a young woman.” Zach glanced at Lucas, adding blandly, “His wife, I understand.”
“His—?” Lucas mused about that for a moment, then sighed. “Part of the cover?”
“I assume so.”
“She’s an agent?”
“Again, I assume so. Their destination is Kadeira, which, I discovered, is a political nightmare and believed to be the base for a pretty nasty terrorist organization.”
“And Rafferty wanted a gun,” Lucas murmured. He was looking grimmer by the moment. “Are we going to storm the place, or hover outside the three-mile limit in case we’re needed?”
“Play it by ear. The fishing’s supposed to begood near Kadeira, so we’ll anchor and keep an eye on the
Thespian
.” Zach was frowning, the long scar on his left cheek whitening as always in response to tension. “I’m betting they’ll go into port with heaven only knows what kind of plan.”
“We need to talk to Rafferty.”
“And we will, if we get the chance. But we can’t risk blowing his cover. Get your clever mind on that, will you?”
Lucas, who had an inborn talent for stealth and a genuine enjoyment of tactics, grimaced and nodded. But he made a despairing observation, one that both men felt keenly.
“I’m not as devious as Hagen. Who in hell can guess what
he
has in mind?”
“You’re going to
what
?” Rafferty asked carefully.
Sarah, who had never in her life been assertive, lifted her chin and met his incredulous gaze calmly. “You heard me. I’ve seen her, Rafferty, and we could be twins. We even have the samefirst name. And Andrés Sereno was wild about her; he would have married her in a wedding to rival British royalty, if she hadn’t run away.”
“Did it ever occur to you that she might have had good reason to run away from President Sereno?”
“He wasn’t cruel to her, or anything like that. Rafferty, he
worshiped
her; he would have given her anything—except her freedom. She had to run away to get that.”
“If Hagen told you—”
Sarah smiled. “No. She did. I talked to Sara Marsh two weeks ago. She’s hiding because he’s got people scattered all over the world looking for her.”
Rafferty felt more and more like he was in the middle of a nightmare, and morning was too many long hours away. “And so you’re going to take advantage of his obsession with this woman because you could be her twin? Sarah, that man sounds unbalanced. At the very least, he’s a
dictator
and used to getting his own way. What if he transfers his obsession to you?”
Softly, she said, “It isn’t likely. Still, he’ll probably be interested enough to want to spend time with me. We’re counting on that.”
“Sarah—”
“It’s our pass into Kadeira, Rafferty. While I … occupy the president, you’ll meet with our undercover agent and get the information.”
Tightly, Rafferty said, “We’re supposed to be married,
newly
married at that. Do I just cheerfully hand over my wife to some obsessed tin-pot dictator? Turn my head while he has his hands all over you?”
She reached out to touch his hand, unsurprised when his only response was a deepening of his stony stare. “Our cover is that we’re a newly married couple, with a few problems. We’re supposed to stage a public fight or something. And as for his hands being all over me, President Sereno was very gentle with his Sara, Rafferty; he never tried to do anything against her will. In fact, they—they were never lovers.”
“Maybe he’ll decide to grab what he can this time around,” Rafferty suggested. “Whatthen, Sarah? Just how far are you prepared to go in
occupying
him? Did Hagen wave the flag at you and explain that a good agent uses every tool available? Did he suggest a little bit of good old-fashioned whoring to get the job done?”
The question quivered in the air between them.
Sarah drew her hand back as though he’d burned her. She had never looked more poignantly lovely, her green eyes darkened to jade with the
“His—?” Lucas mused about that for a moment, then sighed. “Part of the cover?”
“I assume so.”
“She’s an agent?”
“Again, I assume so. Their destination is Kadeira, which, I discovered, is a political nightmare and believed to be the base for a pretty nasty terrorist organization.”
“And Rafferty wanted a gun,” Lucas murmured. He was looking grimmer by the moment. “Are we going to storm the place, or hover outside the three-mile limit in case we’re needed?”
“Play it by ear. The fishing’s supposed to begood near Kadeira, so we’ll anchor and keep an eye on the
Thespian
.” Zach was frowning, the long scar on his left cheek whitening as always in response to tension. “I’m betting they’ll go into port with heaven only knows what kind of plan.”
“We need to talk to Rafferty.”
“And we will, if we get the chance. But we can’t risk blowing his cover. Get your clever mind on that, will you?”
Lucas, who had an inborn talent for stealth and a genuine enjoyment of tactics, grimaced and nodded. But he made a despairing observation, one that both men felt keenly.
“I’m not as devious as Hagen. Who in hell can guess what
he
has in mind?”
“You’re going to
what
?” Rafferty asked carefully.
Sarah, who had never in her life been assertive, lifted her chin and met his incredulous gaze calmly. “You heard me. I’ve seen her, Rafferty, and we could be twins. We even have the samefirst name. And Andrés Sereno was wild about her; he would have married her in a wedding to rival British royalty, if she hadn’t run away.”
“Did it ever occur to you that she might have had good reason to run away from President Sereno?”
“He wasn’t cruel to her, or anything like that. Rafferty, he
worshiped
her; he would have given her anything—except her freedom. She had to run away to get that.”
“If Hagen told you—”
Sarah smiled. “No. She did. I talked to Sara Marsh two weeks ago. She’s hiding because he’s got people scattered all over the world looking for her.”
Rafferty felt more and more like he was in the middle of a nightmare, and morning was too many long hours away. “And so you’re going to take advantage of his obsession with this woman because you could be her twin? Sarah, that man sounds unbalanced. At the very least, he’s a
dictator
and used to getting his own way. What if he transfers his obsession to you?”
Softly, she said, “It isn’t likely. Still, he’ll probably be interested enough to want to spend time with me. We’re counting on that.”
“Sarah—”
“It’s our pass into Kadeira, Rafferty. While I … occupy the president, you’ll meet with our undercover agent and get the information.”
Tightly, Rafferty said, “We’re supposed to be married,
newly
married at that. Do I just cheerfully hand over my wife to some obsessed tin-pot dictator? Turn my head while he has his hands all over you?”
She reached out to touch his hand, unsurprised when his only response was a deepening of his stony stare. “Our cover is that we’re a newly married couple, with a few problems. We’re supposed to stage a public fight or something. And as for his hands being all over me, President Sereno was very gentle with his Sara, Rafferty; he never tried to do anything against her will. In fact, they—they were never lovers.”
“Maybe he’ll decide to grab what he can this time around,” Rafferty suggested. “Whatthen, Sarah? Just how far are you prepared to go in
occupying
him? Did Hagen wave the flag at you and explain that a good agent uses every tool available? Did he suggest a little bit of good old-fashioned whoring to get the job done?”
The question quivered in the air between them.
Sarah drew her hand back as though he’d burned her. She had never looked more poignantly lovely, her green eyes darkened to jade with the
Similar Books
