Charleston. The water in the harbor was a little choppy today, and the occasional gust of wind blew through, but the wind and water always seemed to carry one’s troubles far, far away.
“Oh, the girl you were dragging around like a rag doll?”
“Very funny,” Becki frowned, as she continued to scan the gardens for her sister.
“Don’t worry, she is with Sean, he will take good care of her.”
“Who is Sean?”
“Sean is one of my--, uh--, employees. He is also a good friend.”
“See, that is just what I mean; the ‘uh--’, like you have to think everything through before you speak. That does not inspire trust, Royce,” Becki complained.
“Ok, let me try again. Sean is an employee, but also my friend. I would trust him with my life,” Royce said reassuringly.
“I’m so not able to keep up,” Becki said with a sigh. “You wear me out Royce. You beat me up, and then tear me down. I don’t know what to expect, and about the time I think I have it figured out, you throw a curve ball. I don’t know why I’m here with you now; I should stay as far away as possible, out of self-preservation if nothing else, and yet--” Becki turned to face him looking deeply into his beautiful eyes, and quietly admitted, “and yet, I can’t seem to help myself. How crazy is that?”
“It’s not crazy,” Royce responded hollowly.
Becki rolled her eyes before clarifying, “That was another rhetorical question.”
Moving closer to the sea wall, she leaned out to look at the barnacles collecting on the lower portion of the wall before confiding, “I don’t really know you; I don’t really know anything about you. I do know you are keeping secrets, and you must be involved in something dangerous if the tat is at all significant. You never did explain why you have one so similar to Kurt’s.”
Royce shoved his hands in his front pockets, trying to figure out how to respond to everything she had just said without lying to her again. While he was still formulating, Becki whispered a confession that shot an arrow straight through his heart.
“I’m a little afraid of you,” she said softly, staring intently at Fort Sumter in the distance.
Becki felt his hands descend on her shoulders, and gently turned her to face him. He bent his knees slightly, bringing his face down to meet hers at eye level.
“You don’t ever have to be afraid of me,” he managed. “I told you this morning that I would not hurt you. I won’t,” he promised again. “You have my word.”
Realizing that he had misunderstood her words, she cupped his face in both hands and explained, “I don’t mean that I’m afraid of you physically. I know you are an honorable man, Royce; that much I do know. But there are so many things I don’t know.” Sliding her hands to rest flat on his chest, she continued, “Important things; like…who are you, really? And don’t give me that ‘home security’ story. I’m not buying it,” she warned. “How did you get here? What is it that you have to find?” Eventually she got to the heart of the matter, “Do you have a wife waiting for you somewhere, a girlfriend? Those are the things I am afraid of, Royce, the things that could potentially hurt me.”
“You are precious,” he said, dropping a quick buzz on her nose. He plucked one of her hands from his chest, and began walking again, leaving her no choice but to move with him.
“I direct and manage a team of recovery experts, a division of ART Security. There was a collection of artifacts, coins, stolen quite some time ago. The coin collection was eventually divided and then scattered around the world. One piece of the collection was last seen here, in Charleston. I’m trying to locate and return it to the rightful owners. Then my team will move on to recover the next, and then the next, until we have recovered them all,” Royce explained, sticking to the truth, but not the whole truth.
Becki stopped short and turned to face him. “Seriously, Royce? You are just looking for a bunch of old coins? That’s it? That’s the secret?” she played him, batting her eyes like the idiot he seemed to think she was.
“I can help you find them, Royce; I’m good at treasure hunting. I have a knack for finding things. Just yesterday, I found the coolest crate while Jonah and I were hunting sharks’ teeth.”