Zodiac did a little bit of everything: risk consulting, intelligence gathering, private and corporate guarding, international hostage negotiation and rescue. But not just for the rich who could afford it. Zodiac helped those in need whether they could pay or not.
And I was part of this organization. It meant everything to me.
“Thank you,” I whispered up at Sarge. “Thank you for giving me a chance.”
“Thank you for rescuing me tonight. I’m not good with people, even ones like them.” He nodded toward the two women who were still glaring at us. “Especially ones like them.”
“If they bother you any more, I can take them out in the parking lot and teach them a lesson. I’ve got the training for it now.”
He smiled, and little dimples appeared on either side of his jaw that I wanted to reach up and touch. “I’ve heard you’ve become one of the most skilled full-time employees we have in this office. And I saw you sparring. It was pretty damn impressive, and I already knew how quick you were.”
My fingers smoothed out the material of his shirt on his shoulder. “It ends up what I knew about fighting was wrong. I thought the strongest and biggest person would always win. But that’s not the case.”
“No, it’s not,” he said. “The smartest person wins the fight. You use what you have to your advantage. And you have a lot of advantages.”
His words sent a heat through me. He admired me. It was almost inconceivable. “I haven’t had to use any of those skills on a mission yet.”
I wished I’d had them when I’d lived in Prague. It would’ve made my life a lot easier.
“Good,” he said, “I hope you never have to.”
“It turns out I like stealing from bad guys.” I smiled up at him. “Rather than tourists who aren’t paying attention.”
“Your supervisor showed me your file today. It looks like you’ve been doing some good work. Important work.”
I was never going to be a bodyguard like many of the people on the Paris team—I didn’t have the size or patience for it. But my ability to get in and out of places unnoticed and to liberate or retrieve needed items had been put to good use the past couple of months after my supervisors had made sure I was trained properly and trustworthy. I’d done my best to prove that.
The music changed, but we kept dancing. “I’m going to Marrakesh next month.”
Was it my imagination or did he pull me slightly closer? “I know. I was on the conference call when the mission got approved. You be careful.”
I would be breaking in to the office of a museum to retrieve stolen data. It would be the first mission where I was the lead.
“So you already knew I was going? You already knew for sure I was an employee here, even with the name change?”
He nodded. “The inner team discusses all important missions. So yes. And yes, I’ve known you were here since that code was first entered.”
“I’m surprised I haven’t seen you before now. I expected to.” I shrugged. “I thought you worked here.”
“No. You needed a chance to make a fresh start on your own. To make your own decisions without anybody else around. I hope you’ve been able to do that.”
I had, and it was because of him. But…I’d thought he’d be a part of the process more and been strangely disappointed when he wasn’t.
“I have eight hundred dollars for you,” I blurted out. It had been the first thing I’d saved and it was sitting in a drawer in my kitchen.
“Eight hundred dollars?” he said with a laugh. “What for?”
“For the two nights at one hundred and fifty dollars and for the five hundred dollars you gave me to help get me out of Prague that second night.”
It hadn’t been enough, and I had paid the price with blood and terror, but he didn’t need to know that.
“I never expected you to pay back that money. There’s no need.”
“I want to,” I said. “Please. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s important to me.”
“You don’t want to be in anyone’s debt again.”
Relief flowed through me. He understood. “Yes.”
“Then yes, I’ll accept it.”
We danced the same way through a couple more songs, and soon the Zodiac team members were all heading home after enjoying an evening together. Sarge and I found ourselves outside in the cool Paris night air.
“Can I walk you home?” he asked.
I wanted him to walk me home. I wanted to show him the tiny flat I lived in. I wanted to show him all the books I had on my shelves and my own kitchen with dishes and even my own bathroom. I wanted Sarge to see what my life had become.
And…I wanted him to stay with me tonight.
I knew my fellow employees at Zodiac thought I was distant and maybe conceited. I kept to myself and never dated. I wasn’t interested in anyone romantically, only in making myself the best Zodiac employee I could and in carving out a future for myself. Sex, romance… They had no place in my life.
But for the first time in years, maybe ever, I wanted a man.
This man.
“Yes, walking me home would be great. I’m not far from here.”
We talked about literature on the way, not my parents’ books, but current favorites of our own. In the past few months, I’d spent all my free time reading. Evidently, he had too.
He climbed silently behind me up the four flights of stairs to my flat. I smiled as I let him inside and showed him all my private treasures—candles, a collection of sunglasses, my beloved books, including the ragged copy of The Outsiders sitting proudly on the shelf.
If he thought it all ridiculous, he never let me know.
I gave him the eight hundred dollars in cash. He respected me enough to take it without argument and put it in his pocket.
The studio apartment was tiny, and I didn’t have anywhere for us to sit comfortably. I had just one chair at my small table; the only other option was the bed on the other side of the room.
I gestured toward it. “Want to sit?”
“I should probably go.”
“You don’t have to go.” The words came out in a rush. “I mean, I’d like you to stay. Here. With me. Tonight.”
He closed his eyes and let out a breath. “I can’t.”
“Can’t or not interested?” It took all my nerve to ask that, but I needed to know.
He opened his eyes. “Actually, neither option.”
I tilted my head as I studied him. “Doesn’t that mean you can and you are interested?”
He crossed the few feet between us more silently than someone his size should be able to. He cupped my cheeks. “Yes, it means both those things. But I’m wheels up in a couple hours, and some rushed quickie wouldn’t be right for either of us. You deserve more, Pony Girl. Better.”
He knew that the rushed quickies I hadn’t wanted were all I’d ever had. I hated that he knew it almost as much as I hated that it was the truth.
I nodded, keeping my eyes down. “I understand.”
He stepped back, letting go of my face. “In a few months, there’re going to be some transfer opportunities into the Denver office. Maybe you’d consider trying out the United States for a while. I’d like that.”