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22 |Kane/Fang Residence, Fairfax Towers Falls Church, Virginia
CIA Special Agent Dylan Kane pushed as hard as he could, the treadmill reaching its limit as his heart threatened to explode. His body dripped with sweat, his veins bulged, and to his astonishment, he still couldn’t match his girlfriend’s speed.
And he finally gave up trying, reaching forward and reducing the speed by a few notches, the reprieve welcomed by his struggling heart as Lee Fang, former Chinese Special Forces, and now exile in hiding, continued her blistering pace.
“You’re a machine.”
She grinned. “When you have nothing else to do, you have plenty of time to work on your cardio.” Her iPhone beeped, her sixty minutes up, and she eased off, beginning her cooldown. “Want to go for a run after this?”
Kane’s eyes bulged as he slowed to an easy jog. “Are you nuts?”
She giggled. “Or we could hit the shower. Together.”
Kane’s eyebrows bounced suggestively. “Now, I like the sound of that.” He yanked the safety clip from the treadmill, killing the unit. “Race you?”
“You’d lose.”
The doorbell rang and Kane cursed. “I bet that’s Chris. Ever since we moved into his building, he seems to be hellbent on revenge for all those times I interrupted him and Sherrie from bumpin’ uglies.”
He folded up his treadmill as Fang did the same, pushing them both into the closet before grabbing a towel.
The doorbell rang again.
“I’m coming! I’m coming!” He jogged over to the door and peeked through the peephole, smiling with satisfaction. “Told you!” He opened the door and greeted his best friend and his other half. “Hey, guys, come on in.” He stepped aside and grinned at Leroux’s flushed face and awkward smile. “Hey, you got some, didn’t you?”
Leroux went full red.
“Twice!” confirmed Sherrie.
“My man!” Kane offered up a fist bump which Leroux reluctantly tapped. Fang walked over, a housecoat wrapped around her lithe frame, and handed Kane a bottle of water, her own well underway.
“So, to what do we owe the pleasure? I thought we were having dinner tomorrow night.” Fang’s eyes widened. “Oh no, did I get the dates wrong?”
Sherrie shook her head. “No, no, this is all business.”
Fang brightened. “Ooh, I like business!”
Kane gave her a quick squeeze around the shoulders. “My babe does love shooting at things.” He led their guests into the living room and was about to sit when Fang swatted him.
“Don’t you dare sit that sweaty bum on my couch.”
Kane hovered, his ass inches from the seat, then stood, Fang tossing him a dry towel to sit on. He spread it out then sat. “Happy?”
“Elated.”
“Good.” He returned his attention to Leroux. “So, what’s going on?”
“I got a call from Sonya.”
Kane grinned. “During?”
Sherrie cocked her head. “Would that technically be a threesome if the person on the other end of the line wants to do the slap and tickle with the other person?”
Leroux shook his head, closing his eyes. “Who would have ever thought I’d be the one with women troubles.”
“Buddy, it’s a lucky man who has two women that want him. And it’s a stupid man that acts on it.”
Sherrie patted Leroux’s cheek. “I trust my man.”
Leroux rolled his eyes. “I hate being lucky.” He held up a hand, cutting off Sherrie’s no doubt witty response. “Anyway, Sonya said that Professor Acton’s house was just broken into. Professional job. They bypassed the alarm, but didn’t know about the backup you had installed when we were dealing with the Assembly.”
Kane leaned back, concerned. Professor Acton was his former archaeology professor at university, before he dropped out to join the Army and fight terrorism. It had been Acton that acted as his advisor during the difficult decision. “I forgot I had done that.” Kane paused. “You don’t think it’s the Assembly, do you?”
Leroux shook his head. “We haven’t heard from them since we took them down. No, this is something else.”
Kane nodded. “We should check it out.”
Sherrie agreed. “That’s what we were thinking. I’ll go, and Fang, if you want to come—”
Fang was hopping up and down in excitement. “Yes, please!”
Kane smiled at the love of his life, a woman he had rescued from the Chinese government after she had technically committed treason to stop rogue generals from conspiring in a coup attempt in the United States. Their shared loneliness had drawn them together, and outside of his official duties, they were now inseparable.
And he loved to see her excited.
“If you two do this, Fang does all the dirty work.”
Sherrie’s lower lip shoved out. “Awww!”
Leroux chuckled. “No, he’s right. You have to stay in the car and provide backup. We can’t have a CIA agent breaking into a private residence.” He paused, his eyes taking on that distant stare they all knew so well. It meant Kane’s friend was about to have an epiphany.
“Uh oh. Some knowledge is about to drop,” warned Kane.
Sherrie snickered. “I love it when he does that.”
Leroux snapped back to reality. “I was thinking—”
Kane gave him a look. “No, really?”
His friend flipped him the bird. “I was thinking, maybe we’re going about this all wrong.”
“What do you mean?” asked Fang.
“Well, you guys are all spies, so you always think of getting into a place without anyone knowing.”
Sherrie turned to face him on the loveseat. “What are you getting at?”
“Well, why not just go in with permission?”
Fang frowned. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Kane patted her leg. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, surely his best friend, Greg Milton, has a spare key. Just tell him what’s going on, he’ll let you in, and nobody is breaking any laws.”
Fang’s frown turned into a pout. “You’re no fun.”
Leroux shrugged. “Maybe, but this way you all survive the day without criminal records.”
Kane sighed. “Sorry, dear, but he’s right.”
Fang folded her arms. “He may be, but he’s still no fun.”