Page 62 of Baby One Last Time
“Kessler, I owe you an apology,” he said. “I meant what I said the other day about liking you. It’s just...”
“You don’t trust me, and that’s fair.”
He shook his head, then stopped walking.
I stopped, too. Whatever he wanted to say was important to him. As his teammate, that made listening to it important to me.
“It’s not about you, it’s about Derek. He’s one of the best friends I have, not just in the agency, but in the world.”
“Oh.” During our time working together, Derek had mentioned Penn often, always with respect and affection. I thought he simply admired a fellow professional, but I could see now they were friends. The way Mai and I were friends. Or we might be, if I didn’t get her killed tonight.
“He was on his way out of HEAT,” Penn continued. “He’d wanted out for a while, and then suddenly, for some reason, he decided to stay. I didn’t think it was a good thing.”
I appreciated Penn’s concern. When a HEAT agent got fried and needed a break, short-term or permanent, they tended to get sloppy, putting themselves and others at risk. Huh. This was all too similar to my own travails.
“I don’t know why he decided to stay.” I couldn’t look Penn in the eye while I lied.
“We both know it was about you, Kessler.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “When X pulled you two apart this summer, I thought it was for the best. Wilder would finally get his ass out of here. But he stayed. Again. No doubt X has him by the short hairs over something, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that something has to do with you. Again.”
“You’re not the only one in the dark.” I frowned. “He keeps asking me to trust him, tells me there are things he can’t tell me yet.”
Penn nodded. “But he says he will soon, right? Yeah, I’ve gotten the same song and dance.”
I was both relieved and jealous that I wasn’t the only one on the receiving end of Derek’s cryptic promises. But I was also tired of waiting.
“Here’s the plan as I see it,” I said. “Tonight, the team will extract Wilder from that mansion, Bond will check him from head to toe to make sure he’s fine, and then you and I will lock him in a room and threaten him with bodily harm until he spills it.” I stuck out my hand. “Agreed?”
He grinned and shook my hand. “Agreed.”
After a short walkaround the courtyard, I headed for my bungalow, as TJ had ordered earlier. I unlocked the door with my key card and stepped inside to find Mai and Bond sitting on the sofa. I glanced around the room, then at the card in my hand. “Did I miss something? I thought this was my room.”
Mai scowled. “It wasn’t my idea. Bond wants us in one place so she can monitor us while we rest.”
That couldn’t be good. “And why would she do that?”
“Because I’m going to give each of you a sedative to help you relax,” Bond answered for herself. “Otherwise, you’ll never get any sleep this close to go time.” She pointed to my bed. “Have a seat so I can check your vitals.”
I’d been following instructions all day, but now I had to draw the line. I shook my head. “I can’t risk a drug hangover with Derek’s life on the line.”
“You know me better than that,” Bond said. “You know I wouldn’t risk the life of anyone on our team or in HEAT.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I didn’t know how to explain what I did mean. I shot Mai a pleading glance.
“Don’t take offense, Bond,” Mai said. “We can’t expect her to be rational when it comes to Wilder.”
“I am absolutely rational about Wilder, and everyone else on our team.” I glanced at Bond, who was busy avoiding eye contact. “You think I’m unreasonable, too?”
Bond sighed. “Mai came clean to me about tranquing you so I wouldn’t inadvertently overmedicate you.”
Yeah, that pesky little problem of the additive effect of multiple doses. “Okay, but that choice—and probably only that one—wasn’t on me.”
“Based on the audio I heard, the one we all heard,” Bond continued, “I understand why she did it.”
I glared at Bond. “She got the idea from Wilder, who decided to go all superhero and go up against Beecher’s men alone. God forbid he should accept my help. Better to send us away and make himself a walking target and—”
“It’s as bad as you said,” Bond said quietly to Mai.
“What?” Sweat pricked my neck. “The tranquilizer? Did she over-tranq me?” Now I stared down Mai. “If you did anything that will sideline me from this mission—”
