Page 16 of Dagger’s Shield

“You may have plans.”

He shook his head. “If you mean for Christmas, my sister isn’t big on celebrating, either. Although now that she’s married, maybe that’s changed. Besides, in our line of work, being able to take time off for a holiday is rare.”

“This is true,” I muttered as I thought through how my maman would react, both to my visit and to the man I’d be bringing with me.

“You mentioned it’s been a number of years since you were home. What do your parents think you do? For work, I mean.”

“That I am a private concierge who arranges luxury travel for discreet clients. The kind that would require me to have NDAs in place.”

“Brilliant. And I guess that explains why you didn’t want them contacted in Lausanne.”

I nodded. “In part. I was being truthful when I said my maman doesn’t travel. What about you? What is your cover story?”

“It hasn’t been necessary. My sister, as you know, is an operative with the UN Coalition Against Human Trafficking, so we’re both in the business, as they say.”

“And your parents?”

“They passed away several years ago. My father went first, and my mum followed not long after.”

“My apologies. I should have known that. Or remembered it.”

“Please, there’s nothing for you to be sorry for.”

“Dagger…”

“Yes?”

“You’re being very sweet.”

He groaned and stroked his beard.

“What?” I asked a second time.

“Now would be the time I’d remind you that I’m always sweet and you’d know that if you gave me half a chance.”

“Perhaps you’re right, though.”

“New leaf, remember?”

I smiled. “Or same leaf, just turning it over.”

He smiled too. “I like that. So, I’ll need a cover story too. I hadn’t gotten that far.”

I tapped my cheek and thought it over. “You could provide security for one of my clients. That could be how we met.”

“I like it. Same NDA requirements.”

“You’ll need an alias,” I said.

“Killian Rourke.” He answered without thinking about it. “It was built for another op but never used. The employment history will need to be updated, but otherwise, it’s sound.”

“Perfect.”

He pushed away from the table and stood. “Another?” he asked, motioning to my cup.

“Thank you, but no. I should probably get to work. Or we should.”

“We are working. We’re planning an op. Which means we need to discuss parameters.”