“Hey, bro. No can do this week, sorry.” Turning the volume down, I place the phone to my left ear and fake a smile.
Stillman lowers his voice to a hiss. “Time’s up. Arrest her and bookher today.”
Shit. Not only did I fail her, but I also screwed up my assignment. “Understood. I’ll bring chips and salsa. Better bring an extra wad of cash because I’m feeling lucky. Can we change the date to Thursday?”
“Fine. Five more days, Agent Wulf, but only because we have no other leads.”
“Agreed. See you then.” After I hang up, I turn to McGee and shrug.
“Poker night.” An hour ago, I would’ve felt guilty lying to her. Now, not so much.
While I consider my next moves, she smiles and cups my junk. “I’m surprised anyone plays with you. You’ve got a poker face like one of those stone men on Easter Island.”
I squeeze her traitorous hand and wink. “You sure, babe?”
If it’s seduction she wants, I will give it to her.
Blushing, she nods and swallows hard. “Yeah, if you do.”
Hell, if she only knew what I wanted, she’d jump from this moving car and run. I’m consumed by the need to bring herto the edge of orgasm, beg, and confess to every sin she’s ever committed.
Clueless to the danger, she directs me to her motel. Outside, on the second floor’s cement landing, she reaches into her purse and retrieves the motel’s plastic key ring. When she opens the door, cool, moldy air containing a hint of freshener wets my face.
Scrunching up her nose, she collapses on the bed. “Home sweet home.”
Turning sideways, I inch by her mattress and open the miniature refrigerator in the Lilliputian one-room efficiency.
Having recently visited her ex’s luxurious summer home on the beach block, my fists clench. Clearly, their divorce was not equitable.
“There’s boxed wine or water in the fridge. I need a shower.” She stands, yawns, and strides to the bathroom.
Alone, I check cabinets, find a glass, and pour the cheap chardonnay to the halfway point.
Once she returns to my side, I put the cup in her hand and cross my arms over my chest. “Time to fess up, sweetheart.”
“I have nothing to-”
“Drop the act, Gwen. I know you’ve been lying to me. My team has been checking your bank accounts and your online activity. Everything will be much easier if you confess to selling state secrets.”
She gulps down the whole glass of wine, pours another, and closes her eyes. For a moment, I wonder if she fell asleep.
Then, those huge brown orbs laser focus on mine. “You need to understand. I was doing it for the rest of my team. I figured iftheythoughttheywere getting what they needed from me,theywould leave everyone else alone.”
My face remains impassive. I’ve heard plenty of confessions in my time, and almost always, the perpetrator tries to play the hero. I’m not buying it. At the same time, my heart bleeds for her. Dammit. I want to believe her. Neverhave I had such conflicting emotions, and I wonder how the fuck I got here.
“They wanted blueprints, documents, so I gave them enough to think I was on the level. I sent them phony intel. They’ll be going down the wrong path for years.”
“Jesus.” I whistle through my teeth. She’s ballsy, I’ll give her that much. “Let me make sure I understand. You’ve been feeding our adversaries false information?”
She nods. “And I can prove it.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell anyone?” I never shout, but every man has a breaking point, and she has brought me to the brink of it.
“They threatened my kid! They watch my every move. What would you have me do?” Her brown eyes narrow.
When I think of all the ways her plan could’ve gone south, my stomach churns. “I should arrest you for pure stupidity.” Before I can ask, who the fuck is this‘they’ she speaks of, she digs her nails into my shoulders.
“Don’t you see? They'll pursue another team member if you take me out of play. You don’t know how strong they are. How much intel they appear to have. We can use what I’ve done to our advantage.” She pushes my hand away while I pick up my phone to make a call. “Please, no. You can’t say anything to anybody. They will know. They will follow you. They have drones in the sky. All of our phones are tapped. It’s my actions, and only mine, which have protected everyone. If their focus is on me, they’ll leave the rest of my team alone.”
