Chapter 53
Sean sat across from Adriana at a little bistro table just outside his favorite coffee shop. He’d been to the eastern market several times before when visiting D.C. and found several little places he enjoyed grabbing breakfast or an early lunch. He detested using the word brunch but found the foods at that time of the day were some of his favorites. Bloody Marys were also a welcome addition to the pre-noon part of the day.
Pedestrians walked by on the sidewalk, busily heading to the shops and crafts kiosks dotting the area. Many of them carried two or three bags from the various vendors. A cool breeze rolled through the sunny city street, carrying a collage of smells: spring flowers, lavender, freshly baked bread, onions, and Bradford pear.
“The Braves are in town playing the Nationals tonight,” Sean said, breaking the relative silence of their little piece of D.C. “Want to catch a baseball game tonight?”
“Sure,” she responded with a shrug. “Though I am a much bigger fan of football than baseball.”
He perked up at this revelation. “You are? Who’s your favorite team? I’m a big fan of the Falcons, though that can be difficult sometimes.”
“Atlético Madrid,” she said cutely.
Sean realized immediately that she was talking about soccer. “Right. Football. I forgot.”
She laughed at him, revealing her bright-white teeth. “You don’t appreciate what you Americans call soccer?”
He put up a defensive hand. “No, I love soccer. I cheer for Everton in England. But I don’t have any allegiance to a team in Spain, so I guess I could root for Atlético.”
Adriana smiled at him as she sipped her cappuccino. She’d suffered two cracked ribs from her ordeal in Greece, but other than that she was recovering well. She had relayed the story of the young boy, Niki, to Sean, but they’d never been able to find out anything else about the child. Adriana hoped desperately that the boy had made it to safety. That piece of information, however, would likely never reach her.
“He’s with good people who will watch over him,” Sean reassured her.
She stared into her milky espresso drink. “I hope you’re right. I would hate to think something bad happened to him.”
Sean sympathized. “If he had stayed, Gikas would have probably brought him along on the boat. You saw how that ended. I’m sure he’s in the care of a saintly person now.”
The last sentence brought back the grin to her face that she’d lost while thinking about little Niki.
Sean’s phone buzzed on the table. He glanced down at it and entered his four-digit code to unlock the device. He read the message quickly then placed the phone back down on the table. “Just got a text from Mac,” he said. “It sounds like he and Helen are finding some interesting things over in Denmark.”
Adriana’s expression turned quizzical. “What are they doing over there? And why are they texting you? They work for Tommy now?”
“Some excavation for the IAA. Seems someone stumbled upon a few really old artifacts near Kronborg Castle. They aren’t really sure what it is. Actually, no one is really sure what’s there. The Danish government requested IAA to check it out. So Tommy sent Mac and Helen on the case. As for why they texted me, I guess they just figured I’d be interested.”
“That sounds interesting.”
“It is…” Sean caught himself. “Though, it’s nothing I’d want to get into.”
She eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing.
“It’s probably just a bunch of digging and cleaning and sifting through thousands of years of dirt. Wouldn’t be any fun.”
Adriana took another sip of her coffee and continued to let him go on.
“I mean, Copenhagen is really nice this time of year. It’s one of my favorite places to visit. Wouldn’t hurt anything if we popped by to see Mac and Helen. You know, just to say hello.”
“What about your shop in Florida?” Adriana asked with a playful grin.
“Right.” Sean had nearly forgotten about his kayak and paddleboard shop in Destin. He’d been gone for several days and hoped everything was okay. “I guess we can go to Copenhagen some other time.” He thought about it for a minute, remembering the last time he visited the Danish Riviera, across the waterway from Sweden. On a typical summer day, you could easily see the Swedish city of Malmo just on the other side of the inlet.
“I’m not stopping you,” she said.
“No, you aren’t.” He leaned across the table and kissed her softly on the lips. “And I would appreciate it if from now on you didn’t go off on your little adventures without me. You get into too much trouble on your own.”
Her dark eyes gazed into his, their lips nearly brushing against each other. “I might just take you up on that, Sean Wyatt.”
“Might?”
She nodded. “Might.”
Thank You
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for reading my book. You could have chosen any number of books, and you chose mine. I’m honored by that fact. I work hard to make sure I never let you down with any of the books that I write, and am always doing my best to make the next a little better than the one before. I hope that hard work comes through in the best reading experience possible.
Once again, thank you. You are the reason I tell stories.
Ernest Dempsey
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I’d like to thank my incredible editors, Anne Storer and Jason Whited, for all their hard and patient work with me. They make my stories shine, and without them I’d be lost. Thanks, you two.