She smiled. “You’re teasing me.”
He reached out and took her free hand. “What’s next for you?” he asked gently.
She shrugged and said, “With Pirate Island cancelled, my agent will be sending me out for more auditions and such. There are a few scripts that have come in that I need to read. A producer in Hollywood wants me to go out there and be in something. I have another fashion show to plan for next fall. I need to approve a new line of clothing for my company. I have a photo shoot next week … shall I go on?”
“At least you’ll be busy,” Bond said. “That’s the best therapy.”
“And what about you, James? Are you off on another dangerous mission that puts you and your loved ones’ lives at risk?”
Bond couldn’t help detecting the sarcasm.
“Probably,” he said. “And that is as good an opening as any for what I have to say. Perhaps after you hear what I’m going to tell you, then you may not need to tell me what’s on your mind.”
She looked at him through the dark glasses, took a sip, and said, “Go on.”
“Tylyn, I know you’re upset that I deceived you. But now you understand that I was working undercover. If I had not done it that way, Léon and his people might have been successful in killing hundreds of people. You do realize that, right?”
She nodded.
“I fell in love with you for a number of reasons,” he continued. “However, someone in my profession simply can’t turn his back on his job. I have been faced with the choice between Profession and Love before, and whenever I have chosen Love … it doesn’t work out.”
“What are you saying, James? That you can’t see me any more?” she asked.
“Something like that. Another factor is your celebrity status. I can’t afford to be recognized. If I were with you, both of our lives would be at risk. You are in the public eye a great deal. My enemies would try to get to me through you. I was married once, Tylyn, and that union proved fatal to my wife. I saw one of my in-laws recently, and that reminded me just how dangerous it is for a woman to fall in love with someone like me. At the same time, I can’t be seen in glossy movie star magazines, accompanying you to awards shows. My life depends on my being anonymous. Do you understand?”
Tylyn smiled, but he knew that tears were forming beneath the dark glasses.
“I had a similar speech prepared,” she said. “It basically amounts to the same thing, but for different reasons.”
Bond poured some more wine in her glass and encouraged her to go on.
“I don’t think I can have a relationship with someone in your profession, either,” she said. “It’s a profession built on deceit, and I just can’t abide that. I’m not sure that I can forgive you for lying to me and masquerading as my lover.”
“I wasn’t masquerading—” he interrupted, but she put up her hand to stop him.
“I believe you,” she said. “But I still can’t forgive you. Our love affair was not what I thought it was, and I’m not so sure that it’s salvageable. Even if you were to give up your job, which I’m not asking you to do, I don’t think we could make a go of it.”
Although he knew that everything she said was reasonable, Bond felt surprisingly rejected.
He took a sip of wine and smiled.
“What’s funny?” she asked.
“Nothing’s funny,” he said. “I was just thinking that I haven’t been ditched too many times in the past, and I’m not sure how I like it.”
“We’re ditching each other,” she said. “It’s mutual, isn’t it? I mean, God, James, I would love to be with you. I’m mad about you and I know you feel something similar for me … but it would be insane! We would drive each other crazy with the demands of our respective careers and end up hating each other.”
Bond squeezed her hand and said, “You’re absolutely right, darling. I couldn’t have said it better.”
“But we’ll be friends?” she asked.
Bond laughed. “I suppose. As much as that’s possible.”
She grew silent again, finished her glass of wine, and after a moment said, “I had best be going. I don’t want this to be any more painful than it already is.” She stood and said, “Please don’t get up. Wait here until I’m gone, all right?”
Bond nodded.
She leaned over, took his chin in her hand, and kissed him.
“Take care of yourself, James.”
“You too, Tylyn.”
She walked away, leaving Bond alone with the wine and his thoughts. The waiter came by and asked if there would be anything else. Bond asked for the bill.
He looked to see where she had gone, but he didn’t see her. He took the last drink of wine and sighed. It was time to bury the emotions once again, lock them away in the vault so that they could never escape and unwittingly reveal that he really did have a heart.
He would save all that for his dreams.
Bond left money on the table and stood. Once again he glanced down the street, but she had disappeared. He turned and walked in the opposite direction, retreating into the shadows of his life.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NEVER DREAM OF DYING
THE AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER WISH TO THANK THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS and organizations in the preparation of this book.
IN CORSICA:
Antenne Médicale d’Urgence (Calvi); Astalla Taverne (Calvi); Jean Philippe Di Grazia—Agence du Tourisme de la Corse; Le Goulet Restaurant (Bonifacio)
IN LONDON:
Carolyn Caughey; Samantha Evans; Peter Janson-Smith; Corinne Turner; Zoë Watkins; the heirs of the late Ian Lancaster Fleming
IN MONACO:
William Ray—Casino de Monte Carlo
IN PARIS:
Blandine Bideau—France Télévision; Pascal Boissel—Le Grand Hotel Intercontinental; François-Xavier Busnel; Kevin Collette; Le Petit Mâchon Restaurant; Laurent Perriot; Daniel Pont—Musée de la Police
IN NICE:
Christian Duc—Riviera Studios; Sandra Jurinic—Office du Tourisme et des Congrès; Palais Maeterlinck; Pierre Rodiac
IN THE US:
Paul Baack; Gaz Cooper; Paul F. Dantuono; Fountain Powerboats; Dr. Ira Garoon; Dr. Rob Gerowitz; Isabelle Grasset-Lapiere—French Government Tourist Office; Sandy Groark—Bannockburn Travel; Tylyn John; David Knox; James McMahon; Gary Rosenfeld; and my wonderful wife Randi
Table of Contents
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT PAGE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
1
THE NEW WAR
2
THE BLIND MAN
3
THE FILMMAKER
4
THE HYDRA
5
THE TATTOO
6
THE SAILOR
7
THE ASSIGNMENT
8
THE ALLY
9
THE MAZZERE
10
THE STUDIO
11
THE HOUSE
12
THE GIRL
13
THE FIRST VISIT
14
THE HORSES
15
THE CASINO
16
THE MOVIE
17
THE TRAWLER
18
THE GETAWAY
19
THE INFILTRATION
20
THE SECOND VISIT
21
THE PRISONERS
22
THE ORDEAL
23
THE RAT
24
THE BREAKOUT
25
THE SCREENING
26
THE RAID
27
THE SEARCH
28
THE SHOWDOWN
29
THE FINAL VISIT
30
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
son, Never Dream Of Dying
Never Dream Of Dying Page 29
