Love Behind Lies

Chapter 6

Dinner seemed to be going fine, but I was more focused on tonight’s meeting. I couldn’t tell if I was nervous or scared. I was pretty sure that when Margaret told me that she though the four boys followed her home, I was scared. I knew that I would be fine because William would be with me. Right?
I was focusing on that thought when there was a knock at the door. I looked up at William and he looked nervous. Margaret looked scared too. My mom got up and answered the door, opening it wide enough for all of us too see who it was. There was a delivery man dressed in his uniform, on our front porch.
“Hi, my name is Max. I am here to deliver your new T.V.” He looked really young.
“Oh, well I don’t think that I ordered a T.V,” my mom said.
“It says that it’s a gift from Richard Stone.”
That was my dad’s name! Why would he send a gift without us knowing? He would never do that. Just then I knew this wasn’t right. This must have been what I was feeling earlier. I looked at the man closer. I gasped and the delivery man looked straight at me, smiling wickedly. It was Sam Knight. I looked away and glanced over at William. Sam had stopped looking at me and was now looking at Margaret, who was really confused. I mouthed ‘Sam’ to William and he stood up. My mom turned around and looked at William.
“Yeah, we don’t know a Richard Stone, so if you could please leave, I think you have the wrong house,” William lied.
“William, honey –,” Mom tried to say.
William interrupted her. “Come on mom, just shut the door and we can finish eating our dinner,” William said. He pointed at the telephone and mouthed Brent’s name to me.
“Are you sure you don’t know who Richard Stone is?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, we are sure,” William said as he shut the door.
I ran upstairs and grabbed my cell phone. I called Brent’s number.
“Hello?” Brent asked on the other line.
“Brent! We need help. Loren and his friends are hiding around our house and Sam –,” I tried to say, but Brent cut me off.
“Catherine, relax,” Brent said.
“What?”
“You’re fine.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“We are watching your house because we were notified that those four boys had followed your sister home. We just got to your house and we were walking around the back, checking the yard.”
“So that’s why no one stopped Sam, then.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sam just tried to get into our house. He said that we had ordered a new T.V.”
“What? Did you guys figure it out?”
“Yeah, we made sure he didn’t make it into the house.”
“Well sorry that we couldn’t help. I thought we had more time before they made a move, and we couldn’t be seen. Sorry again.” Brent paused for a moment, almost as if to think. “Okay, so instead of the meeting on the street we are going to come into your window on the second floor. It will be just me and Evan. Jake is going to stay and watch the house along with two other men. Have William in your room in ten minutes without anyone knowing anything. And make sure you lock all the doors and windows.”
“Okay, sounds good,” I said.
“Oh did you talk to your brother about having a little bit of alone time with me?” Brent asked, calmer now.
“Yeah, he said I could, but only for a little bit.”
“Ok, I will see you in ten minutes then,” Brent said, hanging up.

I looked at my phone and then the time. It was almost 8:30pm. I was guessing Brent would be here soon, so I calmly went downstairs to find William. Everyone was sitting back down like nothing had ever happened.
“Hi,” I said.
“Where did you go?” Mom asked.
“I had to go write myself a note to remind myself about something,” I lied.
“Oh, ok.”
Everyone was done eating a few minutes later. William and I offered to clean up the dishes and then went around the house and locked all the doors and windows. Then we both went upstairs. We had a few minutes to kill before Brent and Evan showed up.
“What did you tell Mom after I left?” I asked.
“I just told her that Sam was trying to get into our house that we should lock all the doors,” William replied.
“So she seemed to really believe it?”
“Yeah, I think so. Did you call Brent?”
“Yeah, he said that he was going to watch the house with four other men because people had told him that those boys had followed Margaret home. I guess they were in the backyard looking for signs of Sam trying to get in the house from the back, so they missed Sam in the front of the house. I guess Brent didn’t expect Sam to try to get in the front so easily like that. Brent also doesn’t want us to leave the house tonight, so he is going to come here and climb up through the window.”
“Oh, okay, I guess that all makes sense. How is he getting up here then?”
“Maybe a ladder? But Brent is brining Evan with him and he still wants that ‘alone’ time,” I said.
Just then there was a knock on the window that made me jump. William got up and looked out. Brent was somehow right outside the window. William opened frame and Brent climbed in, followed quickly by Evan.
“Hi,” I said. Brent looked amazing. He looked even hotter that he did the last time I saw him. I couldn’t believe it. He was wearing another tight t-shirt, showing off his muscles. He was pretty tan, probably from working outside and his skin looked so soft, I just wanted to touch it. His hair was messed up a little bit because of the wind outside. I really like his hair that way. It made him look even more attractive. I couldn’t take my eyes away.
“Hi,” Brent said, a little out of breath, which was totally sexy.
“How did you get up here? This high?” I asked, Brent’s presence still having an effect on me.
Brent smiled before responding, obviously noticing my eyes roaming all over his body. “We have a ladder that extends really high and is still really strong.”
I got up and looked out the window. Sure enough there was a really long ladder leaning against the side of the house. I turned around and sat on my bed right next to William. Brent was sitting on my desk chair and Evan decided to stay standing.
“Hi, William. I’m Evan, director of the American 33 Spy Organization, otherwise known as the ASO.” Evan paused before continuing. “This is Brent. He is my top spy in his division right now and at the moment he has been traveling around with me. Brent and his friend Jake work together a lot. Anyway, Jake is leaving and Brent needs a new partner and I suggested that it be a girl. I believe that Catherine has told you everything about your dad and stuff, so I don’t need to go into detail about why this is happening,” Evan said.
“Yes, Kate told me a lot about what is going on,” William said. I couldn’t tell if Will thought that that was a good thing or not.
“Yes, and not to be rude, but we need someone on watch. Would you mind standing at the door in case someone decides to enter, William?” Evan asked, being totally serious.
“No, I don’t mind at all. Whatever you need,” William said and walked over to my bedroom door. I loved my brother; he would do anything for me.
“Catherine, do you have any questions for us?” Evan asked, now looking at me.
I paused, trying to think of a reasonable question for Evan and Brent. “Yeah, what I am looking for?” I asked. I didn’t know what to expect for an answer.
“Good question. Well, while you are still in the states, look for any suspicious activity coming from the boys. You probably won’t see a lot of activity concerning your dad and Italy from the boys now, but you can always keep an eye out for other activities. I have heard that one of the boys sells drugs, but we never finalized that information.” Evan paused because William and I were looking at each other, both of us thinking about Margaret and her situations.
“What’s going on?” Brent asked, noticing the exchange between me and William.
“Oh, nothing,” I said, sounding nervous, trying to get the attention off of me.
“Okay then...” Evan said, a little confused. “As I was saying, some clues would be the boys skipping classes or walking around suspiciously or even passing notes. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, I think so,” I said. Brent was scaring me. He must be very serious about his job. That is probably why he is the top spy in his division at ASO.
“I am sure that Brent will inform you about stuff you need to look out for while you are on your trip too. If you ever have any other questions then you can just ask Brent or me. Ok?” Evan finished off.
“Ok,” I said. Well that was quick. Evan must have somewhere he needs to be, but I guess they did say this meeting was going to be short.
“Ok, well, Brent told me that he wanted to talk to you for a little bit, alone. I am going to go down the ladder and walk around the house a few times and William can leave. I think that there might be something going on down there. I can hear extra voices. Brent, you can just come down whenever you’re done,” Evan said as he climbed out the window.

A few minutes later, it was just Brent and me in my room. Brent came over to my bed and sat down next to me. I was nervous and my hands were shaking. I had never really had a boy in my room before, besides my brothers. Brent was just making me nervous. He must have noticed my hands shaking because he slowly took my hands in his, making me feel more relaxed almost instantly.
“Cat, you okay?” Brent asked.
“What? I mean, yeah, I’m okay,” I managed to get out. Since when did I have a new nickname? I could barely form coherent sentences without Brent calling me names, now I could even think straight. Brent’s words sent my mind on a whirlwind I couldn’t control. I was pretty sure Brent was saying something to me, but I wasn’t really paying attention. Whenever Brent looked at me, my stomach filled with butterflies. How was I supposed to save my dad when the guy next to me basically makes me stop thinking just by his presence?
“Ok, good. I want to talk to you about something.”
“What do you want to talk to me about?”
“Well, I am a freshman in college, and you are a junior in high school…”
“Yeah,” I said, still trying to figure out where he was going with this.
“So, I am not trying to sounds creepy or anything, but I’ve been watching you lately, especially for my job, trying to figure out who you are as a person. What you like to do, who you hang out with, what you eat, stuff like that. Anyway, I like what I have found, again, not trying to sound creepy. You’re a really interesting girl and I would really like to get to know you better before this trip. You have this feeling you give off and for some reason I just want to protect you and take care of you. I really don’t know why I feel that way, but I first noticed it when I first laid eyes on you.” Brent paused, and I was trying to make sense of what he was saying. “Well I guess, I dunno, you’re a super sweet girl, and I really want you to understand that I want to take care of you, protect you.”
I didn’t know what to say. Was he asking me to be his girlfriend? What was he trying to tell me? I looked at our hands and then back up at Brent. My mouth was open, but no words were coming out.
“It’s fine, Cat, there’s nothing you need to say. I just wanted to let you know what’s been going through my mind, so we are on the same page.”
“Ok, yeah that’s fine,” I said, not really knowing what I was agreeing to.
I looked at Brent again, his eyes were shining and he was smiling at me. He looked happy, but I didn’t really know why. I liked Brent, I really did, and I could see him being an amazing boyfriend. I mean that’s kind of what he was implying wasn’t it? I guess I will just have to see how everything plays out.
Brent looked at me and raised his hand, his fingers brushing against my cheek bone, which of course made me blush and Brent smiled. I thought he was going to kiss me, but Brent just pulled me into him, giving me a hug that made my heart melt. He was such a sweet guy. Brent had a really great personality, from what I have seen. He’s super dedicated to his work and exerts a lot of energy doing so. I’m sure a lot of people like him and admire him, since he’s so good at his job. And of course, Brent’s natural looks help attract people. So why did he chose me? There’s nothing special about me…
We were both sitting there, him holding me, my brain going wild, when there was a loud sound outside. Brent stood up quickly and looked out the window.
“Damn,” he paused. “The ladder’s gone. The boys must have taken it knowing I was still in here. I have to call Evan.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked, calmly.
“I don’t know. Just let me call Evan real quick, okay Cat?”
Then Brent got out his phone and pressed one button. He listened to the phone as it started to ring.
“Hello?” a voice said, interrupting the rings.
“Hi, who is this?” Brent asked.
“This is Loren Dorn and I bet that you are looking for Evan.”
“What did you do to him?”
“Nothing…yet.”
“What do you want Loren?”
“I want to talk to Catherine.” Loren responded. I must have looked really confused because Brent came over and sat right next to me, resting his hand on my lower back. My stomach was in butterflies again. He looked worried and still hadn’t responded to what Loren had said.
“How did you know about her?” Brent asked Loren.
“Evan told me. I had to work it out of him.”
“Fine. Why do you want her?”
By then I knew who they were talking about. Loren wanted me. Brent didn’t know why, but he wasn’t too happy about it. Why would Loren and the rest of the boys want me? Why not Margaret?
“I want her because she is something that is very special to you and your program. I know why you need her Brent.”
“Can I talk to Evan?” Brent asked, ignoring Loren’s statement.
“You can come out here and talk to him as long as you bring Catherine.”
“Well, I need to get out somehow.” Brent sounded mad.
“Oh, right. One minute,” Loren responded.
“Fine, where do I meet you?”
“You mean ‘we’,” Loren paused, putting emphasis on the ‘we’ part. “And I’ll have Sam bring you to us. See you soon,” Loren said, and hung up.
Brent just looked at the phone.
“What just happened?” I asked.
“Ok, I’m sorry Cat, but they want you,” Brent responded.
“What?”
“Don’t worry. I’m here to keep you safe. I just need to see what is going on. I just need you to trust me. Promise me that you will trust me?”
“I promise,” I said, not sure what I was getting into. I was scared and didn’t know what to do.