Page 11 of The Spy Ring

“That’s not true,” I said and tried to come up with an example.

Nothing came to mind.

“What about Plastic? You had me research his family history and place wire tapes in his house. While you got to trail him to New York and Miami.”

I held up my finger. “But, it was what we got from the wiretaps that brought him down. And the same with Emma Hawthorne. Didn’t you fly to Vegas to put in the tap?”

“Nebraska. The warehouse was in Big Springs, Nebraska. Woo hoo! I had the best time because you know, what happens in Big Springs, stays in Big Springs,” Tenn said without inflection as his lips thinned.

I held up my hands. “Okay, I get it. Maybe you should call the shots for a while. The next big case that comes up, I’ll stay back working on things here.”

“Really?” His brows shot up but he nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll help you get out of it. Now, show me what Tiffany looks like.”

I was about to ask why he needed to see her picture but grew tired of trying to figure out Tenn’s mind. Somehow, I knew that if he explained it, I would end up more confused.

Bringing up the pictures on my phone, I showed him some of the shots I took as we walked the streets of Vegas.

“Which one, the redhead or the brunette?” He swiped his finger across my phone.

“The brunette.”

The corner of his mouth curved. “You must have had a good night.”

I did. For the first time in over a decade, I stopped being an agent for the government and chose to be a guy out for the night. I drank. I danced. I kissed a beautiful woman. And, finally, I got married.

That last one might not be what an average guy does during a night of drinking, but even with that, I had fun. And if I had to get married to anyone, I didn’t mind it being Tiffany. She had a smile that did things to my heart and a body that made it very hard not to have sex with her that night.

She was drunk and knowing that, I couldn’t do something she wasn’t in her right mind to say yes to. Even when she played hide-n-seek with her clothes, I had to bribe her with a ring. Since it was a quick wedding, she really wanted one of those candy lollipop rings. The kind that’s plastic but had the candy jewel on top. I told her I would get it first thing in the morning if she got under the covers.

I left her in bed and slept on the couch. Not the best sleep, and I worried I would wake her when I got up early to take a long, muscle relaxing, hot shower. Apparently, I did wake her as she was gone when I came out.

“It was intel,” I said as I stared at my fingers, curled around my coffee cup.

“You were really thorough on the information you gathered, I see. How did marrying Tiffany help you capture Emma Hawthorne?”

I reached over and grabbed my phone from his hands. “I made a mistake. That’s why I’m here. You said you could help me if you saw what she looked like.”

“No, I didn’t. What I said was I wanted to see what she looked like. Then I told you I would help you get out of this. I never said one had to do with the other.”

Gritting my teeth, I willed my hands not to wrap around Tenn’s throat. “Okay, so help.”

“Just tell her you aren’t a physical therapist.”

“Why didn’t I think of that!” I slapped my hand on the table and glared at Tenn.

“What’s the worst she could do? Run off? Then you never have to see her again.”

“But I need her to sign the divorce papers.”

He nodded. “Right. Forgot about that. Can you hire someone to hand them to her?”

“I thought about that. What happens when she looks me up? She’ll realize I’m her son’s PT. She might even go to the police. I can’t have this getting out. That might cause the government to reassign me.”

“Reassignment, fuck no.” Tenn shook his head.

He knew what reassignment really meant.

Tenn’s face lit up with a wide smile as he nodded his head. He had something and a part of me, foolishly, hoped it was something solid—the answer to my dilemma.

---