He took a seat and bounced his leg.

  Nerves.

  He’d not been so nervous in a while. Not while they were being chased or shot at. That was all survival instinct. Now he was in a nice hotel room with a beautiful woman with nothing to distract him.

  Nothing but words.

  They really needed to talk. It was a talk that he dreaded more and more with each passing moment.

  “I’ll have the house special.” She made the statement then left his side.

  Her warmth dissipated quickly and he tried to tap down his disappointment as he lifted the phone and placed the food order. The gentleman on the phone was efficient and gave an approximate time for their order. Levi lowered the phone onto the cradle and stared at it.

  “Are you all right?”

  The sound of her voice made him turn. She was staring directly at him, but from across the room. A strand of hair was on her index finger going around and around, again. Perhaps she was nervous too.

  “I’m fine. I guess I’m just coming down from that chase feeling. It’s hard to relax, you know?” He took a seat in a plush chair and attempted to get comfortable.

  “I do.” She moved closer and took a seat in the chair opposite him. She curled her legs to the side in front of her. The strand of hair had curled and now lay on her shoulder.

  He swallowed. It was there. He wanted to pick it up and feel the silken strands against his rough fingertips, but he would resist.

  “When the food gets here, let’s just eat, okay? I know we need to talk, I do, but I need a moment to collect my thoughts. Is that okay?”

  He nodded. What was he supposed to say? No, we’re talking now woman. Nope, that wasn’t it.

  His leg still bounced but now he was also drumming his fingers on the chair arm. He should have suggested they have completely separate rooms. Maybe on separate floors of the hotel.

  Her peach scent drifted toward him. She smelled good.

  She looked good.

  The clock ticking on the wall was the only sound. Mae played with a lose string on her maroon blouse, and he continued to bounce his leg and drum his fingers.

  There was a knock on the door and he jumped to his feet and raced toward it. He remembered to look through the peep hole barely. It was a waiter with a special pin on his lapel.

  He opened the door, and the tray was rolled in so he could grab it. The waiter had been told not to enter and that he would receive a sizeable tip when he returned to the kitchen without incident.

  Levi took the tray and closed and locked the door. The smells had him salivating. The food at the church had been delicious but with all the people he hadn’t been able to smell the food. Now he could smell everything and it was overwhelming.

  He removed the covered plates and put them on a small round table. Mae took one seat and he took the other. He bowed his head and assumed she was following suit. Then he said grace.

  “Thank you, Lord, for this food You have so graciously given us. May it nourish our bodies. Amen.”

  Mae opened her eyes and then lifted the lid from her plate. The chicken, boiled potatoes, and asparagus were colorful and smelled heavenly. The only difference in his order was mashed potatoes.

  They ate in silence as she’d asked. When the last bite hit his lips, his stomach clenched. He’d been with her for two days. Two days that had felt like an eternity. Once he found out why she’d been following him he would be gracious and forgiving.

  At least that was how he wanted to respond.

  ****

  Mae had eaten as slowly as she possibly could. After her last bite, her stomach had felt like it was in a thousand knots. How was she going to tell him the truth?

  Blurt it out?

  Give it to him piece by piece?

  Start at the beginning?

  Did she know everything? She wasn’t even sure anymore.

  “Let’s move to the couch.”

  He complied, but he didn’t speak.

  She followed him to the couch, took a seat on the end, and hugged a cushion to her chest.

  “Just spit it out, or build me a clock. Just start talking and the rest will come.”

  She knew he was right. All this build up was what was causing her anxiety and making it worse.

  “All right, here it goes.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “First of all, I assume that you already know that I was following you.”

  “Yes, for quite some time.”

  “Oh.” Well now she was even more disappointed in herself, if that was possible.

  “I was trained to watch for those things, so don’t feel bad.”

  “Of course.” Of course, he was trained to watch for that. She would have slapped her forehead if he wasn’t watching.

  He reached over and grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Whatever it is, I’m sure that we can figure it out. Just tell me.”

  She closed her eyes and then opened them, the strength of his touch and the kindness of his words gave her some hope that maybe after everything they would be friends. That was if he wasn’t a traitor like the government seemed to think.

  “Max Cooper.”

  “Yes, what about him?”

  “He wasn’t Max Cooper.”

  “Excuse me?” He’d taken his hand back and now he clutched both his hands in his lap. “B-but my friend did research on him and found out he was raised in foster care and—”

  “Max Cooper, the name, was made up. The history was true, although key facts were omitted.”

  “By whom?”

  “By Walter Gram.”

  Levi shook his head. “Maybe I’m stupid, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  She sighed. “Walter Gram was raised in foster care and his aunt did care for him, but before he joined the military, he was an employee for a government contractor. He was working on a portable laser that could pinpoint a target from a mile away using specialized lenses. The laser was still in the experimental phase, but was showing great promise. Some believe he figured out how to make the laser work. Anyway, Walter aka Max grew convinced that the government would use his invention for destructive purposes so he stole the design plans and disappeared.”

  She paused, but Levi didn’t speak so she continued.

  “The scientists who remained on the project attempted to reverse engineer the laser, but with no luck. They believe Walter built a specific code in the programming that was a mystery to everyone but him.” There was no proof of the code, but it was an excellent excuse for why they couldn’t get it to work. Mae was starting to wonder if it ever really worked or if the rumor of success had been passed along to encourage people to find Max and bring him back.

  “So Walter changed his name to Max and joined the military? Why would he do that if he was creating weapons he didn’t want our government to have?”

  “That is the million dollar question, and one that we will never have answered now. After researching him and studying him, I noticed that he always seemed to find a charity or someone to help while he was in the war torn area. Maybe he went to help where he could and not necessarily to fight. That was why he was killed, was it not?”

  “Sort of.” He squirmed.

  “I know that he stepped in front of a bullet meant for you, but I believe that your unit had gone to the city to deliver supplies to a local children’s hospital and you weren’t really supposed to be there.” She felt bad for putting him on the spot, but she wanted to know the truth.

  He squirmed again.

  At least that intel had been correct. She muttered, “Max had a conscience that wouldn’t quit.”

  “I understand what you’ve told me, as in I can reason what you’re saying. However, I don’t understand why you were following me.”

  She grabbed the edge of her shirt and squeezed the folds. Now was the moment of truth. So far, he didn’t seem to know anything about OPAL, but he’d been asking around about it so that might have been a farce. Even what he said at the park could have been a lie.

  “Go ahead.”

  “OPAL.”

  “Yes, what about her?”

  “Her?” She held her breath.

  “Yes, her. I told you in the park. Max asked me to look after Opal. And I’ve been trying my best, but nobody seems to know anything about her. Maybe her last name is Gram and that’s why I couldn’t find her. But he should have told me that.”

  “You really think it’s a woman?”

  “Well, of course. He told me to look after Opal. Who else would it be but a woman?”

  Mae jumped to her feet and placed her hand to her forehead. He really, truly thought it was a woman! This was perfect. Just perfect.

  He didn’t know the first thing about the laser, although Max—Walter—obviously was trying to tell him to take care of it. Which probably meant destroying the plans. Which meant he might have actually got it to work.

  That meant that Levi wasn’t a traitor. It meant that all her feelings that were developing for this ex-soldier weren’t a problem. It meant that the other people trying to kill them were wrong as well and they definitely need to find OPAL first.

  If they didn’t find OPAL first then those people chasing them would have to get rid of them so they couldn’t reveal what they knew later.

  She palmed her forehead.

  How could this get any more complicated?

  Chapter Seventeen

  The range of emotions flitting across Mae’s face was interesting to watch. First, she was elated, fist bumping the air, her face spread wide with a smile, as she walked fast across the length of the room. Then her mouth drooped at the corners. Her shoulders slumped. Her speech became slower and slurred.

  “I take it that you were pleased with what I said, but now something has displeased you.”

  She dropped onto her knees before him. “I’m glad you’re not a traitor.”

  “What?” He jumped to his feet, but she pushed him back down.

  “Listen to me, what I’m about to tell you must stay between us. It is going to be critical that we figure some things out rather quickly and I can’t keep going over the details.”

  All he could hear was his heart beating in his ears, but he said, “You have my attention.”

  “Walter—or Max, if you prefer, named the laser OPAL.”

  Now he was frowning.

  “When he died, he was trying to tell you to take care of it. Either to destroy the plans or to give them to the government, I’m not sure. I’d say the former is correct based on Max’s behavior. Anyway, those plans are not only wanted by the United States government, but by others as well.”

  “The Russian…”

  “Exactly. I would think that the Russian was working with several governments to locate OPAL.”

  “OPAL isn’t a woman?” He couldn’t believe this.

  “Indeed, OPAL is not a woman. OPAL is a fully Optimized Portable Automated Laser. Very precise, very deadly. The pinpoint accuracy of the laser is what makes it so special. The NSA has been tracking every item that could have been purchased to make a new one for the last five years. No one person has bought every piece so we’re fairly certain that Max didn’t make another one.”

  “You’re NSA?”

  “An analyst.”

  “No offense, but I can tell.”

  She laughed under her breath. “None taken. I told them that sending me into the field was a bad idea, but the FBI wanted someone with knowledge of what the laser looked like in case you had it.”

  He pointed to himself. “Could I have been carrying in on my person?”

  “Yes.”

  “It can be that small?” He sucked in a quick breath. He’d known that Max was smart but nothing had prepared him for this.

  “My understanding is that it could fit in one’s pocket and is completely undetectable by normal means such as metal detectors.”

  Levi lay back on the couch and studied the ceiling. “How did Max even come up with such a device?”

  “It was him and a team of scientists, but he was the primary source. Now you see why we need to find the plans.”

  “And destroy them.” He lifted his face to look at her. He hoped she agreed.

  “Agreed. The information is too dangerous. Just the thought that you might know about OPAL has had you followed by two groups of people and both of us almost killed.”

  “Do you think they want your knowledge or mine?”

  “Honestly, I think that they think you have a device.”

  “Why would they think that?”

  “Well…” she looked sheepishly at the floor.

  “Why…”

  “Because it has gone out over the wire that you might have knowledge and then, you know how the telephone game works, one person says something that gets misconstrued and it just keeps building and building.”

  “Great. Now they think I have a laser that can pinpoint a target and I didn’t know the first thing about it.” He ran his hand through his hair.

  “We have to get to Max’s home or where he liked to hang out or something. It’s important that we find those plans.”

  “That’s all well and good, but I have no idea where that is. We were friends in the military; I didn’t have time to know him outside of it.”

  “He didn’t live in base housing that I know.”

  “You mean the NSA has no records of Max Cooper’s living arrangements.”

  “None that I’ve found.” She paused. “He must have said something. If he thought that you could take care of the plans, he had to have given you a hint, something you could work with. Otherwise, how would he think you could take care of them?”

  Levi tried to remember the day of the shooting or any other conversation they might have had, but nothing came to mind.

  “Sadly, I lost some of memory after the landmine.”

  “I should have thought about that.” She gnawed on her lip and rose to her feet. He watched her as she paced the room once more. Once they found the plans and destroyed them, she would be out of his life. It wasn’t something he wanted to think about. The thought that he could drag out their time together crossed his mind, but he shouldn’t do that either. It wouldn’t be honest. And they could get killed in the process.

  Max!

  Why?

  ****

  Max had trusted Levi. Who wouldn’t? He was a Boy Scout. Mae just had to find a way to trigger his memories before it was too late. But first there was something she needed to say.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For?”

  “For not just telling you the truth and asking you what you knew. And then when you told me that story in the park, I didn’t exactly believe you.”

  The thought she hadn’t believed him made his stomach clench, but he could understand. The NSA and the FBI said he was a criminal. What was she supposed to think? “It’s all right. I forgive you.”

  “You do? How? I mean, I accused you of being a traitor.”

  He nodded. “True, but I’ve had my own share of sins. And when one is forgiven of much, it is easier to forgive others.” He paused. “Max taught me that. In fact, he taught a bunch of the guys that. We nicknamed him The Preacher, after all.”

  “Sounds like he continued the other side of him when he disappeared. I’ve found many incidents of him helping and discussing the Bible with people.”

  Levi rose to his feet and went to the window. He stood there for a while without speaking or moving. The cane was wrapped tightly in one hand.

  Poor Max had been accused of so many things. In the end he was just trying to preserve life. It was up to them to preserve his legacy. Mae had one thing that might work.

  “Levi?”

  He faced her.

  “Would you let me try something?”

  He cocked his brow, but nodded. She’d used this technique on a friend in college and tried to make him cluck like a chicken. He’d deserved more, but it didn’t matter because it hadn’t worked. She hoped this time she was more successful.

  “Will you sit in front of me, please?”

  He complied and took a seat next to her on the couch. She could have been easily distracted by his handsome features. He was even more handsome in this light. His bronzed skin glowed from the fresh shower. His blond hair had been washed and sat perfectly to one side without one hair out of place. His shoulders were broad and he had one tattoo on his upper arm with the word army etched above a cross.

  He was the model of perfection.

  “Are we doing something?”

  “Oh, yes, of course.” She cleared her throat. “I want you to close your eyes and only listen to my voice. Ignore all the other noises around you. Listen to the sound of my voice.”

  He closed his eyes.

  “We’re going to go back in time. You and Max and some of your other buddies are in the barracks and you’re getting ready for bed. There is a lot of conversation happening, but you aren’t paying attention to the noises around you, you are only listening to Max. Only listening to Max…”

  She gave him a minute to try and home in on that vision. “You and Max are talking. You’re discussing the day, the mission—”

  “The Bible. Max is telling me about the Bible.”

  “Yes, the Bible. He’s sharing verses with you about…”

  “About forgiveness. He’s sharing stories about David’s sin. About how David loved to hide in caves. David hid in a cave then went down and cut the hem of King Saul’s garment on more than one occasion. Max liked to think that the cave was a good place to hide. The cave…”

  Levi opened his eyes and looked at Mae. “I think I know where we need to start looking for OPAL.”

  Chapter Eighteen