How Spy I Am (24 page)

I shrugged and turned
away. If this went badly, it wouldn’t matter.

I extracted my cell
phone from my pouch and laid it on my dresser along with Stemp’s
tiny tracking device. There. Aydan’s staying home for the night.
Jacket in hand, I headed for the door.

My hand was on the
knob when sudden realization made me smack my forehead. “Moron!
Fucking moron!”

I trembled my way back
to the bedroom, gulping down the adrenaline of a near miss. The
surveillance cameras would show me leaving the house. If I walked
out and left my tracking device at home, Stemp would instantly know
I’d circumvented it.

Hands shaking, I
fumbled the tiny capsule back into my change purse. After a moment
of hesitation, I picked up my phone again, too. Time for Plan
B.

I hoped it wasn’t an
omen.

I drove a little
faster than usual on the dark highway, hoping to make up some time.
The knowledge that I’d lose my license if I got another speeding
ticket did nothing to calm my nerves.

When I arrived in
Calgary, I took a couple of deep breaths, blowing them out slowly
and shaking the ache out of my clenched knuckles while I waited at
a red light. I could do this.

At the coffee shop
near my old neighbourhood, I scuttled to the well-lit back
entrance, my heart pounding. I had planned to tuck my USB stick
above the door frame, but there wasn’t enough room. After a moment
of near-frantic frustration, I gave the quiet parking lot another
quick once-over before hopping awkwardly to push the small device
up on top of the wall-mounted light fixture. It was invisible
there, but I knew Kane would find it eventually. He’d tear the
whole place apart if necessary.

Please God, don’t let
it be necessary.

At my next
destination, I pressed the button on the security panel and waited.
No response.

I leaned on it a
little longer. Come on. I know you’re in there.

Nothing.

“Come
on
!”

Inspiration hit, and I
pressed the button repeatedly. Three short, three long, three
short. SOS.

Come on. Answer,
dammit.

“What the
fuck
!” Hellhound’s bellow made the tinny speaker
crackle.

“Hi, Arnie,” I
stammered. “It’s Aydan.”

Tension knifed into
his voice. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing bad,” I
said quickly.

I heard him blow out a
long breath. “Listen, darlin’, I’m kinda busy right now…”

“I’m sorry to bother
you, but I only need a few seconds. I have to give you something,
and then I have to leave right away.”

“Shit, that doesn’t
sound good. Come on up.” The lock released, and I hurried inside
and took the stairs two at a time.

I was just raising my
hand to tap at his door when it swung open and he pulled me inside,
giving me an anxious inspection. “What’s wrong?” he demanded again
before I could speak.

“Nothing.” I grimaced
as I realized what ‘busy’ meant. “Sorry,” I added as I took in his
half-zipped jeans and the telltale smears of lipstick on his face.
“I just need to give you these.”

I held out my phone
and the tracking device. “I’ll be back to pick them up later. If
I’m not back by one A.M., call Kane and tell him to check his
email.”

“Not so fast,” he
rasped. “Where ya goin’?”

“I can’t tell you.
Just do this for me. Please?” I gave him the big brown eyes.

“Arnie, hurry up. Come
back to bed.” An impatient female voice drifted from the bedroom,
and I tried to push my phone into his hands.

“Just hang on a
minute, darlin’,” Hellhound said, and I wasn’t sure whether he was
talking to me or his bedmate. He lowered his voice. “Listen, Aydan,
I ain’t gonna do this. I ain’t gonna call Kane an’ tell him I sat
here an’ let ya go off in the middle a’ the night without
backup.”

I shot a glance at my
watch. “Arnie, please! I can’t involve anybody else. The slightest
hint I’m not alone, and this won’t work.”

“Fuck that. Call Kane.
This’s what he does.”

“I can’t. If he finds
out, somebody I… might care about will die. And I’ll probably end
up dead, too.”

“
Might
care
about? What the hell, Aydan, either ya do or ya don’t. An’ if
Kane’s gonna kill ya when he finds out, why d’ya want me to phone
him later?”

I blew out a tense
breath. “I didn’t say he’d kill me, I just… Arnie, look, if this
goes well, Kane can’t know. If the whole thing goes to shit, he
has
to know.”

“Sounds like you’re
skatin’ on pretty thin ice, darlin’.” He reached to touch my face,
looking deeply into my eyes. “No lies. Promise me ya ain’t screwin’
Kane over.”

“I swear to you that
what I’m doing won’t harm Kane no matter how it turns out. In fact,
I’m trying to cover his ass for a mistake he made a few years ago.”
I shot another edgy glance at my watch. “I have to go.”

He shook his head.
“Aydan…”

“
Please
. I
really need you to do this.”

Hellhound blew out a
long breath as an imperious call sounded from the bedroom. “Arnie!
Get your ass in here!”

“Okay,” he said.

Relief softened my
bones. “Thank you!” I flung my arms around him.

“Hang on.” He pulled
away, frowning. “One condition. Ya gotta tell me where you’re
goin’.”

“I can’t.”

“Then I ain’t doin’
this.”

“Arnie!” Desperation
turned my exclamation into a wail. “Arnie,
please
!”

“No deal.” When I
stared at him, trembling with frantic nerves, he continued.
“Listen, if ya tell me, I promise I won’t do anythin’ until one
A.M. But if this goes to shit, wouldn’t it be better if somebody
knows where to start lookin’ for ya?”

It made sense when he
said it like that.

“Promise you won’t
call Kane until one. No lies,” I begged.

“I promise. No
lies.”

Another glance at my
watch assured me I was out of time and out of options. “Carburn
Park. A bench on the riverbank, about a quarter mile downstream
from Glenmore Trail.”

“Okay.” He accepted
the phone and tracker.

I reached up to touch
his troubled face. “Thank you,” I said. “For everything. And if you
have to call Kane… tell him… just… tell him I’m sorry, okay?” I
reached up to steal a quick kiss for luck before turning away.

His powerful arms
caught me, spinning me around. His lips met mine, his hands sliding
down my back to pull me tightly against him. Helpless lust ignited
my body when he deepened the kiss, his magic tongue teasing and
promising.

My God, the man could
melt stone with those kisses.

A long moment later, I
used every ounce of my willpower to break the kiss, breathless.
“What…? I thought…”

Hellhound appraised me
seriously. “That sounded like goodbye. An’ there’s no fuckin’ way
I’m sayin’ goodbye with a little pansy-ass kiss like ya gave me.”
His wicked grin didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Besides, now you’re
all hot for me, I know you’ll make it back come hell or high
water.”

I let out a shaky
laugh. “You know me too well.”

A well-endowed
brunette stomped out of the bedroom. “What the
hell
?” she
screeched, her voice rising to a pitch that made me fear for the
hall mirror.

I pulled away and
squeezed Hellhound’s hand. “See you later,” I murmured and headed
for the door.

“Ya better. Be safe,
Aydan,” Hellhound rasped softly before turning to face his enraged
brunette. “Now, darlin’…” I heard him begin as the door closed
behind me.

In the inadequate
streetlights outside the park, I squinted at my watch and swore.
I’d have to haul ass if I was going to make it to the bench on
time. I sprang out of the car, pressed a trembling hand against the
reassuring shape of my gun at my waist, and ran.

As the streetlights
receded behind me, I slowed to a shuffling jog until my eyes
adjusted to the darkness. Fearfully eyeballing the heavy bushes
beside and ahead of me, I hugged the open side of the path.

A rustle in the
undergrowth made me jerk out my gun and spin around, eyes straining
for the source of the sound. A moment later, I let out a shaky
breath when I realized the sound was too small and too close to the
ground to be a threat.

I turned to hurry on,
my gun clenched in my hand. After a moment, I stuffed it back in
its holster. I didn’t necessarily want Robert to know I was armed.
Just in case.

The path seemed longer
than I remembered. I panted open-mouthed, trying to be quiet and
wondering where the hell the bench was. It had been nearly three
years. What if it wasn’t here anymore?

At last, I made out
its faint shape silhouetted against the city lights across the
river. Unoccupied.

I skulked closer, my
heart banging in my chest. My eyes began to ache from peering at
dark bushes against darkness.

Nothing moved.

A skittering noise
made me jump, but this time I knew it was only the sound of a small
animal on some night errand through the fallen leaves. Traffic
noise from Glenmore Trail created a constant low-level sound
backdrop, and I swivelled my head like a manic owl, afraid I’d miss
the sound of somebody sneaking up on me.

Beside the bench at
last, I hovered nervously, resisting the urge to pace back and
forth on the noisy gravel that surrounded it. The night seemed full
of surreptitious rustlings.

I tiptoed over to the
nearest tree, wincing when an unseen twig cracked under my foot.
With my back pressed against the tree for protection, I stood
peering into the blackness.

An icy breeze swirled
along the riverbank, making the dry leaves whisper malicious
rumours. My sweat-damp T-shirt amplified the chill and I shivered
despite my jacket.

I froze at the sight
of a darker patch of shadow on the path. Was it moving slowly
toward me? I stared until my eyes watered.

Moving? Or not?

At last, I decided my
eyes were playing tricks on me. Definitely not moving.

I was just glancing
away when the dark shape shifted at the edge of my vision. I jerked
my gaze back to it, my pulse battering my eardrums, hand hovering
over my gun.

Another long stare,
panting shallowly.

No, goddammit, it’s
not fucking moving! Get a grip!

I let out a long, slow
breath through my mouth and waited some more, trying to convince my
heart to migrate back down into my chest and beat at a normal
rate.

What time was it? How
long had I stood here? Was he late? Or had he arrived earlier,
decided I wasn’t coming, and left? Or worse, was he standing
concealed somewhere nearby, watching me?

Cold fear crawled down
my spine and set my knees trembling. What if it was a setup? He
could have a dozen men concealed down here with night-vision
equipment. I’d never have a chance.

I stiffened my knees
and resisted the urge to draw my gun. The ache in my too-wide eyes
spread to my temples while my shivering intensified.

An interminable time
later, I clenched my teeth against their chattering. My shivering
had turned into long tremors that shook my entire body, and my feet
were falling asleep. I reluctantly released my arms from their
tight hug around my body. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to know
what time it was.

I fumbled in my waist
pouch with shaking hands and promptly dropped my keys, the jangle
resounding like a crazed cymbal band in the silence. Cursing under
my breath, I hunched down, patting the ground in widening circles
until I encountered them.

Still crouched, I
extracted my tiny LED flashlight and flicked its beam briefly onto
my wristwatch. The feeble light seared my retinas after so long in
the darkness and I blinked away afterimages, muttering quiet
obscenities and shivering. After a suspenseful pause while I gawked
blindly around me for potential threats, I tried again. This time,
a slightly longer burst of light showed me I’d waited over an hour,
and I swore in earnest.

I must have gotten the
meeting place wrong.

And I was running out
of time before my automated email blew up in my face.

Dammit!

I stuffed my keys and
flashlight back into my waist pouch and creaked upright to limp
down the path. Shudders shook my body, and I tried to jog,
achieving a lurching half-trot until the tingling eased from my
feet.

By the time I reached
the welcome glow of the streetlights, my exertion had warmed me
into a clammy sweat. Inside the car, I cranked on the heat and
consulted my watch again. No time to spare. I blew out a shivery
sigh and slammed the car into gear.

It took longer than
I’d hoped. When I jammed on the brakes in the visitor’s slot at
Hellhound’s condo building, a tense glance at my watch made me
spring from the car and hurry for the main entrance. As I crossed
the parking lot, I couldn’t help taking another anxious look at the
time. Close, too damn close.

I didn’t even notice
the shadowy figure between two parked cars until a hard yank on my
hair nearly threw me to the ground.

The burst of pain and
shock wrenched a yell out of me. Already snatching at my holster, I
spun to face my assailant, but surprise stopped me when I
recognized her.

Harmless.

Well, kind of.

Hellhound’s top-heavy
brunette took a savage swipe at my face, claws extended. I dodged,
barely evading her nails as her grip on my hair yanked me up short.
Over the pounding of my heart, I barely translated her
shrieking.

“Mine! He’s mine! Back
off, bitch!”

She flung herself at
me, all wild eyes and hate-contorted face and long, lethal
nails.

Instinctive reaction
closed the hand that had hovered near my holster into a fist that
drove up before I even had a chance to consider the action.