Rogue Wave (The Water Keepers, Book 2) (39 page)

“Syreen, he’s just afraid of losing you. You can’t blame a man for wanting to protect the woman he loves.”

She shook her head. “He doesn’t believe I can handle it. He doesn’t believe in me at all. He never did.” Her voice trailed off weakly. “Not like you…”

“You need to stop this now,” Hamlin said, soft but firm. “Don’t say another word. Voss is your husband, and he loves you more than his own life, and I know you love him too.” Syreen nodded dolefully and stared down at her lap, as if she had hoped maybe this time it would be different, that his answer wouldn’t be the same as it always was.

She finally looked up at him with resolve. “You’ve been the Ambassador for almost five years now. You’ve earned the right to override the Council’s decision, or at least…try a little harder to convince them. Please…you have to let me go on this mission. He’s my son. It only has to be this one time. I just need to gain the peace of mind that Ash knows what he’s doing out there, that he’ll be okay.”

Hamlin squeezed her hand harder. “Ash is a strong young man, the top of his class. I promise he has acquired all of the necessary skills to be a successful field agent without his mother holding his hand. You just need to give him the chance to prove it to you. By letting him go out on his own, you’re sending him the message that you believe in him, just like you were saying you wanted for yourself. Don’t you wish that same level of respect shown to your son?”

Syreen’s lip began to quiver as she held back a stream of tears. “If you were a parent, you would understand,” she managed to say. “If Ash were
your
son…” She couldn’t complete the sentence as the emotions overwhelmed her tender heart, the heart that Hamlin had repeatedly broken over and over again for the last sixty-five years.

A lifetime of regret spread through every limb of Hamlin’s body. He wanted to take it all back. He wanted to make it better. He pulled Syreen into his chest and whispered into her ear as he held her like he’d always wished he could. “I’m sorry,” he breathed. “I’m sorry for hurting you.”

Syreen pulled back and ran her hands down Hamlin’s cheeks. “Tell me that you believe in me, Linny. Tell me that you’ll let me do this one thing. I don’t expect you to understand; just do it for me. If you’re truly sorry for the past, if you ever really loved me, like my heart wants to believe…this is how you can show me.”

As he gazed into her fervent eyes, he allowed himself, if only for that brief moment, to express to her what he’d been burying inside himself for so many years. “You’re going on that mission,” he said, her hands still grasping at his face. “I’ll convince them…for
you
.”

Syreen’s brilliant smile couldn’t be contained as tears of joy sprang from her eyes. Hamlin knew it wasn’t just about the mission. He knew she’d been waiting for Hamlin to admit his love to her for more years than any heart should ever have to wait.

Syreen’s eyes suddenly went wide as the office door flew open. “Voss,” she cried in surprise, “what are you doing here?” Her hands fell from Hamlin’s face to her sides. When Voss saw their close proximity, a surge of anger spilled over his face.

“What am I doing here?” Voss said, toying with her emotions. “Well, let’s see…you ran off upset, and I’m your husband; I came looking for you to see if you were okay. You see, that’s what husbands do. I guess for some reason I thought you might actually want to come to me in your hour of need. How silly of me. Obviously, you have everything you need right here.”

Through all the accusations Voss had made against Hamlin and Syreen over the years, this was the first time Hamlin actually felt guilty that he may have stepped over the line. Never once did they give in to their desires for each other, not even a single kiss, yet he wondered if his admission of love, as well as Syreen’s desire to hear it, could be considered just as much a betrayal.

“Nothing happened here,” Hamlin tried to explain. “She just came to me to ask the Council to reconsider their decision. I was just offering comfort to ease her distress.”

Voss’s eyes narrowed. “Yes…I can see that.” After sending a firm glare in Hamlin’s direction, Voss turned his attention to Syreen and said, “You’re not going on this mission, and that’s final. It isn’t safe.”

Syreen stood abruptly from the couch. “This whole thing is ridiculous. I was an agent for over forty years before I had Ash.”

“That was twenty years ago,” Voss shot back. “Things are different now.”

“I’m only a month away from recertification,” Syreen argued. “You told me yourself you were concerned that Ash wasn’t ready for the field. If you let me go, I can watch out for him. I can bring our son home safe. Doesn’t the safety of our son mean anything to you?”

Voss’s expression remained stern. “The boy needs to learn to take care of himself. I’ve tried to teach him everything I know, but he’s still
weak
.” Voss laughed coldly to himself. “Our son…you know, I’m beginning to wonder if he’s even my son to begin with. He has your chin, your slender build, your constant desire to disappoint me. He’s nothing like me at all. Perhaps he’s a little more like…” Voss looked directly at Hamlin, his words not a statement, but an accusation.

Hamlin returned Voss’s glare, holding his ground. He was an innocent man being accused of a crime he didn’t commit, and it wasn’t the first time Voss had voiced this allegation. Over the years, Voss had accused both him and Syreen of this indiscretion over and over again, insisting on believing that Ash was Hamlin’s son instead of his own.

Syreen took in an angry breath. “How dare you,” she said, cutting Voss’s stare. “How dare you accuse me of such a wretched thing. I can’t take it anymore. In all our countless years together, have you ever come to know me at all? I have never once been unfaithful to you, not once. And don’t think your boorish behavior didn’t make the idea cross my mind a time or two, yet still I was faithful. I’m going on that mission, Voss, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. Unlike you, I want to be there for our son, in every way I know possible. Whether you’re willing to believe it or not, he is your son, and all he ever wanted to do was make you proud. Yet you continue to treat him like nothing more than a fly in your soup.”

Voss gritted his teeth, and paused one last time before he fumed out the door. “I have nothing more to say to either of you. You’re both going to regret this.”

And he was right
, Hamlin thought as his mind staggered back to the present. Hamlin had regretted his decision to let Syreen go on that mission every single moment since that day. It was the last day he would ever see her again. Now, Syreen was dead, and Voss had turned into a hardened criminal because of his bitterness and loss. To make matters worse, their son Ash was soon to follow suit, thanks to all the suffering caused from both his parent’s and Hamlin’s mistakes. Mistakes that had even spilled over into Sadie’s life now, causing her tribulations that she didn’t deserve.

Hamlin’s afflicted thoughts were interrupted by a quiet knock on the door.

He sighed as he called out, “Come in.”

When he saw his old friend’s face through the crack in the door, he held up his hand and waved him inside. Orion looked confident and youthful as ever in his sleek, modern suit and bright yellow tie. Orion had lived longer than Hamlin, going on 109 years, yet Orion’s physical age still held strong at the level of a thirty-seven-year-old. Meanwhile, Hamlin’s lesser 103 years of life had already pushed him over the hill to forty-one.

Hamlin wondered if his old friend and fellow Council member had some secret to his youth, not that they worried much about aging in Banya. Of course, most likely, Hamlin’s accelerated aging had nothing to do with his lack of knowledge regarding the mysteries of prolonging life; it was merely the price to be paid for Hamlin’s sixteen years working for the people as the Ambassador, along with all the stress and challenges that accompanied the position.

Orion took a few steps inside the office. “Am I interrupting?” he asked.

“No, no,” Hamlin answered jovially. “I’m just wasting my time on regrets rather than getting any work done.”

Orion unbuttoned his suit jacket and perched himself on the corner of Hamlin’s desk. “I wouldn’t let them get you down, Lin. These things always work themselves out.”

Hamlin gave a questioning look. “These things?”

Orion glanced over at the TV mounted on the wall. “The issue with the Healing Water abuse in California. Is that…not what you were referring to?”

Hamlin had been so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t realize the TV was still on. He glanced at the newscaster on the screen who was currently pointing out that ever since word of the incidents in California had leaked to the press, Hamlin’s popularity in the polls had started to drop.

“Oh, that,” Hamlin said, being reminded of just one more concern on his plate. “It’s terrible, don’t you think? Hard to believe anyone from Ambrosia would purposely put the people at risk like that.” He raised his eyebrows in Orion’s direction. “That should be an interesting topic of conversation for our meeting with the rest of the Council tomorrow morning.”

Orion chuckled and folded his arms to his chest. “I think the occasion calls for some donuts, don’t you? Maybe if we keep their mouths full of lemon custard and chocolate sprinkles, they’ll be less likely to start playing the blame game.”

“It’s certainly worth a try,” Hamlin joked. He reached for his phone to call his assistant. “I’ll get Morinia on it right away.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” Orion insisted. He took the phone from Hamlin’s fingers and threw it back on the desk. “You both have enough on your plate these days, especially with it being an election year and all. Let me take care of it.”

“They’re only donuts, it’s not—”

“Oh please,” Orion cut in. “You know how much I love to take credit when the treats arrive, and Councilman Gibbs really loves his maple glazed. You’re not going to take that away from me, are you?”

Hamlin laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Orion grinned with satisfaction and slapped Hamlin on the back, glancing once again at the newscaster on TV, who was still going on about Banya’s disappointment in Hamlin’s leadership due to the recent events in California.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Lin,” Orion said. “These things happen to the best of us. I’m sure it will all blow over.”

Before Hamlin could respond, both men turned at a loud crashing noise coming from outside in the hall. Orion jumped to his feet and moved toward the door just as it swung open and collided head on with his nose. Orion’s hand flew up to his face in pain as he stumbled back. His broken nose healed almost as quickly as he recognized the intruder barging in on them.

“Jax, what do you think you’re doing?” Orion demanded.

Jax flung his elbow back in the doorway, straight into the face of a court guard who was pursuing him from the hallway. Jax sent Orion a hasty glance. “Oh. Hello,
Father
.” Then he leapt over the back of the sofa.

The guard scrambled to his feet to follow after Jax, but Hamlin signaled the guard to stop.

“I’m sorry, sir. I tried to stop him,” the guard explained, out of breath.

Hamlin nodded. “It’s fine; we’ll take care of it. You can go.”

As soon as the guard stepped respectfully away, Orion moved with agitation toward his son. “What’s wrong with you, Jax? You can’t just barge in here unannounced. We have protocols.”

“I know, just hear me out,” Jax said. “I didn’t have time for protocols. I have to speak with the Ambassador immediately.”

Hamlin kept his composure behind his desk. “Agent Bennett, what’s this about?”

Jax glanced at Hamlin about to speak then looked back at his father, rolling his eyes. “If you don’t mind, this is sort of a private matter.”

Orion scoffed and looked over at Hamlin to back him up.

Hamlin was about to suggest that Orion should stay when Jax cautiously added, “It’s about…Operation Sadie.”

Hamlin swallowed. He should have seen this coming. “Um, right,” his voice choked. “Actually, if you don’t mind, Orion, I think I’ll indulge your son’s request just this one time.”

Orion paused, pushing out a disappointed, half smile, then he lowered his eyes as if suddenly transforming from an old friend into a faceless, loyal subject as he said, “Of course…sir.”

31. SHOWDOWN

I wasn’t exactly sure what we were headed for, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be pretty. Rayne parked the Range Rover on the street at the corner of the hotel where Ash was supposed to be staying, probably hoping to avoid dealing with the valet if we had to make a quick getaway. When I exited the passenger seat, my feet fell like boulders to the pavement, my whole body getting heavy.

I hated this feeling. I hated knowing that my energy was slipping away from me and there was nothing I could do about it. I used to believe that I had never disliked anybody enough to say that I hated them, but Ash Hastings had given me plenty of reasons to change my mind. Whatever he was up to, he had turned my life upside down. He was the reason why I had to put myself in this position in the first place.

But dwelling on fact that this was all Ash’s fault, wasn’t exactly going to help me right now. I had to focus on finding my mom. My eyes followed up the sides of the hotel as we hurried down the sidewalk to the front entrance. As I stared up at fifteen or sixteen stories, I realized my mom was probably somewhere up there, and I had no idea if she was okay. At this point, there really was only one thing I knew for sure…I wasn’t going to leave until I found out.

I wasn’t surprised to see that this hotel lobby was even more luxurious than the one we stayed at the night before. From what I’d been told, the Hastings family never settled for second best. My feet stopped at the center of the spacious room as I glanced from the impressive chandelier down to the two-story pillars surrounding the glass-roofed, circular atrium.

Rayne turned back when he felt me stop. “What is it?” he asked.