Thoughts of Claire twisted his stomach. Emily took him to see her again when he went to Iowa for Rawlings’ plea hearing. The facility where the Vandersols had moved her was a hell of a lot better than the one where Harry had first seen her. However, it was her condition that blew him away. When he’d seen her in Geneva, she was so strong and determined. He remembered her telling him off and telling him to leave her suite. Though he had only heard her message before the case was given to Agent Jackson, even then she sounded strong. Harry couldn’t fathom what had occurred to cause her current status. If it was, as Emily claimed, due to past traumatic brain injury, Harry believed he was also responsible. Yes, Rawlings beat her, but Harry had been the one to introduce her to Patrick Chester. Though the Vandersols never mentioned that, Harry felt responsible.
He wished there was anything he could do to relieve her suffering. Perhaps that was his motivation for pushing SAC Williams to step in, to go to the powers that be and persuade the FBI to come forward about both Claire and Anthony’s agreement. Apparently, there was reluctance due to the Rawlings coming back to the United States before they were supposed to do so, violating the stipulation of the agreement. Agent Jackson contacted Agent Baldwin who explained that the reason the couple traveled was fear for the Vandersols’ safety. Jackson wasn’t impressed. In his words, if Rawlings had done as he was ordered and stayed out of contact with people from his past, he wouldn’t have known about the threat to the Vandersols. Sometimes, Harry wished he could tell John and Emily the truth about his job and what he truly knows. Do they realize all that Claire and Anthony risked to save them?
The cafe began to fill, yet Harry’s thoughts were still scattered when his phone buzzed.
“WHERE ARE YOU? I WOKE UP AND YOU WERE GONE. (sad face)”
“I’M AT THE OVEN ON WAVERLY. I DIDN’T WANT TO WAKE YOU.”
“ARE YOU COMING HOME OR DO YOU WANT ME TO JOIN YOU?”
Harry shrugged, thinking that he was leaning more toward option number three.
“I THOUGHT YOU HAD PLANS TODAY WITH AMBER?”
“SHIT! I FORGOT. WE CAN CATCH UP FOR A LATE LUNCH?”
“SOUNDS GOOD.”
He sighed as he laid the phone back on the table. Even though it was a Saturday, Harry knew he needed to work this out in his head. After Liz’s comment last night, he couldn’t ignore the facts any longer. They were discussing John’s decision to move to Iowa and work at Rawlings Industries.
“I can’t understand how he can work for that company after all the things he’s said about Anthony Rawlings. I mean, it’s like working for the enemy,” Liz said.
“According to John, he had every reason to hate his brother-in-law, but things change. I think he’s doing it more for Claire.”
Liz huffed. “What is it with her? I mean people uproot their lives for her. I don’t get it.”
“Liz, she’s ill. She has a daughter and needs help.”
“Ill? Like what kind of ill?”
Harry inhaled, “I really don’t know. I just know John said that Emily wouldn’t leave her, and he didn’t want to be away from Emily and Michael. Apparently, Rawlings Industries offered him a tremendous deal to move to Iowa City and work with their legal division.”
“Yeah?” Her nose wrinkled. “I never thought of John as someone who’d sell out for money.”
“I think the money was an incentive, but he did it for… family.” Harry was about to say for Claire but he didn’t want to keep that conversation going.
“Well, Emily surprises me too. Did you see them while you were in Iowa?”
Harry tried to process: he hadn’t told her he was in Iowa to visit Claire.
Liz glanced at his expression. “I know you went there for the plea agreement. You didn’t have to hide it. Amber explained that it’s part of your job. SAC Williams went, too, didn’t he?”
Breathing easier, Harry replied, “I wish my sister would learn to keep her mouth shut. She wasn’t even supposed to know. And yes, I saw Emily and John. They were surprised to see me at the hearing. They still don’t know my true job.”
“Well, since the whole thing is over, why can’t you tell them?”
“Because that’s the job. Being undercover means… being undercover. I can’t go back to all the places and people I’ve met and be like, oh, I wasn’t really who you thought I was…”
Liz scoffed. “I get that, but how often are you you?”
Harry’s light blue eyes clouded. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, for most of your assignments don’t you have some kind of alias? I hope you do. I don’t want to go through something like we did—ever again.”
He remembered her terror after his attack. She handled it well at first, but there were nightmares and panic attacks that she tried to hide. Harry wrapped her in his strong arms. “Yes, you’re right. I’m not me on other assignments. All of my information is changed. There’s no way to get back to you, Jillian, Ilona, or Amber. You don’t need to worry.”
Liz laid her head against his chest and the scent of strawberries rose from her hair. “I don’t think about it that much.” Veiling her big blue eyes with lashes, she looked up at him. “I don’t. Forget that I mentioned it. My point was that John and Emily know you. They know us, and Amber. Don’t you think they deserve to know—”