Page 25 of Spies Don't Fall for Their
“Didit work?”
Heshrugs. “Maybe.Andyou?”
“Iswam theEnglishChannel,in winter, mostlyavoiding not just the sharks but hypothermia, and still managed to deliver the documentsIhad acquired.”
Thistime, it’s notDamjanwho’s looking skeptical— it’sLedger. “Therearen’t sharks in theEnglishChannel.”
“Thereare.”Ipull up my skirt enough to show the shark teeth scar on my thigh. “Itwas a toke shark that did this.Itwasn’t any longer than me, but it still had a nasty bite.”
“Ouch!”Damjansays.
Ledgerlifts his shirt and shows me a similar scar on his torso, andIjust can’t stop staring at the silverish-white scars on his very muscular abdomen. “Itwas a smaller shark, too— a seven-foot blacktip— that got me.”
“Sothe repellent didn’t work?”Ifinally ask, with my eyes still on the scar.Andhis abs.
Helifts a shoulder in a shrug. “Maybeit was what saved me from a much biggerHammerheadorGreatWhite.”
Helowers his shirt, and it’s the only thing that gets my eyes to go from his abs back to his face.Fora long moment,Ijust look at him.Staringat his gray-blue eyes while he stares back at me.Idon’t know what he’s thinking, butI’msuddenly having thoughtsIshouldn’t allow myself to have and wondering if maybe we have more in common thanIthought.
Ledgeris looking like he’s having some of those same thoughts.I’mcatching things in his look thatIdon’t get from others.Thingsthat go beyond checking me out and liking what they see.
Butwhy?WhywouldLedgerbe lookingat me like he is attracted to more of me than what’s on the surface?I’veseen that look between couples before, butI’venever had it directed at me.Ledgeris a very skilled operative, butI’mstill impressed at how good he is at manipulating his body language.He’smaster-level good.Ijust can’t guess his motive behind showing me that he’s interested in me.
Andfake or not, the fireworks show currently going on in my chest and my gut feels real.
Aftera moment—I’mnot even sure how long—Damjansays, “Whoois it getting hot in here!Say, have you two ever…”Andthen he points back and forth between us, raising a meaningful eyebrow.
Oh, we aresonot taking the conversation in that direction.AndIcan’t eventhinkin that direction again.Imean, what wasIdoing letting my mind go there?Itisn’t like a person can judge whether or not they have a lot in common with someone based on whether or not they have matching shark bite scars.
Besides, what does having something in common have to do with anything?Twoparallel rivers can still clash when they merge.Twoalpha wolves in the same pack would definitely clash.Andthat’s what we are.Twoalpha wolves.
Ilook toward the mansion and say in a very obvious subject change— for both the conversation going on in the car and the one going on in my head— “Hey,Ledger, did you catch a vibe between our directors at our briefing?”
Ledgerlooks at me warily. “Imean, they know each other.Theyworked together back when my mom was an agent in theCIA.They’recolleagues and counterparts.”
Ishake my head. “Ithink there was something more between them.”
“Hey,”Ledgersays, his voice rising, “that’s my mom you’re talking about.Youknow,the woman who was married to my dad until he died?”
Ihad pokedLedgerto get him fired up and get my mind off thoughts of his abs.Ihadn’t guessed it would further endear him to me to see him get all fired up in defense of his mom.Myplan has maybe failed a bit.Butstill,Ipush, because surely he’s thought of this. “What?Justbecause your parents were married until one passed away, your mom can’t ever date again?Shemight want someone by her side as she eventually becomes a grandma and grows old.”
Andmaybe seeing something happen between our directors is just hopefulness on my part.Iwould love it ifSullyandEvelynLancasterfell in love and got married.Especiallyif it meant that she would stop by his work every now and then and come to our holiday party.ThenIcould ask her all the questionsIwant.Maybeshe would even take me under her wing and tell me all her secrets.
Ledgerdoesn’t say a word for a moment, andIdon’t know if it’s because he doesn’t want to respond, or if he just really hasn’t imagined his mom ever dating again.Finally, he says, “No.Shecan date people.Butit’s not like theDirectorof theClandestineServicesAgencyand theDirectorofFieldOperationsfor theGlobalIntelligenceDivisionof theCIAcan just submit the proper paperwork about their intention to date.”
“Yeah,Ican’t really see that gettingapproved,”Isay and try to not make my sigh audible asIsquint toward the back gate whereIsee movement. “Ithink the employees are leaving.”
Allthree of us sit up straighter.Thegate opens, and five women walk out together, laughing and bumping into one another like they know each other well and are probably friends.It’sjust after five p.m., so the sun isn’t even close to setting yet, making it easy to see them.Theyall look fairly young, maybe lower- to mid-twenties.Twoare wearing light blue uniforms with aprons and sensible shoes— maids ifIhave to guess.Oneis wearing dark slacks and a pink blouse with a satchel over her shoulder.Oneis in a black cotton shirt and black pants, and another is in a colorful dress.
We’ddecided against placing a listening device and we are too far away to hear, soInarrate what is going on based on the women’s body language soLedgerandDamjancan keep their heads down and not appear as suspicious.Weare just parked on the side of the road a bit away from the gate and near the place where the few employees who own cars park them.
“Okay,WomaninBlackis pulling out car keys.Theother four are heading for the street, soI’mguessing it’s public transportation for them.Okay, the car owner is holding her keys up, shaking them while she’s saying something.I’mpretty sure she’s asking the others if they want to join her maybe to go get dinner or go to a bar?
“Oh!Bothmaids andColorfulDressare all very much in.Thattook zero persuasion.Theprofessional one in the pink shirt is telling them no as she keeps walking away,but her feet and torso are saying she wants to go with them.Shemust have other responsibilities pulling at her.
“And,”Isay, dragging out the word asIwatch, “the others sense her desire to join them, and they are gathering around her and— oh!Lookslike they were persuasive enough.PinkShirtis joining them.”
Ledgerstarts the car and drives about a block down the street before making aU-turn so that he’s headed in the same direction as the woman’s car when they pull out of the parking lot just in front of him.
