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“Thank you, Nora,” Six said, joining Devil at the sink and placing a cup she’d rinsed in the dishwasher.
“The more she denies it, the more worked up she’ll get,” Nora continued. “Then she’ll go full on Violetta-Italian on us. We’ll be here all night trying to keep her from flying down to Florida and killing Franklin, and I have an early morning tomorrow.”
Six glared at all her smiling friends. “Have I ever told you all how much I hate you?”
Chapter Six
Six pacedher living room as the storm still raged outside. Spring storms didn’t usually last more than an hour or so, but this one had staying power. She paused in front of a big picture window. During the day, she had a clear view down her lawn, to her dock, and out onto the Atlantic. But now, everything was pitched in darkness except the occasional lightning striking the turbulent gray waters.
A bolt hit the ocean, and the sky lit up like a strobe. Six closed her eyes and focused on the feel of the thunder rolling over the land. Like most storms, her temper was brief and intense. But as her house shuddered around her and the clap of thunder rolled on and on, she wondered if Mother Nature had created this night just for her—it was a keen reflection of her mood.
Her mind swirled with reasons Franklin might have sent Gavin. Nora had suggested that maybe he was supposed to fill gaps in their capabilities, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what those were. She and her friends had been active agents for their respective countries since the age of eighteen—twenty years. Why now? What had changed? And why would they need any assistance here when none of them operatedas agentsin the US?
She’d called Franklin, of course. Even knowing that Cyn was right and she’d never get anything out of him, Six had felt the need to try. So far, in the hour she’d been home, she’d left two voice mails. She didn’t think Franklin had much of a life other than playing the spymaster, so she was quite certain he was avoiding her.
That left Gavin, though.
She hadn’t yet been able to bring herself to pick up her phone and dial his number. She was self-aware enough to recognize the age-old evasion technique—if she didn’t ask the question, she wouldn’t know the answer. And if she didn’t know the answer, then she wouldn’t have to confront the truth. An option that held more appeal than it should.
If, on the other hand, she confirmed what she and the club suspected about his presence in her life, then she’d have to talk to him. And talking to him about what had happened that night would be just the beginning. From there, he’d no doubt expect to be brought into her circle of spy friends, and being honest with herself, she didn’t want him there. She liked her life the way it was and didn’t need him upsetting the balance she and her friends had created for themselves over the years.
Still, as she tried to push thoughts of Gavin from her mind and stoke her irritation at Franklin, she could all but hear Devil’s voice inside her head telling her she needed to pull on her big-girl panties and call Gavin.IfFranklin sent him, then Gavin wasn’t going anywhere. Not just that, but if Franklin did send him—which was the only explanation that made sense—there had to be a reason. And despite how much she’d enjoy disemboweling him at the moment, she was woman enough to acknowledge that Franklin never didanythingwithout a goodreason.
That reason might not be clear to her right now, but taking her annoyance with him out of the equation, she had to admit, his track record was flawless. Granted, she wasn’t privy to everything he was involved in. But when it came to his work with her and the rest of the club, not once had he led them astray or made a bad decision. And that was saying a lot for a man who’d been in the spy game for nearly a half a century.
With a resigned huff, Six grabbed her phone and sank into one of her comfy upholstered chairs. In the mornings, it was her favorite place to sit and watch the sun come up. But with her mood the way it currently was, staring out into the storm wasn’t a bad view either.
Bringing her phone to life, she realized Gavin’s contact was on her work device, not her personal one. Contorting her body into an unnatural and satisfyingly uncomfortable position, she reached into her bag that she’d tossed on the floor and grabbed her other phone. Pulling up the office directory, she found Gavin’s cell.
“Violetta,” he said when he answered, his voice rolling through her with his annoyingly perfect Italian accent. “I wondered when you’d call.”
“Franklin sent you, didn’t he?” There was no point in beating around the bush. When she decided to pull her big-girl panties on or rip the Band-Aid off, she went in all the way. She smiled to herself as those thoughts formed; there were so many good American idioms and clichés—they were one of her favorite things about living in the US.
“Officially the orders came from my commander. But is Franklin an older gentlemen who looks a bit like Prince Philip did in his younger years, but better-looking and with more hair?”
“The very same,” Six muttered in English before adding a few choice laments in Italian. There was no going back now. They both knew who—and what—the other was. “Franklin didn’t deign to tell me anything. Did they give you a reason?”
“Have dinner with me and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Six snorted. “Just because we’re supposed to work together—although to what end I haven’t a clue—does not mean we are suddenly going to be spending time together.”
“It’s dinner, Violetta, not a lifelong commitment.”
“That’s cute how you tried to make it sound like I was being unreasonable,” she shot back. “Your offer was a power play, short and simple, Cooper. ‘I’ll tell you what you want if you do what I say.’ I don’t play that way, Gavin. You may not know me well, but you should know that by now.”
Silence fell over the line. Six had a fleeting thought that given how good they both were at holding on to the power of silence, they might still be on the line come dawn without another word spoken. She pulled the phone away from her ear and glanced at the display. Actually, she’d run out of power long before dawn since she’d forgotten to charge her phone.
Finally, Gavin sighed. “You’re right, that wasn’t called for. But I do think what we need to discuss is best discussed in person. Can we meet? Please,” he added.
Six grinned. “See, that wasn’t too hard to ask now, was it? And yes, I agree we should meet in person. How about dinner at Kearney’s here in Cos Cob tomorrow?”
A beat passed, then Gavin chuckled. A real one…she hadn’t realized until now that his easy humor in the office was an act. But hearing him now, the difference was clear as night and day. This chuckle was fuller, deeper, a little richer.
“This is going to be interesting, isn’t it?” he mused.
“I suspect it is, yes.”
“Tomorrow night at seven thirty, then?”
