A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire 1)

Garrett crouched down on the other side of Joe’s still form and did his own check of the man’s pulse, bolstered by the fact that at least there was one. Parker looked stunned and bewildered. Garrett quickly reached across Joe to cup her cheek in his hand and force her eyes up to his.

“It’s okay, we’re going to get him help,” Garrett assured her.

He hoped like hell he wasn’t lying to her right now. It wouldn’t be easy for her to make sense of the garbage he spouted or his reasons for doing it under normal circumstances. If her father was shot and killed right in front of her, before she got any kind of explanation about his sudden reappearance in her life, he was afraid to think about what that would do to her. She was hanging on by a thread as it was. While he continued to keep an eye on Joe’s heart rate and bent down to listen to his labored breaths, he glanced up at Parker as she sat on her knees with her arms wrapped around her waist, staring down at her father’s still form.

Garrett’s cell phone rang and he took his eyes away from Parker’s long enough to answer it.

“He’s got a pulse, but it’s slow. Did you hear any shots?”

Parker listened to Garrett’s steady voice as he questioned Brady, instead of focusing on the fact that her father, whom she hadn’t spoken to in a decade, was dying on the floor in front of her. Parker refused to believe the last words she would ever hear him say to her were lies. She wondered if by some crazy chance everything he said was true.

“Negative. Whoever it was used a silencer. Call Captain Risner immediately and get an extra team in here for back-up. One of them should be on stand-by and ready to deploy at our command.”

Garrett gave a few more orders, and Parker partially listened to him as her brain processed every single word her father said to her that evening.

The next few hours were a blur of people rushing around, answering questions for medical personnel, and trying to make sense of the night’s events. On top of it all, they still needed to maintain their undercover positions as husband and wife on the off chance that Fernandez had nothing to do with the shooting.

Garrett remained calm and in control through everything, keeping his arm around Parker to hold her upright, making and receiving calls from the team periodically, and leaving her side only once, just long enough to get her a cup of coffee.

Joe was initially taken Hospiten Bavaro, the local hospital only a few short miles away from their resort. Once he was stabilized, they transported him a few hours away to the much larger Hospiten Santo Domingo. Garrett and Parker followed the ambulance the entire way and had made themselves comfortable in the waiting room after Joe went immediately into surgery.

Garrett avoided asking Parker any questions about her father during the drive to the second hospital, not wanting to open up that can of worms until she was ready. Instead, he concentrated on getting an additional SEAL team to the Dominican as soon as possible and briefing Captain Risner on the status of events. Risner assured Garrett that he knew nothing about Parker’s father or his surprise visit to them. Garrett ended the call with an assurance that Risner would send back-up to them within the next few hours, and Garrett promised Risner that as soon as he found out more information about Parker’s father, he would call him.

Garrett slid his cell phone into the pocket of his pants and walked across the waiting room lobby to Parker. She had her back to him, leaning against a marble column and staring out of one of the dark windows.

Parker heard Garrett’s footsteps behind her and let out a huge sigh of relief when she felt his arms wrap around her waist and felt his chin rest on top of her head. She closed her eyes and turned in his arms, sliding her hands up his chest and draping her arms around his neck. Garrett leaned down and placed a soft kiss to her lips, pulling back far enough to look at her.

“How are you doing?” Garrett asked, watching as Parker slowly opened her eyes to him.

“Honestly? I have no idea,” Parker replied. “My father just showed up in the Dominican Republic, over two thousand miles away from his home, to tell me he works for the CIA, and then he’s gunned down right in front of me. It sounds even more insane when I say it out loud. What did your Captain say?”

Garrett shrugged. “Pretty much what I expected. He knows nothing about Joe or why he would be here in the middle of our mission claiming he was CIA.”

Parker pulled out of Garrett’s arms and began pacing in front of him.

“How crazy would I sound right now if I tell you that I’m actually considering that what he said is true?” Parker asked.

Garrett stuck his hands in his pockets so his arms wouldn’t feel so empty after Parker moved out of them and stared at her as she walked back and forth in front of him biting one of her nails.

“Did you call Agent Richmond and see if he could verify anything?” Garrett asked.

“Yeah, he didn’t answer. I left him a message,” Parker replied as she stopped pacing. “I left him a message this morning too when you were in the bathroom and told him I wanted to speak to him about Lacie. There was so much going on I forgot until just now that he never returned that call.”

Garrett didn’t like the sound of that. He was pretty sure the CIA didn’t just ignore phone calls from one of their agents.

“Do you think that bullet was meant for one of us?” Parker asked.

“I don’t think so. There have been plenty of opportunities for whoever it was to take us out. Neither one of us were out in the open when the shot was fired. I was covered by the door and you were covered by your dad. Whoever made that shot meant for it to hit Joe.”

Parker had already thought everything Garrett said on the drive over to the hospital. She didn’t know if she felt justified or more confused to hear him voice the same theory out loud.

“If my father isn’t really with the CIA, never had me recruited as some misguided form of protection, then why in the hell would anyone want to shoot him?” Parker asked.

“Maybe all roads really do lead back to Fernandez,” Garrett said with a shrug. “He knew we were getting too close, and he did something to scare us into going away.”

Parker was shaking her head before he finished talking.

“Fernandez is too smart for something like that. He’d know that shooting my father would only force me to work harder at finding out what was going on.”

Garrett thought for a moment.

“Someone that works for Fernandez has maybe gone off on his or her own. Maybe Fernandez did something to piss off the wrong person. Maybe if we do finally piece everything together, Fernandez won’t be the only one implicated when things go bad. You know people like him never do their own dirty work anyway.”

Garrett and Parker both knew exactly who Garrett was referring to when he said it, though, neither one of them would say his name out loud.

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Garrett crouched down on the other side of Joe’s still form and did his own check of the man’s pulse, bolstered by the fact that at least there was one. Parker looked stunned and bewildered. Garrett quickly reached across Joe to cup her cheek in his hand and force her eyes up to his.

“It’s okay, we’re going to get him help,” Garrett assured her.

He hoped like hell he wasn’t lying to her right now. It wouldn’t be easy for her to make sense of the garbage he spouted or his reasons for doing it under normal circumstances. If her father was shot and killed right in front of her, before she got any kind of explanation about his sudden reappearance in her life, he was afraid to think about what that would do to her. She was hanging on by a thread as it was. While he continued to keep an eye on Joe’s heart rate and bent down to listen to his labored breaths, he glanced up at Parker as she sat on her knees with her arms wrapped around her waist, staring down at her father’s still form.

Garrett’s cell phone rang and he took his eyes away from Parker’s long enough to answer it.

“He’s got a pulse, but it’s slow. Did you hear any shots?”

Parker listened to Garrett’s steady voice as he questioned Brady, instead of focusing on the fact that her father, whom she hadn’t spoken to in a decade, was dying on the floor in front of her. Parker refused to believe the last words she would ever hear him say to her were lies. She wondered if by some crazy chance everything he said was true.

“Negative. Whoever it was used a silencer. Call Captain Risner immediately and get an extra team in here for back-up. One of them should be on stand-by and ready to deploy at our command.”

Garrett gave a few more orders, and Parker partially listened to him as her brain processed every single word her father said to her that evening.

The next few hours were a blur of people rushing around, answering questions for medical personnel, and trying to make sense of the night’s events. On top of it all, they still needed to maintain their undercover positions as husband and wife on the off chance that Fernandez had nothing to do with the shooting.

Garrett remained calm and in control through everything, keeping his arm around Parker to hold her upright, making and receiving calls from the team periodically, and leaving her side only once, just long enough to get her a cup of coffee.

Joe was initially taken Hospiten Bavaro, the local hospital only a few short miles away from their resort. Once he was stabilized, they transported him a few hours away to the much larger Hospiten Santo Domingo. Garrett and Parker followed the ambulance the entire way and had made themselves comfortable in the waiting room after Joe went immediately into surgery.

Garrett avoided asking Parker any questions about her father during the drive to the second hospital, not wanting to open up that can of worms until she was ready. Instead, he concentrated on getting an additional SEAL team to the Dominican as soon as possible and briefing Captain Risner on the status of events. Risner assured Garrett that he knew nothing about Parker’s father or his surprise visit to them. Garrett ended the call with an assurance that Risner would send back-up to them within the next few hours, and Garrett promised Risner that as soon as he found out more information about Parker’s father, he would call him.

Garrett slid his cell phone into the pocket of his pants and walked across the waiting room lobby to Parker. She had her back to him, leaning against a marble column and staring out of one of the dark windows.

Parker heard Garrett’s footsteps behind her and let out a huge sigh of relief when she felt his arms wrap around her waist and felt his chin rest on top of her head. She closed her eyes and turned in his arms, sliding her hands up his chest and draping her arms around his neck. Garrett leaned down and placed a soft kiss to her lips, pulling back far enough to look at her.

“How are you doing?” Garrett asked, watching as Parker slowly opened her eyes to him.

“Honestly? I have no idea,” Parker replied. “My father just showed up in the Dominican Republic, over two thousand miles away from his home, to tell me he works for the CIA, and then he’s gunned down right in front of me. It sounds even more insane when I say it out loud. What did your Captain say?”

Garrett shrugged. “Pretty much what I expected. He knows nothing about Joe or why he would be here in the middle of our mission claiming he was CIA.”

Parker pulled out of Garrett’s arms and began pacing in front of him.

“How crazy would I sound right now if I tell you that I’m actually considering that what he said is true?” Parker asked.

Garrett stuck his hands in his pockets so his arms wouldn’t feel so empty after Parker moved out of them and stared at her as she walked back and forth in front of him biting one of her nails.

“Did you call Agent Richmond and see if he could verify anything?” Garrett asked.

“Yeah, he didn’t answer. I left him a message,” Parker replied as she stopped pacing. “I left him a message this morning too when you were in the bathroom and told him I wanted to speak to him about Lacie. There was so much going on I forgot until just now that he never returned that call.”

Garrett didn’t like the sound of that. He was pretty sure the CIA didn’t just ignore phone calls from one of their agents.

“Do you think that bullet was meant for one of us?” Parker asked.

“I don’t think so. There have been plenty of opportunities for whoever it was to take us out. Neither one of us were out in the open when the shot was fired. I was covered by the door and you were covered by your dad. Whoever made that shot meant for it to hit Joe.”

Parker had already thought everything Garrett said on the drive over to the hospital. She didn’t know if she felt justified or more confused to hear him voice the same theory out loud.

“If my father isn’t really with the CIA, never had me recruited as some misguided form of protection, then why in the hell would anyone want to shoot him?” Parker asked.

“Maybe all roads really do lead back to Fernandez,” Garrett said with a shrug. “He knew we were getting too close, and he did something to scare us into going away.”

Parker was shaking her head before he finished talking.

“Fernandez is too smart for something like that. He’d know that shooting my father would only force me to work harder at finding out what was going on.”

Garrett thought for a moment.

“Someone that works for Fernandez has maybe gone off on his or her own. Maybe Fernandez did something to piss off the wrong person. Maybe if we do finally piece everything together, Fernandez won’t be the only one implicated when things go bad. You know people like him never do their own dirty work anyway.”

Garrett and Parker both knew exactly who Garrett was referring to when he said it, though, neither one of them would say his name out loud.

“He’s dead,” Parker whispered

“As far as we know,” Garrett replied gravely.

“There was a body. The remains were tested for DNA,” she tried to argue weakly.

“Mistakes are made every day,” Garrett countered. “How many times during this trip have we uncovered something about him that we never thought in a million years could be true?”

They were interrupted by the sound of footsteps tapping against the floor and looked over to see one of the surgeons they briefly spoke to when they first got to the hospital. He walked up to them and removed the surgical hat from his head.

“Your father sustained a bullet wound to the back as you already know. The bullet ricocheted, causing significant damage to one of his kidneys, his spleen, and his gallbladder. We have removed them and repaired the damage the path of the bullet left as best we could. Right now we just need to keep him under observation and make sure he doesn’t get an infection. Obviously, the next twenty-four hours are critical. Luckily, the bullet missed his lungs, his spine, and any major arteries, but we won’t know the full extent of how his recovery will progress until he is awake.”

Parker thanked the doctor and Garrett shook his hand. The doctor advised them to go back to their resort and get some rest, that there was no sense in staying at the hospital when it would be hours before the anesthesia would wear off and they could run more tests.

Garrett went out to the parking lot to pull the car around to the front of the building while Parker gave their phone numbers to the front desk, instructing them to call her with any news.

They decided to make the couple hour trek back to the resort instead of getting a room for what remained of the night close by. Parker knew she would be of more use back with the team then she would be at the hospital. There was nothing she could do for her father now except find out what the hell was going on and if he was telling the truth. She couldn’t do that at the hospital or in some run-down motel around the corner.

Even though it was close to five in the morning, Parker tried calling Agent Richmond a few more times on the drive back, still with no answer. This disturbed her almost as much as her father showing up on her doorstep after ten years. Richmond always answered his phone, and if she had to leave a message, he'd call back within minutes. She often wondered if he took his phone into the shower with him. For him to be out of reach while she was in the middle of an assignment sanctioned by the CIA or not, was beyond unheard of.

They made it back to the resort in record time and headed down the path that lead to their villa. As soon as they walked through the lobby and out the other side, they were stopped.

“How’s your father, Parker?” Brady asked.

“The same as when we left a few hours ago. I just called and got an update from the hospital,” Parker replied.

“Were Cole and Austin able to find anything when they canvassed the area?” Garrett asked him.

“Negative. But there’s something else we need to discuss first,” Brady told them.

“I don’t care about anything else right now but finding the bastard who did this,” Garrett said angrily. “Just give me the status of the sweep.”

Brady seemed a little irritated but he covered it up quickly. “Whoever it was covered their tracks extremely well. I did some surveillance of the palace while they cleared the area. There wasn’t any unusual activity there through the night. No questionable vehicles coming or going or anything like that. I made an anonymous call to the local police to see if by some chance it was just a random shooting, maybe they had reports of shots being fired or other victims in the area, but there was nothing,” Brady explained. “But we need to discussâ??”

Garrett cut him off with a slice of his hand through the air. “Okay, keep checking with them just in case the reports come in late and have the guys do another sweep of the area as soon as the sun is up. They might find something in the daytime they missed in the dark,” Garrett told him as he grabbed Parker’s hand. They started to make their way towards their villa once again.

After only a few few feet, Brady hurried to get in front of them, stopping them abruptly.

“There’s something else you need to know before you get to your villa,” Brady said.

“Whatever it is, can it wait a few hours?” Parker pleaded as she tugged on Garrett’s hand and they began walking again. “I’m dead on my feet and just want to close my eyes and not think about anything right now.”

They walked away from Brady, but once again, he caught up with them, this time keeping pace beside them instead of trying to stop them.

“It definitely can’t wait. There’s something that happened a few minutes before you got here.”

Garrett and Parker continued walking while Brady attempted to stop them again by getting directly in their path.

They easily stepped off of the path and onto the grass to go around him.

Brady turned and spoke to their backs. “You need to be prepared forâ??”

Brady was cut off by the sound of Parker shrieking and the smack of her hand across her mouth as they rounded the corner to their villa and stopped in their tracks.

Garrett had been focused on getting Parker to the room and making sure she didn’t fall down from exhaustion. After Brady gave him the status report, he tuned out whatever else he had been trying to say. Brady’s insistence on stopping them bordered on annoying, and Garrett had been a few deep breaths away from turning around and hitting him.

It made sense now - Brady trying to prepare them for what they were about to see, the fact that Fernandez never would have got his hands dirty and most likely had someone working for him, the conversation he had with Parker right before they left the hospital, and the doubts that had been floating around in his brain for days that he kept from her.

Even with all of these facts piling up, he still had to blink several times and shake his head to make sure what he was seeing was real and not just a figment of his imagination or the product of too little sleep and too much excitement in the past forty-eight hours.

He knew he didn’t imagine Parker’s scream. She had seen the same thing he did.

A ghost, who sat in the chair by the door to their villa, was now rising to his feet slowly, with his hands up in the air, mirroring the same position Joe had just a few hours earlier when he’d shown up in the same spot.

“It’s okay, Park. It’s okay, baby.”

Parker had to swallow back the bile that rose in her throat and another scream that was threatening to let loose. She blinked back tears in an effort to make the vision in front of her clearer. She used to think about this possibility in the quiet of the night right before sleep overcame her. She would even dream about something like this happening and wake up thinking about how likely it could or couldn’t be.

It was altogether different to have the product of those moments standing in front of you as real and as alive as the last time you saw him.