Reach For the Spy (18 page)

Kane lifted a shoulder.
“It’s some World of Warcraft thing. They were over at the internet
cafe, gaming.”

“Thank God. I took a
hit and when I opened my eyes, I saw elves. I thought I had a head
injury for sure.”

“If not for those
elves, you’d have more than a head injury.”

I sighed. “Yeah. Oh,
did they arrest Red-shirt, too?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’m pretty sure
he was the one who was harassing me with the phone calls.”

Kane took my abraded
hand gently in his. “Go home. Get some sleep. Drive carefully.”

“Don’t worry. I
wouldn’t take a chance on cracking up my baby.”

He chuckled. “Whatever
keeps you safe.”

I rumbled home without
enjoying the ride as much as I could have under other
circumstances. I took a couple of ibuprofens and eased myself
carefully into bed. It took a long time to fall asleep.

The peal of the phone
made me moan and squint blearily at the clock. Three forty-five.
I’d slept for less than two hours. The phone rang again.

“Noooo.” I buried my
face in the pillow.

On the third ring, I
fumbled the phone off the hook. “What.”

Silence on the other
end.

I groaned and hung up.
Guess I’d been screaming again. I briefly considered dragging
myself out to the garage, but the effort was too much for me. I
pulled the covers over my head.

Morning came too early,
so I ignored it. By eleven, the aching stiffness of lying in bed
outweighed my apathy, and I crept painfully into the shower. The
hot water seared my raw skin but soothed the sore muscles
underneath. By the time I stepped out, I could almost turn my head
without whimpering.

I eased myself into
shorts and a tank top, preferring to leave my damaged skin
uncovered in the open air instead of replacing the dressings with
their itchy adhesive. Then I shuffled into the kitchen and ate a
bowl of cereal. It wasn’t much of a lunch, but I was out of
leftovers and I didn’t feel like making anything.

The warm breeze
beckoned through the open window, and I answered the invitation.
Out of range of the exterior cameras, I sank into my chair in the
warm shade and slowly stretched out my legs.

I really wasn’t hurt
that badly. A few scrapes and bruises and sore muscles weren’t
really a big deal. But after the stress and fatigue of the past few
weeks, I couldn’t seem to shake off the urge to just curl up and
cry. I took a deep breath and determinedly rerouted my mind to my
bookkeeping clients. I’d have to do a little desk work today, just
to be ready for next week…

My eyes were welling up
in spite of myself when Tom’s half-ton pulled up at the gate. A
small moan escaped me. If I’d been sitting around the back of the
house, I could have ignored him and he’d never have even known I
was here. But I was in plain sight, so I hauled myself to my feet
and did my best to hide my limp while I trod stiffly across the
lawn. Apparently I’d landed hard on my butt at some point last
night, too.

He swung out of the
truck as I approached and his smile vanished when I got close
enough for him to see my injuries. I cursed myself for not putting
on a T-shirt and jeans to hide the scrapes. I looked like I’d gone
a couple of rounds with a renegade belt sander.

“Aydan, what happened?”
he demanded. “Were you in an accident?”

I grunted as I unlocked
the gate and swung it open. “Accident for me. On purpose for the
other guys.”

“Who did this to you?”
His eyes blazed with blue fury.

“Bill Harks and his
buddy. And don’t worry, they’re in jail. Where they’ll stay for a
while.”

“Two of them? Two of
them attacked you?” His fists clenched.

“Yeah, brave guys. They
cornered me last night in town.” I really didn’t feel like going
into it, so I changed the subject. “What’s up?”

“Shouldn’t you be in
the hospital?”

I sighed. “I got
cleaned up there last night. I’ve just got a few bruises and some
scrapes from rolling around on the pavement. It’s nothing
serious.”

“Aydan, you can hardly
move.” His tanned face was creased with worry.

I shrugged slowly and
carefully. “Harks decided to sling me around by my hair, so my
neck’s pretty stiff. It’ll settle down in a couple of days.”

Anger blazed from his
eyes again, and I held up a restraining hand. “It’s no big deal.
They’re in jail. It’s all good.” I tried again. “So what’s up?”

I could tell he didn’t
want to let it go, but after a few seconds he sighed and turned
back toward the truck. “We had far too much food at the potluck
last night, as usual. I thought if you were still feeling under the
weather from yesterday, you might appreciate some of it.” He
frowned again. “I didn’t realize how under the weather you were
going to be.”

“Food?” My stomach
emitted an eager growl. I clapped a hand over it. “Sorry. Comments
from the peanut gallery.”

He gave me his crooked
smile as he indicated the cardboard box on the seat. “Where do you
want it?”

I considered. I didn’t
really want him near the house, but I also didn’t really feel like
carrying a heavy box of food today, either.

Fuck it. He was just a
neighbour. As long as Stemp didn’t see him too frequently, he
should be safe.

“Why don’t you just
drive on up to the house with it, and I’ll put it in the
fridge.”

“Okay, hop in. It’ll
save you the walk.”

That seemed like a fine
idea. I climbed carefully into the passenger seat.

He pulled up in front
of the house, and I held the door for him while he brought the box
inside. As I unpacked the food on the kitchen counter, my stomach
growled again.

Tom gave me a quizzical
look. “Maybe you should eat some of this right now.”

I grinned at him. “I
was trying to be polite and not stuff my face in front of you.”

“Forget that.” I got
the crooked smile again. “Where are your plates?”

I loaded up a plate,
exclaiming over the variety of food while my stomach roared its
eagerness. After packing the remainder of the food into the fridge,
I made for the front door, carrying my plate. The sooner he was out
of the house and away from the bugs and cameras, the better.

“I’m going to eat this
outside,” I told him. “I’ve been cooped up inside buildings all
week.”

He got the door for me
and followed me out. I had half-hoped he’d leave, but instead he
trailed me to my chair in the shade. I sat carefully and he lowered
himself to the grass, leaning back on his elbows with his long
denim-clad legs stretched out.

I dug into the food
enthusiastically and he squinted up at me from the ground, the
lines crimping around his eyes. “You were starving. And your fridge
was completely empty. Don’t you have any food in the house?”

“I’ve got tons of food
in the freezer. I’ve just been too lazy to cook lately.”

He gave me a piercing
look. “I wouldn’t say lazy. I’d say you’ve had a tough week.”

Uncharacteristic tears
threatened again. I hate sympathy. I swallowed hard and looked
away.

“Yeah, not one of my
better weeks,” I agreed lightly. “Hey, I meant to ask you. Or
somebody who knows more about hay than I do, anyway. What’s going
on with my hay field up there?”

He glanced up the hill.
“What do you mean?”

“It looks pretty sad to
me. Should I be doing something with it?”

The conversation veered
to farming, and I relaxed into the comfortable topic while I
finished the excellent food. At last I scraped the plate clean and
leaned over slowly and stiffly to put it on the ground.

Tom turned a troubled
face to me. “I wish there was something I could do to make you feel
better.”

“Not unless you can
recommend a massage therapist.” I eased my aching neck around to
give him a rueful smile. “I know a good guy in Calgary, but I’m not
driving two hours to see him.”

“There’s one in
Silverside, but I know she’s on vacation this week.” He frowned.
“If you’d like, I could probably help a bit. I don’t have any
training, but one of the women I dated for a while was a registered
massage therapist, and she taught me a lot.”

I threw caution to the
winds at the glorious thought of somebody, anybody, doing something
to ease my screaming neck and shoulders. “Would you? That would be
wonderful.”

“Sure.” He rose and
looked down at me dubiously. “You should lie down.”

“I don’t think I can.
I’m too sore.” Also, I had no intention of bringing him anywhere
near the house.

“Tell me if I hurt you,
then.” He stepped behind me and stroked my hair away from my back.
His firm, gentle hands started to work my shoulders and neck.

I slouched forward and
propped my head in my hands while the heavenly touch eased my
stiffened muscles. A small moan escaped me, and he stopped
instantly. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. That feels
amazing.”

He started again, and I
blinked back tears of gratitude. Even if he’d been doing a lousy
job, the caring touch of his hands would have been worth it. And he
wasn’t doing a lousy job. Far from it.

I lost track of time
while I floated mindlessly. Finally he stopped, and I did my best
not to whimper a complaint.

“I have to get going
now. Sorry,” he said.

I straightened slowly
in the chair before dragging myself to my feet. “Thank you. I feel
so much better now.”

He smiled, his eyes
soft as the summer sky. “Good.” He hesitated. “Aydan... I hope
you’ll call me if you ever need help. I’m here for you if you
do.”

I blinked and
swallowed. “Thanks, Tom.” I cursed the quiver in my voice. Suck it
up, for chrissake.

He surveyed my face for
a moment before stepping forward to put his arms around me. I
gulped hard. I really didn’t want to get involved with him. And I
do not cry in public.

I managed to hold out
for a couple of seconds before I slid my arms around his lean body
and hid my face in his shoulder. We stood in silence while I
struggled for composure. His corded arms held my aching body as
softly as if I might break.

And I might.

I took a deep breath
and pulled away.

He let me go
immediately and took my hand instead. “Call me if you need me.”

I didn’t meet his eyes.
“I will.”

I heard the phone ring
through the open window, and trailed back into the house. The
message on the machine was from Lola, worrying about me. I called
her back and chatted for a few minutes, reassuring her.

After hanging up I
blinked heavy eyes at my heaped-up desk in the stuffy office. I was
trying to motivate myself when the phone rang again, and I picked
up to another of the women from the previous evening, expressing
concern.

I hung up after the
short conversation and sighed. Then I tucked my cell phone in my
pocket and made for the garage, where I opened the main door to let
in the breeze and curled up in my comfortable nest in the
corner.

A couple of hours later
I finally roused myself and creaked back into the house. My body
still hurt, but the urge to cry was gone. I headed for my desk,
feeling much more positive, and immersed myself in the pleasantly
predictable world of bookkeeping.

The phone rang
frequently as several more of my new friends from the previous
evening called to check on me, along with Spider, Blue Eddy, Jeff
Latchford, and Kane.

By suppertime, I was
feeling thoroughly loved, my bookkeeping work was caught up, and my
fridge was still full of delicious food. The phone rang again, and
I smiled as I picked up.

“Hello?”

“Watch your back,
bitch. I’ll be waiting for you.”

A lump of ice formed in
the pit of my stomach. “Who is this?”

“You’ll find out.”

Click.

I sat and regarded the
receiver trembling in my hand for a moment. Then I laid it
carefully back in the cradle. My newfound optimism somewhat dented,
I headed for the kitchen and consoled myself with potluck
leftovers.

With my belly filled,
the world looked rosier. I loaded the dishes into the dishwasher
with a shrug. Whatever. I was in no more danger than before.
Stemp’s analysts would be busily tracing that call.

I got to bed early and
managed to sleep most of the night. Only one call with silence on
the other end, which I chose to regard as comforting. Somebody was
looking out for me. And only one more nocturnal threat. Could have
been worse.

Creeping stiffly out of
bed, I made a point of being showered, dressed, and ready to go
when Kane arrived at eight-thirty.

“How are you feeling?”
he asked sympathetically as I climbed into the Expedition.

“Pretty good today,
actually. Still stiff and sore, but it’s better already.”

“Good.”

“Did your guys get a
trace on those calls?”

“Public phone at the
Silverside Hotel again. But we couldn’t find anyone who could tell
us who’d been using it. Everything is in chaos over there now that
Harks is in custody. The owners are trying to find a replacement
for him, and nobody knows what’s going on.”

“Harks wasn’t the
owner?”

“No, just general
manager.”

I snorted. “Well,
anybody they hire will be an improvement.”

When we pulled up
outside Sirius, my heart sank. Kane turned to study my face. “Are
you okay?”

I sighed. The hand
tremor was back. “All in all, I think I prefer taking a
shit-kicking in the open air to living unscathed underground. As
long as I’m outside, I have the illusion that I might be able to
escape.”

He regarded me in
silence, his face troubled. I lifted a painful shoulder. “Let’s go
do it.”

I made it into Spider’s
lab without panicking. Sinking slowly into my usual chair, I
breathed deeply and carefully.