Suddenly a Spy (18 page)

She frowned at him and he responded by
handing her his phone. There was a text from Vance that simply
read, “Go.”

Her entire demeanor changed as she
understood. They’d been found.

The filmy dress she wore wasn’t intended to
hide a handgun, so she tossed it in the bag she put over her
shoulder. As always, her suitcase stood packed and ready to go.
Since the first time they’d had to run on their honeymoon, she’d
learned the value of luggage that was ready to go at a moment’s
notice.

There was an eerie quiet between them as she
and Rick loaded their things in the small rental car that had sat
unused outside the little abode. Veronica made one more pass
through the house, checking for belongings before they left.

She reemerged and instinctively knew all was
not well. There was no shuffle of Rick loading bags, and he was
nowhere in sight. Everything seemed still, as if waiting for
something. The breeze curled around her again, this time bringing
with it the distinct scent of cinnamon and sandalwood. She knew
that smell, and it sent fear coursing through her veins.

“Marko,” she called his name softly.

“Polo,” he responded, his voice playful as he
moved in to grab Veronica. He pulled her back to him, one arm
wrapping firmly about her waist as the other hand spanned her
throat in a way that was half caress, half stranglehold.

A gargled cry from below told her Rick could
see them but was powerless to come to her aid.

“My brother got to say ‘I told you so’
because of you,” he bent his head so his lips brushed her temple as
he spoke.

“Sorry,” she genuinely meant it, oddly
enough. “I’m sure he wasn’t gracious about it. Don’t let him forget
how much trouble Adrianna caused chasing after Rick.”

“Believe me, I won’t.”

“Good.”

“You do know I’m here to kill you and your
husband, right? I’m mean, as nice as it is to catch up, I want to
be sure we’re all on the same page.”

“Absolutely. I assumed that’s why you came.
Of course, you do know I have no intention of letting you kill me
or my husband, right?”

“I think I’d be disappointed if you did.”

“How did you find us?”

“You aren’t going to get a villain’s
monologue out of me, but that was a nice try,” he smiled against
her skin. His grip had not loosened, but she could feel the tension
leaving his body. He was enjoying their conversation.

“It was worth a shot.”

“You know, I was furious at you. I spent the
past week dreaming about how I’d kill you. It was always with my
own two hands—that seemed to bring the most pleasure—but then I saw
you standing there just now. The breeze was playing with your hair
and it made me want to lose myself in that tangled mass of
sunshine.”

“That would be a little weird if I were
dead,” she reminded him.

He laughed, but it wasn’t the easy laugh
she’d become accustomed to. There was an edge to it, as if the two
creatures existing within him were now in conflict. “Maybe I am
undecided about your fate—you do amuse me. But your husband has
been a pain in my ass for a while now. I hope you won’t hold it
against me when I kill him.”

Without changing his grip, he tugged her down
the stairs towards the car. Now she could see Rick and the two men
who held him. A third held a gun to his forehead.

Despite the shadow of evening, she could see
the cold fury burning in Rick’s eyes. Blood and dirt marred his
face. His clothes were torn. He hadn’t gone down easy, and now he
was every bit a dangerous, coiled animal, waiting for his chance to
strike.

Marko brought them to a stop directly in
front of Rick, ensuring he had full view as Marko flexed his hands
on Veronica’s body, reminding them both of the grip he had on her.
He placed a kiss on her temple, his eyes never leaving Rick’s.

Rick met his gaze with a look that promised
retribution for that and any other time Marko’s lips had touched
his wife. With the man she loved more than life itself on his knees
before her, Veronica arched into Marko as she brought her arms up
over her head, rolling her body against his so she could reach back
to sink her fingers into his dark hair. The seductive curve of her
body through the gossamer dress, the silent promise in her
offering, was enough for him to give pause.

Before he could snap out of it, Veronica’s
grip hardened. She braced herself against him as she swung her legs
up, catching the gunman by the head with her feet. In one deft
motion, she snapped his neck and continued her trajectory up and
around.

She now faced Marko, her eyes captured by his
for a frozen moment. She vaulted off the ground into a spinning
wheel kick that caught a goon square in the chin. The man stumbled
back, giving Rick the edge he needed to break free.

He exploded into action, parrying a punch
from one guard and meeting it with a swing of his own. Veronica
dodged the hulk she’d caught in the chin, coming up under him to
jab at his windpipe with her knuckles. She finished him with a
quick succession of well-placed kicks.

“Bastard,” Rick spat blood out of his mouth.
He turned in a circle, looking for some sign of Marko. His muscles
quivered with the need to kill Marko Kulenović with his bare
hands.

“He took off shortly after the first guy hit
the ground,” Veronica placed a calming touch on his shoulder.
“These three won’t cause any more problems tonight. Let’s go before
Marko regroups and comes back.”

Rick focused on Veronica, willing quiet the
storms within him. He nodded, moving on autopilot to open the car
door for her. She didn’t push him, knowing he needed to just get
them to safety before he could process what had happened.

“I think we’re too easy to spot when we’re
together,” he finally broke the silence.

“Do you want to split up?”

“I don’t want to, but it might make more
sense. I want you to get yourself to San Francisco. Zigzag a little
bit. Make sure you lose anyone trying to follow you.”

“I can do that—if you promise me
something.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t go after him by yourself.”

“That’s not fair,” he protested. “You didn’t
see the look in his eyes when he had his hands on you.”

“It’ll ruin everything we’ve worked for.
Please, don’t play right into his trap. Promise me you’ll meet me
in San Francisco.”

“Isn’t that a song?”

“You really have trouble focusing sometimes,
you know that?” Veronica sighed. “And I’m not agreeing to step one
foot out of Greece until you promise me you’ll stick to our
original plan.”

“Fine. I promise,” the words sounded as if
they’d been ripped out without his permission. “Until I know how he
found us, don’t use your cell phone or laptop. Unless you need to
put out the bat signal.”

“Okay. Remember my friend Kate? She’ll be our
contact.”

“That’s the one that gave us the wine basket,
right?”

“Right. Here’s her card,” Veronica fished a
business card out of her purse. “Find her when you get there.”

One short car ride later, Veronica found
herself standing on a dock, in Rick’s arms for one last embrace
before the two parted.

“Ron, I’m sorry…”

“Stop it,” she cut him off. “We’re not having
this conversation. You have nothing to apologize for. It wasn’t
your fault and we’re both okay.”

“Because of you. We’re both okay because of
you.”

“That just means I’m finally pulling my
weight,” she assured him, leaning up to kiss him goodbye. “I had a
very good teacher.”

Chapter Nineteen

Just as Rick instructed, Veronica zigzagged
her way back to the States, and then across them to the California
coast. She changed her look after each stop, walking into the
restroom a brunette and out with silver hair, or a scarf or
baseball cap…. By the time she stood watching the fog roll over the
Golden Gate Bridge, she had taken all manner of planes, trains and
automobiles to get there.

She checked into a mid-priced motel and
collapsed onto the bed. She’d track down her old friend after she
was rested. That night, she slept so deeply she couldn’t remember
dreaming.

When morning dawned, she set about getting
ready. If her perpetual motion stopped, it would settle in how much
she missed Rick. Or worse, she’d start obsessing over the tortured
look in his eyes when Marko’s hands had been on her.

Here, in the harsh light of reality, she
wondered how Marko had any pull over her whatsoever. Here, it was
easier to remember who he was and on which side of the line he
stood. How had she been under his spell, even a little? It was a
dark side of her she wasn’t entirely sure how to reckon with.

So instead of reckoning, she shoved it aside
and applied her lipstick. She was wearing jeans, a gray tank top
and a battered pair of white canvas sneakers. Everything else in
her bag was either intended for night raids or for looking pretty
and feminine on the Mediterranean coast—completely out of place in
the San Francisco financial district. She planned on swinging by a
thrift shop to grab a sweater on her way; the bay area summer was
surprisingly chilly.

After sweeping her hair into a messy bun, she
grabbed her bag and headed out the door. Hopefully Kate would be at
work today and not put out by a surprise visit from an old
friend.

Veronica ducked into a thrift shop that held
promise. She fell in love with the racks of clothes that were more
fun than anything in her closet and wound up buying several
outfits, along with the sweater.

She backtracked to the room to drop off her
treasures before heading back towards the financial district. By
the time she arrived at the old brick building in SOMA, it was
nearly lunch.

“May I help you?” the woman at the front desk
looked at Veronica as if she were lost.

“I’m looking for a friend of mine. Kate…”

“Veronica Talbot. I mean Sinclair. What are
you doing here?” a pretty redhead interrupted.

“I can’t drop in on an old friend for lunch?”
Ronnie beamed at Kate.

“I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“You look amazing,” Ronnie told her
truthfully. Kate had definitely come out of her cocoon since their
heyday.

“So do you.”

“Don’t lie,” Veronica couldn’t help laughing.
She looked like she’d traveled halfway around the world in the past
few days. “Is this a bad time? I can come back later.”

“Don’t you dare. Let me grab my purse, we’ll
go to lunch.”

“Wow, you really do look amazing,” Veronica
couldn’t help musing again as they waited for their salads to be
delivered.

“If you saw the women I work with, you’d know
it’s only out of self defense. They are ridiculously beautiful. And
stylish. And sweet, so it’s impossible to hate them.”

“You just described yourself.”

“Ha! So what are you up to these days?”

Veronica thought about that for a second; it
hadn’t occurred to her that she’d have to answer that question at
some point. It should have, but it hadn’t.

“Rick and I went into business for ourselves.
We’re doing some consulting work for the government. Fairly boring
stuff, but we get to travel.”

“How’s married life?”

“Amazing,” Veronica’s eyes shone. “Crazy. Not
at all what I expected, but amazing.”

“I heard you aren’t having children,” Kate
snickered.

“What? How did you hear that?”

“Your mother called to see if I could
recommend a good specialist. It seems she’s exhausted her resources
on the east coast.”

“How humiliating. Rick and I are perfectly
capable of having children, we’ve just chosen not to,” Veronica
assured Kate.

“Don’t apologize. I got a follow up call from
Jeff, promising me you were fine. It was pretty funny,
actually.”

“Well that’s comforting.”

Lunch was fun, and blessedly normal. They
talked about Kate’s journey to San Francisco after her mother’s
death. They talked about men and Kate’s job and fashion. They did
not talk about human trafficking, crime bosses or near death
experiences.

“Oh my gosh, Jack’s going to kill me if I
don’t get back to the office,” Kate frowned at her watch. “I have a
meeting in 15 minutes. Please tell me you’ll go out with me and the
girls tonight.”

“Absolutely,” Veronica smiled, glad she
didn’t have to fish for a reason to hang around Kate until Rick
could make contact with her.

“Wonderful! Should I call your cell?”

“My schedule’s a little nuts the rest of the
day. Why don’t I call you around 7?”

“Perfect,” Kate leaned over and gave Veronica
a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing out the door.

Veronica knew her excuse sounded weak, but
she still couldn’t turn her cell phone on, and that left her with
few alternatives. After lunch, she picked up a pay-as-you-go phone
and put a call in to Jeff’s work line. If Marko had tapped the
federal phones, he deserved to find her.

“Hey big brother,” she grinned like a fool
when she finally had him on the phone. She missed him like
crazy.

“Ron! It’s good to hear your voice. How are
you?”

“Really good, actually,” Veronica realized it
was true. She felt incredibly alive these days. “How are you? How’s
Courtney? How are the dogs?”

“It’s good to know you miss us, too,” there
was a smile in Jeff’s voice.

Veronica curled up on a nearby bench to watch
people while she caught up with her brother on the phone. She’d
taken a cable car to Fisherman’s Warf. It seemed the tourist thing
to do, and this was her first trip to the city by the bay.

“I hear you and Courtney are quite the item
these days.”

“I have to keep an eye on my sister’s dogs,
right? And someone has to be sure the bad guys don’t carry her off
to get to you.”