The conference call with Stemp went exactly as I’d expected. Dermott glowered as though imagining his hands around my throat, Spider’s pale face and trembling fingers mirrored my own anxiety, and Holt looked so smugly confident that I wanted to slap him from sheer envy.
The briefing was short. Stemp confirmed that he would arrive at the hospital to attempt Rebecca’s extraction around ten AM in London, which would be three AM our time; and as soon as I got Rebecca out and came out of the network myself, I would call him to report on Rebecca’s mental state. I left Sirius with Stemp’s final admonition ringing in my ears.
‘Get some sleep. We need you functioning at optimum levels. This may be our only chance.’
Sure, no pressure. I’d just go home and snooze as though I hadn’t a care in the world.
Nerves strung tight, I drove back to the bowling alley parking lot. Only a few vehicles remained. Damn.
Hellhound met me with a kiss again. “They’re closin’ in half an hour. We’re gonna hafta move on, but I ain’t crazy about parkin’ in the residential area. Small town like this there’s always some nosy neighbour lookin’ out the window.”
“Yeah…” I considered. “I don’t want to get too far away from Lola’s house or shop, though. How about the park? It’s late enough that the dog walkers will be home already, and nobody else would go there in the dark and cold.”
“Sounds like a plan. Lead the way, darlin’.”
The single streetlight at the park cast a feeble glow that was swallowed by blackness after only a few yards. I parked in the shadows at the far edge of the lot, and Hellhound’s Forester pulled in beside me.
When we reconvened at the front bumper, Hellhound gave me a hug. “Ya might as well go home an’ grab some sleep. Ya know how stakeouts go. Prob’ly nothin’ll happen at all; an’ even if our guy does show up, it’ll be in the middle a’ the night. I’ll take the first watch.”
“Thanks, but I’d rather take the first one. I have to go back to Sirius at three AM, so I’ll stay here until midnight and then you can take over while I go home and sleep for a couple of hours.”
He pulled away, frowning down at me. “Three AM? That sucks. Why not head home an’ catch some zees right now?”
I shivered with equal parts cold and nerves. “I’m too wide awake. Too much on my mind.”
“Well, I’m wide awake, too, so let’s just hang for a while an’ maybe you’ll get sleepy.” He nudged me toward the passenger side of the Forester. “Get in, darlin’. It’s too fuckin’ cold to stand around out here, an’ there’s no point runnin’ both engines to stay warm.”
Settled in his passenger seat a few minutes later, I relaxed into the warmth of the vehicle with a sigh.
“Wanna talk about it?” Hellhound asked. “If ya got a lot on your mind, it might help.”
I sighed. “Most of it you already know, and the rest I can’t tell you.”
“Still got nothin’ on Nora?”
“No. And she’s leaving tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” The glow of the dashboard lights revealed his frown. “Ya said she was stayin’ for a coupla weeks.”
“She was, but she found out her surrogate daughter in London is in a coma, so she’s out of here on the first available flight.”
“Surrogate daughter?”
“Yeah. She missed me so much she replaced me.” I tried to hold my voice flat, but the bitterness seeped in anyway.
Hellhound hand found mine in the darkness, squeezing gently. “Wish I could make this better for ya, darlin’.”
“Thanks.” I leaned over the console to lay my head on his shoulder, and his arm came around me.
After a few minutes of silence I sat up again with a sigh, rubbing the ache in my ribs where the centre console had ground into them. “I should have brought my truck. It has a bench seat.”
“I can fix that.” When I glanced over, Hellhound was smiling. “Just gimme a minute. Stay put.”
He got out and opened the rear door, leaning in to fold the seats down flat. In minutes he had unpacked the large duffel bag that had occupied the cargo bay, laying out a foam pad and sleeping bag and affixing black fabric over the windows.
“All ready for ya now,” he said proudly. “Move right in an’ get comfortable.”
Grinning, I got out of the front seat and let myself into the cozy nest in the back. “You’ve got a shaggin’ wagon. I should have known.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “That ain’t all. Here we go…” He tilted the front seats forward and installed a large blackout drape that partitioned the cargo bay off from the front seats entirely. “I actually set this up for stakeouts for my P.I. business, but…” He grinned and activated a couple of tiny LED candles, setting them at the sides of the bay. “…never hurts to be prepared.” He took off his parka and bunched it up, tucking it behind his back so he could recline against the back of the driver’s seat and stretch out his legs. He held out a welcoming arm. “Come here, darlin’.”
I snuggled in, wrapping my arm over him and leaning my head on his shoulder. “You’re brilliant.”
“Yep.” He dropped a kiss on my lips. “An’ here’s our surveillance.” He propped his phone in the door’s cupholder and toggled the displays through front and back views of Lola’s house and store. “It’s all quiet, so ya might as well have a nap. The ping’ll wake ya up if anythin’ moves; an’ I ain’t gonna be sleepin’ anyway. It’s too early for me.”
“Okay, thanks.” I grinned. “I was supposed to sleep before my meeting anyway, so look at me following orders.” Letting out a sigh of contentment, I relaxed. His phone went into battery-saving mode, its display winking out to leave only the twinkling candles for illumination. I closed my eyes.
Safety. Darkness. The soothing sound of an idling engine. The soft steady hum of the heater keeping our hideout pleasantly warm.
Perfect for sleeping.
Ian’s words replayed in my head. ‘The puzzle piece that pulls everything together’. His team might be able to connect Nora with the chemist, but what good would it do? Nora was far too smart to leave a note saying ‘Dear Chemist, please steal me a few doses of poison’, so we’d only have circumstantial evidence at best. And even if they found concrete proof, that only solved Ian’s case, not mine. I had to prove she was involved in selling classified intel, not poisoning people.
I shifted and blew out a breath.
And then there was my other mission. Kane. No hope there. Stemp’s cold features hovered in my memory, his lips forming the words ‘I recommend you don’t fail’. He’d gone to bat for me before, but there wasn’t much he could do if Dermott turned the chain of command against me.
Don’t think about that.
Would I be able to locate Rebecca when I went into the network tonight? If I did, what would I find? A gibbering mass of insanity? Or worse, a woman who’d had time to figure out exactly what had happened to her? I had been able to overpower her and sift through our collective consciousness because she didn’t know what was going on. What if she understood now? What if she fought me?
What if she won?
I blew out another hard breath and pressed the heel of my hand against my forehead, trying to drive away the fearful thoughts.
“Okay, darlin’?” Arnie asked softly.
“I can’t settle.” I sat up and scrubbed my knuckles through my hair. “Too much on my mind.”
“Try lyin’ down for a while. I’ve slept in here before an’ I only hadta bend my knees a bit, so ya oughta be pretty comfortable.”
“I’ll try,” I said doubtfully.
Stripping off my parka, I made a pillow-sized roll and lay down facing him, pulling the sleeping bag over me. His hand slid under the sleeping bag to make soothing circles on my back, and I sighed and cuddled closer, wrapping my arm over his legs and trying to relax into his gentle massage.
Still my mind wouldn’t slow down. Replaying my conversations with Nora, I mentally catalogued all the tiny clues in her body language and behaviour. She had known about Sam’s espionage all along; I knew it, goddammit, but I couldn’t prove it. And tomorrow she’d be gone. I had to get the lie detector on her somehow. But how? If I asked her to take another test, she’d know I was investigating her and she’d simply invoke her diplomatic immunity and refuse.
Arnie kept rubbing my shoulders, but I couldn’t relax.
And I still hadn’t told Dermott that Nora was leaving.
Shit, shit, shit.
When should I tell him? Or should I just drive Nora to Calgary without saying anything to him?
But that would only postpone the inevitable…
Shut up, already! Just shut the fuck up!
Concentrate on sensations, not thoughts.
Jacket soft under my head. Foam pad comfortable beneath me. Arnie’s hand caressing my back. His legs warm and firm under my arm. The faint scent of leather that always clung to him.
Yum.
My eyes cracked open. My forehead was tucked against his hip, and from that angle the tiny light silhouetted the bulge of his fly.
My body warmed at the thought of what lay beneath that worn denim. No underwear, as usual. Just warm naked skin, waiting for a caress to stiffen into hot temptation. All that pleasure, only inches away…
My mouth watered.
Sliding my hand over his thigh, I traced the seam of his jeans up to cup his crotch.
His hand stilled on my back.
“Well, hey there, darlin’,” he rumbled. “Lookin’ for somethin’?”
“Maybe.” I made little circles with my fingertips. “Think I might find something interesting?”
“Guess you’ll just hafta look an’ see.”
“Mmmm.” Scraping my fingernail lightly up the length of his zipper, I found the button and worked it open. He exhaled and widened his legs as I slid the zipper slowly down, holding the tab away from his skin. Squirming closer, I propped myself against his thigh.
“Well, look who I found. I think he’s glad to see me.” I eased his rapidly-firming erection through the opening.
“He’s always glad to see ya,” Arnie rasped. “Really fuckin’… ahhh…” He groaned as I bestowed some soft flicks of my tongue on a particularly tasty spot. “…glad…” His voice deepened and roughened as I squirmed into a better angle and added some finger action. “…to… see… yahhhh… Jesus, darlin’…”
Savoring his pleasure, my excitement rose along with his. I slowly increased the pace and intensity.
“Ahhhh-yeah!” His hoarse moan kindled fierce heat between my legs. His hands came up to twine in my hair as his hips moved with my rhythm. “Fuck… me…” He tensed. “Shit. Stop, darlin’.”
“What’s wrong?” I popped up to eye him worriedly.
“Nothin’ in the world.” He blinked at me, heavy-eyed and smiling. “But I wasn’t gonna last if ya kept doin’ that.”
“You don’t have to last. That’s the whole point.” I dipped my head again.
He sat up, bringing me to my knees and gently diverting my lips up to his. “Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” He kissed me, then drew away with a smile. “If I’d wanted to blow my load in a coupla minutes, I’d’a jacked off in the shower this mornin’.” Reaching for the button on my jeans, he added, “I got a better idea.”