The Spy Who Loves Me (33 page)

“It'll be a long road,” Schnell was saying. Amber had already been debriefed, and she'd given Finn a quick kiss as she'd left the waiting room. Finn had taken a deep breath and followed the receptionist into the leader's office. “But from what Amber says and from what I've seen, you'll be a real asset.”

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.”

Schnell flipped through a file on his desk. “I have a group of agents beginning training in London on Friday. We can have you on a plane tomorrow.”

Finn swallowed. “I, uh, have obligations. Debts…”

“Yes. They've been taken care of.”

Finn blinked. “Excuse me?”

Again, Schnell opened the file. “Student loans, yes?” Finn nodded, silent. “They were paid off this morning. Our way of saying thank-you.”

“Oh.” He wasn't sure what else to say.

Schnell passed him a folder. Finn opened it. An airline ticket from Los Angeles to Heathrow. “I assume you have a passport?”

Finn nodded.

“Excellent. Then that's it. We'll talk again in London.” The older man paused, looking at him over metal half-glasses. “Unless there's something else?”

Finn hesitated only a moment, and then he stood up. “No, sir. This is amazing. Thank you. Thank you very much.”

“Don't thank me,” Schnell said. “Just do your job. And do it well.”

 

“Go get it, boy! Go on!” Amber laughed as Brinkley bounded after the tennis ball. She hadn't laughed in over twenty-four hours, and the noise sounded awkward to her ears.

Above her, a commercial jet swooshed by, heading east with its belly full of passengers. She swallowed, then sighed. Finn probably wasn't on that plane. But he was on a plane somewhere. Heading to London. Heading out of her life.

She'd taken a risk, and she'd paid the price. She'd wanted him to turn down the job, to stay with her. But it wasn't something she could ask him to do. What was that saying? If you love something, set it free? Well, she had. And he'd left.

She closed her eyes and counted to ten, telling herself that she'd made the right decision, no matter how much it hurt.

Behind her, she heard the unmistakable sound of tires crunching gravel.
Brandon.
She checked her watch. He was early. Not that she minded. Unlike any other moment in her life that she could remember, right then she craved company.

With Brinkley at her heels, she turned and walked to the front of the house. As they neared the corner, Brinkley started barking, bounding forward and then turning back as if to ask why she wasn't hurrying.

“I'm coming,” she said, shaking her head in amusement. Brinkley had never been that excited about Brandon before.

But when she turned the corner, her heart started thudding wildly, as if she'd not only hurried, but had sprinted around the house.
Finn.
Crouched next to his beat-up Mustang, his fingers buried in Brinkley's fur.

“I—Aren't you supposed to be on a plane?”

“I said no.” He stood up, looking rugged and sexy in an open flannel shirt over a white T-shirt.

She blinked, sure she'd misunderstood. “What?”

“You heard me.”

She had heard him, but she wasn't sure if he'd really spoken the words or if it was just wishful thinking on her part. “You said no?”

He nodded.

“Why?” The word was almost a whisper, and she held her breath, knowing just how much was at stake with his answer.

“I love you, Amber.” She saw him draw a deep breath. “And I can't love you the way I want to if I'm in the Unit. You of all people should know that.”

She couldn't help her smile. “You love me.”

“Hell yes. I don't want the job,” he said. “I want you.” He took a deep breath, then moved closer, taking both of her hands in his own.
“I want you.”
His mouth quirked into an ironic grin. “Even if it means keeping a job that I hate.”

She licked her lips. “What if I told you that you didn't have to keep that job?”

His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“Forget the Unit,” she said. “Work for me.” She raised both eyebrows, punctuating the point. “I promise I won't have any rules against fraternization.”

Finn could only blink. “What are you talking about?”

“Freelance,” she said. “The downside is there's no government sponsorship. No expensive gadgets ours for the taking. No support network. The upside is we work where we want and when we want. And the pay's a hell of a lot better. Interested?”

He was staring at her. “Interested? You know I am. But why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?”

There was anger in his voice, but mostly curiosity. She licked her lips, wanting him to understand why she'd walked away. “I needed to be sure,” she said. “Hell, I needed
you
to be sure.”

He shook his head, clearly not following.

“Don't you see? I didn't want you to wake up ten years from now wondering
what if.
Because if you did, I was going to be the one you looked at. The one who held you back.”

“My choice,” he said.

“Of course. But emotions don't work that way. I'd be the bad guy, and you'd start to resent me.” This time she reached for his hand. “But now…”

“Now you know,” he said. “We both do.”

“So tell me, Mr. Teague. Are you in the market for a new job?”

“Oh yeah,” he said, gathering her into his arms, where she belonged. “So long as you come with it, I'm very, very interested.” He lowered his lips to hers, sealing their new pact with a kiss. It was heaven to kiss him. Pure, sweet heaven, and a rush of emotion crashed through her brain, wild and frantic.

She never even heard the man's approaching footsteps. Not until his gun was aimed at her back.

“Don't even think about moving,” the voice said.

“Prado,” Finn whispered. His head was up now, and he was facing behind her, looking at the man.

Amber started to turn.

“Oh, I don't think so. You just stay where you are. You two cost me a lot of money. I think you owe me.”

“You can have whatever you want,” Finn said. As he spoke, he stepped back from her, just slightly, the move almost imperceptible.

“Thanks,” Prado said. “Considering I want you both dead, that's very generous.”

Finn licked his lips. “Maybe we can work something out.”

“Not damn likely,” Prado said. “Now move away from the bitch,” he said.

Amber couldn't see what was happening behind her, but she did see Finn's hand snake under the open shirt. And she saw the glint of a gun.

“I love you,” she whispered.

His smile was his only response. And in one smooth motion she twisted to the left. He fired through his shirt, and Prado went down. The man didn't even have a chance.

Amber leaned against him, her palms flat against his chest. “Good shot.”

“I'm glad you think so,” he said, pulling her close. “That's one of my many, many talents.” He met her eyes, and she saw the heat—and the love—reflected there. This was a man she could joke with and make love with. A man who'd watch her back. A man who'd never, ever let her go.

She lifted herself up onto her toes and gave him a quick kiss. “You know something, Mr. Teague? I think we're going to make one hell of a team.”