Double Agent (9 page)

“Depends. The army certainly has no problem that a weapons dealer is dead. Outside of us, things get more complicated.”

Doug snorted. “That’s a fact. Why do you think I’m content being a noncommissioned officer?”

“It does create a certain distance between you and all the bureaucracy, doesn’t it?” The major general’s eyes gleamed. “Good move. Wish I’d had the same foresight as you.”

“Feeling the pressure of command?”

The major general huffed. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Of course.” Something hard emerged in the older man’s eyes, and Doug wasn’t sure he would like where the conversation was about to go.

“Word to the wise, son. This girl could spell big trouble for you. I’m not sure you want to get tangled up where she’s heading. Could be the end of your career. Just a little friendly advice, since you’ve been like a nephew to me for a long time, Doug. Women like that are never good for us.” The old man laughed. “Trust me. I’ve been married three times. All of them were strong...you could even say dangerous women. I know it feels exciting and new right now, but if you let yourself get sucked in, when she walks away—which she will—there won’t be much of you that she leaves behind.”

“I appreciate the warning, sir.”

“But you’re not going to listen to me. No, don’t argue. I can see it in your eyes, kid. Take it or leave it. When this girl’s troubles all descend on her, you won’t want to be in the middle of it.”

The major general sucked down the remnants of his drink and left.

Did he really believe Sabine would do that? Her job was the kind that forced her to give it all and rarely let anyone else walk away with anything to show for it—aside from bruises. She could absolutely take care of herself. Fiercely independent, that’s what she was. Or was it that life had taught her to guard her heart above all else to keep from risking it being broken...again? It would take a lot to get through that shell of hers.

Could she let someone in enough to be comfortable including them in her inner circle? Ben had lived there. Now that Doug knew what the two of them had been through, he could see how saving her little brother’s life meant that they stuck with each other from then on.

Would she ever let Doug in like that?

NINE

“R
ichardson.” Doug rubbed the sleep from his eyes and listened to the voice bark instructions through the phone. “Understood.”

He pushed away the urge to mourn for what would have been his first full night of sleep in days and got up. It was 4:00 a.m. After he splashed cold water on his face, Doug put the few things he’d got out of his duffel back in and zipped it closed.

He tapped on Sabine’s door and waited, but she didn’t appear. Sleeping that deeply wasn’t good in her line of work. At the same time he was glad she felt safe enough at his dad’s house to get the rest she needed. He peered in to check on her.

The bed was empty.

The sheets and blanket were rumpled like they’d gotten twisted up while she had tossed around trying to fall asleep. He didn’t want to be going on a mission when she was like this, but it couldn’t be helped. Work called. He’d have to trust her to stay here and wait.

The Raven, or someone who worked for him—or her, he supposed, since they had no idea—had withdrawn money from a bank in the Cayman Islands. The team was off on a treasure hunt that could lead who-knew-where. He’d get the full details at the briefing, which would likely happen on the plane since the team was spread all over the place.

Downtime was a bit of a misnomer when you were still effectively “on call.” That was the nature of his work, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Being a nine-to-fiver with weekends off had never been his thing.

Sabine’s bathroom was empty. The major general’s words came back to Doug, and he had to push away the distrust. Just because she wasn’t where he could find her didn’t mean she had betrayed him. She was Ben’s sister. That fact alone was enough for him to know he could trust her. Ben would never have spoken so highly of her if she was their enemy. Sure, she’d been deceived into working for someone other than the CIA. That didn’t mean she was working against the U.S. It wasn’t like she was an agent for the Raven.

Sabine wasn’t in the kitchen, TV room or the library. A low light shone from under the door to his dad’s office, so he went in to ask the general if he knew where Sabine was.

* * *

Sabine’s fingers froze on the keyboard. Doug was in the doorway, and his mouth hung open. She slid the chair back from the computer. “It’s not what you think.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “Is that right?”

She wasn’t going to be able to talk her way out of this. If she did, it would destroy the small bit of progress they had made toward trusting each other. “I was looking for something.”

“There are a lot of things to find in here. You know, I was just thinking to myself, no, there’s no way Sabine would ever betray me because Ben trusted her. I guess you deceived him, too.”

She gasped.

“Good thing all the sensitive information is secured.”

He thought she was capable of that? She would never, ever have betrayed her brother. “Is that your way of warning me away from betraying the very country I’ve been working for this whole time? You think I’m some kind of spy against America?”

Except that was exactly what people thought of her.

He crossed the room. “You have to admit it looks pretty suspicious. Charm the general’s son. Blow up a hard drive so I have no choice but to bring you to the safest place I know, the general’s own house. Break into his office in the middle of the night to steal secrets.”

“You forget that your dead teammate was my little brother, whose killer I will find.”

“By breaking in here?”

“The door was unlocked.”

“Sabine.”

“Your dad called me
Elena,
okay?”

Surprise flickered on his face before he quashed it.

She blew out a breath. “I need to know what he knows. If there’s information going around about me, I have to know what it says. I’m so twisted around, worried about what’s going to happen to me.”

His lips thinned. “Most people would just say, ‘Hey, General, why’d you call me that?’”

“I guess I’m not most people.”

“I guess not.” He sighed. “Did you find anything?”

“You want to know what dirty secrets I’m privy to?” She narrowed her eyes. “Sorry, but I didn’t get through the security features on his computer yet.” He smirked, which she took as a challenge. “Come back in ten minutes, then I’ll tell you something juicy.”

“Not going to happen.” He studied her. “You couldn’t have come to me? You felt you had to sneak in here—”

“I couldn’t sleep. It seemed like a good time, and I didn’t want to wake you.” She closed her eyes. “I don’t know why I feel like I have to justify myself to you.”

“And yet you’ll betray our trust because you couldn’t tell us the truth?”

She stood up, to put them on more level ground instead of having him tower over her. “Would you have?”

“What have I said or done that gave you the feeling you couldn’t trust me?”

“That’s not what this is about.” Besides, his whole job was secrets. Why hadn’t she seen that before? This could never work. There was no way they’d ever be able to completely trust each other, forever wondering if the other one was holding out.

His eyes darkened. “As much as I’d love to stay and work this out with you, Sabine, I have to go.”

“You’re leaving?” She walked around the desk. She needed to get by him with a sliver of her self-respect still intact. “I guess I should have known better, should never have told you about my parents. Ben never did. Maybe he was right not to trust you with it.”

He grabbed her arm as she passed.

She looked at him but didn’t let the look of pain on his face penetrate her mask. “Time will tell.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Sabine, I got a call. The team moves out first thing this morning. I have to go. It’s my job.”

“Ah, yes, the almighty job. Greatest above all things.”

“Sabine—”

She shook her head. “Maybe I can trust you, maybe not. Maybe I’m the bad guy. I guess we’ll see, since I’m obviously stupid enough to stick around right under the noses of everyone who wants me out of commission, just to find out. Boy, do I wish attraction didn’t make me an idiot.”

He caught up to her at the door. “You seriously like me?”

“That’s not what I meant.” At least, she didn’t want it to be. She wanted to forget she’d said it. Why had that slipped out? She had to change the subject. “How long will you be gone? You know, so I can be waiting by the phone.”

He sighed. “Honestly? I have no idea. I could be a day or it could be weeks.”

“Weeks?”

“You know how it is, Sabine.”

She did. Ben’s schedule of being overseas versus being in the States had been erratic to say the least. “I’ll be sure to stay here like a good girl and wait for the big, strong man to come home.”

He sighed. “Just promise me you won’t disappear. Or do anything dangerous.”

She didn’t want it to affect her, but it did. “I don’t invite these things, you know. And I don’t like being a victim.”

“When I look at you, a victim is the last thing I see.”

Sabine was floored, but managed to keep her jaw from dropping. A few more of those petals opened to the sun.

“This house is safe for you. My dad and I aren’t hiding anything.”

“You can’t believe that. Not when you both have enough secrets to fill the Library of Congress.”

“I promise you, Sabine, we aren’t hiding anything that could harm you. We’re trying to help you, and I need you to let me do that.”

She studied his face. “Okay, I believe you.”

“Will you promise me something else?”

She nodded.

“Don’t do anything to hurt my dad.”

“I would never—”

He sighed. “Just say you won’t, so I can believe you and trust you while I’m gone.”

It grated that he felt he had to make her promise not to hurt his dad. As if she really would. But since he’d found her searching his dad’s computer, she relented. “I promise.”

As he walked away, Sabine realized he took a little piece of her heart with him. She watched from the office as the general appeared at the bottom of the stairs in blue-and-white striped pajamas and a pair of slippers. Doug hugged his dad and looked back at her, but she didn’t know what that look meant.

Then he was gone.

Andrew turned and saw her in the doorway to his office. His eyes widened. “Find anything interesting?”

Her cheeks heated, and she knew that—even in the dim light of predawn—he saw her embarrassment.

“Come.” He waved toward the kitchen. “We can have tea, and you can tell me. I doubt either of us is going to sleep any more tonight.”

The light above the stove was already on when they entered, the curtains pulled tight across the window. The effect was privacy and a sense of detachment from the outside world that helped her forget what was going on. Even if it was fleeting, it was still nice.

Sabine sat at the table while Andrew filled the kettle. He turned back, folded his arms across his chest and gave her a look she’d seen on Doug’s face several times. She looked at the table’s surface. The refrigerator hummed. Deeply ingrained traits that had been cemented by her CIA training gave her a sick feeling in her stomach. But with any luck, if she trusted him, he’d reciprocate and tell her why he’d called her Elena.

She sucked in a deep breath, pushed away the discomfort of opening up and launched into the whole story of her parents, the CIA, Ben’s death and how she met Doug. The general smiled when she told him how she’d ditched Doug in the café and how he’d come after her in Seattle, bursting into her house to save her.

“Sounds like the two of you have been good for each other.”

“I’m not sure Doug sees it that way.”

Andrew’s wrinkled face brightened. “I think he needs someone exactly like you, Sabine. You’re a firecracker.”

She laughed. “Was that even a compliment?”

“Honey, it’s the highest one I know. Doug’s mama was a firecracker. There was never a dull moment with that woman.” His gaze took on a wistful air.

“I’m not sure we’ll ever get to that place. There’s a lot that could go wrong if we’re not careful.”

He squeezed her fingers. “If there was nothing to overcome, how would you know it was worth fighting for? You have to ask yourself if he’s worth it.”

“I suppose you’re going to tell me that he is. After all, he’s your son.”

Andrew shook his head. “My opinion shouldn’t play into it. You’re the only one who can answer the questions of your heart.”

Sabine was quiet for a moment. “Thank you.”

“You’re wondering why I called you Elena last night.”

“Yes.”

“A lot of paperwork has crossed my desk in the last week. Mission reports and the like. It was nothing but an old man’s slip of the tongue.” He studied her. “Do you wish to be called that, or should we stick with your cover,
Sabine?
”

The name Elena brought back a lot of memories of her mother and stepfather, of years spent in the fight to survive foster care. Then again, she had been accepted into the CIA under her real name—Elena Sanders.

“I prefer Sabine.” She smiled. “Sabine is the firecracker.”

Andrew laughed.

“Elena wasn’t nearly so tough, even if she did make it through CIA training. She feels like who I used to be, while Sabine is who I am now.” She remembered Doug’s parting words. “She’s a survivor.”

“I have to ask. You changed your name and used Ben’s last name?”

“I had covered my tracks well enough that it seemed to be okay and for him to have a room there, being as the house was under my cover name and he wasn’t listed on anything. He needed a home base when he wasn’t working, and it’d been long enough that my new identity was established, but some part of me still can’t help thinking maybe someone found me—or Ben discovered something—and that’s what got him killed.”

“He was killed on a mission.”

“I know that.”

“You still worry it had something to do with the job you chose?” Andrew shook his head. Behind him, the kettle had begun to boil. “Trust my son.”

“I do.”

“If Doug thought Ben’s death was because of you and not the Raven, he would have told you.”

“The Raven?”

“The reason your brother was killed. Doug’s team found evidence that links the Raven to the man who funded the hired gun.”

“Christophe Parelli.”

Andrew nodded.

“So Parelli hired the guy who killed Ben, but Parelli really worked for this Raven guy?”

“That’s as much as I know.”

“And now Parelli’s dead, too.”

The kettle began to whistle. Andrew stood to make the tea.

There was a crack, like breaking glass, and the curtain billowed up as something flew in the window. Shards of glass sprayed the room, and Sabine didn’t have time to react. The projectile dented the fridge and hit the floor. Andrew grabbed his chest.

Before she could reach him, he fell.