The Spy with the Silver Lining

by Wendy Rosnau

  “You’re avoiding the question. You probably don’t even know who your mother is.”

  “I know. She gave me life, but we never bonded. Not like you and Ruza. You can trust that if you do what I tell you your mother will be out of here before the action starts.”

  “That’s not good enough.”

  “Maybe if we spend some quality time together you’ll get more comfortable with the word trust…and me.” He gave her another head-to-toe. “I wonder what you’d look like in a pair of jeans.”

  “If you read my file you already know that I can fit into any mold required of me. In Austria, I—”

  “Wore ass-tight black pants and a blue sweater. Oui, I remember the day we met.”

  “I remember you, too. Whining after you got shot.”

  He glanced down to her feet. “Pink sandals. Don’t you own a pair of decent shoes?”

  “My shoes aren’t important at the moment. What is, is that Mama is taken someplace safe, and Polax pays for being a lying bastard. I intend to haunt him from the grave.”

  “You’re a woman who holds grudges, then?”

  “Something to remember.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind.”

  She had decided just before she’d fallen asleep last night that she would go through with the mission. For a split second she had considered running away, but she was no coward. And because she wasn’t, that left her only one choice—play Polax’s game, and in the end, Yurii’s.

  It was crazy thinking, but she wished that Pierce had some superpower she didn’t know about. That he would be able to pull a miracle out of his nice, tight ass pocket and make good on his promise. She would have liked to trust him, but how could she trust an agent who smoked too much, and probably couldn’t sprint a hundred yards without his lungs collapsing?

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Nothing.”

  “It must be something. You’re not usually this quiet.”

  She shrugged off his little dig, sat down at the table. It would do no good to share her little secrets now. As he had said, the mission had started, and Yurii knew where to find her. It was only a matter of time now.

  He fixed scrambled eggs and toast for the both of them. While they ate, he said, “I need to make a grocery run. Unless you’re interested in trying out mudbugs?”

  Casmir sat back and wiped her mouth on her napkin. “I think it would be a good idea if you ran along into town. I’ll stay here and wait for Mama.”

  “I’d rather you go with.”

  “Afraid Yurii’s going to kidnap me while you’re gone?”

  “His men won’t come until tomorrow.”

  “How do you know that?” She held up her hand. “Forget the question. I’m sure that’s privileged information. The bait doesn’t need to know when, just be available.”

  “I understand how you feel.”

  “You don’t know shit about how I feel, so don’t patronize me.” She picked up her empty plate and carried it to the sink.

  “Polax wouldn’t have put you in this situation if he didn’t think you could handle it and come out alive.”

  “Well, he doesn’t know everything,” Casmir muttered to herself.

  “What did you say?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Do you know something we don’t? Something you left out of your report?”

  She turned from the sink. “It doesn’t matter now. As you said, it’s started.”

  “If it makes a difference it matters.”

  “In my five years at Quest I’ve never been conned by my own agency. At the moment I’m not feeling too loyal, or too generous with anything I left out of that report.”

  “Then you did leave something out. What?”

  “It won’t ruin your record, Agent Pierce. I’m sure you’ll succeed in getting your data. You’re a tough guy.” Casmir mocked him by flexing her muscles.

  “I’ll get you out.”

  “Maybe I’d just as soon you didn’t.”

  Suddenly he was on his feet. “What the hell does that mean?”

  She started past him and he grabbed her arm. “Explain that last comment.”

  She jerked free. “If I survive this, it will be my decision, and I’ll save myself. When the time comes, get the data and get out.”

  She headed into the living room.

  Pierce called after her. “I’m leaving in thirty minutes for Le Mystère. Be ready.”

  “Whatever you say, Agent Fourtier.”

  “And when we get into town, remember, we’re a happy couple, so sharpen up those acting skills…amant. Today you’re in love, and I’m the lucky man.”

  Love… Casmir glanced down at the ring on her finger. Sometimes love could be the death of you.

  Ruza sat in Lazie’s boat and watched him maneuver them through the bayou. It was far more beautiful here than she’d expected. The crazy thing was she had agreed to leave Cassie asleep at the cabin and go out on the water with the very man who had tossed her into a trunk.

  She eyed the man. Today Lazie had left his garish vest and frilly shirt at home. He wore a black T-shirt and jeans. His body looked younger than his suspected age. She understood now why he had been able to wrestle her to the ground yesterday.

  The man had muscular arms, and the agility of a man in his thirties, not his late fifties. But then, age was experience, and this man looked as if he’d lived his life to the fullest.

  He had given her a brief history of the area, named every tree they passed, and where every water trail went. The information had her head spinning. Or was it Lazie himself that was spinning her head?

  She had never in all her travels met anyone like him. He was rough around the edges, and spoke a language all his own.

  “I’ve been waiting to hear why you accosted me yesterday, Mr. Lazie.”

  He turned to look at her. “Is dat why you said oui to dis boat ride, Cookie?”

  “I guess it is.”

  “Non. I don tink so.”

  “What do you think my reason was, then?”

  He grinned. “I tink you like me.”

  “And why would I like a man who tossed me in a trunk?”

  “I’m sorry about dat. In a day or two, maybe three, you’ll understand, but for now, I tink let’s just enjoy each other. Are you gettin’ hungry yet, Cookie? Bubba’s Place is a few miles up and around da bend.”

  “Bubba’s?”

  “Bubba’s got de best rib shack on da river.”

  “A restaurant?”

  “You could call it dat. It started out as a fishin’ shack. Den the word got out dat Bubba could cook like his mama. Been cookin’ for da folks around here ever since.”

  She would be hungry soon. She’d only had a piece of toast for breakfast after she’d seen what Lazie was having—leftover mudbugs from the night before.

  “Ribs, you said?”

  “Barbecued ribs and hush puppies. Bubba’s are da best I ever ate.”

  Ruza wasn’t sure if that was a good selling point. Lazie’s taste in food was questionable. She had given the mudbugs a try last night, and they hadn’t tasted too bad. The problem was touching them. And there was no way she could put the head of the thing in her mouth to suck the juice, as Lazie had showed her how to do.

  “So, Cookie, should we stop?”

  She needed to use a bathroom. “All right, Lazie, we’ll eat at the restaurant, but only if you promise I won’t be disappointed, there’s a bathroom, and I won’t be accosted by the natives.”

  Her last comment drew a smile. He said, “If any man lays a hand on you, mon coeur, I’ll cut him in half.”

  “It’s comforting to know you’re watching my back, Lazie.”

  He patted the wicked knife strapped on his belt that was too big to fit in his pocket. “A comfort for you, and my pleasure.”

  In a strange way Lazie reminded her of Jacko. Not in appearance or dress, but they were both take-charge men. Maybe that was the attraction. Cassie’s fath
er had had a wild side, too. He’d been exciting and handsome. Lazie could be wickedly handsome in his own way.

  She wondered what he would look like with his hair cut, a shave and new clothes.

  She caught Lazie staring, his devil eyes moving slowly over her breasts and legs. He was thinking nasty thoughts again. She set aside the picture in her mind of him clean shaven. It would take more than a few surface improvements to make him fit into her world.

  They rounded the bend and that was when the rib shack came into sight. Ruza wasn’t surprised by its size. Lazie had said it was small. What surprised her was how many boats were tied up to the floating dock.

  Bubba’s ribs must be edible, she thought.

  When Lazie tied up the boat, he helped her climb out. Once on the dock, he let her go ahead of him. She knew why, knew his eyes had drifted to her backside.

  She said over her shoulder, “That’s not what I meant when I said watch my back.”

  He chuckled. “Mais yeah, a spirited ange. Da best kind, my Ruza-a….”

  Merrick went to visit Sarah Finny at the flower shop and to pick up the two dozen roses for Johanna. He spoke to Sarah kindly, and even found himself flirting with her. She smiled, and that was when he asked her to dinner.

  He and Sarah had been steadily getting closer, but he hadn’t kissed her yet. Maybe tomorrow after dinner he would take the next step. He liked her company, liked how easy she was to be around.

  A woman’s voice, her laughter… Yes, he’d missed both. Johanna had loved to laugh.

  He left the flower shop with the roses and drove to the cemetery north of the city. As he walked to Johanna’s grave, he began to feel guilty. He’d just arranged a date with Sarah, and now he was planning to spend the afternoon with Johanna.

  He couldn’t stop seeing Johanna, and yet he ached for a real life. For a woman to touch, and to be touched.

  Would Johanna understand? She had been a jealous woman when they were together, but not nearly as jealous as he had been. If a man looked at her twice he had wanted to take his head off.

  So what was he doing? Sarah deserved a man who could love her with his whole heart, and that would never be him.

  At Johanna’s grave, Merrick placed the roses in the silver vase, then went to sit on the bench.

  “It’s sunny today, Johanna. The sky’s clear and the air summer warm. Do you remember what day it is? Today is your birthday. You’re forty-one. Remember what we always did on your birthday? Dinner at LuCasa and a movie. It never mattered what movie. Then afterward…”

  Merrick closed his eyes as the vision of the two of them took shape by the fire in the home they had shared. They would talk of their dreams for a family, of growing old together. Then make love.

  He could feel her now touching him. Feel her shiver as he entered her. The fever would always take them quickly, each time as fresh and new as the first.

  Merrick stayed two hours with Johanna, and as he walked back to his car, he called Sarah and canceled their dinner for tomorrow night. It was as he was on his way back to the city that Polax called.

  “I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. Is something wrong?”

  “You bet your ass something’s wrong. Your agent told Casmir she’s the bait.”

  Merrick remained calm. “Did she call you?”

  “No. I called her to check on how things were going.”

  “And she took your head off for lying to her.”

  “No. She was as cold as a fish. Then she said something that waved a red flag.”

  “And that was…?”

  “She told me she wanted Ruza out of Le Mystère immediately, and that if something happened to her, she wanted me to promise that Ruza would be taken care of. She demanded that I put it in writing. She knows our plan. Dammit, Adolf, your agent had no right to—”

  “I gave him clearance to tell her. Not everything, just enough to keep her at the cabin. Pierce thought it would be best if—”

  “I know what’s best for Casmir. I need her a hundred percent when Petrov gets his hands on her. He’s ruthless, and if he senses this is a setup, he could kill her before we can get her out of there.”

  “Pierce is a damn good agent. If I didn’t trust him to do the job, I wouldn’t have supported this mission. Maybe you should call Balasi back and tell her everything. I mean everything, Lev.”

  “Hell, no! Ruza would kill me, and then IsaDora would take my body and dig it under her rose garden for fertilizer. Absolutely not.”

  “At least Balasi hasn’t declined the mission, or her role in it.”

  “I’m a little surprised she hasn’t. I expected her to resign from Quest. But there was no mention of walking out on the agency or the mission. Just her demand that Ruza be removed from Le Mystère, and my promise to care for her.”

  “This will work out like we planned. We’ve thought this through. It will work.”

  “I have news that Petrov’s men will make their move on Casmir in the next couple of days. Did you pick up the one Fourtier caught spying on the cabin?”

  “His name’s Anton Candulee, and he’s on his way to D.C. as we speak. We’ll try to get some information out of him, but you and I both know that Petrov’s men are damn loyal to him.”

  “I guess phase two has started. In a few days I’ll know if I did the right thing. Damn, I hope so, Adolf. I couldn’t live with this if it turned sour.”

  Chapter 11

  The ride into Le Mystère was strained. Pierce had tried at conversation, but what he’d learned since last night was that Casmir was short on forgiveness. He was still in the doghouse, and would no doubt stay there throughout the entire mission.

  He’d given up trying to talk to her a mile back and turned the radio on. When she’d turned it off a second later, he’d lit up a cigarette, deciding to let her cool off in silence.

  Good thing the Jeep he’d rented was open since the heat was damn close to a hundred in the shade, and the steam rolling off his passenger had raised his discomfort level another twenty degrees.

  He pulled up in front of the local grocery store and gas station. When he climbed out, he noticed she didn’t.

  “Come on, it’s showtime.”

  She gave him a cold stare.

  “It was your idea that we look like a happy couple. Tyrel Jenkins over there across the street is gawkin’. If you don’t want him spreading a rumor that there’s trouble in paradise, I’d paste a smile on that pretty face of yours and start acting deliriously happy.”

  “Delirious. Now there’s a word. Heat stroke is another.”

  “That’s two words.”

  She glowered at him and climbed out. As she walked past him, she said, “Even happy couples have disagreements, Pierce. Today we’re having one, and if anyone makes a comment, I’ll tell them I just caught my fiancé in a lie and I’m rethinking the honeymoon.”

  She had a quick tongue on her, but then he knew that from their time together in Austria. What he’d overlooked back then was how damn beautiful she was no matter how she was dressed or whose ass she was chewing.

  As far as he knew she hadn’t called Polax, and even though she was pissed about being kept in the dark, she was going to go through with the mission. What worried him was what she was keeping to herself about Petrov.

  He had promised her she wouldn’t end up a victim in this game. He would keep that promise. There was no way he was going to leave her behind after he got his hands on the data.

  By the time he stepped into the grocery store, she had the counter covered with food. He watched her as she tossed a few frozen pizzas on the growing pile, then a package of cookies.

  He walked to the counter and picked up the cookies, crazy-looking pink marshmallow delights. As she tossed a pound of chocolate to the stack along with a dozen candy bars, he said, “You eat junk food? Where do you put it?”

  She glowered at him as he sent his eyes over her slender curves. “Maybe if I gain a few pounds in the wrong places Yuri
i won’t be so excited to see me.”

  “Somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen.” He gestured to the cookies as he set them back down. “Interesting choice.”

  “They remind me of a pair of shoes I once had. I had to leave them behind on a job in Romania. I had to escape out the window, and the ledge was sixteen stories up.”

  “Did you have to cut and run a lot?”

  “A time or two. Surprised?”

  “Nothing about you would surprise me, amant.”

  “Well if it isn’t Pierce and da blond bird. I expected da bird would have flown da nest by now after she saw your humble home, Handsome.”

  Pierce turned to see Linet standing in the doorway. She had on a skintight pink T-shirt sporting the words Grab and Go. He glanced at Casmir and noticed her jaw was set. Hell only knew what she was going to say or do. She wasn’t in the mood for Linet today.

  He reached out and put his arm around Casmir and drew her to his side. Smiling at Linet, he said, “Cass loves the cabin. Don’t you, amant? She’s already calling it home sweet home.”

  He felt her tense, expected the worst. What he got was her hand slipping around his waist as she said, “When Pierce is near it doesn’t matter where we are, as long as there’s a bed.”

  He was just starting to relax when Linet countered, and set the tone for the silent drive back to the cabin.

  “I can’t argue with dat, cher. He’s got da stamina of a bull, and enough horn ta drive a woman into a fit of screamin’.”

  “A hard-drivin’ bull,” Casmir agreed. “That’s Pierce.”

  “Well, catchya later. I’m on my way ta work. If you’ve got some time, Mr. Bull, come by and see me. You, too, cher, if you can take da heat.”

  Casmir had kept quiet while Pierce had paid for the groceries, and she had managed to keep the silence going over half the way home.

  Home… The heat must be making her hallucinate.

  “You should have told me she was one of your playthings. You made me look like a fool.”

  “Linny speaks before she thinks.”

  Casmir glared at him as she held her hair to keep it from blowing into her eyes. “I don’t care about Linny’s bad manners, or your sad taste in women. What I care about is getting out of this sorry little town. When did you say Yurii was going to rescue me? Maybe I should give him a call and get this damn mission started.”