Espionage Games by J. S. Chapman

Author:J. S. Chapman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery, political, espionage, thriller, action adventure, native american
Publisher: Weatherly Books
Published: 2020-12-17T00:00:00+00:00

17

Republic of Nauru, Micronesia

Tuesday, August 19

MADELYN WAS WAITING for Jack at the Anibare Bay Marina. He almost didn’t recognize her, so different was she than the lady he encountered ... was it only yesterday? ... or a lifetime ago?

Her hair wasn’t as severely styled as it had been at the office, or even last night at dinner, the fine strands finding their own way without benefit of comb or brush. The wispy curls softened the hard edges of her jaw. Her skin was fine-pored and satiny, a refined element less noticeable under harsh lighting. She wasn’t wearing makeup this morning, only the light application of coral lipstick on her bowed lips. She seemed more flighty, nervous, increasingly self-conscious, as if seeing herself through the mirror of his penetrating gaze. Yet her movements came naturally, absent deliberate thought of how to pose or whether to move this way instead of that way. She had no mind to please him. He had already pleased her. Her relaxed posture made her seem less formidable and more welcoming. She had let her guard down in every way that counted. The woman who stood before him now was the real Madelyn Gibbons, not the artificial one of yesterday, the one who gave off airs.

Absurdly, there had been no kisses or welcoming hugs or even shy glances. In this awkward re-meeting, following hours of intimate solitude, the distance between them became immeasurable. Suddenly, and quite intentionally, she put on her mask of reserve. Jack suspected he had as well. Whatever they shared in the darkness of last night did not translate into the light of day. A barrier stood between them.

He noticed the straw beach bag clutched in her hand and the leather shoulder bag slung over her shoulder. “I brought everything we need to conclude our business. Afterwards, we can celebrate.”

Her eyes were more vivid out in the open, golden rather than brown, flecked with green accents and ringed in ebony, setting them apart from the ordinary eyes of ordinary women. She wore a sleeveless blouse and short shorts, her arms lightly suntanned and her legs positioned in a nonchalant stance, one leg bent at the knee. She wasn’t watching herself from the outside in, but rather looking at him from the inside out. A shell necklace encircled her throat, much more flattering than the many gold bangles and beads she wore the evening before. A floppy straw hat secured by a leather cord beneath her chin shielded her eyes. To further hide her eyes, and the emotions lingering behind them, she presently slipped on overlarge sunglasses that reflected a sapphire ocean shimmering beneath cloudless skies. Jack decided she was a study of contradictions. Friendly yet standoffish. Shy but bold. Confident yet masked. Accessible yet distant, as if she were standing way over there and he over here. Maddie Gibbons was a study of contradictions.

And now, once again, her mercurial mood shifted. She removed the sunglasses, propped them on top of the straw hat like a hair ornament, and reached in for a kiss.

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