Friends In Spy Places

by Diane Henders

  I sighed. “If I’m not incarcerated or dead.”

  I closed the door on his plaintive, “Is that likely?”

  “If Nora Taylor shows up here, don’t let her anywhere near Ian,” I said to the guard. “And I mean, nowhere near. Not even close to his room. And make sure he doesn’t get any food or drink that didn’t come directly from one of the nurses.”

  “Got it.”

  Striding down the corridor, I punched the speed dial on a secured phone and snapped, “It’s Aydan.”

  The analyst’s voice was devoid of expression. “Director Dermott would like you to come in for an immediate briefing.”

  What the hell, I was tired of living anyway.

  “I’ll be there in five minutes.” There wasn’t anything else to say, so I hung up.

  The short drive to Sirius gave me far too much time to think. There was only one reason why Dermott would summon me right now, and it sure as hell wasn’t to pat me on the back and apologize. He was probably revoking my clearances right now.

  Would I even make it through the security sign-in before the guards seized my weapons and slapped on the handcuffs?

  The fight-or-flight instinct hammered at me.

  Run.

  Run now!

  A block away, my fears won out and I twisted the wheel to the right instead of the left.

  The bowling alley parking lot was sparsely populated, and I spotted Hellhound’s Forester without difficulty. Pulling up beside it, I parked and got out.

  Hellhound swung out of the driver’s seat and met me at the front bumper. “Hey, darlin’. How’s it goin’?” He gave me a hug and a kiss.

  Closing my eyes, I wrapped my arms around him and deepened the kiss.

  He responded with enthusiasm, his hands winding into my hair while he teased me with exquisite little flicks of his tongue.

  God, the man was a virtuoso. I pressed closer, running hungry hands down his back and up under his jacket to find the hot bulky muscles beneath.

  He trailed whiskery kisses across my jaw and down the side of my neck as I let my head fall back, turning my mind off and absorbing every glorious tingle.

  This kiss might have to last me for the rest of my life.

  Pausing at my throat, Arnie nibbled his way up to my lips again, finishing with a light kiss as he drew away. When I opened my eyes, he was studying me. His battered features were almost grotesque in the harsh streetlights, but as always the gentle warmth of his eyes held me.

  “What’s wrong, darlin’?” he rasped softly.

  Too much to say. I shook my head.

  I wanted to say ‘I love you’, but when I opened my mouth all that came out was, “I have to go.”

  He stiffened. “Will I see ya again?”

  Somehow I managed a smile. “I hope it’s not going to be that drastic. Just a meeting with Dermott.”

  “Can I help?”

  “No. But thanks. I just needed…” I sighed. “I just needed one good thing to remind me of why I keep trying.”

  Arnie smiled, the tension easing from his shoulders. “Ya keep tryin’ ’cause you’re a good person. Don’t let that asshole get ya down.”

  “It’s not just that asshole, it’s all the assholes.”

  His lips twisted with wry humour. “I hear ya.”

  “I’d better go.”

  As I pulled away, he caught my hand and brushed a kiss across my knuckles. “I love ya,” he said quietly. “Be safe.”

  “I love you, too.” This time the words came easily, and I kissed him one last time before getting back in my car.

  My heart pounded as I walked in the door of Sirius, but no guards swooped down to capture me. My clearances still worked when I signed in at the security desk, and my security fob let me into the office area.

  My knees wobbled while I climbed the stairs. Back straight, chin high, I marched down the hall to Dermott’s office. He might be able to bury me, but he couldn’t make me crawl.

  Rounding the corner, I halted in Dermott’s doorway; mainly because my muscles had locked while my brain fought an internal battle between striding forward and fleeing pell-mell.

  Holt and Dermott gave me matching hostile glares from inside the office. That was why Dermott hadn’t called security. He hadn’t needed to. Holt could take me with one hand tied behind his back.

  “What are you waiting for?” Dermott barked. “Get in here. And shut the door.”

  Mechanically, I obeyed. My face felt frozen stiff. Somehow my legs walked to the only vacant chair and sat me down.

  “I emailed you!” Holt burst out. “Don’t you ever check your fucking email?”

  My lips opened and a word fell out. “What?”

  “Your fucking email, you idiot! I went to see Rand, he bullshitted me, and in the end all he said was to ask you to come over and see him. He didn’t say it was urgent and he didn’t give me any details. So I emailed you.” Holt scowled. “I meant to call you, but I had to report to Dermott, and then I got sidetracked with Grandin and…”

  “Wait,” I croaked. “So you…” I turned to Dermott. “…sent Holt over to the hospital as soon as Rand called.” Dermott nodded, glowering. “And you…” I turned to Holt. “…got a load of shit from Rand, came back here, and emailed me right away.”

  “Yes!” Holt leaned forward. “I wasn’t trying to mess with you, I just…” His fists clenched. “Look, it wasn’t because you’re a woman…”

  “Hold it.” My muscles finally thawed and I held up a hand to stop him. “Forget that part. In fact, forget the whole thing.” A gush of anger heated my blood and strengthened my voice. “This is Rand’s fault. That asshole!”

  I gave Holt a look. “Actually, you’re both assholes for talking about me like that; but I know you’d never jeopardize a mission.” I turned to Dermott. “Rand is a twisty prick who gets his jollies from messing with people’s heads. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mean any harm, but you can’t trust him. This wasn’t Holt’s fault, and it turned out that Rand’s intel wasn’t time-sensitive anyway. He’s just jerking us all around.”

  Dermott flushed and opened his mouth.

  I added, “And I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

  Dermott’s mouth stayed open. After a moment he closed it and scowled. “Get the hell out of my office, both of you. Be back here in half an hour for our conference call with Stemp.” He turned to his computer and started clicking keys.

  Holt and I left in silence.

  At the door to my office, Holt finally spoke. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. Rand’s an asshole.”

  “So am I.”

  I shrugged. “Only part-time. You’re ’way ahead of him.”

  Holt scowled. “I fucked up.” Old demons haunted his eyes, roughening his voice and clenching his fists. “That could have been bad. Really fucking bad. I wouldn’t tolerate that kind of incompetence from anybody I worked with.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said lightly. “But you’re an asshole, remember? Normal people like me know that sometimes shit happens, even to the best agents.”

  For just an instant his steely eyes softened. Then he barked out a derisive laugh. “You? Normal? Nice try, Kelly.”

  I grinned. “Hey, I almost slipped it by you.”

  An answering smile tugged unwillingly at his lips. “Not hardly.” He hesitated, sobering. “Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  He nodded and strode away, and I quivered into my office and collapsed on the small sofa.

  When I was sure my legs would hold me, I trudged back down to the lobby and hit the speed dial for Hellhound.

  He picked up on the first ring. “Aydan?”

  “I’m here. Still in one piece.”

  The hiss of his exhalation tickled my ear. “Glad to hear it. Ya comin’ back here?”

  “Not yet. I have another meeting in a few minutes…”

  I hesitated, calculating the time zones. At nine PM our time, it would only be four AM in London. Stem
p wouldn’t likely go to the hospital until later, when his presence would be less noticeable in the bustle of daytime hospital activities. So I shouldn’t have to go into the network for a few hours at least…

  “Aydan? Ya still there?”

  “Yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking. My nine o’clock meeting shouldn’t take long, so I’ll meet you at the bowling alley afterward.”

  “Okay, darlin’, see ya then. Love ya.”

  “I love you, too.” Smiling, I disconnected. He was my one safe port in the shitstorm that surrounded me. What would I do without him?

  All too soon, I was plodding down the hall toward Dermott’s office again. My heart vibrated anxiously against my ribcage.

  Would he have me arrested and jailed this time?

  Surely not, when Stemp was expecting me to be present at the briefing. But he might lock me up immediately afterward.

  No, he couldn’t. They still needed me until Rebecca was back where she belonged. But after that…

  Dermott was determined to take me down, and I had no defense. Nora was still leaving without any evidence against her; and Kane was still not coming back. Two failed missions plus a bad case of insubordination. That could only equal life imprisonment.

  I clenched my teeth and kept walking.

  Don’t think about it.

  Just don’t think about it.

  Chapter 42

  The conference call with Stemp went exactly as I’d expected. Dermott glowered as though imagining his hands around my throat, Spider’s pale face and trembling fingers mirrored my own anxiety, and Holt looked so smugly confident that I wanted to slap him from sheer envy.

  The briefing was short. Stemp confirmed that he would arrive at the hospital to attempt Rebecca’s extraction around ten AM in London, which would be three AM our time; and as soon as I got Rebecca out and came out of the network myself, I would call him to report on Rebecca’s mental state. I left Sirius with Stemp’s final admonition ringing in my ears.

  ‘Get some sleep. We need you functioning at optimum levels. This may be our only chance.’

  Sure, no pressure. I’d just go home and snooze as though I hadn’t a care in the world.

  Nerves strung tight, I drove back to the bowling alley parking lot. Only a few vehicles remained. Damn.

  Hellhound met me with a kiss again. “They’re closin’ in half an hour. We’re gonna hafta move on, but I ain’t crazy about parkin’ in the residential area. Small town like this there’s always some nosy neighbour lookin’ out the window.”

  “Yeah…” I considered. “I don’t want to get too far away from Lola’s house or shop, though. How about the park? It’s late enough that the dog walkers will be home already, and nobody else would go there in the dark and cold.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Lead the way, darlin’.”

  The single streetlight at the park cast a feeble glow that was swallowed by blackness after only a few yards. I parked in the shadows at the far edge of the lot, and Hellhound’s Forester pulled in beside me.

  When we reconvened at the front bumper, Hellhound gave me a hug. “Ya might as well go home an’ grab some sleep. Ya know how stakeouts go. Prob’ly nothin’ll happen at all; an’ even if our guy does show up, it’ll be in the middle a’ the night. I’ll take the first watch.”

  “Thanks, but I’d rather take the first one. I have to go back to Sirius at three AM, so I’ll stay here until midnight and then you can take over while I go home and sleep for a couple of hours.”

  He pulled away, frowning down at me. “Three AM? That sucks. Why not head home an’ catch some zees right now?”

  I shivered with equal parts cold and nerves. “I’m too wide awake. Too much on my mind.”

  “Well, I’m wide awake, too, so let’s just hang for a while an’ maybe you’ll get sleepy.” He nudged me toward the passenger side of the Forester. “Get in, darlin’. It’s too fuckin’ cold to stand around out here, an’ there’s no point runnin’ both engines to stay warm.”

  Settled in his passenger seat a few minutes later, I relaxed into the warmth of the vehicle with a sigh.

  “Wanna talk about it?” Hellhound asked. “If ya got a lot on your mind, it might help.”

  I sighed. “Most of it you already know, and the rest I can’t tell you.”

  “Still got nothin’ on Nora?”

  “No. And she’s leaving tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” The glow of the dashboard lights revealed his frown. “Ya said she was stayin’ for a coupla weeks.”

  “She was, but she found out her surrogate daughter in London is in a coma, so she’s out of here on the first available flight.”

  “Surrogate daughter?”

  “Yeah. She missed me so much she replaced me.” I tried to hold my voice flat, but the bitterness seeped in anyway.

  Hellhound hand found mine in the darkness, squeezing gently. “Wish I could make this better for ya, darlin’.”

  “Thanks.” I leaned over the console to lay my head on his shoulder, and his arm came around me.

  After a few minutes of silence I sat up again with a sigh, rubbing the ache in my ribs where the centre console had ground into them. “I should have brought my truck. It has a bench seat.”

  “I can fix that.” When I glanced over, Hellhound was smiling. “Just gimme a minute. Stay put.”

  He got out and opened the rear door, leaning in to fold the seats down flat. In minutes he had unpacked the large duffel bag that had occupied the cargo bay, laying out a foam pad and sleeping bag and affixing black fabric over the windows.

  “All ready for ya now,” he said proudly. “Move right in an’ get comfortable.”

  Grinning, I got out of the front seat and let myself into the cozy nest in the back. “You’ve got a shaggin’ wagon. I should have known.”

  He waggled his eyebrows. “That ain’t all. Here we go…” He tilted the front seats forward and installed a large blackout drape that partitioned the cargo bay off from the front seats entirely. “I actually set this up for stakeouts for my P.I. business, but…” He grinned and activated a couple of tiny LED candles, setting them at the sides of the bay. “…never hurts to be prepared.” He took off his parka and bunched it up, tucking it behind his back so he could recline against the back of the driver’s seat and stretch out his legs. He held out a welcoming arm. “Come here, darlin’.”

  I snuggled in, wrapping my arm over him and leaning my head on his shoulder. “You’re brilliant.”

  “Yep.” He dropped a kiss on my lips. “An’ here’s our surveillance.” He propped his phone in the door’s cupholder and toggled the displays through front and back views of Lola’s house and store. “It’s all quiet, so ya might as well have a nap. The ping’ll wake ya up if anythin’ moves; an’ I ain’t gonna be sleepin’ anyway. It’s too early for me.”

  “Okay, thanks.” I grinned. “I was supposed to sleep before my meeting anyway, so look at me following orders.” Letting out a sigh of contentment, I relaxed. His phone went into battery-saving mode, its display winking out to leave only the twinkling candles for illumination. I closed my eyes.

  Safety. Darkness. The soothing sound of an idling engine. The soft steady hum of the heater keeping our hideout pleasantly warm.

  Perfect for sleeping.

  Ian’s words replayed in my head. ‘The puzzle piece that pulls everything together’. His team might be able to connect Nora with the chemist, but what good would it do? Nora was far too smart to leave a note saying ‘Dear Chemist, please steal me a few doses of poison’, so we’d only have circumstantial evidence at best. And even if they found concrete proof, that only solved Ian’s case, not mine. I had to prove she was involved in selling classified intel, not poisoning people.

  I shifted and blew out a breath.

  And then there was my other mission. Kane. No hope there. Stemp’s cold features hovered in my memory, his lips forming the words ‘I recommend you don’t fail’. He’d gone to bat for me before, but th
ere wasn’t much he could do if Dermott turned the chain of command against me.

  Don’t think about that.

  Would I be able to locate Rebecca when I went into the network tonight? If I did, what would I find? A gibbering mass of insanity? Or worse, a woman who’d had time to figure out exactly what had happened to her? I had been able to overpower her and sift through our collective consciousness because she didn’t know what was going on. What if she understood now? What if she fought me?

  What if she won?

  I blew out another hard breath and pressed the heel of my hand against my forehead, trying to drive away the fearful thoughts.

  “Okay, darlin’?” Arnie asked softly.

  “I can’t settle.” I sat up and scrubbed my knuckles through my hair. “Too much on my mind.”

  “Try lyin’ down for a while. I’ve slept in here before an’ I only hadta bend my knees a bit, so ya oughta be pretty comfortable.”

  “I’ll try,” I said doubtfully.

  Stripping off my parka, I made a pillow-sized roll and lay down facing him, pulling the sleeping bag over me. His hand slid under the sleeping bag to make soothing circles on my back, and I sighed and cuddled closer, wrapping my arm over his legs and trying to relax into his gentle massage.

  Still my mind wouldn’t slow down. Replaying my conversations with Nora, I mentally catalogued all the tiny clues in her body language and behaviour. She had known about Sam’s espionage all along; I knew it, goddammit, but I couldn’t prove it. And tomorrow she’d be gone. I had to get the lie detector on her somehow. But how? If I asked her to take another test, she’d know I was investigating her and she’d simply invoke her diplomatic immunity and refuse.

  Arnie kept rubbing my shoulders, but I couldn’t relax.

  And I still hadn’t told Dermott that Nora was leaving.

  Shit, shit, shit.

  When should I tell him? Or should I just drive Nora to Calgary without saying anything to him?

  But that would only postpone the inevitable…

  Shut up, already! Just shut the fuck up!

  Concentrate on sensations, not thoughts.