Reach For the Spy (36 page)

“Oh…” I didn’t know
what to say. I had truly believed he’d follow orders, no matter
what. “Thanks,” I finished inadequately. “I... Thanks.” I swallowed
hard. “Where was I?”

“You realized Stemp had
lied.”

“Right. So I was sure
he was the leak, because he was at the internet cafe every time a
contact was attempted with Fuzzy Bunny. And now I know it, because
he’s been holding you all this time.”

Kane frowned. “That
doesn’t necessarily follow.”

“What do you mean? How
the hell could it not?” I threw up my hands. “He was at the cafe
when the messages were sent. He lied to Briggs. He abducted you and
held you drugged. He faked your death. What more do you want?”

“Do you have direct
proof that he contacted Fuzzy Bunny?”

“Um.” I surveyed my
feet. “No... but he’s been making frequent contact with someone in
Bulgaria. Spider’s tracking down his contact.”

“Bulgaria?” Kane
scrubbed his hand through his hair. “That’s... interesting. Let me
know what you find out. But in the mean time, don’t assume Stemp is
the leak. I’m not sure it adds up to that, and you don’t have any
evidence. We need more information.”

I eyed him with
frustration. “I’m sure it’s Stemp. He’s such a slimeball.”

“Slimeball or not, we
need proof.”

“Fine.” I sighed.
“Spider and I are working on it. I’ll keep you posted. Which leads
me to my next question. What are you going to do? How can I contact
you?”

“I’m going to lie low
for now. I’ll probably stay around here for a while. Don’t be
surprised if you find food missing from your fridge.”

“How can I contact
you?”

“It’s best if you
don’t, unless there’s an emergency. I’ll contact you. But if you
need to talk to me, leave your hoe lying in your garden, and I’ll
come in at night. If it’s an emergency, fire three shots.”

I grinned at him.
“Excuse me while I go put my hoe out in the garden. You can come in
at night any time.”

He took a deep breath
and his eyes heated up. “That’s not a good idea,” he said huskily.
“Too risky.” He stood. “You need to go back to the house now.
You’ll be due at Sirius soon. I’ll get set up here.” He turned
away, and I barely heard his mutter. “And by the time you’re back,
maybe these damn drugs will have worn off.”

“Wait, one more
thing.”

Kane turned back to me.
“What is it?”

I grinned. “You just
fucked my brains out. The least you can do is kiss me goodbye.”

“I... That’s really not
a good idea, either.” He stood frowning for an instant before he
pulled me into his arms. I’d been half-joking, but at the touch of
his lips, I realized I had a chance I could have lost forever. A
chance I might still lose if Stemp found him.

I’d tried to protect
Kane by keeping my distance. When I’d thought he was dead, I’d only
regretted what I hadn’t done. Life was too short.

I ran my fingers
through his hair and pulled him closer to tease his lips with my
tongue. He groaned, and heat flashed through me when he deepened
the kiss. His hands slid down my back to pull me against him.

I lost my breath at the
feel of the unyielding ridge in his pants. Lust drowned me and I
groped at the button on his jeans with a shaking hand.

“Aydan, stop,” he
mumbled against my lips. “Too dangerous...”

“Please...” I managed
to fumble the button undone. “Please, just once when I know you
won’t die. When I know I’m not dreaming.” I eased the zipper
down.

“God... Aydan, stop...”
He grabbed my hand.

“We might not get
another chance.” I circled my hips, rubbing against him, feeding my
need. “Please,” I panted. “Now. I want you now.” I closed my teeth
on his neck, licking and nibbling.

He groaned and wrenched
my jeans down while I slid my hand inside his pants. Breathless
hunger suffused me when I freed his erection from the confining
cloth. The last time I’d seen something that big and hard, it had
been black silicone.

Then my back was
pressed against the smooth bark of a tall poplar. His hands clamped
under my ass and he lifted me bodily. When he drove deep inside me,
the forest echoed with my wild cries.

We pressed against the
tree, sweating and shuddering. I dropped my head onto Kane’s
massive shoulder to gasp out the last mindless waves while his
rigid muscles vibrated under my hands. After a few more breaths, I
slowly unlocked my legs from behind his back to lower my feet
tentatively to the ground. My quivering knees barely supported my
weight.

He held me close and
buried his face in my tangled hair, kissing my neck. His lips
searched across my jaw to find my mouth in a long, sweet kiss.

At last he pulled away,
gently disengaging himself. He steadied me when I wobbled and
smiled down at me, the lines crinkling around his still-dilated
eyes. “Amazing. You’re amazing.”

“Now that’s what I call
a goodbye kiss,” I gasped. “Holy shit.” I gave him a breathless
grin as he zipped up his jeans.

“I have to go.” His
fingertips stroked my cheek, and he brushed another light kiss
across my lips before turning quickly to disappear into the
forest.

I tottered over to the
log and collapsed onto it to pant some more. When I was finally
capable of standing again, I floated back up to the house.

Trailing into the
bedroom to shower and change, I grinned at the sight of the
churned-up bed and straightened it, wincing. Kane was a big strong
guy, and he hadn’t been holding back. Despite my earlier reassuring
words to him, my bruises ached deeply.

I smiled. He was alive.
And maybe I could look forward to a rematch when I was in better
shape to enjoy it.

My smile persisted
until I sat down at the breakfast table and started to think things
through. Then the magnitude of the situation finally filtered into
my brain.

I was euphoric that
Kane was alive, but I couldn’t tell anybody, and I couldn’t show my
happiness in any way. I somehow needed to gather proof of Stemp’s
betrayal. Producing Kane alive would land Stemp in a lot of
trouble, but it wouldn’t prove that Stemp was the leak to Fuzzy
Bunny.

I blew out a breath and
made fists in my hair. Back to our original plan. Time to set Fuzzy
Bunny up.

In Silverside, I
slipped into the tiny electronics store and picked up a couple of
disposable cell phones before heading to Blue Eddy’s for my regular
eleven o’clock appointment. After lunch, I avoided conversation
other than the usual pleasantries at Up & Coming. I didn’t want
to deal with any awkward questions about Kane. Lola didn’t know he
was officially dead, and I didn’t want to have to lie to her.

I took a few moments to
devise a strategy before meeting Spider at Sirius Dynamics. It felt
wrong to keep him in the dark about Kane, but I had to agree with
Kane’s reasoning. After a short internal debate, I decided silence
was the safest course of action. It would prevent me from blurting
out the good news, and Spider would assume I was submerged in
gloomy thoughts.

When I walked into my
office, I realized with a jolt that keeping silent would be easier
than I’d anticipated. I’d forgotten Smith would be present for our
afternoon session. His stench pervaded my office, and I bit my
tongue to keep from asking him if he’d ever considered changing his
shirt.

My filter hadn’t
captured any further communications with Fuzzy Bunny, so I made a
substantial dent in the decryptions during the afternoon. When I
emerged from the network and let go of my pounding head, Spider
gave me a small smile.

“You’re making some
progress.”

“Finally.” I rubbed my
aching eyes. “Too bad there’s no way of knowing if any of those
files are valuable until I get into them.”

He shrugged. “They’re
all valuable to some extent. Even if there’s no actual intel in
them, it helps to see the internal structures and systems Fuzzy
Bunny uses. And you never know what’s going to turn out to be
important down the road.”

“I guess you’re right.”
I sighed and looked at my watch. “I’m starving. Do you want to go
over to Eddy’s for supper?”

Spider caught my eye.
“No, I’ve got some work to do tonight over at the other office.
Let’s grab something quick at the Greenhorn instead.”

I concealed my sudden
interest. Maybe he’d made some progress of his own. “Okay. I’ll
meet you in the lobby after you take the key back down to the
secured area.” I followed him out of the office and did my best to
look bored while I hovered in the lobby.

At the Greenhorn, he
leaned across the table. “I’ve been digging into Katya. I’m not
sure if this is going to help us or not.”

I glanced quickly
around the tiny restaurant. A couple of other tables were occupied,
and we could be easily overheard. “Can we talk at the office?”

He nodded and clammed
up, but curiosity got the better of me. “Did you find a lot of
information?”

Spider shook his head.
“No, just bits and pieces. It looks as though there’s been some
professional-quality covering up. I’m not even sure what it adds up
to, but it’s definitely interesting.”

I held back my
questions with difficulty while I bolted down my meal without
tasting it. Spider seemed equally disinclined to dawdle, and we
were on our way to his office a few minutes later.

His shoulders sagged as
he unlocked the door to the small converted house that he and Kane
had shared. Sympathy choked me, and I bit my tongue to keep from
telling him Kane was really alive. Instead, I focused on the
knowledge that the sooner we could nail Stemp, the sooner everyone
could stop suffering.

Spider sank into the
chair behind his desk in the former living/dining space. He glanced
over at Kane’s empty desk and ran a hand over his face briefly
before unlocking a desk drawer to withdraw several sheets of
paper.

“Let’s go to the
meeting room,” he mumbled as he stood.

We sat at the small
table in one of the converted bedrooms, and he carefully scanned
the room with his handheld scanner before speaking.

Then he pushed the
papers across the table to me. “Here’s what I’ve discovered so far.
Stemp used to be a field agent, but he switched over to
administration five years ago and quickly got promoted up the chain
into his current director’s position. But about seven years ago, he
was part of an op that took place in Bulgaria. That’s the only time
he was officially there.”

Something in his voice
made me prompt, “But...”

I recognized the
hunter’s smile. “But... unofficially, he’s travelled to central
Europe several times since then. A few times within a year of his
first visit. A couple of times a year, after that. There’s no
record of him visiting Bulgaria again.”

“But...” I prompted
again. I didn’t mind playing straight man. I could see there was
more coming.

“But...” Spider’s smile
turned predatory. “He slipped up. I found little things here and
there. A credit card receipt. A phone record. I can’t place him in
Bulgaria with each trip, but I’m willing to bet he went.”

I leaned forward, rapt.
“So who’s Katya?”

“That’s why I’m willing
to bet he went. Because I hacked into each of his sessions again
today, and guess what?”

“What, what?” I
demanded. “Jeez, spit it out already!”

He blushed. “It seems
Katya is his lover. And has been for some time.”

I sat back slowly in my
chair. “Oh. But what does that mean? Did you find any links between
Katya and Fuzzy Bunny?”

“No.” Spider slumped
back in his chair, too. “I can’t find any connection at all. I dug
into everything I could find. I found out where she lives, and she
works at the Sofia Technical University, but that’s all.”

“Shit. So we’re no
further ahead on proving anything.”

“No. Unless we can show
that Stemp has been secretly meeting with Fuzzy Bunny operatives
over in Europe, there’s no connection there.” He sighed. “I’ll keep
digging.”

The sound of the
doorbell made me jump.

“Oh, that’ll be
Hellhound,” Spider said as he stood.

I quickly folded the
papers and stuffed them into my pocket as I looked at my watch. “At
eight o’clock at night?”

“Yes, he said he needed
something from Kane’s desk.” The animation drained from his
face.

I trailed him out into
the office area as he opened the door. Hellhound gave him a nod as
he stepped into the room. The tired lines in his face eased when he
smiled at me. “Hi, darlin’, what’re ya doin’ here so late?”

“Um... just going over
some work stuff with Spider,” I mumbled. “I’ve been helping out
with the overflow from his web design business.”

True, though not
relevant. I hate lying at the best of times, and lying to somebody
I cared about was even worse.

Hellhound nodded
absently and turned to Spider. “I just gotta get a coupla things
from his desk. I’m gettin’ ready to clean out his condo, an’ I need
some paperwork an’ the keys to his storage locker. I shoulda just
got ya to bring ‘em down when ya came, but I wasn’t thinkin’
straight then.”

Spider heaved a sigh
and waved a hand at the empty desk. “Go ahead.”

I caught his eye.
“Spider, there’s just one more thing I need to ask you before I
go.”

“Okay.”

He turned back to me,
and I slapped my forehead. “Oh! I left those papers in the meeting
room. Let’s go and have a look, and then I’ll take them with
me.”

He obediently followed
me back down the hall, and I leaned close to whisper. “I got the
phones. I’m going to generate a message to our mole first thing
tomorrow morning. I’ll set him up to call one of the phones. If he
actually calls, I’ll tell him to watch for an ad online at
Craigslist for further instructions.”

Spider nodded.
“Perfect. You’d better disguise your voice, though. Don’t forget,
all of our suspects know you.”