“I need a best man, Connor. Will you fill in?”
Was the guy trying to make him into one of Lara’s pansy-assed guitar strumming wimps? “I fucking hate you, Bond.”
“I know, but you’ll do it.”
“Of course I will. And I’ll do it Mad Crawford–style, so you should expect we’ll need a corporate jet and likely a really hefty bail fund.”
“Unless you want to go for the double wedding because this shit is getting expensive. Do you have any idea what they charge for freaking flowers?”
Connor chuckled. “You’re not pulling me down with you. When I marry that girl we’re going to do it right. Short trip to Vegas and then a long couple of weeks on a very isolated beach.”
“You said ‘when.’”
“I meant if.” He shook his head. “No. I didn’t. I don’t know what it is about her.”
“When you know, you know,” Gabe said. “I knew immediately I wanted Everly and I knew it wasn’t going to go away. Can you really see yourself not wanting her?”
He shook his head. He didn’t want a world in which he couldn’t have her. Being with Lara made him feel alive in a way that scared him, but he wasn’t about to give it up. “But I think she’s lying to me about something. I don’t think I’m going to handle that well.”
“You’re lying to her about your name and occupation and friendships and past. Need I go on?”
“It’s not the same. I’m doing what I’m doing to protect people I care about.”
“And she’s not?” Gabe pointed out. “If she’s anything like you described, she’s a crusader. She’s doing the exact same thing as you. She’s trying to protect her country. She simply does it with words and stories. She puts herself on the line to show the public the truth. You’re actually quite similar. You’re both fighting the good fight.”
Was he high? “I fight the dirty fight.”
“Someone has to. If you didn’t, the nation would be weaker for it. And if Lara didn’t do what she does, the nation would be less informed. So if it turns out she’s lying to you, cut her some professional slack. Trust me. I know what it’s like to love a woman who needs more freedom than I feel comfortable giving her. Everly wouldn’t be happy as a society wife. She needs to work, and that work sometimes puts her in danger. I have to take a deep breath and trust that she won’t do anything foolish.”
“And if she does?” Lara doing foolish things wouldn’t end in a higher credit card bill or a silly mix-up. It could end with her dead or in the hands of the very men Connor had pissed off weeks ago. Surely the Russians knew who had taken out their New York operations by now. Not only did they think Lara knew something she didn’t, they would think she might be the way to get to him.
They would be right.
“Then we’ll have a serious talk, but I’m certainly not going to walk away from her because she does something that’s simply in her nature to do,” Gabe explained. “I love Everly because of her spirit. I don’t want to break her or change her. I just want to love her.”
Connor turned back and sure enough, Everly had switched seats and was right beside Lara, laughing like they were old friends. “See. I told you.”
Gabe looked into the condo. “I would not have bet on that.”
“It’s impossible not to like Lara. I think they’re plotting.” Now that he’d gotten all the mushy shit done with Gabe, he could return to the main problem at hand. Those women were bonding. It clearly spelled trouble for him. “I don’t think Everly’s going to be a good influence on Lara.”
Instead of getting offended, Gabe threw his head back and laughed. “You should totally tell her that. Because I’m not going to do it. That woman is very good with a gun.”
Connor stared back in, wondering what they were talking about. He hoped it was tea and weddings and stuff. He was fairly certain it wasn’t. “Is Dax supposed to go to dinner with you guys tonight?”
“Yeah, we’re eating in the private residence. You should come. The Scotch is way better there.” He still downed what was left in his crystal tumbler.
As much as he could use a good fifty-year Macallan, it would have to wait. “I can’t and I’m going to have to cancel for Dax, too. I need him tonight. Something tells me I need to keep eyes on my girl and that means Dax is going to have to do a little breaking and entering.”
Gabe took a sip and sat down on Lara’s elegant bistro chair. “It’s always interesting when you’re around, brother.”
Connor watched the women. It wasn’t always fun, but it could be an adventure. He just hoped this one ended with him feeling like a fool because he was wrong about Lara’s intentions. Otherwise, the evening was not going to go well for her.
TEN
Lara took a deep breath as she slipped out of the building and into the alley. The dark air held a cool bit of fall. She’d donned a black hoodie and jeans, along with a pair of sneakers, which allowed her to blend in with the night.
She thought about Connor. Even now, he was on the second floor, quietly breaking into Freddy’s condo. She’d told him to be very careful because the place was probably booby-trapped. He’d promised her he could handle it.
Until now, they’d had a quiet, companionable evening. Connor had had groceries delivered. He’d grilled a steak for himself and a lovely portobello mushroom for her. She’d made a salad and followed with poached pears for dessert. She’d told him all about Everly Parker and he’d said he liked her fiancé. But beneath the comfortable calm, she hadn’t been able to forget that Connor was willing to commit a crime for her. And she was repaying him with lies.
It’s not really a betrayal, she told herself as she looked around the alley for her partner in crime. She was just trying to gather necessary information. He had a job to do, but so did she. If she didn’t find Natalia Kuilikov, she would never know the truth about Hayes—and neither would Connor or the public. And now she wanted to do it to help her new friend. Otherwise, Everly Parker might never really understand why someone had blown up her half brother’s plane.
“Hey,” a quiet voice said. “You ready?”
Everly had gotten the black-on-black memo, though she wore a coat that hung loosely around her frame. Lara was pretty sure it was more in deference to the cache of weapons Everly wore than because of the weather.
“Are you sure you want to do this? Won’t your fiancé be upset?”
“I can handle it. I think in this case everyone will agree it’s better I go with you than let you go alone.” She glanced down at her watch. “We have fifteen minutes to make the meeting, then another fifteen to get back here and have you safely ensconced in your apartment. To be safe, you shouldn’t talk to our CI for more than ten minutes, in case we run into traffic. Set a timer on your phone so you don’t get lost in conversation. You remember what questions we agreed on?”
She had them memorized. “Yes. Let’s go. I want this over with.”
She didn’t like lying to Connor but she didn’t see another way.
“Come on. My car is parked around the corner. I’m sure you would rather take the Metro, but we’re close and this will be so much faster. Surely at this time of night I can find a place to park.”
“It’s only a few miles.” Even as she spoke, she was climbing into Everly’s rental. It was two miles from the Capitol Building to the Lincoln Memorial and at least another two from her condo to the Mall. She had been planning on taking a bus, and now she could see where that might have failed spectacularly. The nearest Metro stop was Foggy Bottom and it was a thirty-minute walk from there. The bus would have been quicker, but it had to be timed to perfection.
Even at this hour, there were still tourists walking the streets. Everly pulled out onto Independence Avenue.
Behind her Lara heard the rev of a motorcycle. Her heart screeched to a halt as she twisted around, trying to catch a glimpse of the bike. Was it the same man on a motorcycle who had first tried to kill her? Had he been out there, lurking in the shadows, just
waiting for his next opportunity? Was he following her even now?
“You okay?” Everly asked beside her as the motorcycle disappeared from view.
She forced the panic down. “Just some old fears. I’m good.”
She couldn’t have an attack now. Before yesterday, she hadn’t had one since she was a teenager and some of her high school friends had decided to play a prank on her. They’d lurked outside her parents’ place and called her à la Scream. That had been a truly embarrassing visit from a couple of EMTs.
She’d been able to handle the most recent one because Connor had been with her. She’d focused on his voice and found a way to turn back the old childhood panic.
Of course if he’d been with her now, he wouldn’t have been saying sweet, soothing words. He would likely be the one threatening to kill her.
“I see a spot up ahead. It’s close, but not too close. I don’t want Deep Throat to see us getting out of a car together. I’m going to stay behind you, but I’ve got eyes on you. When you’re done, walk straight back toward the car and I’ll join you. I had Gabe take me here after my meeting with you and I found the perfect place to stake out the memorial.”
Everly parked the car and Lara heard the roar of the motorcycle again as it headed toward Arlington Memorial Bridge. She breathed a little sigh of relief.