| |
––––––––
IT WAS REMARKABLY EASY to put down all the bodyguards. The problem was that I’d made such a ruckus in the hallway that the rich and powerful were starting to notice. I caught sight of a few affluent couples stopping at the end of the hall to point.
“We have to get out of here,” I said to Theo.
It didn’t matter what information he had; we needed to evacuate or our cover would be blown and the whole operation would have to be abandoned. The last thing either of our governments wanted was media attention, and a knock-down drag-out fight at a high class establishment was sure to turn some heads.
“Oh no,” Vinny said, pulling out his gun. “You ain’t walking outta here.”
Theo knocked the weapon back without preamble, clocking Vinny in the face at the same time. I took a step back as the mountain of bodies at my feet stirred. I hadn’t had time to dispatch them completely, and they still had some life left.
On top of that, two additional goons appeared from the kitchen. Apparently, Theo had the same problem that I did. We were focused on getting out with our intel intact, not on making corpses. But that left the avenue open for the bad guys to come back for round two.
“This way,” I shouted, reaching for Theo’s hand.
He accepted my olive branch without question, and we dove deeper into the mansion. I’d never held anyone’s hand before in my life, certainly not in a combat situation. But it felt natural. The reassurance that he was still alive and by my side made all the difference as we searched for a back door.
“Here!” Theo said, pushing his way into what might have been a bathroom.
Unfortunately, it was more like a walk-in pantry, with dry goods and cans lined up on massive metal shelves. There was no exit, not even a window we could squeeze through. We realized our mistake a moment too late. By the time we turned around, the hordes were at the door.
Theo put his back against it, digging in to restrict access. I searched for something we could use as a weapon but didn’t find anything remotely threatening. It was time to fall back on my training. Inside a cupboard, there were ingredients to make an explosive. If I added a few key items that I had on my person, I might be able to concoct something to get us out safely.
There was some cooking sherry on the top shelf. Sometimes simple was better, and the availability of alcohol made my life that much easier. I ripped my dress, stuffing a bit of the fabric into the bottle. Then I used a match from my clutch to light it, setting it right beside the door.
Theo watched my actions with interest, knowing what he had to do. He continued to apply pressure until the last possible minute. When the alcohol caught fire, he dove for cover, pushing me into the recesses of the pantry.
I covered my head with my hands, knowing that the explosion was going to be violent. We were locked so close to the bomb, there was very little chance that we would come away unscathed. But in a show of masculine protectiveness, Theo shielded me with his body as best he could, taking the brunt of the shrapnel.
The door burst open, and Vinny’s crew came through. They saw the Molotov cocktail and attempted to get away, but they were too late. The bottle exploded, sending glass flying through the air.
Theo grabbed my hand, and together, we bowled past the miscreants. On the opposite side of the door, I gave a few good kicks to stunned criminals, sending two guys back down to the floor.
Vinny got a shot off, and I felt the bullet wiz by my ear, nearly making inroads. Theo grabbed him, twisted him around into a choke hold, and dragged him across the floor. He ripped the gun from Vinny’s hand and put it to the terrorist’s temple. The goon squad didn’t know what to do. There were four guys left standing, and they all froze.
“What are you waiting for?” Vinny shouted.
“Shut up,” I snapped.
“Easy, fellows,” Theo cautioned.
From down the hall, we could hear the sounds of panic. Stampeding feet alerted us to the fact that the party was over. People had heard the gunfire and the explosion and were running for the exits. Again, we had precious little time before the local authorities arrived. Up to a point, our governments had plausible deniability, but if we were caught, all bets would be off.
“Put your weapons down,” Theo instructed.
Two of the guys who were holding guns lowered them to the floor. Vinny struggled against his captor, making Theo work for every inch of space he put between us and the mafia. Not one to put up with nonsense, Theo shot the man in the thigh point blank.
Vinny screamed, doubling over. Tears raced down his cheeks, and his bodyguards took a step backward, realizing that we were serious. I turned away, hurrying down the hall with my newfound freedom.
There was an extensive back patio, paved with blue stone. A series of glass doors leading to the landscaped scene were flung open, and panicked guests were pushing through. I waved Theo over, our first task being to escape the mansion and recapture our situational awareness. We needed to reconvene in a more secure location, off the current property.
Theo dragged Vinny outside, following in my footsteps. The mafioso gave little struggle, but most of his weight sagged, forcing Theo to hold him up as he moved. Once we cleared the doors, the great expanse of the back lawn opened up to us. I suspected that there was a fence circling the grounds and wasn’t sure that Vinny was in any shape to scale it. But we would tackle one problem at a time.
“This way!” Theo shouted, pulling his burden toward the tennis courts.
Most of the cars had been parked there by the valet. I was worried because we didn’t have the key, but Theo pulled out a win once again. He had a duplicate in his pocket, something that only spies and thieves would think to do.
We shoved Vinny in the back seat and dove into the front, peeling out and away before the cops could descend. Hundreds of other people were trying to do the same. No one wanted to be caught at the scene of the crime, forced to explain why they were in attendance at a party that went so sour.
The natural reluctance of the rich and famous to have their names in the paper gave us the perfect cover. Theo went up and over the lawn, barreling down toward the road at breakneck speed. He butted back into line at the bottom of the hill, causing the hedge fund billionaire behind us to lay on the horn.
Theo didn’t bother to respond, inching his way through the open gates and taking a sharp left just as the police arrived. Sirens wailed behind us as they realized that people were fleeing the scene. There was some confusion that aided in our retreat, but not enough to skate by unnoticed.
Three police cars stopped at the gates, blocking those who were unfortunate enough to wait in line. I saw a bright red Lamborghini dart away with an officer in hot pursuit. Theo stepped on the gas, but an intrepid police car set off after us.
Trained in the art of evasive driving, Theo made one turn after another. He pointed the car down the hill and went off road through scrub brush, daring the police to follow. To their credit, the authorities tried, but their car wasn’t designed for the kind of beating we were taking. I was surprised that the Ferrari held up; nothing about it screamed getaway vehicle.
Vinny moaned continuously, pressing his hand to the wound on his thigh. He let out a solid string of curses, promising to kill us, our ancestors, and our descendants. I put a hand on the ceiling to ride out the massive shocks as the car hit rocks and bushes on its way down.
Finally, we picked up the road again, and Theo sped off into the night without a police escort. My breathing slowly began to return to normal after we put a few miles between us and the crime scene.
“Stop,” I said finally.
Theo didn’t argue. He pulled off the road at the first innocuous lot, attached to an auto repair center that was closed. Pulling on the parking brake, Theo got out and reached for Vinny. I didn’t have to give him any more instructions. We both knew what we were going to do: interrogate the criminal and leave him dead in the abandoned Ferrari. We could pick up another car and continue back to the safe house or on to the next destination, depending on what Vinny told us.
“Now, I want to know about the missing agents,” Theo said.
“I told you,” Vinny huffed, all the fight temporarily drained from his voice.
“You gave me two names,” I reminded him. “I want more. I want whatever you’ve got, or we’re going to shoot you and leave you here to rot.”
“I don’t have anything more,” he tried. But when Theo shook him and the movement tore his leg wound open even more, he gave in. “Okay. The agents aren’t here anymore.”
“So you said,” Theo replied, losing patience.
“You’ve got to contact Southie,” Vinny muttered. I could see he was losing consciousness, and that we had precious few minutes to continue the interrogation before he succumbed to his injury. “And Lukas.”
“Lukas?” I asked.
“Do you know that name?” Theo asked me.
“He’s with Dark Sparrow,” I said.
“Exactly,” Vinny agreed. “I knew I recognized you.”
“Yeah, you recognized me,” I told him as if I was congratulating a third grader for packing his own lunch. “Good job.”
“Lukas took them,” Vinny said, closing his eyes.
“We’re not going to get anything more from him,” I said to Theo. I pulled out my own gun, chambering a round and pointing it at Vinny.
I intended to finish him off so that we could get on with our business, but Theo raised a hand to stop me. He eased Vinny into the driver’s seat of the Ferrari and swung the door shut. I watched him with growing alarm.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Let’s go,” Theo said, taking me by the hand.
He did something else I wasn’t expecting. He didn’t steal a car from the auto repair shop. Instead, he hurried out onto the street on foot, jogging away from the wounded thug without looking back. I followed him, my high heels not particularly conducive to the exercise.
“What are we doing?” I asked. The further we pulled away from the repair shop, the less it seemed that Theo was planning to steal a car at all.
I ran through likely scenarios in my mind until I found one that fit. We’d probably left the body alive so that the cops could recover it. Although we were leaving ourselves wide open for Vinny to retaliate, he wouldn’t share any details of his trial with the authorities, but he would talk to Dark Sparrow, and that was even worse.
We traversed five city blocks before I grabbed Theo by the arm and pulled him to a stop. “What the hell?” I asked. “Why didn’t you let me kill him?”
“Something’s wrong,” Theo said vaguely.
“What? He gave up the names,” I reminded my partner. “It was messy, sure, but if we can find this Southie and Lukas, we can rescue our agents.”
“I’m not so sure,” Theo responded. “Something doesn’t add up.”
I wished he would fill me in on what exactly was rubbing him wrong. I was accustomed to operating in the dark, and while there were holes in my knowledge, nothing smelled like a setup. But for some reason, I trusted Theo enough to follow his lead. If he thought something was wrong, then that warranted further investigation.
“Come on,” Theo said, reaching for my hand. “We need to get out of these clothes.”
“Vinny’s going to finger us,” I muttered, accompanying Theo without protest as he scoped out a trendy fashion boutique across the street. “We should have killed him.”
“I’m not sure how involved he actually is,” Theo said.
“Why?”
“He didn’t have a lot of information,” Theo elaborated. “If he really was the kingpin in all this, he should have been much more knowledgeable. What we’re going on is nothing. We’re no closer to our agents than we were in the beginning.”
Theo led me around to the back of the store, where he stooped to pick the lock. With practiced speed, he made short work of the staff entrance, holding it open for me to slip through. Inside, the stock room was wonderfully dark. I exhaled in relief, feeling like we had found a place to rest for a moment.
I pulled off my heels and allowed my bare feet to touch the floor. It was a wonderful feeling, matched only by the kiss of the night air on my skin as I removed my gown. Theo paused to admire me, the worry in his eyes softening.
Stashing my old clothes in a corner, I started looking through the racks for something else to wear. I was done with fuck-me pumps and skin-hugging satin. I wanted something breathable and comfortable, something that I could fight in without feeling like I was going to pop a seam.
This boutique didn’t specialize in workout clothes, so I was forced to content myself with upscale picnic attire. I picked a light cotton dress that was two sizes too big, giving me plenty of room to move. It fluttered around my thighs, hiding all of my killer assets and making me look like the girl next door.
Theo watched my whole quick-change operation with unmasked interest before undoing his bowtie and following suit. Since I didn’t bother to change in the dressing room, he didn’t either. And since he hadn’t averted his eyes, I felt free to watch him undress with equal appreciation.
He removed his suit jacket, tossing it over a rack. Then his dress shirt and his pants went, leaving him naked except for an undershirt and boxer shorts. It wasn’t exactly the vision I was hoping for. I wanted to see his chest devoid of clothing, suspecting that he was quite fit under all the British pomp.
He gave me a quick smile before hunting through the men’s clothes for something he could wear. This place favored casual attire, and there were dozens of options that were perfect for a day outdoors or a sailing trip. Theo picked a pair of cargo shorts and a collared shirt. He looked like a catalog model when he was done. I could picture him standing in front of a camera, shifting from one foot to the other, an ascot wrapped around his neck.
“Good?” he asked when he was fully dressed.
“Good,” I agreed.
We’d entered the store as Mr. and Mrs. Devine, and we were exiting as a yuppie couple on our way to the seashore. I still had unanswered questions about Vinny, but they seemed less immediate. We took our old clothes out the way we’d come and put them in the dumpster. The boutique didn’t sell shoes, but I was able to find a pair of white sneakers tucked behind a desk at the back of the store, likely belonging to the owner so that she could walk over her lunch break. I helped myself to them.
We hurried back out into the night and continued our trek. But we stopped running, and just walked. Eventually, our hands found each other, and we reduced our speed to a stroll. The city streets were magical at that time of night, beneath the moon. I felt lucky to be alive and in the company of someone I cared about. It was a strange feeling and one I wasn’t entirely comfortable with.
Finally, we put an end to our romantic evening and stole an older car from the side of the road. As we drove back to the safe house, I put my head down against the headrest and slept. It was the single most telling indication that I felt comfortable with Theo. To give him such power over me and to allow myself to be completely vulnerable was something I never would have suspected I was capable of.
