Penumbra (Spook Squad 3)

“Stephan told me about your new assignment.”

There was a touch of concern in his rich voice. She raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And he hasn’t told you everything.”

Like that was a surprise. “That’s because he works on a need-to-know basis. Like someone else I know.”

Annoyance flickered through Gabriel’s warm hazel eyes. “I’ve never let you walk into an assignment blind.”

She snorted softly. “Yeah, because you’ve never given me an assignment. Only desk work.”

He at least had the grace to look guilty, if only for a second or two. “Look, I just came down here to warn you, not to argue.”

“Then warn me and leave.” Before she asked him to stay, simply to warm the empty coldness in her office. In her life.

“Fair enough.” He hesitated for a moment, studying her with a slight frown. “He omitted two major facts. One, we believe that Hopeworth is the source of the Wetherton clone, and two, we think Sethanon may be linked to both Wetherton and Hopeworth.”

And Stephan was using her as bait to draw them out. She’d been right. The vampire set to attack Wetherton wasn’t the only patsy in this situation. “Why does he think my presence will affect Sethanon’s actions?”

“Because Sethanon placed Kazdan in your life to keep watch over you both personally and professionally. And because Sethanon had to have been the source for the birth certificate Kazdan gave you. He seem

s to know more about your history than anyone else. And that it implies a long-term interest.”

Or long-term responsibility. She rubbed her arms uneasily. Though she didn’t want to mention it to Gabriel, the mysterious, hirsute stranger she knew only as Joe had admitted to giving the birth certificate to her—yet had never explained how it had come to be in Jack’s possession. And when she asked him, point blank, if he was Sethanon, he had said that Sethanon was not a name he’d ever given himself. But what did that mean? That other people had called him that? Was Sethanon her secret ally or not? But all she said now was, “Sethanon is little more than a name. How the hell am I supposed to draw him out when no one even knows what he looks like?”

“Stephan’s hoping he might try to snatch you.”

Yet if he’d intended that, why not do so before now? He’d had ample opportunities, especially when Jack was her partner. Few people would have missed her back then save Jack, and he’d been Sethanon’s right-hand man.

“I doubt the man would be fool enough to try it himself.”

“No, but the transmitter you’re getting also acts as a tracking signal. Stephan hopes to trace you to Sethanon’s headquarters, at the very least.”

And then what? A quick raid in the hope of flushing out the upper echelons of his organization? Stephan was a fool if he thought it would be so easy. They were talking about someone who had successfully covered his tracks for years.

“How deep are Wetherton’s ties to Hopeworth?”

“Very, if Hopeworth is in fact responsible for his cloning.”

“It doesn’t make sense, you know. Why clone someone like Wetherton? From what I’ve read of the man, he’s never been considered prime ministerial material.”

“But David Flint was. And remember, Sethanon has already tried to replace him with a clone.”

Which suggested that if the clones were coming from Hopeworth, then Sethanon was in control of the base. And yet, if that were true, why would Hopeworth be showing interest in her if Sethanon already knew what she was and was monitoring her? And what of Joe, who seemed to be actively protecting her from Hopeworth? If he were Sethanon and in charge of Hopeworth, why protect her from them? There was too much conflicting information to make heads or tails of it. “So this whole assignment is simply a setup to discover who is pulling Wetherton’s strings?”

“Setup? No.” Gabriel hesitated slightly. “But is that one of its goals? Yes. We need to uncover who is behind Wetherton, and stop this whole clone replacement business before it goes any further up the government ladder.”

“Meaning Wetherton’s bait, and so am I. So what? No matter what the dangers, it’s sure as hell better than spending the rest of my life in this broom closet.” She watched the impact of her words hit him, watched the regret and annoyance flit through his expression, then added, “And I’ll be careful. Anything else, Assistant Director?”

He hesitated again, then shook his head. “Keep in touch,” he said softly.

A hint of regret was in his eyes and she steeled herself against it. She’d tried hard enough. Now it was his turn. “Why? I thought it was your life’s ambition to get rid of me.”

“I never said I wanted you out of my life.”

But he’d never said he wanted her in it, either. He had never truly thrust out the hand of friendship. Everything she knew about him she’d learned during the course of their work. And he’d never attempted to extend the boundaries of their working relationship, despite the fact that there was obviously some sort of attraction between them.

Whether that attraction would have led to anything more than a night or two in the sack was anyone’s guess. If she were the betting type, she would have said yes. But it takes two to tango, and Gabriel was having no part of it.