“If he gets caught, Hawk…” There was more muffled discussion at the other end. Amber cleared her throat, then continued, “Take him out before he talks. He doesn’t care which side he’s on, as long as he’s paid. He warned Lily because she had saved his life once, but now they’re even. And you don’t want Lily in danger, because then who’s going to guide you around?”
Her attempt at flippancy didn’t ring true. She must really need him quite desperately to make this call. He supposed, if he had to take one side, he would choose the ladies’.
Whether Amber had called or not, Hawk was going to kill tonight. But he supposed now he had a good reason other than gratuitous violence. “Are you sure?” he asked quietly.
“I wouldn’t call you if this wasn’t an emergency. I don’t order hits,” she replied just as quietly. “I have no choice.”
Hawk wasn’t one to let an opportunity go by without seizing on it. She was all serious right now, her thoughts on her decision. And like the other night when he had seen her staring down into the yard, he had this urge to make her sorrow disappear.
Besides, he enjoyed keeping her off-kilter ever since she’d taken him off-guard at their first meeting. “If I do this, you owe me. I want a date, with all the trimmings.” He got on his feet, undoing his back pouch where the grenades were tucked.
“Trimmings?” She sounded confused.
“Yeah…you know, makeup, stockings, garter belt.”
Another small pause. “Those are trimmings? You make me sound like I’m a meal.”
“That reminds me,” Hawk said as he looked through his small binoculars. “Edible underwear, preferably strawberry.”
“Edible…you’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. I do this for you and you owe me the trimmings.”
“I’m not going to discuss edible underwear over the phone.”
Hawk chuckled softly. “I’ll call back later, Ambrosia. Tell Lily she owes me, too.”
“You haven’t done anything yet,” she reminded him. “And it’s me who’s asking the favor, so Lily owes you nothing.”
“Well, then, you’re Lily’sveza,and I’m yours,” Hawk said, pulling out his bowie knife instead. The grenades would have to wait, since he now had to get up close and personal. “That’s double-dutyveza,so I’ll have to think of more trimmings. How about the rest of the order I wrote on your thigh?”
“You—”
Hawk cut off the cell phone. He was learning how to getvezafor future advantage.
11
Lily was surprised. She didn’t think Amberhad the balls to ask Hawk to do it. Seeing the look on her friend’s face, she knew she was thinking about it now. She didn’t want Amber to dwell on it. She knew from experience that one couldn’t second-guess decisions like this or it would eat a hole in one’s head. Being the daughter of missionaries probably didn’t help. She needed a quick distraction.
“Edible underwear?” Lily drawled, arching her eyebrows. She watched the heat rise in Amber’s cheeks. “Isn’t that on our Wretched Wenches List?”
They had gotten drunk one night and made that list. A wretched wench was a desperate woman trying to get laid. It was done in fun to relieve the tension in the lives they both led.
“You didn’t hear that,” Amber said defensively.
Lily smiled. All she had to do was bring up Hawk. She had never seen Amber quite so flustered before.
“As long as he doesn’t want me to wear them, too. I draw the line at edible underwear.” Lily unbuttoned her jacket. “Does that mean he agrees to do it? When will we know whether he succeeds?”
“Yes. He’ll call back later.” Amber became subdued again.
“Do you think he’ll get to Dija?” She had an idea that Hawk McMillan was a very capable agent. Amber hadn’t complained once about any of his skills. Another interesting observation.
“It’s our only chance, Lily. You wouldn’t have been able to drive out there and not be seen. I heard the fighting in the background.”
Lily sighed. “I know, but I’d have done it anyhow, if you hadn’t come up with this idea. Of course, now you’ll have to delve into the Wretched Wenches List to pay up.” She grinned. “He’s something else. Where are you going to find edible underwear?”
“Oh, shut up,” Amber said rudely. “There isn’t going to be any, so you can wipe that grin off your face. He was just joking.”
