Double Agent (10 page)

TEN

S
abine had to fight not to roll her eyes at the cop. “No, I don’t know who could have done this. Or why. How many times do I have to say it?”

“Until I’m satisfied, I’m afraid.”

She bit back a retort and adjusted her perch on the rock-solid hospital waiting-room chair. The police detective’s eyes had dark circles that overshadowed the fine lines on his face. After she adjusted her estimate of his age for the fact that he had a tough job, Sabine still guessed somewhere over fifty. Bald with a soft middle, he looked more mobster than cop.

“I know you’re tired, Ms. Surleski, and I appreciate your answering these questions. It’s important we get to the bottom of...”

Doug pushed through the doors at the end of the hall.

“Ms. Surleski—”

She ignored the cop, already out of her chair, and ran toward Doug. She wanted a hug. The force of the need to be held made her stop short. Why was the instinct to seek him out for comfort so strong? Doug must have seen the look on her face, the war between what she wanted and what was appropriate. He shook his head and gathered her in his arms.

Sabine sighed, not wanting to think too much about how nice it felt to be surrounded by his warmth. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“I hadn’t left yet. My colonel gave me permission to come, and the team went without me, but—” He shook his head. “Let’s just say they’ll be fine. Not sure how I feel about being expendable, though.”

Sabine nodded, thankful beyond words that he was here. That she could support him. “I’m still waiting for word.”

“Uh, excuse me. Ms. Surleski?”

Sabine ignored the look on Doug’s face at the mention of the name she used on missions. The use of that identity was risky, but she was too tired and too overwhelmed with worry about Andrew to figure out which was safer—the name of the woman who killed Christophe Parelli or the name she usually went by.

The one the CIA now knew.

She turned back to the cop. “This is General Richardson’s son.”

“Of course.” The two men shook hands, and the detective turned to her. “If we can continue with our questions?”

She nodded and they walked back. Doug sat beside her.

“You said a rock flew through the window?”

“That’s right.”

“And that led to the heart attack?”

Doug flinched, but she ignored it. Instead she tried to smile and hoped it looked pleasant.

She hadn’t planned on mentioning the note attached to the rock. Not that she wanted to lie to the police. She’d just spent too many years taking care of her own problems. The police, the Feds, whoever got their hands on the note to test it for fingerprints or whatever wouldn’t have the first clue what it meant. Plus Doug would want to see it, anyway. Plenty of reasons to slip it in her pocket.

T
read
carefully
.

Sabine couldn’t have said how she knew, but it was meant for her, and it was about their investigation into Ben’s death. It was a waste of ink as far as she was concerned. Nothing was going to stop her from finding out who had killed her brother.

The detective sipped his coffee. Rude, since she didn’t have anything to drink and he hadn’t offered. She could dearly use some caffeine. The adrenaline surge from seeing Andrew fall down had long since worn off, and she was still waiting for news about his condition.

“You have no idea who could have done this?”

“No, I have no idea. Just like I told everyone else who has interviewed me since I got here. All I want is to find out if Andrew is okay. Not sit here answering questions from everyone who thinks this is their business to investigate.”

Doug shot her a look, his eyebrow raised, but she wasn’t going to back down.

Apparently when a high-ranking military official was attacked at home, everyone wanted to know what the deal was. This cop was the fourth person to interview her in the last two hours.

Every agency in existence had been through the waiting room where she sat—the FBI, the Secret Service, federal agents with the military. She’d seen less people in the center of London on a Saturday night.

Still Sabine was impressed by the attention the general was getting. Most likely it was the result of how much respect he’d earned and how many friends he’d made over the years. Friends who cared enough to move heaven and earth to make sure he was okay.

That was why she humored them all by answering their questions. Not too long ago Sabine would have taken off the minute Andrew was in the hands of EMTs. Tonight she had stuck around. Maybe because, even though they had only met the day before, Andrew meant a lot to her. Maybe it was the shared connection they had in Doug. Either way she wanted him to know she was here for him.

The detective didn’t look too impressed. In fact he looked downright insulted. “This is clearly the jurisdiction of local police.”

Sabine stood. “Look, I’ve answered your questions, but I will not be dragged into a tug-of-war between you and the FBI and everyone else. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get an update on the general’s status.”

She crossed to the desk where a nurse sat. The young woman had pink hair and a bored expression on her face. “Help you?”

“I’d like an update on General Richardson. It’s been two hours, and no one’s told me anything.”

The nurse sniffed.

Sabine realized her tone could have been nicer but, under the circumstances, couldn’t bring herself to feel guilty.

“Are you a relative?”

“I am.” Doug appeared beside her. “His son.”

The double doors at the end of the waiting room swished open. A good-looking middle-aged man in a white coat came in, talking with the general’s housekeeper. Jean’s sleek hair was disheveled, and she grasped a balled-up tissue in one hand.

Sabine rushed over. “What is it? Andrew’s okay, right?”

Jean sucked in a shaky breath, and the doctor turned to Doug, probably seeing the resemblance between father and son. “The general had a heart attack. He’s stable now, but we’ll be keeping him here and running tests later today, after he’s had a chance to rest.”

Jean motioned to Sabine, and they stepped aside while Doug asked the doctor questions.

“Will I be able to see him?” Sabine asked.

Jean’s eyes hardened. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s been a long night and Andrew is sleeping. Besides, Doug is here now.”

“Oh...of course.”

Sabine tried not to be disappointed that they’d left her out in the waiting room tied up being interviewed until the general was asleep and she couldn’t see him. “I’ll stay until he wakes up then.”

Jean smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “That’s really not necessary. Don’t feel like you have to stick around.”

“I don’t really have anywhere else to go.” She was supposed to be under the radar. Where better than a hospital full of staff...and security guards? She’d promised Doug she would stay safe, though. And she wanted to be near him.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

Sabine flinched. She turned too fast and nearly stumbled, but held herself together long enough to get to the hall with some kind of dignity. It had been a long time since she’d been dismissed so thoroughly. To her surprise, it stung in a way she hadn’t felt since Maxwell’s infidelity had come to light.

More than that, it hurt to realize the pain was so familiar. It had stuck with her all this time without her knowledge.

In a lot of ways the divorce had been a relief. After all the stress and pain of dividing one life back into two she had resolved not to enter into another relationship that left her vulnerable. Now she was free to live. She’d been happy, on her own terms.

Or so she thought.

Sabine swiped a tear from her cheek and pushed away the old feeling of inadequacy. She just wasn’t the kind of person who inspired love in other people.

After her mom killed Ben’s dad and tried to kill them she’d resolved with a child’s understanding that there was something missing in her. Ben’s love had filled a lot of the gaps and helped her to heal a great deal—both before and after the disaster that was her marriage to Maxwell. But despite Ben’s acceptance of her, that old feeling somehow never went away.

A young woman stepped out of a side room and almost collided with her. Sabine offered a quick apology. The girl’s face was the picture of peace, though her eyes were red and puffy like she’d been crying. She smiled and stepped past Sabine, who looked up at the door. It was the hospital’s chapel.

Crying in a hospital could mean anything—a loved one in an accident or suffering a terminal illness. Maybe the crying girl had recently lost someone close to her, or she could be worrying about a friend. And yet the look on her face had been radiant.

Ben had looked the same way the last time Sabine had seen him. When she had asked him what was different, she got a wide smile for an answer. He’d said Doug had “led him to the Lord,” whatever that meant. Ben had become a Christian, but she didn’t really understand it.

What good had it done her brother, anyway? He’d found religion and it got him killed. In reality that probably wasn’t what happened, but she couldn’t ignore the timing. Within two weeks of becoming a Christian, Ben was dead. Not exactly a good advertisement.

Her phone buzzed. She drew it from her pocket and looked around to make sure she wasn’t going to get in trouble for using her cell in a hospital.

We need to meet.

Her body tensed, readied for battle. Not with the enemy, but with her own handler.

This was her first contact with Neil since she’d found out that he had lied about her working for the CIA the past six years. If she was going to get to the bottom of things, she had to meet with him...and play things very carefully.

She sent a text back.

Where and when?

* * *

Doug hadn’t been in a hospital since his mom had died.

His dad lay wrapped in a white blanket, asleep to the steady beep of machines. Doug decided he wasn’t going to lose another parent to illness. He laid his hand on his dad’s weathered one, and the old man’s eyes flickered open.

“I wasn’t sleeping. I was just resting my eyes.”

“Sleep is good, Dad.” The last thing Doug wanted was for him to downplay all this and wind up hurt worse.

“I’ll rest if you go to your girl. Sabine needs you more than I do right now.”

“I know.”

“And what are you going to do, anyway? Just stand there all night staring at me?”

Doug snorted. He put his hand on the old man’s head, leaned down and touched his forehead to it. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

The general shifted and dislodged the blanket. “Not if you have better things to do, you won’t.”

Doug would come back the next day. Nothing would be going on that was more important than checking on his dad. He reached down and straightened the blankets. “We’ll see.”

It wouldn’t do to have the old man think he meant to come and visit no matter what. The dance of their relationship was a delicate one, despite the manner in which they spoke to each other. He couldn’t let on how much he needed his dad. Nor would his dad ever let on how much he wanted Doug there.

His mom was the one who had brought the two of them together. Would there ever be a day when they could just say what they meant? Doug looked back at his dad lying in the bed, and his heart squeezed. His mom had gone into the hospital and had never come out. A heart attack was a far cry from terminal pancreatic cancer, but, to Doug’s little-boy heart, it felt the same.

Lord, don’t let my dad die.

He turned away from the sight of the slow rise and fall of his dad’s chest, then walked until the door closed on the beeping.

Out in the waiting room Jean paced, wringing her fingers together.

“Hey, you okay?”

She shook her head, tears in her eyes.

“What is it? Where’s Sabine?”

“I’m so sorry, Doug. I was really mean to her. And after she did so much to help Andrew. She was right there. She even got him an aspirin before the paramedics arrived. Probably saved his life. I’m afraid it was my fault.”

She needed to finish her story so he could go to Sabine. “What happened?”

“I was just so mad. I only found out what happened when the hospital called to say Andrew was asking for me. I thought your Sabine purposely didn’t tell me. I froze her out. Then when she walked away I saw the look on her face. She was just trying to be here for us and be supportive. I feel so guilty.”

Doug tried to muster up some sympathy, but he was exhausted. It was almost dawn. He had no doubt Sabine really was hurt when Jean rebuffed her. “Jean—”

“I know, I know, but I can’t apologize because she hasn’t come back in.”

“I’ll find her. I’ll tell her you’re sorry.”

“Please, Doug.”

He took a step back, ready to alert hospital security to start a search for Sabine. “I’ll find her.”

He headed for the elevator. There was no reason to suspect Sabine was in immediate danger, but something about her being alone—even in a busy hospital—put him on alert. Add to that her being upset and he figured he better find her fast. His finger hammered the down button, and he had to remind himself yet again that she was a trained CIA agent who was absolutely capable of taking care of herself. Now he just had to convince his heart not to worry about her.

Was this their future, constantly fretting about each other’s well-being?

If that was the case, Doug wasn’t so fired up to let things between him and Ben’s sister get any deeper than they already were. Doug really didn’t know what kind of woman she was. They’d had limited contact before Ben’s death, only small talk at team barbecues when everyone brought their families. Because Doug hadn’t let it be more.

Now they were thrown in this situation together and struggling to figure out each other plus what was going on.

He got off the elevator on the first floor and made for the front entrance. He didn’t know why he was going outside, only that the instinct of flight usually made people head for the nearest exit.

Sure enough, she was at the curb about to get in a taxi.