“Who, me?” Before Gabby could think about it, she blurted out, “Shouldn’t you be giving Markus the extra assignments?” He was the senior field agent. Gabby had one mission under her belt.
“Markus can’t do this one.”
“Oh no, you don’t want me to seduce someone, do you? I’m not sure if that’s in my skill set.” It wasn’t.
“Noted,” Valentina said with zero expression, “But that’s not what I’m asking for.”
“Oh.” Gabby’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“The assignment is to keep tabs on Markus.”
Uh-oh.
“Why? Markus is the most competent agent I know.”
“That’s true, but everyone has a breaking point. It’s my job to make sure you are all healthy and fit to do your jobs. Darcy’s death brought Markus to his lowest. I haven’t seen him bounce back yet.”
What the hell did that mean? Gabby chewed the inside of her cheek. She did not like the sound of this.
“I’ve been married to the man, Gabby. I know his weaknesses.”
Valentina was imagining things.
“I need you to keep me briefed on Markus. Specifically, on his relationship with Genesis.”
“Why?” Gabby felt like the rug had been ripped out from under her. “Why would you do that? He’s such a good agent.”
Valentina sighed. “To be frank, I need to know if we can fully trust Markus. He’s become very friendly with Genesis at one of his lowest points. This mission is two birds, one stone: Recover the psychic and make sure Markus didn’t drink the Kool-Aid.”
“Fine, I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“I’ll need a full daily report.”
Gabby had no intention of filing a bad report on Markus. Unless the man murdered someone, she was going to tell Valentina that he was the best agent she’d ever seen.
“Agent Greene, do you copy?” Valentina’s voice was sharp.
Gabby’s nod must not have inspired trust because Valentina reiterated, “Agent Greene, are you prepared to do this assignment, even if you don’t like what you find?”
Gabby wasn’t going to find anything she didn’t like. Markus was perfect. She smiled and said, “Of course. I’m a professional.”
This entire job was about establishing and betraying trust. It was like her relationship with Phil all over again, except Valentina was asking her to play the part of Phil. Gabby’s stomach soured at the thought.
A knock at the door interrupted her shame spiral. Markus poked his head into the room, unaware that the woman who had just agreed to have his back was now a double agent.
“Hey, Markus,” Valentina said, shifting from “spy on Markus” to “this morning’s agenda” as smoothly as a German sports car. “Glad you’re here. Gabby and I were just getting caught up.”
He took a seat next to Gabby and smiled. “Hey, partner.”
She died a little inside.
“You two need to get to Disguises, but let’s go over a few last-minute details.” Valentina tapped on her desk with a pen. “The travel arrangements are set. Agent Greene arranged plane tickets under her alias. You leave LAX at 8:40 a.m. tomorrow morning with a layover in Boston and should be in the Azores by tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll pick you up at oh-six-hundred,” Markus said.
He looked unfazed by any of it. Then again, he just had to pack. Gabby had a lot of planning to do: schedules, groceries, and she had better make sure Granny and Burt had all their beta-blockers and cholesterol pills and an unexpired epi for Lucas. Whileshe was at it, she should flush Burt’s Viagra down the drain. She needed him to focus while she was gone, or at least not be a major distraction for everyone else. Burt was growing on her, but not really.
When Gabby had suggested that Granny could do better, Granny had fired back: “I’m eighty-three, sweetheart. There’s not a lot to pick from. It’s a pretty limited pool to begin with, and it’s getting smaller by the minute. Men don’t live as long as women.”
