It didn’t seem to matter that Sydney wasn’t physically here. He couldn’t get her out of his head, her piercing gaze or the frown that lingered on her lips, the sharpness of her tongue or the slight thrill of fear he felt every time he was near her.
How had a girl like her stumbled into an agency like Panacea, anyway?
Winter’s eyes instinctively found Claire, who was already looking in his direction from the adjacent table. She tilted her head questioningly at him, then mouthed,You can head out.
He gave her a weary nod, grateful she could read his mind. Briefly, he recalled the incident when he’d been stabbed. He’d been so keen on getting out of the mob and into his waiting car that he didn’t even feel the ache in his side. Claire had been the one to point out the blood soaking his shirt inside the car. He could still hear her horrified gasp, could remember collapsing weakly into her arms as he bled all over her hands.
No,he could remember pleading with her.Not the hospital.Not because he didn’t want them to treat him—but because he was afraid of the possibility that it would be all over the news and yet his mother still wouldn’t bother reading about it, that she wouldn’t show up to visit him there.
His eyes turned to the windows, toward the streets shrouded in night. For a moment, the sounds around him felt muted, and the images of those he knew—Leo and Dameon arguing, Claire discussing strategy with her team—felt far away, a safe space he somehow couldn’t reach.
By this time tomorrow, he would be in London. From then on, he would be out in the darkness of the field, unable to confide in anyone except a girl who seemed to want nothing to do with him. He wasn’t even sure he would return.
Sydney’s words from his training week echoed in his mind.
It’s a lonely job, but you won’t realize justhowlonely it is until you start.
He could already feel it. And somehow, it was familiar.
MISSION LOG
AGENT B:“Just be happy they’re cooperating with each other.”
AGENT A:“Iamhappy.”
AGENT B:“Oh. A scowl is a confusing way to signal that.”
AGENT A:“I’m just concerned.”
AGENT B:“About them getting along?”
AGENT A:“About the Orange Alert.”
AGENT B:“We get an Orange Alert every year over something or other. The cafeteria staffer has already been arrested and interrogated. Nothing was taken from our servers.”
AGENT A:“Look, I’m not saying to cancel every mission over an Orange Alert.”
AGENT B:“You’re worried about .”
AGENT A:“I know we’ve sent her into bad situations before. But it’s one thing to tail , and another to do it after a security breach at headquarters.”
AGENT B:“Shall I pull them?”
AGENT A:“No. This is just me fretting to you.”
AGENT B:“I was going to call in London, tell them to keep a closer eye on our pair once they arrive. Don’t worry. We’ll get a full brief on the breach tonight.”
AGENT A:“Good. Thank you.”
AGENT B:“Are you all right?”
AGENT A:“Fine.”
AGENT B:“I know that look, and I say this with love. She’s not your daughter.”
AGENT A:“Believe me, I’ve never been more relieved about anything in my life.”
10
