CHAPTER ELEVEN
Maya stared out the car window at the graying sky and looked upward at the clouds bulging with snow just waiting to dump once the temperature dropped a few degrees. Brake lights from cars driven by drone-like bureaucrats and other government workers flashed off and on, off and on down the interstate. Tall, leafless trees lined the side of the highway like skeletons, and muddy patches of slush had built up along the shoulder and in the brown grass bordering the asphalt.
Their dismal surroundings seemed to mimic her mood.
Deep in thought, Jeffrey hadn’t said much since he’d let his guard down and hugged her. He’d instructed Casey to monitor Isla’s Kids Chat account, then insisted they go to his house for a few hours so Maya could get some rest before contacting Nadim.
Sleep was the last thing on her mind, but her ravenous curiosity was starving to find out what kind of home a man like Jeffrey Burke would choose to live in. Would it be a high-rise condominium with sleek, modern furniture and fixtures? Or perhaps a large, more traditional brick home with a load of empty rooms, surrounded by property.
Based on his invitation, she assumed there was no wife waiting at home. Then again, there very well might be a strong, understanding woman at the door when they arrived—cocktail in hand, ready to help him leave behind the dirtiness of his job, at least for a few hours. Someone patient who understood how aspects of his career might seep over into their personal life. In this particular instance, in the form of a long-ago bedmate and mother of his child tagging along to his home.
Maya had an inexplicable, unwarranted dislike for the imaginary woman.
Her desire to fill the silence with questions was powerful, but she remained silent. As painful as it was to feel like an interloper, his life was really none of her business.
She snuck occasional glances at him from the corner of her eye.
His sharp blue gaze scanned the road, and his large hands confidently gripped the wheel as he weaved his way around the other vehicles. If possible, he was even more handsome than when she’d first met him, more powerful, certainly, and there was an inherent confidence about him that was so damned sexy. It simply didn’t seem fair how generous time had been to him.
By contrast, her skin was sallow from worry and a life on the run, her hair was a mousy brown mess, and her body was thinner than what was healthy. She’d often dreamt of their meeting again. In her dreams, her blond hair was always up off her neck—because Jeffrey liked being able to kiss her below the ear at will—and she always wore her favorite, killer little black dress with the spiky heels he favored. She was never such a physical and emotional wreck—she was the strong, self-assured agent who took no prisoners.
“I can practically hear the gears moving in that big brain of yours.” Jeffrey cast her a brief sideways glance before returning his attention to the road. “What are you thinking about?”
About how much I’ve missed you and how much I wish the feeling was mutual.
But she didn’t say any of that. Instead, she said, “I’m thinking about Isla. I’m concerned about how she looked in the video.”
“Yeah, I’m worried about that, too.” A light sprinkling of snow began to fall, and he flipped on the wipers. “I’m guessing they drugged her to keep her under control.”
“Isla is a shy child, but she is no pushover.” Their daughter would definitely resist at any given opportunity. “She likely caused a bit of a row and they decided to make their lives easier by subduing her.”
“Does she have any allergies to medications?” Jeffrey leaned his right elbow on the console. “Should we be concerned about any possible reactions to whatever they’ve given her?”
“No allergies that I’m aware of, but she’s never taken any type of sleep-aiding narcotic before either.” Fortunately, Isla had always been a healthy child who rarely got sick.
“Did you ever find out who blew your cover?” His topic change surprised her.
“Several very high-ups at The Circus investigated and were never able to determine who it was.” She used the nickname given to MI6.
Some say the epithet came from John le Carré’s book titled The Circus. Others believe it came from Silk and Cyanide , a World War II memoir by Leo Marks, who wrote about how a section of the Special Operations Executive worked out of an office that formerly belonged to the owner of a circus. Either way, it was an apt description of MI6.
“Are they sure it was someone within the agency?” Jeffrey’s blinker clicked. He checked his rearview mirror and took the freeway off-ramp.
“They aren’t sure of anything, and, I must admit, it is quite frustrating that after all these years, we’re no closer to finding out.”
“How much do you trust Nigel?” Jeffrey came to a stop in the right-turn lane.
“Surely, you’re not implying—”
“I’m not implying anything.” He turned and proceeded down the two-lane road. “I’m merely asking questions.”
“I trust Nigel implicitly.” She felt insulted on Nigel’s behalf. “He and I worked together on a previous undercover assignment.” He’d been her handler for about six months, and because they’d gotten on so well, she’d requested he be assigned to her case once again. “He was the first person I told when I found out I was pregnant.”
“Does he know I’m Isla’s father?” Jeffrey’s jaw rippled, and the leather steering wheel squeaked beneath his tightened grip.
“No.” She rushed to say, “But he has a letter that he is to open only if something happens to me. In that letter, I let him know that you are her father and ask that he reach out to you.”
“You could’ve told me , Maya.” He gave her a long look, then turned back to the road. His voice was no longer tinged with anger but with regret and loss.
“Yes, well, it wasn’t Nigel who betrayed me.” She refused to believe such a thing. “But whoever it was, they’ve done a bang-on job of hiding their tracks.”
His phone pinged through the car speaker, and he touched the display screen. “Burke.”
“Hey, Burke, it’s Sammy.” Casey’s crush.
“Hey, Sammy. I’m here with Maya, Isla’s mother.”
“Hi, Maya. I’m so sorry to hear about your daughter. But you’ve got the best man for the job helping you out. ”
“Thank you, Sammy.” Maya turned to Burke. “And I completely agree with you.”
“What did you find?” Jeffrey shifted the topic away from himself.
“I managed to pull the videos from the Qadiran Embassy compound. There were several cameras installed on the buildings and the grounds. Some weren’t operational during the timeframe you requested, but Casey and I reviewed the footage from the ones that were working.”
“Excellent.” He slowed down and turned right onto a gravel road. “Were you able to see when Al-Mansoori arrived?”
“Not only did I see him, but I can tell you what kind of shoes he was wearing.” Her excitement about her job was apparent in her voice. “And, yes, it appeared as if he had a child with him.”
“Appeared as if?” Maya asked.
“Al-Mansoori arrived in a black limousine with his family, but Adnan Bashar, his right-hand dude, was in a black passenger van behind him. When he stepped out of the van, he was carrying someone small who appeared to be asleep. I’m guessing it was your daughter, Maya.” Keys clicked in the background. “She was wrapped in a blanket, so I couldn’t get a look at her face. But I was able to see some long blond hair hanging over Bashar’s arm.”
“That’s her.” She turned to Jeffrey. “That is definitely Isla. ”
“They entered the main embassy building, and I lost sight of them.” More clicking. “I’m still working on accessing their interior cameras. They’ve created a firewall, but it’s pretty lame, so I should be in within the next fifteen or twenty minutes.”
“That’s incredible, Sammy.” Maya could understand why Casey was impressed with her.
“Great work, Sammy.” Jeffrey slowed down as he approached a cluster of trees. “Keep me informed.”
“Will do,” she said.
He tapped the screen to end the call. The SUV bounced over the rough gravel road and wound its way around some large trees until they came to a small clearing. His headlights shone on a large cabin nestled in the trees ahead of them.
“This is where you live?” She stared through the trees, surprised by what she saw.
“Yep.” He pulled up in front of the cabin and shut off the engine. “What did you expect?”
“Quite frankly, I wasn’t sure what to expect.” But she certainly hadn’t envisioned a log cabin tucked back in the woods. Hell, she’d never actually seen a real log cabin before.
He slid from behind the wheel and walked around to her door, but she’d already pushed it open and was climbing out .
“Nice and isolated.” She turned around to take in what she could see of the property.
“Just the way I like it,” he said.
The cabin appeared to be pretty large and had a massive stone fireplace rising up one side. Off to the left sat what looked like a garage or workshop built in the same style as the cabin.
Deep in the woods, the darkness had already begun to settle over everything, and the temperature was dropping fast. Maya looked up, and large flakes of snow stung her face and caught on her eyelashes. She shivered and swiped them away, then pulled the front of her coat together and drew her shoulders up to her ears.
“You’re freezing.” He lifted her backpack from the back seat and looped it over his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”
Jeffrey placed his hand at the small of her back, and a powerful heat permeated the fabric of her coat and surged through her body. The overwhelming sensation caused her to stumble, and lightning-quick, he was in front of her, catching her with his hands on her waist. Which only heightened the tingling sensation prickling across her skin.
“You okay?” He crouched, bringing them eye to eye.
“I’m …” She cleared her throat. “Yes, I’m fine.”
Overheating with lust but otherwise, fine .
“I’m sorry, it’s a bit dark out here.” The security lights chose that moment to flash on, and they lit the entire driveway area. “Better late than never, I suppose.”
Maybe it was stress or lack of sleep, but she couldn’t prevent the chuckle that bubbled up and burst free.
“Yeah, you need some sleep.” He looked down at her. “But first, I want you to eat something.”
“Funny, I don’t remember you being this bossy.” She’d known he liked to be in control in the bedroom, but this was a side of him he’d never shown her before.
“Things were different back then.” His grip was gentle on her elbow as he led her up the wooden steps to the front door.
What exactly had he meant by that statement? Maybe once she had some food in her belly, she’d have the guts to ask him.
Jeffrey unlocked two deadbolts, slid a plastic card from his wallet, and tapped a sensor pad. There was a loud ca-thunk before he turned the knob and swung the door open. He secured the door, flipped a switch, and a lamp in the far corner clicked on.
“Welcome to my humble abode.” He hung her backpack on a hook next to the door. “Make yourself at home.”
If only.
She moved farther into the massive front room with a high, beamed ceiling. She was awed by the large, river-rock fireplace that took up most of the far wall. A deep, rich brown, leather sofa faced the hearth, with a matching chair at each end. An end table and coffee table were made of logs and looked like they could withstand an elephant’s weight. The entire ensemble was anchored by a large, oval, braided rug.
He strolled past a large wooden table on the right and over to the kitchen, which was open to the main room. He flipped a switch, and rows of can lights flashed on. Modern, stainless-steel appliances shone, and cabinets made of some type of soft golden wood glowed beneath the lights. The light brown, granite countertops enhanced the richness.
The space had a decidedly masculine feel to it, and a wide painting of a lone cowboy astride his horse, overlooking a herd of cattle from atop a bluff, was mounted on the wall behind the sofa.
She stepped closer, crossed her arms, and stared at the interesting piece.
“That was a gift from the O’Hallerans. For some reason, it reminds them of me.” He moved up next to her and handed her a glass of red wine. “Here, I thought you could use this.”
She accepted the crystal glass and took a small sip. The dark, fruity wine was smooth across her tongue and warmed a path all the way to her belly. Maya would allow herself this one small glass but no more. It was critical for her to remain alert and ready to take action when necessary.
“I think I can understand why they would think that.” And for some reason, the thought saddened her. “You’re a loner who likes to watch over those you care about.”