Read Online The Spy Is Cast by Diane Henders - Free Book Online

this.”
    “Hell, no,” I said
grimly.

Chapter 9
    The Audi hugged the
road on the way into the foothills. Kane and I exchanged the
fervent smiles of a pair of car fanatics as we rounded the first
curves.
    “I suppose it would be
unbecoming for an officer of the law to speed,” I suggested
innocently.
    Kane gave me a
predatory grin. “Lucky I’m an energy consultant tonight.” The purr
of the big V10 engine deepened to a velvet growl and the car
effortlessly accelerated, pressing me back into the seat.
    “Ooh, yeah,” I
crooned. “Come on, baby!”
    Kane glanced over, the
corner of his mouth crooked up. “Do you need a moment alone with
the car?”
    I smirked at him,
unabashed. “Yes.”
    “Too bad. Looks like
we’re here.”
    I sighed, eyeing the
discreet sign beside the overgrown laneway as he braked. “Are you
sure we can’t just keep driving? I know where there’s a road that
this car could really sink its teeth into…”
    “I’d love to,” he
assured me. “But duty calls.”
    “Duty sucks,” I
muttered as we pulled up to elegant wrought-iron gates. The
uniformed attendant examined the expensive-looking invitation Kane
displayed, and nodded to the gatehouse guard. The gates swung open
and we purred sedately up the driveway.
    The narrow strip of
asphalt wound through heavy spruce forest for several hundred
yards. As we swung around the final bend, a dramatic vista opened
before us where the land fell away into a rolling valley with a
spectacular mountain panorama spread out behind it.
    We drove up the final
hill, passing a parking lot on our right just before we arrived at
a cul-de-sac where other guests were disembarking from their luxury
cars. I spotted a couple of Vipers and a brand-new Lamborghini in
the mix.
    I nudged Kane. “Jeez,
talk about embarrassing for those guys. They must hate it when they
show up at a party and somebody else is driving the same Viper as
they are.”
    He snickered. “Oh, the
humiliation. But I think I could take it.”
    “No shit.”
    We pulled up to the
curb and Kane turned to me. “Ready to do this?”
    I groaned. “Okay, I’m
putting on my well-behaved lah-de-dah act now. See if you can stand
in front of the car door to block the view. If I manage to get out
of this car without exposing myself, it’ll be a friggin’
miracle.”
    He chuckled and got
out of the car, pacing around to the passenger side to open the
door for me. He stooped, offering me a courtly hand. With intense
concentration, I remembered to keep my knees together, unfurling my
legs out the door and coming to my feet as gracefully as
possible.
    The perfidious skirt
slithered up my thighs again, but not far enough to expose anything
but a tiny sliver of the lace at the top of my stockings. I kept my
face pleasantly composed while Kane and I strolled away from the
car.
    “I’m going to kill
Nichele,” I grated through my teeth as I smiled genteelly up at
Kane.
    “I’m going to write
her a thank-you note,” he rumbled in my ear. “You’re stunning in
that dress.”
    I managed a more
genuine smile, hiding the shiver of heat that raced through me.
“Thanks.”
    Kane turned over the
keys to the valet and we proceeded along a paved walkway, cresting
a gentle slope. We both paused, taking in the layout. I resisted
the urge to gawp open-mouthed.
    To our right, an
enormous fountain splashed lavishly over a well-endowed bronze
mermaid. The walkway meandered in curves down the side of the
slope, past two sprawling slate-clad buildings with copper
roofs.
    A small lake nestled
at the bottom of the slope, surrounded by a boardwalk. Several
fountains played in the lake, their spray modulated and
choreographed to the music that emanated from speakers embedded
every ten feet or so along the low wall that defined the
walkway.
    Beside the lake, an
open two-storey structure seemed to be the focus of activity, with
tables and chairs set up on both levels. Other buildings dotted the
landscape, each expertly