Tell Me No Lies: The Black Orchid, Book 1 by Magnolia Smith Page A

will be up at eight-thirty to get your bags,” forced another cheery grin, “and the driver will be here at nine to take you to the airport.”
    “But, I thought—”
    “I have an early meeting that I can’t reschedule and then I’ll be flying out immediately afterwards.” I rushed the words out before I could feel the pain of lying to her.
    “To Spain.”
    “To Spain.”
    “When did all this happen? It’s not even 6:00 a.m.?”
    “I’ve been up for an hour at least.” I nodded toward my open laptop and shrugged. “Work never ends.”
    “I changed my travel plans. I’ve missed orientation. You said we could stay through the end of the week. Maybe even longer.” She closed her eyes and sighed.
    “I don’t want it to end, but we both know it must.” I smiled at her, even though inside I felt sick. “The real world beckons.”
    She made a soft mewling sound, wrapped her arms around me, tucked her head under my chin and nuzzled her face on my chest. “What happens now?”
    “I’ll be in Spain for a few weeks or months, however long it takes to get the job done. You’ll be enrolling in school.”
    She sighed. “And then?”
    “We will stay in touch. I’ll write you. I’ll email you. I’ll call you, and when we can swing it, we’ll see each other. I’ll come to where you are, and sometimes you’ll come to me.” I cupped her chin with my hand and brought her face to mine. “We’ll make this work.”
    I kissed her lips, sweetly, gently.
    She kissed me back. “You promise?”
    I gazed into her beautiful gold-flecked brown eyes. “I promise.”
    And then she was gone.
    I had lied. My meeting was later. My plane left later. I just couldn’t bear to take her to the airport, pretending to be happy and wave goodbye as she walked away from me.
    Theodore, the bartender, handed me a bottle of cold Red Stripe beer with a wide grin, and I downed half in one gulp. I missed her so much it hurt. But it had to be done. I didn’t have a regular job. Didn’t live in a regular place, and I wasn’t a regular guy. It was all make-believe. But I was committed to making it work.
    Two beers and a plate of jerk chicken later, I glanced at my phone. It was time. And then I looked up. Mark was right on time. The only person on the beach in a flowered shirt, khaki pants, ghostly white legs and arms and a sunburned pate.
    I extended my hand. “What brings you out here, Mark?”
    He shook my hand and sat down. “Not good news, I’m sorry to stay.”
    I gestured for Theodore to bring Mark a beer. “It must be pretty serious for you to leave the cushy confines of your Reston estate.”
    He accepted his beer from the bartender and took a swig. “We’ve relocated your parents.”
    Relocated. That was The Group’s version of the witness protection program. In the rare cases that an operative became compromised and his family was in danger, they were given new identities, money necessary to start over, new careers and a new residence.
    “What happened?”
    “Your last target, his son has placed a bounty on your head and anyone you love.”
    “So my parents are safe. Thank you. That was fast work.”
    “They’re in Bolivia right now, but we’ll eventually move them to Canada when the heat is off. Don’t worry. They’re happy. They’re good. Just don’t contact them until I let you know it’s safe. Until the threat has been removed.
    “Of course, you can best believe someone has already been sent here to watch you. You can count on that, so consider your every move from the moment you killed the target and the body was recovered tracked.”
    Rain.
    “We’ll secret you off the island, get you to Spain. From then on, you’re to follow the Evado Protocol.
    Evado. Latin for evasive. I nodded, though I felt sick to my stomach. Rain.
    “Until we figure out who is hunting you and remove them, you’re not safe. You’re to effectively disappear. Starting when I leave this bar.”
    Mark looked up and glanced at