Page 12 of Toxic Vengeance

“No.” And dammit, that was so freaking hot. “But he’s only a contract officer. His loyalty is to the mission, not the Agency.”

“You willing to bet your life on that?”

Good point. “No.” If he knew what she was, then he would know she’d lied to and used him before. A man in his position wouldn’t let that go. And he was relentless enough not to stop until he saw her punished for it.

Chris watched her in silence for a long moment. “I know you. I know what you’re like when you make up your mind about something. You’re gonna do what you’re gonna do about Maguire, but promise you’ll be careful. Otherwise you’ll wind up on my shit list. And no one likes to be on my shit list.”

No kidding. “Got it.”

“Say you promise.”

She didn’t dare roll her eyes. “I promise.”

Chris’s expression softened with real affection, a slight smile tugging at her lips. “I never wanted to be a handler, you know.”

Eden cocked her head, surprised. “You never told me that.”

A tight shrug. Chris hated talking about herself. “I wanted to be out there in the field, in the middle of the action, not working a desk job. And I most definitely didn’t want to be a handler to a female operative half my age who looks like I could pick her up and snap her in half.”

“Like to see you try,” Eden scoffed.

Chris grinned. “No, you wouldn’t.”

“Did you handle other Valkyries?”

“Nope. Just you. And you kept me plenty busy.” She ran a hand over her short, springy hair, the smile fading and the frown returning. “Look, my hands are tied here because I’m out of the loop now, but I did find out some things you need to be aware of.”

“Like what?”

Pulling open a small drawer in the desk, Chris took out a small rectangular gift wrapped in Christmas paper. “Happy birthday.”

“My birthday’s in August.” Or she thought it was. The Agency had lied about a lot of shit, so she wouldn’t put it past them to lie about her birthdate too, to throw her off the trail if she ever tried to dig into her past.

Chris waved the present at her. “I know when it is. Close enough.”

Eden took it, and immediately knew it was a book. “Is it a romance, I hope? A steamy one.” Just because she was perpetually single and killed for a living didn’t mean she didn’t have a romantic side.

“No, but hopefully it will result in a happy ending all the same. Don’t open it until you get home, and keep it safe. I’ll contact you in a few days to talk once I’m sure we’re still in the clear.”

Unease curled inside her. This was the most secretive Chris had ever been in the thirteen years they’d worked together. Something was wrong. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Just be smart about this and keep that secure.” She nodded at the book. “It wasn’t easy to get my hands on that copy, and let’s just say it’s one of a kind.”

“Kind of like you,” Eden said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood because she didn’t like the feel of this at all. What had Chris uncovered that had her so concerned? Something to do with Zack? Why not just say it if they were safe here?

“Like both of us. Now, meeting’s over. I wanna hit the road.” She stood, came around the side of the desk and paused.

Eden rose slowly, her heart beating faster because of the way Chris was looking at her. Fondly. But there was also a hint of worry lurking in her eyes that Eden had never seen from her before. “Hey, are you sure you’re all r—”

“Come here, brat.”

Caught off guard, Eden stiffened when Chris pulled her into a quick hug. It was over almost as soon as it started, but it was sincere and tight.

Alarm shot through her. In all their time together Chris had never initiated any kind of affection between them, it was always Eden and Chris merely tolerated it. “Chris, no shit, you’re scaring me.”

“Good. I want you on your toes. Have a safe drive back to Jersey. I’ll be in touch.” And with that she put on her sunglasses and sauntered out of the room, helmet tucked under one arm.

Alone in the office, Eden glanced down at the book in her hand. Chris had to have hidden something inside it. A clue, or a message of some sort. But why not just tell her up front and explain everything? Was she worried someone had followed them? She’d said it was safe when they’d arrived here.

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