Page 76 of The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold
She rolled her eyes. “Surprised? Yes. Disappointed? Never!” And then Alex hugged him again because it really was good to see him. And not just because he’d put on a little muscle and grown a little scruff and, all in all, looked like the kind of guy she should have wanted. Maybe shewouldwant him? Maybe they’d do espionage and also kissing. They could fall in love and their life would become the kind of story that would make her sister swoon. But she could never tell him that because Tyler didn’t know about Zoe.No oneknew about Zoe.
Well, no one except...
“How have you been?” Alex asked, and instantly, she wanted to pull the words back, because Tyler’s eyes went dark. He practically winced.
“Undercover.” He wasn’t smiling anymore. “Nine months.”
“Wow. Nice!” It wasn’t, though; she could tell by looking at him. Suddenly, the muscle and the scruff made sense. He’d been someone else for the better part of the year, and it had changed him. Because sometimes you either change or die. Alex made a mental note. She was going to need it soon.
“Is it?” He huffed out a laugh. “I can’t remember.” Then he laughed again, a real one this time. “Don’t tell King.”
His voice was a little too loud to be a whisper. He was teasing her. Maybe. Probably. But Alex couldn’t stop herself from pulling back too quickly. The Agency was going to put a letter in her file for Insufficient Covertness. She was going to lose her cred and his respect, but she couldn’t stop herself from blurting, “What makes you think I talk to King?”
He had to have noticed the panicked tinge to Alex’s voice, but he had the good sense (or good tradecraft) not to show it, and Alex had to wonder if maybe Tyler had been the best spy from their class at the Farm all along—maybe while she and King had been duking it out, Tyler was leaving them both in the dust and they hadn’t even noticed. She’d even managed to forget about Merritt until she heard—
“He’s here, you know?” It took all of her self-control for Alex not to spin. “His grandfather owned a penthouse in the Schlossberg Building. Michael just moved in.”
“Oh.” King would hate that Merritt had told her that, but then again, he’d probably never find out. Alex would certainly never be in a position to tell him. “I assure you, the only reason I would care about Michael Kingsley’s place of residence is so that I can stay far, far away.”
She watched Tyler smile but not quite laugh—little lines around his eyes. A lone dimple in one cheek. He looked like a guy who wasgrowing into a man, and Alex waited for a flip in her stomach—for a tingling in her palms. It should have felt nice, having a partner whose eyes she didn’t want to claw out, and she told herself it was a delightful change of pace. Really, she should have insisted upon it long ago.
But she still jumped a little when Tyler slung an arm around her shoulders. “So, you ready to get your hands dirty?” Alex’s hands had been plenty dirty. Hadn’t they? She wasn’t some green recruit, but she’d never worked in deep cover, so maybe Tyler had a point. He dropped his voice. “You ready to work with a real spy?”
He was teasing. Joking. But Alex didn’t laugh. She just forced a smile and said, “Who needs Michael Kingsley?”
Tyler chuckled and Merritt huffed, but Alex just stood there, starting to worry, even as she asked, “So what do you have for us?”
Merritt looked uncertain for the first time since Alex had known her. “Possibly nothing,” Merritt admitted. “But there has been chatter of late.”
“Chatter?” Alex asked, and Tyler ran a hand through his hair.
“Kozlov.”Oh.Alex felt a chill go down her spine at the name. Viktor Kozlov had only gotten bigger—more dangerous—in the last year. Half the world’s intelligence services had task forces dedicated to the man, and...
She looked at Tyler. “Is that where you’ve been...” Somehow, she knew. “You were in deep cover?With Kozlov?”
Alex wanted to ask him a million questions. She needed to know—
“Yeah.” A shadow crossed his face, and suddenly, the changes in Tyler made sense. Of course he’d grown harder, leaner, darker. “Not all of us can do our missions on private islands with gourmet chefs.” He laughed again. “Anyway, Kozlov’s got a shipment coming in tonight and I want to get eyes on it. I thought you might want to get a little closer to the action, but if not...”
“No,” Alex blurted. “I’ll do it.”
“I’m no Michael Kingsley.” He was teasing again. Wasn’t he?
So Alex grinned. “That’s why I’m saying yes.”
“Okay, let’s do this thing,” Tyler said, but Alex had to wonder,What thing?But also:Do how?She didn’t know the mission or the objective, the risks or the plans. She didn’t know anything, except...
He’s not King, the little voice in the back of her mind whispered. And rest of her whispered back,Butisn’t that what you wanted?
Alex followed him into the sunset, trying very hard not to think about the answer.
Chapter Forty
Present Day
Somewhere in Portugal
Alex
