing?”

“Mom, I’m not a spy.” Ellie laughed.

“Well, with all the secrecy, you’d think you were working for the CIA.”

Ellie was quiet for a moment.

“Honey?”

“Yes, Mom, you’d think that, wouldn’t you?” It occurred to her that a CIA gig wouldn’t be such a bad cover. She’d use that if things ever got out of hand.

“So, when is this secret mission of yours going to be over? We miss you.”

“I miss you, too. I wish I had enough information to give you, but I honestly don’t know. Once I’m finished here, they’re going to send me somewhere else.” She was running out of countries in her head.

“Well, I hope they’re not sending you to some ungodly places with terrorists and all.”

“Now, Mom, we discussed this before. I am not in any physical danger,” she lied.

“I should hope not. But I’ve heard some of these government contract jobs are in remote areas of the world. In uncivilized areas.”

Ellie moved a few pair of shoes to get more comfortable. This was going to be a long make-Mom-feel-OK conversation.

“I can assure you I am not in an uncivilized area.” She picked up one of her sneakers, gave it a disgusted look, and tossed it aside. “It is remote, but not in a bad way.”

“Can you explain further, or would that be a breach of your contract?” her mother prodded.

“I’m not in Antarctica. That much I can tell you.” At least that much was true.

“That’s reassuring.” Her mother laughed quietly. “Do you have any idea how much longer this is going to be?” Ellie’s mother asked the same question week