Penumbra (Spook Squad 3)

“They did initially, but a politician behaving badly isn’t exactly news these days.”

That was certainly true. “I doubt whether I’ll learn all that much doing night shift. Surely most of his business will be conducted during the day, no?”

Stephan smiled grimly. “Wetherton has a surprising number of business meetings at night—and usually at nightclubs, where it’s harder to get a bug in.”

“He’ll be suspicious of me. He’s not likely to trust me with anything vital.”

“Not for a while. It may take months.”

Months out of her life and her need to find her past. But also months away from Gabriel. Would absence make his heart grow fonder? A smile touched her lips. Unlikely. “What about time off? You can’t expect either of us to work seven days a week.”

He nodded. “You’ll each get two days—though which two will depend on Wetherton’s schedule. Generally, it will be the days he spends at home with his children. We have other arrangements in place there.”

“Will the press buy our sudden appearance in his life? This sort of protection is usually handled by the feds, not the SIU.”

“They won’t question our appearance after tonight, believe me.”

The dry coldness in his voice sent chills down her spine. “Why? What are you planning for tonight?”

“A spectacular but ineffectual murder attempt. Wetherton may be injured, and will, of course, demand our help.”

“So who’s the patsy?”

Stephan shrugged. “A young vampire we captured several weeks ago. He’d been something of a political dissident in life, and his afterlife has only sharpened his beliefs.”

And Stephan had no doubt been feeding his madness, aiming it toward Wetherton. Meaning this plan had been in motion for some time, and that this assignment was part of a bigger picture than he was currently admitting to.

Goose bumps ran up Sam’s arms and she rubbed them lightly. Perhaps the vampire wasn’t the only patsy in this situation.

“I gather the vamp will die?”

“He murdered seven people before we captured him. His death is merely a delayed sentence.”

“What if he escapes?”

“He won’t.”

Sam shifted in her chair. “If Wetherton is up to anything nefarious, it’s doubtful I’ll be privy to it.”

“No. There will be certain times you’ll be sent from the room; this is unavoidable. To counter it, you’ll bug the room.”

“Most federal buildings have monitors. The minute a bug is activated, an alarm will sound.”

“They won’t detect the ones we’ll give you. Our labs have specifically developed bugs that will function in just this sort of situation.”

And no doubt developed a means of detecting them, too. “How long do you think I’ll be guarding Wetherton?”

Stephan shrugged. “I can’t honestly say. It could be a month; it could be a year. Parliament doesn’t convene again until the middle of next month. By then, you will be such a fixture in his life that no one will comment.”

By then, she hoped Wetherton would have revealed all his secrets and she could get on with her life. Spending months in Canberra, yawning her way through endless cabinet sessions, was not something to look forward to.

She crossed her arms and stared at Stephan. He returned her gaze calmly. The uneasy feeling that he wasn’t telling her everything grew.

“You’re doing this to get back at Gabriel, aren’t you? You want him to care.”

“I’m doing this because no other agents have your particular range of talents. Your ability to detect evil could be vital in this case.”

No lies, but not the exact truth, either. She sat back, feeling more frustrated than when she’d first entered Stephan’s office. Guarding Wetherton was not the job she really wanted, but what other choice did she have? It was either this or put up with endless hours of mind-numbing paperwork in her shoe-box office in the Vault.