Caridad Pineiro – Secret Agent Reunion (страница 8)
Dani shrugged. “It may seem that way—”
“May
Proof? She had it every time she looked into a mirror, and so did Mitch. They both bore the scars from the crime organization’s attacks, but the other deaths might be just sheer coincidence.
“Why single out the Lazlo Group? Unless it was because you were all getting too close to SNAKE’s operations, only…”
“Only what?” he challenged.
“These kills. The latest MO indicates there’s more to it. These are personal. A challenge. But how can we determine the motive when we don’t know who really runs the syndicate these days now that Max Dumont is dead?”
“So the Sparrow didn’t even come close to completing her mission?” He placed his hands on his hips and glared at her, egging her on.
Dani refused to take the bait. She rose from her chair and walked to stand before him. Looking up at his greater height, she said, “I didn’t complete my mission because I let my personal feelings get in the way. I’m not going to do that again, Mitch, so you can stop goading me.”
His shoulders slumped and he released a tired sigh. “I’m sorry. It’s just that—”
“You need defenses. I understand. I need them, too.”
She shocked him with her confession almost as much as she surprised herself. She hadn’t meant to admit that she needed to protect herself from the feelings she still had for him. But maybe it was better that it was all out in the open. That both of them were aware of it so as to avoid problems.
When he didn’t say anything else, she said, “It’s time for a break. I need some air.”
“Then let’s roll,” he said and suddenly became all-action guy. He shut down his computer, packed it and the portable hard drive into a small bag that he tossed over his shoulder.
Following his lead, she stowed the DVDs and her laptop in a stylish leather knapsack—her one concession to fashion—and made sure that when she slipped it on she still had easy access to the Glock in the holster at the small of her back.
She watched as Mitch checked the same, but then he slipped another PDA from his bag and walked to the table, which was now devoid of any telltale items. Only the fruit basket and typical hotel paraphernalia rested there.
Mitch slipped the second PDA under the table and pressed upward, apparently adhering it to the underside. “This will broadcast the video signals via a satellite connection to one of the Lazlo servers. We’ll be able to access the recorded videos or live feeds from our PDAs or any PC. That way we’ll know if the area’s been compromised.”
“Sounds good. What about the exterior sector?”
“We should stay out until dark. It’ll be easier to plant the cameras then.”
“So we familiarize ourselves with the area—”
“And grab dinner. I’m hungry,” he said.
She smiled, plucked a pear from the basket and tossed it to him. “It’s too early to eat dinner in Rome. This should tide you over for a few hours.”
He caught the pear and grinned. “You’re a hard taskmaster, Sparrow.”
“I’m glad you figured that out, Agent Lama. Makes life easier for both of us.”
The grin on his face slowly faded and he took a step closer, reached up and cupped her cheek, the action achingly familiar.
In low bedroom tones, he said, “I suspect life with you could never be easy.”
She inched her chin up defiantly. “Are you so sure about that, or are you too afraid to find out?”
Chapter 6
Dani didn’t wait for his reply, afraid of what it might be. She charged out of the room, and Mitch quickly followed, catching up to her to stroll side-by-side into the courtyard. As Dani noticed the hotel clerk by one set of doors, tending to a large terra-cotta pot filled with flowers, she stepped closer to Mitch and wrapped an arm around his waist.
Mitch eased an arm around her, pulling her tight against him. He bent his head, nuzzled the side of her cheek and whispered, “You’ll have to make this look good, you know.”
She went up on tiptoe and silenced him with a kiss, pressing her body to his, opening her mouth to taste him and run her tongue along the outline of his lips. When he groaned, she shifted away slightly and whispered in his ear, “Was that good enough,
“Too good,” he muttered beneath his breath and shifted inches away, a bright flush of color on his cheeks. He waved at the clerk but applied gentle pressure at the small of her back to urge her in the opposite direction and out of the courtyard.
They remained close together, arms around each other’s waists until they reached a larger street a few blocks away. Dani separated from him then and stopped to get her bearings. It had been over a year since she had been in Rome, but it took her only a second to know where she was.
“Lazlo offices are across the river. Actually, quite a distance away. There’s a tram we could take.”
Mitch glanced up the street, scoping it out before facing her. “Are you up to hoofing it?”
“Hoofing it? If you’re up to it, then so am I.” Besides, she could use the exercise and time to stretch. The annoying pull she had experienced along her midsection the other day had come back with a vengeance, likely from sitting so many hours as she watched the videos.
At his nod, she started walking, intent on reaching the Tiber. Mitch matched his longer strides to her shorter ones. She kept the pace steady but reasonable. It was quite a walk to the Lazlo Group location, which was on a small street close to the Spanish Steps and the Villa Borghese.
It was odd walking beside him in uneasy silence, considering how many times they had been together in Rome. In that wonderful year, whenever had Mitch visited, they had regularly strolled the streets, exploring the sights of the ancient city. The talk had been non stop then, as had been the loving.
Of course, none of that was possible any longer. He had deceived her—as she had him. The fact that both of their deceptions had been for good cause did nothing to alleviate the concern that they both had carried out their deceptions quite well.
It left her wary, uncertain of whether Mitch’s actions could be trusted now, and yet his honor had been one of the things that had drawn her to him in the first place. As for her own deception…
It had been necessary in her quest for justice.
At the river, she gestured toward one of the bridges, but as they crossed over the small square cobblestones, she paused to look over the sluggishly moving waters to the other bridges down river—the Ponte Garibaldi and, just beyond it, the small Isola Tiberina in the midst of the Tiber.
“Something wrong?” Mitch asked.
She laid her hands on his. “Loosen up, Mitch. Just pausing to enjoy the view.”
Mitch glanced over his shoulder, tracking Dani’s gaze. The river and bridges stretched out before him, a nice view, much as she had said. But not as nice as the view in front of him.
He faced her once again, telling himself he shouldn’t take such pleasure in seeing her. In walking with her along these streets as they had three years earlier. But the pleasure was as undeniable as the pain that followed at the realization of all they had lost. Somehow, the last didn’t communicate itself to his brain as he said, “Yes, nice view.”
Bright color blossomed along her cheeks as she apparently realized his attention was on her. “Let’s go. It’s starting to get dark.”
Dusk approached quickly, a testament to how many hours they had spent reviewing the materials Lazlo had sent. His stomach growled, a reminder that the boy from Baltimore hadn’t ever gotten accustomed to late-night European meals.
Dani grinned at the rather loud noise from his midsection. With a playful tug on his hand, she said, “Come on. It’ll be tough to sneak up on anyone with all that grumbling going on.”
Her pace was faster than before and they were soon at a familiar place, the Campo de Fiori. He remembered shopping away many a morning with her among the assorted vendors’ stalls. At this hour they were gone, clearing the plaza for artist types and the outdoor dining spots that the restaurants along the edges of the piazza set up.
“Just a snack, mind you,” Dani warned as she pulled him along to a tiny café. In perfect Italian she ordered some cappuccinos and buttered rolls.
He’d had something more substantial in mind, but this would tide him over for another couple of hours. He sipped slowly at the cappuccino in between bites of the deliciously yeasty and buttery roll. He was done long before Dani, who shot him a look out of the corner of her eye and took pity on him, handing him her half-eaten roll.
“But keep your hands off the coffee,” she warned him.
He chuckled, earning a dimpled grin from her. He reminded himself to keep this all business between them. It was about the mission and nothing else.
He reined in his reactions to her—those of his heart and body—and sipped the coffee and ate the roll that suddenly wasn’t as tasty. He was too busy recalling the taste of Dani’s mouth and lips against his.
They finished quickly and continued on their way. The walk took them past the Pantheon and through an assortment of small streets to the Via dei Corso. He remembered that the Trevi fountain stood just a stone’s throw away, and he took the lead, but when they reached it, the area was mobbed as always by tourists. The way it had been the first time Dani had brought him there.