Heartbeat || A Good Girls Fanfic

Chapter 16

"Hey, Charlie," a nurse called for the woman after peeking her head into the doctor's lounge. "There's someone looking for you."

"Who is it?" she questioned as she slid her jacket on, her brows furrowing in confusion. "I'm just heading out."

"Uh, said he's some FBI guy, had a couple of questions for you," the nurse shrugged. "Should I send him in?"

"Yeah, sure."

Instantly, her mouth had gone dry, and her heart beat dangerously fast against her chest. There was only one reason the feds could ever want to talk to her. One very irresistible reason that had made her past two weeks feel like a dream. After she had been called into the hospital an hour before Marcus would have been picked up, Rio had made sure she had gotten to work and then home safely. And then, it was almost like when she wasn't at the hospital, she had her phone glued to her ear –or she was studying because that was all she had time for.

Although she hadn't been able to see him those past few days, it had felt to her like only a day before she had spent the night at his place and met his son. It had been almost unbelievable that to that day, the month before, she had no idea someone like him existed, much less that he would come into her life in such a... surprising way. Now, she didn't even know who she had been before him.

Somehow, in the woes of who she knew him as, Charlotte had forgotten that Christopher was Rio to the rest of the world. And Rio wasn't particularly a lawful guy. Being on the FBI's radar was something that came with his job, and they had found a way to tie him to her. Or... they had finally learned the truth about the robbery, and they had silently taken Annie, Beth, and Ruby, and she was the only one left.

The door to the lounge clicked open, and a man walked in with an unsuspecting smile on his face. "Charlotte?" he asked as he closed the door behind him and outstretched his hands in a greeting. "Charlotte Marks, correct?"

"Yes, sir," she smiled as she shook his hand, trying her best to hide the fear that threatened to make her voice tremble. "And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Agent Turner. Jim Turner," he said. "I'm an agent with the FBI."

"FBI, wow," she commented, retracting her hand as quickly as she could without arousing suspicion or even showing a sign of anxiousness. She knew what to do –no avoiding eye contact or holding it for too long, no arms crossing to appear open and forthcoming, no tapping of fingers of feet, no lip chewing, and no haggard breathing. Charlie had to be cool, calm, and collected. Until she could absolutely lose her mind. "Could I ask what this is in regards to?"

"I just have a few questions regarding some ugliness bleeding in from the city," Jim continued in an easy and inviting tone. "I met with your sister, Beth, early this week about the situation. You live with her, don't you?"

"Yeah," she responded. "But she hasn't told me anything about that. Sorry."

"No worries," he chuckled softly. "I was just wondering if you've seen people that don't seem to belong to this side of town. Specifically around where you guys live."

"People that don't belong? I'm sorry, but I wouldn't know who to look for with that description," Charlie chuckled, mimicking his laugh. "What kind of person belongs to that side of town?"

"You know. People like you."

"I'm not quite following, Agent Turner. People like me?"

"Come on, Ms. Marks. It's not that hard to put two and two together," he said, still wearing that friendly mask. "I'm simply asking if you've seen any suspicious activity around your neighborhood."

"I can't say that I have."

"That's weird," Turner said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. She could tell he was trying to intimidate her by seeming like a friend and holding onto more information he knew. He was burying the lead on purpose, and she wasn't going to make it easy for him to catch her in a lie. "Your sister said the same thing. Although, your brother-in-law did have a lot to say about a guy that throws away his dog's poop in other people's trash cans –though that sort of crime doesn't fall into FBI jurisdiction."