Page 18 of The Spy Ring

Evaleen nodded. “Yes, and before she did Tiffany warned us to stay away from a tall man in a navy T-shirt with unkempt brown hair.”

I groaned. “She told you about the marriage then.”

That was all my fault. If I had taken care of it three weeks ago when I got back from out west, none of this would be happening.

As I stood there beating myself up inside and digging my nails into my scalp to let out some of my stress, Evaleen folded her arms and stared at me.

Her eyes narrowed as her lips curved slightly at the corners.

“Tiffany didn’t tell you, did she? Fuck.”

I wondered how I managed to make it all these years as an agent.

“No. She told us to keep an eye out for a thief. A man, fitting your description, who breaks into people’s homes while they are there and steals their stuff. That the thief almost tricked her but took pity on her and David, so he pretended to be the physical therapist instead.”

“What? How did she assume that? I never said anything about being a thief. It was a mistake. She assumed I was the PT and when I realized how big of a mistake I made back in Vegas, I was . . . It doesn’t matter. I came here tonight to fix everything.” I shook my head at what had occurred.

“Instead you made it worse,” Evaleen said as she leaned back against the hallway wall to let a woman through that was heading toward the restroom.

She bit her lip as her eyes sized me up. Her agent brain was hard at work, and I feared what Evaleen would come up with.

“I was grateful for what you did to help me, my mom, and Edgar last month. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t arrived,” she said.

“It was my job.”

“Regardless, I feel like I owe you. How about I help you with Tiffany? But, in order to do that, I will need you to be honest with me. Explain what happened in Vegas. She is my friend after all, and a wonderful mother to her son.”

How can I tell this woman? She wasn’t a government agent, tested and scrutinized to make sure secrets would always remain secrets.

“Fine, but I can only tell you on one condition,” I said.

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