“Jezebel.”
Her gaze slid back to him.
“I would never betray you.” A promise that he meant to the depths of his soul.
“I know.” A brief smile. A real one that lit her dark eyes. “But everyone isn’t you.” She pointed toward the door. “I like her.”
Okay, that was surprising as hell. Especially since Jezebel had begun their little corridor chat by saying Ryan should not trust Simone.
“Not many people would still be sarcastic as hell after what she experienced. That tells me a couple of important points about her. She’s tough. She knows how to hide fear. And she’s highly adaptable to high-stress situations. She is a true chameleon.” A little furrow dug between her brows. “That makes her incredibly dangerous.”
“Being a chameleon?”
A slight incline of her head. “I’m a chameleon. So are you. We’re whatever we need others to believe we are. We blend in order to get our missions accomplished. That woman in there—Simone Sailor or whatever her real name is—she is only showing us what she wants us to see. Stay on alert with her.”
“You just said you liked her.”
“You like her, too. Isn’t that the problem you have?”
His lips pressed together.
“She’ll either help us and cooperate or she’ll set us up. Time will tell. Stay on guard.” A rough exhale. “Dammit, I wish your brother Nash was still working with us. I could use more people that I trust on this one.”
He wished his brother was with him, too, but he was damn grateful that Nash had finally gotten out of the CIA and that Nash was back to focusing on being a doctor once more. But, in terms of people Jezebel trusted… “Oh, you’re saying Harry isn’t good enough? Do you not have faith that he’ll take out all the bad guys in a single, powerful attack?”
She quirked a brow. “Are we being funny?”
“It’s his third mission,” Ryan murmured. “He’s just hitting his groove.”
“Why in the world did MI6 give us a green agent?”
Now that was a great question to ask. Dead serious, Ryan responded, “Perhaps because someone wants us to fail.” The only answer.
They shared a long, hard look. Then Jezebel asked, “Did you show Simone the chip that had been hidden inside the egg?”
“No. Didn’t show it to her. Didn’t mention it at all.” Things were classified for a reason.
“So she did see it when Konstantin originally gave Frederick the egg.”
“Maybe. Or maybe she found it when she swiped it from me.”
“Excuse me?” Real surprise.
Yeah, he hadn’t been able to tell her that part before. “Uh. The egg. Uh, she might have swiped it from me at one point, but I got it back. No worries.”
She did not blink.
“I got it back.” A bit defensive.
The wheels seemed to turn behind her dark eyes. “So we don’t know if Simone found the chip when she stole it from you or if she really did see it when Konstantin delivered the egg. She could be lying to us in order to avoid arrest.”
“We don’t exactly have a lot of reasons to arrest the woman.” Ryan had to point out, “She stole from Frederick. He’d have to press charges. I was bullshitting with her about the arrest because I wanted to keep her close.” I want to protect her.
“Oh, I am sure Simone is aware of any pending charges. The very fact that she has agreed to cooperate in lieu of any charges tells me that your friend has committed all sorts of crimes.”
He feared the same thing.
“She can be useful or she can be a wrecking ball to this mission. Watch her. Guard her. Protect her.” Jezebel began to walk down the hallway. But, after three steps, she looked back at him. “Just be careful and don’t fall for her.”
